Should you travel in your 20s?
When my mom was in her early 20s, she took a few months to travel abroad with a few of her college friends. I wouldn’t call it an around-the-world trip since they only visited a few regions, but I would call it amazing.
So amazing, in fact, that my mom shared numerous stories of her travels with me as I was growing up. I remember those stories well. At the time, it all sounded so exotic, so mysterious. To this day, she even has the letters she sent her parents from abroad, many of which share vivid details of what it was like to travel internationally some 45 years ago. My mom grew up poor — with seven kids in a two-bedroom household — so you can imagine how thrilling it must have been for her to fly overseas and experience other worlds.
Fast forward 30 years and I was intent on traveling much like my mother did. But then life happened. I spent my 20s busy with school and my social life and then, all of a sudden, I wound up married with a good job, a house, and more than enough responsibility. Kids followed shortly thereafter and, consequently, the thought of travel became the furthest thing from my mind.
Fitting Travel into Our 30s
But the travel bug still remained. And after our youngest turned one, we decided that it was time that we pick up where we left off. And since we could finally afford it, we started traveling here and there, alternating between trips in the U.S. and trips abroad.
But here’s the thing. Now that we have kids, two businesses, and a home to take care of, our adventures are nothing like what my mom experienced. Instead of traveling for weeks and months on end, we have to force all of our travel plans into itineraries that are no longer than a week. And instead living in the moment, we often spend our trips worrying about the house, the kids, and the dog, only to return to a mountain of laundry and a pile of work that needs finishing.
Almost all of the time, I now find travel just as exhausting as it is exhilarating.
So here is my advice: If you can travel in your 20s, do it. Not only will it be immeasurably easier before you have both feet planted firmly in adulthood, but it will also be much simpler too. Let’s explore why….
Why You Should Travel in Your 20s
1. You can travel before you start your “real career.”
Once you start working toward your long-term career goals, it becomes nearly impossible to consider any serious travel. The average American gets only 16 days of paid leave, after all — and most often those days must be planned around co-worker vacations as well. Try fitting your international itinerary into 16 paid days without running into some sort of scheduling conflict. It won’t be easy.
2. Travel is easier before you have kids.
Lots of people in their 20s obviously have kids already; but if you can fit in some travel before you have kids, you will be in good shape — because once you have kids, you either have to take them with you or find someone who is willing to watch them while you travel extensively. Neither situation is ideal at all.
3. It’s easier to travel before you have big financial obligations.
Once you have a house and a partner, it can be a lot more difficult to set aside funds for a big, international trip. After all, you now have bigger, and often more important, responsibilities. If you are able to travel before you become established, you will be much better off and you won’t feel as guilty.
4. You gain real-life experience that might be helpful in your future career.
Reading about foreign cultures isn’t anything like experiencing them first-hand. And if you want to gain real-world experience, there is nothing more valuable than seeing the real world with your own eyes. And you never know — your future employer might see your experiences as a valuable asset one day.
5. It is cheaper to travel now than it will ever be.
No matter what, it will never be this cheap for you to travel again. By traveling now, you can do things the frugal and easy way. Save as much as you can on your trip by choosing low-cost hostels, sleeping on overnight trains, backpacking, and lugging around your own food. Trust me, sleeping in a hostel with 14 strangers and subsisting on ham sandwiches won’t sound quite as appealing when you are in your 30s.
How to Afford Travel in Your 20s
If only travel were free, right? Unfortunately, we all know that it takes more than gumption. International travel requires money. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to make travel affordable in your 20s, and that is especially true if you are willing to think outside of the box. Even though my husband and I are now in our 30s (and on the downward slide toward 40), we are still intent on saving as much as we can, for obvious reasons. Here are the strategies we employ as we try to see the world at prices we can afford:
1. Rack up airline miles.
My husband and I flew to London and home from Paris for 80,000 American Airlines miles and $197 last year. This year, we are flying round-trip to Italy for 80,000 American miles and $109. If you are able to rack up airline miles, either through frequent flying or credit card sign-up bonuses, you can fly for a lot less than you ever imagined.
2. Earn hotel points.
The same advice rings true for both airfare and hotel stays. With hotel loyalty programs, you can often earn free hotel stays, upgrades, and more at destinations all over the world. In the last 12 months, we have used leveraged rewards for free stays in Jamaica, St. Maarten, Denver, New Orleans, London, and Paris.
