8 Reasons To Move Abroad

Moving to a foreign country is something I never thought I'd do...until I did it. I thought studying abroad for a few weeks in Italy was a long time; how was I going to last for months?

I was working a job in Florence, Italy for about six months last year, and it was one of the best things I've ever done. While I wasn't fully immersed (my roommates/co-workers were American and our customers - students - were American), living in an Italian apartment in the heart of Florence was a whirlwind of an adventure. If you are considering taking the plunge and moving across the world, I urge you to do it.

These are a few of many reasons to move to another country, be it for a few months, a year, or indefinitely!

1. Experience Living Like Someone Else

You buy groceries, do your laundry, and go out to eat like a local. You learn to communicate with new phrases and understand different body language. You are living your everyday life like it's from someone else's perspective.

Living like the locals starts to rub off on you, and you may not even realize it.

2. Travel Slow

Being on the go is exciting but exhausting.

There were weeks at a time where I'd be traveling to a new country every weekend (the best part about the job) and returning to Italy during the week. While getting the opportunity to see a new city even for just a few days was awesome, I didn't get to know the culture as well as I did in Italy.

Slow travel allows you to notice the little things, to stop and smell the roses, and to appreciate everyday life. If you move abroad short-term, traveling slow will allow you to soak up as much as you can before you leave.

3. Learn a New Language

If you move somewhere where the main language is foreign to you, then that's all the more reason to learn it. And what better way to learn a new language than to be fully immersed in a country that's constantly speaking it?

4. Cut Down Your Living Costs

Moving abroad might actually save you money, depending where you live. Central and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America are great regions that tend to have a lower cost of living than your average western country.

Plus, living abroad tends to be cheaper than vacationing. Especially if you're traveling slower, you're more likely saving on extra costs by not staying in a hotel, cooking most of your meals, and doing everyday life activities.

5. Have a Fresh Start

No one knows you there. You have an opportunity to be whoever you want to be; to fully be yourself if you've been holding back. There are new friends to be meeting and new things to be doing. Be the person you want to be, surround yourself with positive people, and try the things you've always wanted to do (perhaps, for example, getting TEFL-certified in Peru or learning yoga in India).

6. Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Move abroad to get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. you'd be surprised at what you can handle, and it makes everyday #firstworldproblems seem minuscule.

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7. Find Work Opportunities

International work experience is resume gold. Going abroad in general is a great boost for your resume, but working on top of that provides even more value.

Also Read: 11 Ways To Make Money While You Travel

8. Make Memories and Be Adventurous

Do it because you know you want to. And that burning desire deep within you will continue to grow until you just do it.

5 Temporary Cures For Wanderlust

We all know that aside from traveling (and continuing to feed the travel bug when it acts up), there is no real "cure" for wanderlust. Temporary fixes in the meantime only feed us for so long, but they're better than nothing. Here are 5 ways to satisfy that ache to travel in the meantime.

1. Google Street View

Occasionally I'll find myself needing to look up some random info about somewhere I've been, and somehow my Google session turns into a Google street view session where I "re-visit" the streets I've walked on in other cities. This is pure nostalgia at its finest! It's also fun to look up cities you haven't been to to see what certain places look like.

Here’s an example from Google Street View:

Rue de Caumartin

hotel athenee view

2. Read travel blogs and books

The best way to get inspired for travel? Reading about others who have done it/are doing it! You're bound to find new places and tips about where to go. Make sure to vary the blogs you read so you get multiple perspectives on places.

And as far as books go, there's nothing better than sitting down with a good read and transporting yourself to a faraway fictitious land of adventures.

3. Watch shows or movies set in places you want to go

Whenever I'm about to go to New York, I always watch Gossip Girl. If I'm going to Southern California, I watch The OC. On the flight to Italy I watched Letters to Juliet and a few months upon returning home I was missing it, so I watched Under The Tuscan Sun. It's fun to anticipate your trip (or dream up future ones!) with shows/movies set in that location.

4. Draw inspiration from Instagram and Pinterest

Like reading travel blogs and books, seeing other places through someone else's eyes is always a nice way to temporarily feed your wanderlust. Visuals are even better! A picture says a thousand words.

5. Map out RTW routes

Go to a RTW planner website (like AirTreks) and map out all the different routes you could take to circumnavigate the world. Oh, a stopover in Dubai would be on the way? Add it to the itinerary! I know I can't be the only one who does this as procrastination to more important tasks.

Extra points if you draw it out on a physical map.

And bonus points if you actually book the ticket!

I Wasn't Running Away From Life, I Was Running Toward It

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I don't like change, but I'm afraid of commitment.

Yeah, I'm a treat.

I thought I was running away from everything: from facing The Real World and getting a 9-5 job that I would be at for the next few decades. From the "American Dream" - I was now in my 20s, and my parents got married and had kids in their 20s, so if I didn't find someone soon, then I was destined to be alone forever. From living in the rainy Pacific Northwest, a great place for some people but definitely not the place for me.

