It’s been 7 months since my dream came true, and I stepped on a plane from Copenhagen to Bangkok with a lump in my throat and excitement in my belly. It’s also been 7 months since I saw my family or had any income. This is an honest review of how I feel about the lifestyle of full-time travel with no return ticket.
I’d like to start by saying that this blog post is a rather negative review about the lifestyle of full-time travel, yet I still LOVE traveling! I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to go see the world, and I really want you to know that I don’t take this year for granted.
But some people often think (including me) that full-time travel is one of the most glamorous and exciting things you can do. I’m here to tell you that it’s not!
Today I will share why we went full-time traveling in the first place and what the downsides are to this lifestyle. Hopefully, this prepares you better if you’re thinking about going traveling for a longer period of time.
Why write this blog post about the full-time travel lifestyle?
As I am sitting here in Punta Arenas Airport, the gateway to the Chilean Patagonia, I cannot decide on what blog post to write.
I have so many wonderful experiences in my memories that I want to share, yet my focus is elsewhere these days.
Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy every day on the road and I feel very privileged. But I have the need to share the truth about how it really feels to go travel full time – with the lifestyle that follows.
I feel like social media often shows the best of travel and forgets to show the worst of it. Glenn and I tend to do the same, but we just don’t find it very motivating to film our arguments as a couple or me crying from being homesick.
Instead, we pick ourselves up, and we go and get the best out of the day. We put a smile on, film, and take some nice pictures for the memories. We love our journey! That being said, I feel like I need to make a deeper explanation on how I really feel about being on the road with no sight of home ahead.
Why did we go travel full-time?
There are so many obvious reasons to why traveling for a longer period is great!
Just think about all the delicious food, wonderful nature, interesting culture, new friends and fun experiences that I get to experience every day! I love that I’m free to do whatever I want, and go wherever I please. Having no date in sight of when to go home makes you feel so free! That’s why I love the lifestyle of traveling full-time.
On top of that, I get to be with my partner Glenn every day, whom I love deeply.
But most importantly, I have realized that this world is not so scary and it’s a place full of good people. I also see myself become a better person by the day.
However, I didn’t go travel to find myself, I already know who I am (more or less): I know that I’m way too anxious and nervous for my own good, likes to eat more than I actually need, and I still feel awkward in big social crowds. But I’ve learned that everything often works out, and even though I still worry too much, I can tell myself that my worries are empty and I can laugh at them once they have passed.
But even though I know who I am, traveling is still changing me – and I like to believe that it’s changing me for the better.
So, before you read the next heading, just remember, I do still love traveling and I would not change anything in my life as it is right now!
Bad things about traveling full time
Full-time traveling can really suck sometimes.
Don’t get me wrong, I know I am privileged to be traveling, but before you judge, I also worked really hard to get where I am and this is just my honest opinion that I’m allowed to have.
I really hope that some of these points may prepare you better mentally if you’re thinking about going full-time traveling. So let’s get to it! Here are the cons of the full-time travel lifestyle.
1. I miss my family
First of all, I really miss my family and friends! It’s been 7 months since I saw the people I love the most on this planet.
I find the homesickness really hard to deal with, especially since I know that it’s an active choice I made myself. I am the one who separated myself from them by leaving for traveling, so I am the cause for my own “misery”.
Seriously, I cannot stress how homesick I have been during these months!
As a result, I have come to the conclusion that I don’t want to travel another full year of my life without seeing the people I love. So if we should continue traveling, I would need a break to go home once in a while.
If you’re thinking about going traveling and you are a big family person or you have a big amount of close friends you see on a daily basis… then this is probably going to be hard for you when you have to adapt to the full-time travel lifestyle.
2. I have no income
Secondly, I only see money going out of my bank account. This can be really frustrating!
I know I am the one spending it, and I have worked hard to save up this money so that I could go travel the world full-time. But not having an income is often rubbing me the wrong way.
It’s making me anxious, and I think one of the reasons is that I want to keep on traveling. I don’t feel ready to go home and get a more grounded job. I feel like this is my job now – creating content for this site and making travel vlogs with Glenn. The only problem is that we don’t get paid for it.