3. Consider cheap lodging options.
If you don’t want to go the credit card route, you can still save a ton on lodging by comparing lower cost options. Look for hostels that offer shared lodging, bed and breakfasts, and pensiones. And don’t forget to shop for cheap apartment rentals on AirBNB.com and VRBO.com.
4. Utilize high-speed rail.
High-speed rail is a common way to travel overseas. Not only is it cheaper than flying, but it is also a whole lot more convenient. Once you fly to your destination, use high-speed rail or other public transportation to see as much of the region as possible.
5. Avoid foreign transaction fees.
Some credit cards charge a foreign transaction fee for purchases made overseas. Although that fee is generally only between 3 percent and 5 percent, those extra charges add up fast. To avoid paying this, make sure you shop around for a card with no foreign transaction fees before you go.
6. Shop around.
No matter what you are shopping for, shopping around is always your best bet. Fortunately, the Internet is a treasure trove for ways to save on travel in the U.S. and Canada and abroad. Whatever your plans are, compare all of your options online to find the best deal.
If you want to travel before life gets in the way, there is no better time than your 20s. So don’t just dream about it — create a financial plan that can help you see the world before it is too late. Otherwise, years from now, you might look back and wish you had traveled when you could really enjoy it.
Are you planning to travel (or did you travel) in your 20s? Does it conflict with your other financial goals, or can you see how you could make your dreams a reality?
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There are 60 comments to "Should you travel in your 20s?".
I didn’t travel in my 20s because I couldn’t afford it. However, the travel bug seemed to have skipped me so I don’t feel deprived 🙂 Even without kids in tow, I find myself craving time curled up with a good book by a lake rather than a multi-day, multi-country adventry.
I know a few families that have travelled abroad — the solution for them was to work abroad for a year or two and travel there. For instance, if you work somewhere in Europe you can vacation in neighbouring countries far more easily than you can visit from North America.
Er… please pardon my typos. Spring forward and I aren’t getting along.
LOL!! I also get “Don’t you want to see Paris?”. Maybe, if I can I will go, but at this point I don’t want to traipse around Paris and then come back wondering how I am coughing up rent next month, like some people I know.
Also, although 28 million people a year visit Paris, that is out of 7 billion people, so technically you can say in my lifetime 6.5 billion people will never set foot in Paris either.
traveling was the best thing I ever done and still do.
If you don’t like to spend money on transport , get a bicycle… And start bikeing. Get a tent and you have a place to sleep…. Then you only need food, a can of tuna and past is cheap…
And the best part of it you will meet some amazing people along the way…
“The cage bird wish to fly the wild one take off…”
Yes, I traveled in my 20’s, but not until I started my career. From going to University until my first real vacation and real trip, it was 10 years time.
I chose to avoid all the trips during University and the first few years of my career with friends and family so that I can focus on paying for school, paying off my student loans and getting a head start in my career. I worked so hard for the first 4 years of my career, that I was able to hire people to work under me, given autonomy and plenty of vacation. Once I got far enough, I was able to take a month off at a time without any issues other than having to start planning my time off a month or so in advance.
By postponing travels, I was able to accumulate some money for the trips. I tried not to spend much while travelling, but it was nice to indulge once in a while. I also never thought about work because I knew I could trust the people back in the office and also no one was able to get in touch with me when travelling in the jungle so why worry?
Traveling when young (and I still am) is fun, but establishing yourself first is more important to me. Once established, you can delegate, hire people and start to enjoy a bit more freedom.
Yes, you should travel in your 20s, and you should also travel at every other age, if travel is something that interests you! You just need to make it a priority.
I’m in my mid-20s now, but I do have a career (and a partner) and am limited to my 3 weeks vacation per year. However, I don’t have any issue completing multiple international, and domestic, adventures per year. Making use of long weekends and local travel is a great way to do this. I don’t look at my job as a hindrance to my travel, it allows me to be able to afford the trips I want to take, and I’m not interested in staying in hostel dorm rooms for weeks on end. I enjoy my job and taking more frequent short(er) trips allows me to stay in the moment and appreciate the opportunities when they come.
Luckily, my partner feels the same way I do so we can make travel and exploring new places a priority. At this point, we don’t intend on ever buying a house because it will allow us to move around more and live abroad again in the future.