I was 21 years old and fresh out of college. All of those "What  are you doing after graduation?" questions that had constantly been thrown at me and all of my friends senior year were not only getting redundant, but when my answer was, "I don't know yet," I felt like I was doing everything wrong. I felt like I should have a plan.

Since preschool, our plan was always to get up every day, go to school, then go to college, and then at 21 or 22 years of age, we're done. "What next?" is the scariest and most intimidating question that looms in our minds as we edge toward graduation day, especially when we no longer have a plan.

Purple Flowers in Sorrento

All I knew was that I wanted to travel. I was aching to get back to Italy, where I studied abroad one summer. I was aching to see more of Europe. I was trying to come up with all these bazaar plans to save money after graduation so I could go travel around Europe for a few weeks that fall.

But then I found a job in Italy that started in August. And then I found a summer job in Washington, DC and New York. Things were falling into place. But I still felt like I was running away from the life that society expects recent college grads to do.

Turning my back on the traditional 9-5 work day and getting out of Seattle was intimidating (especially since where I went to college, everyone and their grandma moves to Seattle for a 9-5 job). I didn't know anyone in DC or New York. I didn't know anyone in Europe. And I had only spent six weeks in Europe prior; how was I going to last five months?!

These types of questions floated in the back of my mind...but a number of exciting ones were at the forefront: Will seeing Matilda on Broadway be as good as Jersey Boys? (Well, it was different of course, but it was definitely amazing). Will it be hard to communicate with the international students? (Not at all. They're all fluent in English and it makes me wish I could speak at least three languages, too). Is the pasta in Italy going to taste just as good? (Yes, it was just as delicious). Will I get to sunbathe on the beaches of Positano? (Of course, that was the first trip I led for work, and most of my time was spent by the beach). Is Oktoberfest really that cool? (Yes, YES it is). Will I be able to go somewhere "exotic," like Morocco? (Well, Morocco didn't work out, but Turkey did). Will my new coworkers and I become friends? (Absolutely, and they are people I'll never forget).

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I wasn't running away from life, I was running toward  it. Toward new experiences. I was running toward LIFE. It was amazing, it was spectacular, and it made me happy. I found joy and happiness in exploring new places, and knew that working in Europe wasn't the final fix to getting rid of my travel bug - it was the beginning to creating a life of adventures.

Now that I'm back in the States, I've moved to Arizona (Sun! Warmth! No daily overcast skies!). I'm working full time and I'm okay with that. I prioritize travel whenever I can, while (trying) to be responsible with my money. Balancing both travel and work can be exhausting, but to me, it's worth it. Because travel brings me joy. And I wouldn't have experienced the joy that travel gave me if I hadn't taken the leap to travel in the first place - and run toward life.

Find what brings you joy. Whatever it is, I urge you to do it.

This Video Will Make You Want To Travel Right Now

While scrolling through Facebook the other day, I came across this video that Kelsey posted by a group of guys that compiled three years of travel into one inspirational video. They're awesome! Now I'm just itching to do a round-the-world trip... Watch and you won't be disappointed.

How Travel Changed Me

It can be hard to sum up how travel changes you. When I try to sum up how it changed me, I think of how I'm more interested in different cultures, more open-minded, and more willing to try new things, not to mention all the "soft skills" I've strengthened like getting better at navigating directions, independence, and a better understanding of the world.

But it's so much more than that. To put it into words, to sum it up in one sentence - it just isn't enough. I could write a novel on how travel changed me, but when honestly trying to come up with how to describe it, I feel like I'm coming up short.

You just know you've changed from travel. You know you're a different person, and a better person because of it. And when people ask you why they should travel and leave the comfort of their home country, or why they should spend money on plane tickets instead of designer bags, you answer saying it's worth it and it'll change you for the better. But how, they ask?

I think the answer is different for every person, but the only way to know how travel changes people is to go out and experience it for yourself.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

– Mark Twain

Solo Travel Stories That Confirmed My Faith In Humanity

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There is no doubt that while travel is amazing, it does come with the occasional struggle. When I was leaving Lake Como with a friend last year, the taxi driver first overcharged us, and even though we paid him the full price, he still chased us all the way into the train station.

We missed our train to Milan because he started shouting, "Polizia! Polizia!" and almost got us arrested. Luckily the police officers believed us when we told them we did indeed pay him the right amount and he was just trying to scam us.

In that moment, I was not too fond of strangers.

For every frustrating situation like that, there is usually at least one (if not more!) good situation to make up for it.

Solo Travel Stories That Confirmed My Faith In Humanity

During my solo weekend in Paris this summer, I experienced the kindness of strangers firsthand. I was by myself, in a foreign country, in a foreign city. Paris is an easy city to travel in, but these few moments where I was given a helping hand definitely confirmed my faith in humanity, and that a majority of the world is made up of good people.

