Travelling is not only a fun experience but one that allows you to grow in ways you could’ve never imagined! So let’s jump into the 20 reasons why you should travel in your 20’s, starting with the fact that ..
1. You’re in your prime health
Why put off travel when you’re most likely at your prime physically in your 20’s? You can do everything you want to do now like jump out of a plane in Australia, bungee jump in New Zealand, hike in Hawaii and SO much more! The older you get, the higher there’s a chance of travelling with an injury and having limited activities to partake in.
2. You’ll be introduced to new things
It’s important to travel in your 20’s because you never know what experiences might come your way. From food to new work opportunities, people will offer suggestions that could change the course of your life for the better!
3. You’ll gain perspective
Travel will open your mind and give you a better perspective on the world. This is one of the best reasons to travel in your 20’s because it will shape the rest of your adult life. You’ll most likely become more empathetic to others and have a better understanding about the world around you. It personally changed my perspective on sustainability and how important it is to treat the earth with the love and respect it deserves!
4. You (probably) have no major commitments
When you’re in your 20’s – especially early to mid-20’s – you don’t usually have many big commitments. No commitments = less worries. Sure, you can still have fun travelling with kids, once you’re married, have a full time job, etc but why not start now? You may find yourself stuck in a mundane routine and had wished you took the time for yourself to travel and explore new opportunities!
5. You’ll have a new found appreciation for home
Your 20’s are some of the most transformative years of your life and at times it may seem like the most difficult to figure out. With stress to figure out your career path and future as a whole, you may start to lose appreciation for the little things in life.
Travel presents a chance to put yourself in a completely different environment where you won’t have the comforts of home. You might miss a certain food you can’t find abroad or the stillness of a small hometown when you’re in a bustling Asian city. You’ll come home with a whole new appreciation for things!
6. It will make you more adventurous
If you travel in your 20’s, you’re sure to find a new found sense of adventure! If you were to ask my family what I was like as a child, ‘adventurous’ is NOT a term they would ever think about using to describe me. Everything changed when I started travelling and now they’d say I’m one of the most adventurous people they know!
I’ve come back from each trip ready to tackle new challenges and also explore more of my home country!
7. It’ll open you up to remote work opportunities
If working for yourself or working remotely is something you’ve thought about doing, travel will encourage and push you towards that lifestyle. You’ll most likely meet many people who currently work remotely and can teach you a thing or two about doing it for yourself!
8. You’ll become less materialistic
Chances are, when you start to travel in your 20’s you’ll realize that you don’t need half of the things you own. You may stop spending so much money on things, when you could have invaluable experiences instead!
9. You can do it cheaper
While budget travel is doable at any age, it’s definitely easier to do when you travel in your 20’s. If you’re travelling with your family/partner or wait to travel when you’re older, you’ll probably be more inclined to stay in hotels (rather than hostels), spend more money at restaurants (rather than making your food/finding cheap options) etc.
10. You’ll learn about life outside yourself
Watching or reading the news is one thing but seeing poverty first hand if a humbling experience. Travel will help you become more selfless and see that the world is so much more than what you want. You’ll come back a lot less concerned about yourself and wondering how you can make a positive change in the world!
11. Confidence & independence will come easy to you
Don’t worry if you’re not as confident as you’d like to be. Travel will teach you how to become more confident and you’ll be able to grow your independence (especially if you solo travel)! You’ll start to see that you really can do anything you put your mind to and that’s a great mindset to be in when you’re working out the intricacies of your life in your 20’s!
12. It will help you become more present
Travel forces you to focus on what you’re experiencing NOW rather than what you could be doing in the future or worrying about issues from the past. Trust me, that boy you’re crying over won’t take up anymore mental real estate while you’re on the road! There are also many opportunities to embrace meditation and yoga while travelling which can help you become more present as well.
13. You’ll grow & learn more about yourself
From your basic likes and dislikes to more important questions such as your career path, what you’e looking for in your relationships etc, you’ll learn much more about yourself than you could’ve thought!
14. You’ll create a network of friends from around the world
Sure, you can do this at any age but why wait? Having friends in different countries at a young age offers endless opportunities. If I hadn’t gone out of my way to make new friends when I moved to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa, I wouldn’t have explored half the places I did with them!
Maybe it’ll spark a move to a new place or at the very least you’ll always have a tour guide in a new city to show you around!
You can find my best tips to making friends abroad here.
15. It’s the best time to face your fears
If you get into the habit of doing new things and putting yourself in situations you’d never experience at home, you’ll become fearless. From figuring out how to get from the airport to your hostel to trying to say a few words in the local language, you’ll find yourself achieving small victories each and every day!
16. It will help you become more organized
Whether or not you put much into planning your travels, you still have to be organized. If not, you’ll find out the hard way that you won’t always have someone help you catch your flight in time or get a spot on the ferry leaving only once a week! Travel will kick your a$$ into gear and you’ll come home with better organizational skills.
17. You’ll have unbelievable stories
Just take one look at my ‘story time’ segment and you’ll see what I mean! While not all stories will be great in the moment, you can look at them all as learning experiences and laugh at them one day.
18. You’ll get along with just about anyone
If travelling from a young age will teach you one thing, it’s how to tolerate and get along with just about anyone! Not only will you become a lot more understanding of people who come from different countries and cultures but you’ll also learn to love little things that make each person unique.
19. You can afford to make mistakes
With so much of your life still ahead of you, you can afford to drink a little too much on that boat party and not be too worried about your responsibilities. Of course, you’re mature enough to be safe and make good decisions the majority of the time but making the occasional slip up will only help you learn more about life.
20. You’ll be ahead of the game
You’ll have more experiences than a lot of people which you can use to your advantage. Bring up your travels during interviews and speak to how it’s helped you become organized, independent and give your a wider perspective on life. See how travel can fit into a perspective job opportunity and run with it!
So that concludes my 20 reasons to travel in your 20’s! If you’re new to travel and don’t know where to start, feel free to reach out and ask me anything! You can follow my travels on Instagram for more tips & tricks and I’ll see you back here next week.
Cheers,
Amy
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