The Pros and Cons of Traveling Full-Time

Life on the road seems to be every traveler’s dream, but is it all that it’s cracked up to be? As you embark on your own journey, you’ll have the best moments of your life, but some pretty annoying ones too.

But don’t be disheartened, I’m not here to discourage you. It’s just important to understand that the blogs and Instagram accounts you follow might not be showing the whole truth. You’ll be better off knowing what to expect, instead of feeling sad on a paradisiac beach.

Pros of Traveling Full Time

Your Life Is an Adventure

Indeed, it is! One month you might be impressed by the never-ending salt flats in Bolivia, while you could be swimming with whale sharks in the Philippines another month. It seems like every country has something amazing to offer. It’s just a matter of time before you enjoy it.

You also get the chance to immerse yourself in different cultures and taste foods you never know existed. Sometimes, you might feel like the luckiest person in the world.

You’ll Meet Wonderful People

There’s no better way to make new friends than to go on an adventure, especially if you’re traveling on your own. Couples meet new people too, but they tend to be less approachable than solo travelers.

Not only will you meet friendly locals who will show you their country with pride, but you’ll also befriend other travelers and end up going on adventures together. These friendships are special and even more satisfying when you meet again in the future.

You Live in Other Countries

Have you ever wondered what it must be like to live in Japan? Or Peru? When you’re traveling for several months or indefinitely, you can just stop at a destination you fall in love with and use up all the 90 days on your tourist visa.

It’s the perfect chance to have an in-depth experience and create a strong bond with the country. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn the local language and have more meaningful interactions with the people you meet.

Travel Jobs Keep You Going

Full-time travelers come in all shapes and colors. Although many save money to fund their trips, the majority will work as they travel.

The service industry tends to be a common choice, but people also work in vineyards and on cruise ships. However, working online as a digital nomad is the trendy option at the moment. Travelers create remote businesses or work as a freelancer.

The great advantage of traveling while you work is not being tied to one place and just taking your work along with you.

It’s Great to Leave Routine Behind

One of the great aspects of traveling is the possibility of leaving most of your problems behind and just enjoying yourself — even if just for a few days. When you travel full-time, you literally don’t have to worry about any of the day-to-day obligations.

Instead of knowing exactly what’s going to happen in the day, long-term travelers enjoy spontaneity. If you don’t feel like waking up, you might decide to sleep in for another hour, have pancakes for lunch, and just enjoy the sunset. Even better, you don’t need to face the daily commute!

There’ll Be Romance on the Road

When you’re on the road, you tend to meet a lot of people. More often than not, you’ll be attracted to someone and have a fiery relationship. It could be just a weekend fling, but sometimes you decide to travel together and stay united for longer.

There are plenty of wonderful stories of travelers who met on the road and eventually tie the knot. These relationships are great because people met doing what they love, so they’ll always have a partner in crime when it comes to going on a new adventure.

You May Find Your True Calling

Many travelers start their adventures with the intention of finding out who they really are. It’s the ideal chance to experience life to the fullest and discover once and for all, everything they like and dislike.

You might be sure you’re going to study economics when you get back home. However, you have a wonderful diving experience and choose to become a diving instructor instead. Maybe you do a yoga course or volunteer abroad and your life just takes a completely different path.

Cons of Traveling Full Time

It Can Get Boring

It’s not uncommon for long-term travelers to suffer from the travel blues. The first time you visit a Hindu temple, you might get super excited and want to know everything about it. However, after 50 temples, it’s not so exciting anymore.

The same goes for incredible beaches, famous tourist sites, or stunning waterfalls. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.

If you’re not as thrilled as you used to be, it could be that you’re traveling too fast and need to stay in places longer to appreciate it more.

It’s Lonely Sometimes

Not everyone is outgoing and makes friends in an instant, so it’s possible to be in a room with lots of people and still feel completely alone. Or maybe the people around you have a weird vibe and you really don’t feel like interacting.

Another problem is that many of these new friendships only last for a few days. So, as soon as you move along, the whole process begins again. You eventually stop making an effort to meet new people and end up even more lonely.

Banking, Housing, and Visas Can Get Annoying

Living in another country can sometimes be a nightmare. Not all countries will give you a 90-day tourist visa. So, you might need to go on visa runs frequently. Depending on where you live, it can become costly.

If you don’t make sure you have the proper credit/debit card or bank account, you could lose a lot of money on international bank fees. Although Airbnb is a miracle, you’re still going to pay more than the locals for accommodation.

You Still Have to Work

Imagine being on one of the Thai islands. It’s 40 degrees outside, you can see the ocean from your window. Unfortunately, there’s a looming deadline and you have to finish a big project today? Yes, you can still suffer in paradise!

Many people think that working on the road is all fun and games. But, the reality is that you still have responsibilities. Whether you’re a receptionist at a hostel or a content creator for an agency, you’ll still need to manage your work-life balance.

You Might Eventually Crave a Regular Life

You can only travel for so long until you start craving a more ordinary life. There’s a reason people live by their daily routines — it makes their lives more structured. It can be mentally taxing to explore your surroundings every time you move to a new destination.

This is one of the reasons full-time travelers tend to stay in one place for long periods of time. They know where they are and don’t need to make a thousand decisions every day.

You Can Have Your Heart Broken

If you’ve been traveling for a long time, you might have seen or experienced intense teary goodbyes. You met someone you fell in love with, traveled for a couple of weeks, but unfortunately couldn’t stay together any longer. It becomes another sad love story.

But broken hearts also happen with stable couples, usually the ones who are traveling together for the first time. It was perfect at home, but on the road, they just want to kill each other, day in day out!

It’s Possible to Be Forever Lost

There’s a fair share of people who went on a journey of self-discovery and came out empty-handed. They realized that no matter how long they did it, travel didn’t change them one bit and there was no hidden revelation.

However, one needs to travel with an open mind to have a truly transformative experience, and unfortunately, that’s not always the case. If you’re not willing to try new foods, mingle with new cultures, and do new things, it’s going to be hard to become a new person.

Mila Supinskaya Glashchenko / Shutterstock

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