Welcome back Love,
In today's email, we're talking about the challenges related to solo travel and how to overcome them with ease.
Okay let's be real, there's one big thing about traveling solo that it's really hard to find any info on, and that hardly anyone talks about:
It can be freaking terrifying.
Traveling to someplace you've never been before, where you most likely don't know a soul, and wondering if the traveling will hurt your work prospects/resume can all play a big role in holding people back.
There are so many unknowns but those are the very things that make solo travel exciting and exhilarating, too.
Before I left, my main concerns had to do with the settled life I was leaving behind. I had a solid job working in finance, I had savings I could either put towards travel, or something that would keep me rooted, like a house. I wondered if I was shooting myself in the foot professionally when I left, but since then I've come to realize a few important things:
- Traveling can be a resume booster. You're experiencing and thriving in a completely new culture, you can think on your feet, you will have a sharper intuition and knowledge of a rapidly globalizing world. Those are all assets. You just have to emphasize your soft skills and make the time abroad count.
- You can start a new business on the road. I did that with a blog (here's some info on the best way to get started), but the possibilities are out there in almost any field.
- People worry a lot about having a five year plan. Here's why I think that's a waste of time
I've known a lot of people who traveled and came back home to stellar jobs, or started one on the road. It opens more doors than it closes.
Don't worry too much about the actual traveling part either. It's normally easier than we think, feels more natural than we expect, and is so exciting and pleasurable, that when little things do go wrong they are small in comparison to the joys.
I know that safety is a big concern as well, and for the next email, I've invited a solo traveling male friend of mine to share his best advice from years of experience.
See you then!
- Kristin