The English Couple and The Louvre Tickets

While waiting in line underground to get into The Louvre, I was chatting with an English couple while we waited. I told them that I was most excited to see Napoleon's Rooms, which I believed would be worth the extra few euros to get in. They said they were most excited for all the Italian paintings.

Once inside, we rushed to the ticket machines and were lucky to get there when we did - a massive line began forming behind us for the ticket machines. On the screen, I was surprised I wasn't prompted to purchase the add-on for Napoleon's Rooms and asked the English couple if they knew anything about that.

They offered to hold my machine (one of them stood at mine and the other stood at their's) while I quickly ran over to the information booth to ask. Turns out there was no extra fee for the rooms! I hurried back to the machine, thanked the couple for holding it for me, and was grateful I didn't have to stand in the continuously-growing line.

The Vietnamese Man That Led Me To Starbucks

Since Paris was the first portion of my summer Europe trip, I was really jet lagged. On Sunday after hours of walking and exploring the city, I collapsed onto my hotel bed into a deep sleep. When I woke up from that long nap at 9pm, I happened to be really hungry. Upon the realization that it was late Sunday night and the cafes and grocery stores were closed, I thought I might have to skip dinner and wait till morning.

But - alas - there was a Starbucks around the corner! I walked over to it and my hopes were tarnished as the sign on the door said it closed at 7pm on Sundays. As if on cue, a man walked up to me and told me there was a different Starbucks about 10 minutes away that was open till 10pm on Sundays. He said he was headed to that area and would show me the way.

In the past I would've had my guard up and politely declined, but my instincts told me he was a normal person and not a serial killer. As we walked we chatted about where we were from and the differences in culture (he was from Vietnam and is living in Paris). We parted ways once we got to Starbucks, but I'll remember our conversation and the kindness of him showing me the way. I was also glad to find food!

The American Students at The Eiffel Tower

The next night I walked a long 45 minute walk from my hotel to the Eiffel Tower to see it light up at sunset. I found a nice spot in the grass and was marveling at the enormity and beauty of the tower. A man came and sat down near me, photographing the tower. He then started a conversation with me, saying he was a magazine photographer and it was his first assignment. I learned he was from Turkey, and told them I was in Istanbul recently.

Our conversation wasn't really going anywhere after that, but he lingered a little. My gut instincts told me he was also a normal man and there was nothing to worry about. (Besides, there were hundreds of people around anyway).

However, a group of American students sitting near me noticed this and invited me to sit with them. They weren't sure if I was uncomfortable or not, but in case it was a bad situation, wanted to help me out. I learned they went to school in Florida and were studying abroad for the summer. We chatted about college, Paris, traveling after graduation, etc. It was nice to make temporary friends for the evening and know that even though we had never met prior, they were kind enough to invite me to hang out with them to keep me out of a (potentially) bad situation.

While these are all little moments of kindness, they are all moments where I realized that most people are good people.

Even things like holding the door for someone, giving a warm smile, or pointing out directions to those who are lost goes a long way. Let's continue the kindness both while traveling and in everyday life!

More posts on solo travel right here >>>

Don't Let Your Dreams Be Dreams

Everyone has goals in life. Big or small, opportunities are always coming our way - though  more often than not you must seek out such opportunities to accomplish your goals.

You have nothing to lose, but everything to gain.

The above quote sums up how I feel about most things I go after in life, especially when I was in college. In addition to a full time major/double minor class schedule, I was part of a number of things outside of class: Dance Team, Student Publications, Study Abroad Ambassadors, Freshman Orientation Leaders, a board member of PRSSA, a Zumba instructor, and an intern at a few different companies. I also took extra classes like graphic design or rock climbing just for fun. My college lifestyle is not for everyone - and if I could do senior year all over again, I would narrow my workload down to just one or two things besides class to enjoy my college experience more - but I did so much because I was interested in so much. I wanted to utilize as many resources as I could during the short four years I had.

As a naturally self-motivated person, I didn't always get it when someone would ask me how I worked up the courage to do many of these things (like applying for a competitive internship contest or applying for a job to work overseas in Italy after graduation). I just tell them that I had everything to gain and nothing to lose. There was no harm in going after any of those lofty goals - the worst that could've happened would be to not get that internship or that job in Italy. But you know what happened? I got that internship my junior year. I was offered that position in Italy after graduation. None of that would've happened if I hadn't gone out there, put in my best effort, and just went for it.

There have been plenty of jobs I've applied for and didn't get. What did I "lose" from applying, though? Nothing! Maybe a half hour of my time spent filling out the application and an hour for an interview. The chance of making something happen is too great to just not try in the first place.

Setting goals can take some planning, organization, and sometimes, a lot of soul searching. Personally right now I have so many random goals in my head that I just need to sort out. The best way to turn those dreams into reality is to get started. Start by creating a "SMART" goal. Do your research. Ask for advice from family or friends or bloggers. Once you get started, things will become much clearer and those goals will seem more reachable.

Don't let your dreams be dreams. Turn those dreams into reality.