My last post got me thinking. There are so many things that can get in the way of travel, especially if you work full time. Between limited time off, soul sucking organizations like Sallie Mae and too many commitments, seasons fly by, weekends meld together and before you know it, planes have flown without you and you are left standing – or should I say sitting – in a cubicle of lost opportunity.
As a twenty something, I believe that myself and many of my peers also have a unique set of constraints that are either pushed upon us by external forces or simply internalized to the point that they weigh us down. There’s the absurd need to rise above the stigma attached to Gen Y in the workforce, the fear of failure and it’s potential to delay future accomplishments, the pressure to say yes to everyone and everything so that you never let anyone down, and then there’s the silly assumption that you should get married, buy a house and have kids at the exact same age your parents did despite the fact that we live in an entirely different world.
Maybe I am a little crazy, but if you do have any obstacles in your way, I do believe that there are a few simple ways to get around them or at least work with them, so that you can manage to fit seeing the world around your career…
See opportunity in wedding season
There is a certain time in one’s life when weddings fill your calendar. While there is no place I’d rather be than celebrating such an important day with my close friends and family, there is no doubt that weddings are one of the main roadblocks to carrying out my own travel plans. Between the cost and the days needed to be taken off work, it is difficult to really fit in a long vacation during the year.
But, if you are attending a wedding in a new city, try and take an extra day off so you have time to explore. Let’s face it, you’re already dropping a lot of money on all these weddings, what’s another day? Especially considering you may have so many to go to that they encroach upon a longer trip during the year. It could be a great opportunity to really see a new place.
Tap non-local friends
There are four awesome things about having friends that live in different cities:
1. You can travel to see them.
2. You have a place to stay.
3. You get to see their city from the perspective of a local.
4. When they visit, you get to play tour guide, encouraging you to see new places in your own hometown.
Save, just for travel
Starting a savings account that is just meant for travel is extremely helpful. I love ING because you can open up multiple accounts and even title them differently – like, “travel fund” - so you can organize your savings around creating time for yourself.
Become a master of your vacation days
I am a nut about staying on top of how many days I have accrued and how many I have left. I tend to use most of them in large chunks as opposed to taking a bunch of long weekends because it gives me the chance to travel somewhere farther away.
I recommend requesting a week or so off way in advance and then spending time searching for cheap flights to anywhere. This alleviates the pressure of finding the time to vacation, but it also forces you to take the days that you deserve. And, depending on what you find, you could end up in a place you never thought you would visit, just because it was cheap to fly there.
Just do it
I’m not advocating going into debt. But, sometimes you have to step back and weigh the advantages of seeing the world against accruing interest on a credit card. Think about your last trip and how much you gained in experience, how much you learned about a new culture and how what you saw will never be erased from your memory. Most times, you may come to the conclusion that those gains are more valuable than reaching a financial goal on time.
Now I know you savvy readers must have some more tips for finding a balance. What other ways can we be sure to not let travel become a nonexistent priority?
I’m looking to travel a bit next year (visit a friend in Amsterdam, finally make my way to Greece, maybe hit up London for work), and I so loved this post. Great ideas/tips. Thank you, thank you!!
I love this post. I really should take some of these suggestions to heart. My fiance and I are taking full advantage of our honeymoon and going to Ireland where I’ll get to meet some family members for the first time!
it’s so true, sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and DO IT! and spur-of-the-moment trips are usually the best kind.
ING is a good way to earn a decent amount of interest on your savings accounts. A really customer friendly organization as well (at least in my experience).
It’s important to make the commitment for savings. I’m a budgeting geek but it’s really incredible what you can afford without debt with a little bit of patience and planning.
Awesome tips, I hope to do it again as soon as I graduate maybe, other bloggers count as non local friends right?lol all these meet ups make me wanna visit them.
“Become a master of your vacation days”
This is good advice. I have no freaking idea how many days I have left. I should probably figure that out some time soon.
This is such a great post. There’s no better time than when you’re young to get out there and see the world.
I don’t think it’s possible to add to this brilliant list! I sure hope this encourages more people to travel. Personally, every decision I make I take travel in to consideration. Do I really need that $200 dress or should I fly to Honduras instead?
I think it’s important to move away from a life centered on things and instead build a life centered on experiences. Forgoing “things” will give you more money to buy “experiences,” i.e. travel!
This is the most perfect post about traveling EVER, and exactly, exactly, how I feel.
I love the ‘become the master of your own vacation days’, this is SO true. You are right before you know it its the new year and you have to use up your days fast!
I couldn’t agree more! Never, ever, ever hold off on traveling. It’s one of the few things you’ll always remember. Trust me, you will not remember whether you were late on your cable bill or what your favorite Wed night tv show was ten years from now. But how it feels to walk along the Seine or the smell of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul or the heat of the Cycladic sun or the taste of Nasi Gorang in an Indonesian mountain villa? Those things you will remember til the day you die.
Yeah absolutely second the travel fund… that’s the only way I managed to save for my Trip, by having a dedicated account that I would pay any windfalls, rebates, cashback or pocket money into, as well as any savings I had left over from my salary every month. Mine was with ING too! Anyway it is fairly full of cash now so I am off to Korea in two weeks to spend it all on kimchi and bibimbap! Can’t wait
I love this! Great advice! The wedding season is still in full-swing for me, and I’m going to North Carolina this weekend to attend my high school best friend’s wedding. Should be fun!
“Work and travel” – it is the mane of a service which recruits students to work and travel in the USA
[...] ticket will always take precedence over a designer whatever. I’ll continue to try and find a balance between work and travel, while always being open to uncovering special opportunities that will take me [...]