Yet.
Hopefully some day? (Update 2020: we are now monetized on YouTube: Read my post about reaching 1000 subscribers on YouTube. Update 2022: This blog you’re reading is now also monetised)
So if you feel up for it, think about finding a side hustle while you’re traveling. It can both be beneficial for your bank account, but also for your mental health.
3. We work too much
Am I contradicting myself now? First I’m telling you to work while traveling, but now I say we work too much? I guess it’s about finding that perfect balance.
Sometimes we work from early morning to late evening, skipping a full day of exploring just because we are trying to build a brand. But I do believe that it will pay off in the end. I have to believe!
The positive side to it is that we love to do this kind of work, and we would love to keep on traveling in order to show you the world.
So that is something to consider if you decide to get a side hustle on your trip… Don’t work too much because you also want to be able to enjoy this time you’ve taken to go travel.
4. The full-time travel lifestyle is not glamorous
Lastly, travel it is not as romantic as you’d think… Especially if you travel on a low-budget like we do.
What people don’t show you is that you spent half of the time waiting around. Sitting in buses, in airports, waiting to check-in, waiting to board, waiting for a taxi, waiting, waiting, waiting…
On top of that, if you travel in hot and humid countries, you are always sweaty from the heat and sticky from the sunscreen.
And sometimes you get sick because you ate the wrong thing.
And sometimes you don’t sleep because there is a huge snorer in your dorm room.
That’s just how it is.
As I’m writing this, I’m actually on my way to Santiago to sleep in the airport before catching the morning flight for the Atacama desert. Trying to sleep on a hard, cold floor is not the ideal picture of travel. Nonetheless, this is how we travel.
What’s next for our RTW trip?
What’s next is I have to catch my flight back to Santiago.
Oh, and we will of course keep up with the lifestyle and keep on traveling full-time.
Like I said, we love traveling for so many good reasons! Sometimes it’s just hard… Don’t be fooled by instagram. Did you know that humidity in Bali is often up to 100% and the temperature is about 30 degrees celcius? Trust me, even though that sexy, beautiful young lady looks fabulous in her big long dress next to all the rice fields – then she is probably super sweaty and may have been standing in a line of other tourist to take that exact same picture.
Traveling is amazing but it’s also hard at times.
That being said, if you have the travel bug, then there is only one way to feed it – and that is by going traveling! There are so many great things to see in the world and what’s great about it is that the world is so big that you’ll never be able to see it all. So, there is always something new around the corner!
My advice is to find your own path and try to enjoy every moment of it.
One thing I have learned is that you never regret you went traveling, neither will I. You will only regret not going.
I really hope you enjoyed this blog post about the cons of the full-time travel lifestyle. It’s definitely something to consider before leaving for a longterm trip! I underestimated some of the negatives, and if I had prepared better, I would probably have been better at coping with them.
Thank you so much for reading! You can also read my blog post about my first days of full-time traveling, or if you’re looking for some entertainment, then go check out our top 10 funny travel short stories.
Will you be posting your Chile/Argentina travels?
Yes, that is the plan. We have been around Santiago, Patagonia and Atacama in Chile.
We just crossed the border to Bolivia, so we will not be going to Argentina this time 🙂
Thanks for your honest account of travelling for so long. It is not always glamorous but always worth it!!
No it’s not glamorous but I still wouldn’t trade it. There are just some downsides we shouldn’t hide 🙂 Thanks!
I agree with everything in this post. The ups and the downs. Remember that this time is like a “blink” in your life span. A year goes past so quickly and you will forever cherish the memories you and Glenn created. The funny thing is that what you’ll laugh about in the years to come will be the tough times: that full-on snorer in the dorm, that time you got food poisoning, that hard floor you slept on in the airport etc. I LOVE what you say about realising the world is a good place and trusting your inner wisdom, that everything will be OK, is actually fine. You’re nailing life. Be proud.
Thank you, it’s already weird to think back to when I wrote this post. Now the year is almost up and it really was a blink in my life span but I got so much in return… So many memories. I hope to do it again someday!
You’re the best! 😊