What's Behind Fantastic Travel

In recent years, the idea of quitting your job to travel the world has become increasingly popular among young adults. The idea sounds fantastic at a mere glimpse: you get to visit all of your desired destinations, experience different cultures, and possibly view the world in a different light after doing so. However, could travel bloggers be omitting some of the cons of traveling? Do those Instagram photos of elephant-riding backpackers in Thailand really depict the whole story? Despite what others say, quitting your job to travel the world is not necessarily as glamorous as travel bloggers and social media moguls make it seem.

When done incorrectly, especially, it can have detrimental effects on your mental health, financial stability, and overall wellbeing.

1. Balancing both your job and travel is possible

The biggest reason why so many young people want to travel, but can’t, is because they believe their time-consuming jobs will not allow them to do so. To an extent, this is true.

The tendency to work long hours in order to survive is an unfortunate reality in our society. However, there are some who have successfully managed to work and travel at the same time. How is this possible, exactly? With remote work on the rise, many aspiring travelers are taking advantage of this opportunity to make make money while still seeing the world. Remote work allows for “professionals to work anywhere outside of a traditional office,” which is definitely ideal for those who are concerned about balancing work and travel.

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Carolina Borras, a remote worker, attests to to this lifestyle. She believes that one of the best ways to make the remote working lifestyle run smoothly is to spend your weekdays heavily working and save the weekend for sightseeing.

2. Traveling can increase involvement in risky behavior

When traveling abroad, we are often times more open to trying things we normally wouldn’t do at home. Some things are relatively harmless, such as trying new foods or buying a souvenir. Other things, such as drinking too much or not being very familiar with your surroundings can have very dire consequences. A 2013 study performed in Sweden wanted to examine the behavior of youth between the ages of 18-29 when they go abroad. When examining drug use between genders, it was found that men were twice as likely to engage in drug use compared to women. Generally speaking, people tend to engage in this type of behavior because they have a “whatever happens in [insert country] stays in [insert country]!” mentality. The same study also found a positive correlation between recreational drug use and risky sexual behavior. Of course, this does not mean everybody who travels to a foreign country will partake in reckless behavior. But it is definitely something to consider before traveling, especially if you are making travel a lifestyle.

3. Traveling can be emotionally exhausting

Ideally, traveling should be a pleasant experience from start to finish. We would all love for the plane ride to be free of screaming babies, for jet lag to be effortlessly conquered, and for us to have even just the smallest clue as to where we are going while navigating a new country. Unfortunately, at least one of these things happen most of the time. In 2015, Eric A. Morris and Erick Guerra conducted a study that measured mood and how it correlates with different methods of travel. Unsurprisingly enough, they found that traveling by car was the most stressful and upsetting, especially if it was a long trip. Though most of us in the United States do not visit foreign countries by car, it is not uncommon for us to take road trips to other states. Most would agree that traveling by car and plane are the most unpleasant, due to the lack of space, long hours, and potential inconveniences that could occur along the way. Realistically speaking, can most people really handle doing such a thing on a regular basis?

4. Health problems become a concern

In addition to the long that go into traveling frequently, it is no secret that airports, airplanes, and other densely populated areas are crawling with germs. When combined with jet lag, there is a very high chance of one getting sick due to the body’s weakened state. As previously mentioned, it has become easier to work and travel at the same time. However, spending such a large number of hours traveling can make it more difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle. When traveling, we tend to grab the most convenient–rather than most nutritious–foods we can find. Exercise is generally the last thing on our minds, and cleanliness is hard to come by. Unfortunately, frequent travel only allows for these things to persist according to the 70% of business travelers who say they have experienced the health problems that come along with jet lag. An even more alarming–yet little known–fact is that frequent travel exposes individuals to dangerous levels of radiation, especially if you are flying over 85,000 miles per year.

5. You may end up with no money

Many travel bloggers swear up and down that all you need to do to quit your job and travel is to save up just the right amount of money and then you can finally go wherever you please. For a while, this may actually be true. It’s exciting being able to reach your goal and see the world outside of your small city or town. Though at one point, this feeling of freedom and comfort may begin to decline and your bank account may also begin to look a bit dry. One travel blogger on the Huffington Post wrote about her experience in taking part of the traveling lifestyle. Like many travel bloggers, it was great at first. The all of the instagram-worthy moments, exotic destinations, and new cultures made opened up a new world for her at first. Sadly, that quickly came to an end. She stated that her financial situation got so bad that she had to had to ask her parents for help because she had 3 cents in her bank account. Situations like this are not at all uncommon for travel bloggers. It’s pretty easy to end up destitute in a foreign country, especially as a travel blogger, because the income is not as stable as a traditional career. Travel can be enjoyable and even life changing, but when it only leads to financial struggle, perhaps enjoying what is already around you could be just as fulfilling.