What Nobody Tells You About Leaving Everything Behind To Travel

Quitting your job to travel the world is the easy part. Once you pack your bags and set the wheels in motion, that’s when things gets tricky.

Quickly, the realizations hit you like a tsunami.

What if I run out of money?

What if something happens to me along the way?

Can I survive out there by myself?

These were all thoughts that ran through my head while I was flying to Australia on my first solo trip.

My fear of being by myself on the other side of the world was so strong, I didn’t want the plane to land!

Once I got to Australia, I realized the reality was not as bad as I had envisioned.

However, that apprehension was quickly replaced by another. How was I going to stretch my finances until I found a job?

I would overcome one worry, only for another to take its place.

Without the safety net of living at home, you have to fend for yourself at all times. It can be hard to keep it all together during tough times, especially if you’re alone in a new place.

It can be a lonely experience.

Traveling is overly romanticized these days. I, myself, am guilty of this as a travel blogger.

I urge people to follow their dreams and go and travel.

The reality is, long-term travel is not for everyone. A lot of people would crumble under the pressures of constantly being on the road and in a state of flux.

In the same way that stability is not for everyone, neither is constant upheaval.

Your life as a traveler is a constant cycle of upheaval.

You move on from one place to another. You meet people, make friends and move on after weeks or months. You meet someone, get along well, and then circumstance pulls you apart.

Long-term travel is like real life but on steroids.

You get to know people quicker, but they leave your life in a flash.

You experience sensory overload in each new place that you venture, but the feelings subside rapidly and you want to move on within a few days.

Change may be the only constant in life, but it never leaves your side when you’re traveling.

Nothing ever stays the same for long.

But this may not the best worst part.

The worst part is that deep down, you know things will never be the same again.

You won’t be able to go back to the way things were before. You have experienced and seen too much to go back to your life pre-traveling.

By committing to traveling full-time, you have committed yourself to never being content.

You’ll never be satisfied living in one place.

You’ll never be satisfied until you’ve traveled everywhere.

You’ll never be satisfied, even if you meet the love of your life.

You’ll always need more!

It’s like a sickness that takes a hold of you and won’t let go.

Its terminal.

The image you see portrayed by travel bloggers only tells 5% of the story.

Its like peering through a keyhole to gauge the beauty of a house. It may look nice, but you’re only seeing a limited view.

When you open the door, you see the full picture, and it’s not as pleasant as you might think.

Traveling for five years has been an experience I’ll never forget, but sometimes I wonder whether I’ll ever know what it feels like to live a ‘normal’ life.