10 Reasons To Leave Home And Travel Now

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The tides are changing. You feel it in your gut that it’s time to leave home and welcome travel into your life…but can you do it? Can you leave your house, your job, your friends, your favourite food that only your Mum cooks?  YES you can. You MUST.  Here’s why.

10 Reasons to Leave Home and Travel Now

1.You need to work to live, not live to work

People can be slaves to their jobs these days.  They work incredibly hard to save up lots of money, thinking to themselves that they will enjoy it when they retire. Some lovely folks buy a caravan, whizz off and have a whale of a time but you can go and do the same when you’ve finished school.  You really can.  I can’t imagine I’m ever going to be a millionaire but I have used all of my gusto, enthusiasm, charm and kick-ass teaching, musical, blogging skills to get by and it’s been great!  I have a roof over my head, food on the table and the nicest bunch of worldwide friends behind me and that rocks.

2. Your possessions don’t matter, experiences do

When you travel, possessions just don’t matter anymore, experiences do.  When you get to the awesome point of selling your things to go travelling, you’ll realise how much unnecessary stuff you have.  You don’t need it.  Stop buying junk and start getting rich through travel.  I still make sure that whenever I buy something, it’s something that is going to fit in my backpack.  Or, if it’s something that I absolutely adore to death, I’ll make an exception and send it home to my parents.

3.You’ll realise what you’re fully capable of

Travel will throw the most random things at you.  It’s not all plain sailing and being faced with challenging situations will make you think on your feet a lot.  You’ll learn about who you are, what you can do, what you love and don’t like.  You’ll achieve things you never thought possible and become one hell of an amazing person in the process.

4.You’ll love and appreciate life, people and things way more

They say that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone and it’s totally true. Now I’m not in England, I can appreciate just how green, diverse and beautifully historical it is.  Castles / countryside / tea / beer / the Queen.  I love everything about it.  I love my friends.  I appreciate how blessed I am to be able to teach English and travel because of where I’m from.  I want to say ‘thank you world’ for just being the most amazing playground.

5.You’ll spend time with people you wouldn’t hang out with at home

Sometimes I have to pinch myself.  I find myself sitting at a table with travel friends and not one of us is from the same country.  How cool is that?! Travel opens up these golden gates to beautiful people you wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet at home.  You’ll learn something new everyday and step outside of your comfort zone. I’ve hung out with ex-prisoners, watchmakers, lady boys, farmers, mixed martial arts fighters, Buddhists, rock stars and granny backpackers.

6.Snail mail is no more

Need to see a friendly face and feel the love? You’ve got facebook, gmail, skype, whatsapp, twitter etc.  We’re not living in the dark ages anymore and staying connected is easy peasy. Your loved ones are just a click away <3

7.There’s more to life than cheese

Yes, I miss eating mature cheddar cheese a lot but I’ve also tasted the most tastebud-popping, orgasmic dishes in Asia. I’ve eaten the freshest sushi in Tokyo, live octopus in Korea, weird alien-looking fruit that tasted like white chocolate to me in Vietnam, a whole barbecued sheep in China and ants in Cambodia.  Yes, cheese is better than ants.  For the times where I’ve been desperate for cheddar, I’ve paid way too much money and managed to get my mitts on it.

8.It won’t matter whether it’s Monday or Friday

That Friday feeling: ‘Woohoo work’s finished, I’m freeeeeee, Let’s party like it’s 1999!’  That Monday feeling: ‘I don’t wanna goooooo, I hate my life, can the government implement 3 day weekends?’ Screw that.  When you travel, you can lose track of the days and that’s OK! Sure, you may be working and travelling at the same time but hopefully you’ll give yourself a job that you’re really enjoying. You could be working in an elephant park in Thailand, serving cocktails up at a Cambodian beach or teaching super cool kids.  There’s no need to live for the weekend anymore.

9.Your skill set is going to skyrocket

Suddenly, you’re going to get really good at reading maps, bartering, driving a motorbike, sleeping on noisy buses, mixing and matching just 5 items of clothing, budgeting, journey planning and communicating with just your eyes and hands.  If you’re working or volunteering whilst travelling, you’re going to become a jack-of-all-trades.  You’ll know how to paint, garden, look after children, promote an event and teach others like never before.  Go you!

10.You’ll pass away knowing you gave it a shot

If there’s one thing in life I truly want, it’s no regrets.  I have definitely made some mistakes but even from the bad stuff that has happened, I have learnt, grown and become a better person. When my time comes, I’ll be a very happy lady.  If you travel, you can proudly say that you seized opportunity by the balls and decided to pack your bags.  Don’t regret not taking that flight.

Related Reading

11 reasons why people travel and why you should too

17 jobs you can do to travel the world

How to convince your parents to let you travel alone

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7 thoughts on “10 Reasons To Leave Home And Travel Now”

  1. I have a great life, great career, but I just lust for more adventure and more stories to create. Or perhaps its that I don’t quite fit in and I’m looking for people and answers elsewhere? Will I find out outside of the country or will it be just the same?

    In either case, thank you for the post, I feel like you’re speaking directly to me on this one.

    Reply
  2. Well said! I love the last bit about not having any regrets. That’s my favorite. Someone recently told me that they can’t travel because they’ll be too old, and I said you’ll be old no matter if you travel or not! So go do what you want to do! Life is short! :)

    Reply
  3. I truly enjoy this post as I agree every point. Especially when I buy something I think to myself “Is it heavy to carry? Can I use it on my travels?”. Another point I like is no matter what day is it because when you travel mondays can be as awesome as a saturday!

    Reply
    • Hey! Thanks for popping by :) I really do recommend being savvy about what you take with you and buy on the road. You’re most likely going to be carrying it on your back in your backpack, so always ask yourself if you’re happy to be taking that item with you.

      Reply
  4. I encourage everyone to leave home and travel. There are so many good points for growing as a human being if you do. So Yup, I agree with all your reasons here. Love your blog design by the way :) Oh and thanks for commenting on my blog earlier :)

    Reply

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