Traveling Full-Time: What You Should Know!
So many bloggers or social media influencers tell you the good side about traveling. Here's the reality of it all.
Every day, I see the travel lifestyle shared on social media and in travel blogs. Often, the content consists of beautiful photos of attractive content creators lounging by a pool or in the back of their 1969 VW bus, with a huge smile on their faces. They always look like they’re having the most amazing dream life.
But is this reality, or are you simply being sold a lie?
Our Honest Experience
After four years of traveling and exploring the world, we can say there is some truth to that lifestyle, but it’s usually not the case.
There are times when the experiences are like a magical Hallmark movie, and everything comes together for a happy ending, but, like any true story, there are also plenty of instances when life on the road is filled with challenges or disappointments.
It’s not always a perfect way of life and all those photos or posts don’t tell you everything you need to know. We'll do it for you.
The happiness of total freedom is real.
Nothing makes us happier than being out on the open road and having the freedom to discover new places wherever we go. There is literally nothing quite like it, and there are times we have to pinch ourselves to see if we’re dreaming. We can’t imagine a life without travel.
Yet there are real problems that come along with traveling full-time, even with the happiness and joy it brings to our lives.
The opportunity to work from anywhere is amazing.
Working from home isn’t new to us, but the ability to work from the road has been a tremendous blessing. We constantly move to new locations with fresh scenery and build connections with people from all walks of life. And because we set our own hours, we get to spend more time hiking or doing other fun activities.
I will say it can be tough to manage the work vs. play balance, though. Traveling can interfere with getting things done, especially when the WiFi sucks.
The challenges for everyday travelers are growing.
When we first started the adventure in 2020, traveling was way better! Hotels and resorts were cheaper, tourists were friendlier and more respectful, hiking trails were more accessible, and traffic was significantly lower, among many other things.
Today, this has all changed. There are many factors that make the travel lifestyle more challenging. It certainly can kill the drive to move forward.
The expenses can force you to stay put.
There are times we’ve had to pull back on traveling plans in order to save some money or been forced to stay in the shittiest of hotels because tourist seasons raise the prices of everything exponentially. It doesn’t take long to blow your budget if you’re not disciplined with your cash flow.
So, unless you’re independently wealthy or living off the grid like a dirtbag, the costs of everything can prohibit your travel plans.
Is it still worth traveling?
The everyday romantic travel life fantasy is just that … a fantasy.
It doesn’t matter how you travel or where you go; there are going to be detours, potholes, wrecks, and other challenges to navigate around. It’s not the picture-perfect life you see from most influencers.
However.
Anything in life will be filled with hardships or adversity.
So if you dream of traveling full-time or becoming a digital nomad, don’t let fear keep you from getting out there and giving the road life a try.
Your adventure is waiting.