First a little background and answers to questions I’ve received along the way…
In May of 2011 I quit my very stable and good job and sold everything so I could start traveling the world. I am a college educated, single female and am traveling alone.
What prompted me to do this you ask?? Well, simple: in May of 2006 I decided that 5 years from that date, no matter how well I was doing or what I was doing or where I was doing it, I would quit my job, sell all my things and travel the world. Call it a quarter life crisis or simply that I’ve always wanted to travel, so “no time like the present”… Either way, that was the starting point:)
Why travel out of the country?? What about traveling in the States?? I have been very fortunate in my life to have traveled 40 of the 50 states already. There are of course a few I would still like to see (Montana) but for the most part, I feel like I have “done” a lot of the U.S. already and would like to expand my experiences to other cultures and countries.
Why did you choose 5 years? No idea- it just seemed like a good amount of time to get and feel stable in one place for a bit before heading off.
So, you are going to travel the world! You must be fluent or at least conversational in a language other than English, right? Ummm, no… I am half Italian and am conversational in Italian. Since my travels to Central America I am now conversational in Spanish as well. As for the rest of the languages in the world, I know a word here and there, but luckily there are always English speakers to be found in whatever city/town/country I’ve been to. But for those occasions where even English speakers weren’t found, thank goodness for charades and sign language!! LOL!! 🙂
Now wait a tick- you said earlier that you are a female and are traveling alone… Doesn’t that scare you? It’s interesting really because before leaving many friends and family in some ways have expressed a lot of concern over this. My response is best explained by a quote from the famous surfer Laird Hamilton: “I can’t not do something out of the fear of what could happen”. I just love that quote! Of course I am still careful and am being a smart traveler ensuring that I never put myself in dangerous situations, but other than that, I can’t fear going out on my own and experiencing and traveling because of what may or may not happen. If I fail, I fail- but at least I tried. I have never once felt in any real danger. All of life is a journey and thus far I’ve got to say it’s been quite a delightful one. I can only hope it continues safely and delightfully! And for the record, I’ve never once been alone on this journey unless I’ve actively chosen to be. Whether I’m hanging out with fellow travelers and new friends or simply thinking of my family and of all my friends in the states, I’ve never been alone.
How can you afford all these travels?? All of the money I’ve spent on travels is money I’ve personally earned. Basically I save my pennies when back in the States, then quit and travel again when the wind blows just right. The first time was the trickiest as I was working for the Government and had an apartment full of stuff. My Government job knew the day would come that I would quit to travel, so it wasn’t that big a shock. And selling basically all but 4 boxes of my possessions was a little tough, but also a nice purge! Since the Government job I’ve worked as a bartender and/or server. Easy jobs to pick up and quit on a whim, though I am always honest with any employer that when the wind blows, it’s time to go. I just don’t think it’s right to mislead people into thinking I would be a lifer there… Anyway, so that’s what I do! When I run out of money, or get too close to my “emergency” money I go somewhere, get a job, save money, then travel again!
What is it you are expecting as an outcome of these travels? What are you hoping to accomplish? I can honestly say I don’t yet know. But I feel like I am where I need to be for now and I hope that inspiration for what I’m supposed to do will come along as I continue to travel and grow.
Well that’s the basics and background folks! Now… lets get on with the journey!
Ramblintraveler 