(…although I do invest a good portion of my income, so not buying a house will not affect us negatively in the long term.)
I agree with traveling when you’re younger. I don’t believe it necessarily needs to be in your 20’s, but it should be before you have children. Not having children makes it so much easier to plan and take your trip as you don’t need to worry about baby sitters, being gone for too long, etc. Not to say it can’t be done, but it’s definitely easier!
Traveling while childless is easier simply because you can change options on the fly, you only have to pay for one, you get to do pretty much exactly what you wanted and only need to make minimal allowances for anyone else or their needs. When we had kids funding a family vacation meant multiple plane tickets, multiple hotel rooms, multiple tickets to every activity, multiple dining charges, etc. Typically as much as possible had to be planned and assured upfront because changes cascaded into larger issues rather quickly, and that’s not including the usual family drama’s that crop up. I guess the more folks you add the more complicated the logistics.
I so wanted to travel when I was in my 20’s. I tried to do work exchange programs many different times, but plane hijackings, unrest in foreign countries, they all stopped me from going. My family said I should be safe rather than dead.
Fast forward to my 50’s and it’s still plane hijackings, foreign countries in unrest. So……. I an alive, but still wished I would have went.
There you go, to old to go, to many responsibilities and now not enough money to go. Won’t be able to financially afford it when we retire either.
So my advice, don’t get a pet or a kid until you are ready to stop traveling, both will put a damper on your travels. Just saying from experience.
As others have said, how applicable this is to your life will largely depend upon where your priorities lie. For me, “sleeping in a hostel with 14 strangers and subsisting on ham sandwiches” sounds terrible even now while I’m in my twenties. I really don’t understand what would ever be appealing about that to someone. That said, I do feel like it’s worth noting that the author’s reason #3, “It’s easier to travel before you have big financial obligations,” is based on a faulty premise. Reason #4 strikes me as being so patently untrue that it’s not even worth addressing, but I’ll give the author the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe there’s a 1% chance travel would be useful for one’s career.
For your parents’ generation, and mine as well, traveling while young was reasonable to do because of the greater spending power they had and lower debt loads they carried (on average) at that point in their lives. I know that my parents were able to pay for their college educations plus personal expenses just from their part-time jobs; trying to do that today at any institution besides a community college would be nearly impossible without significant scholarship money.
People my age often already have big financial obligations in the form of student loans by the time they hit 20, which makes frivolous adventuring a lot less appealing and a lot less of a financial possibility. I was surprised, and a little disappointed, to see no mention of this potential downside on a personal finance blog post. Instead of an even-handed discussion of the topic, this reads more like someone is trying to make me panic about what I’ll be missing if I don’t travel the world now.
“sleeping in a hostel with 14 strangers and subsisting on ham sandwiches”. You meet so many people that are different than your social circle. I look at it as an investment in cultural capital. Finding your way around a new city where no one speaks English is an experience everyone should have. You won’t realize that you returned home more confident and with a much greater perspective on your own culture. I believe it helps in my career as well as my personal relationships.
This sentence makes me chuckle: ” I’ll give the author the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe there’s a 1% chance travel would be useful for one’s career.” for once, I get to be part of the 1%!
The travel I did in my twenties led quickly to a lucrative career for me. I travelled to a little-visited part of the world during the summer semester of my 2nd year in university. Upon my return, I got a research assistantship with a professor at my university because I was apparently the only applicant with experience in that part of the world.
Travel + research work experience led to a job with an NGO trying to set up a program there.
Travel + research work experience + NGO work experience led to a job with the federal government in international relations.
All of the above led to a number of neat international assignments and a (so far) rewarding career.
I’ve found that once you’ve gone to one dangerous place, you tend to get assigned to the next one, and then the next one, etc. However, a quickie trip to Spain to drink with your buddies doesn’t quite have the same effect.
I am glad that it worked out for you, but surely you agree that your experience is not easily generalizable. In the vast majority of cases, there is no financial benefit to be gained from spending money traveling rather than saving or investing it to pay off student loan debt. I don’t think that the very small chance of a reward, in the form of a career, is worth the risk of losing out on hundreds or thousands of dollars that could have been spent paying down debt.
It’s fine if you want to present what worked for you as a case study, but to offer it as general advice without giving a fair assessment of the downside, as was done in the article, is irresponsible.
Where did Kate “offer this as general advice?” It looked to me like a perfect case study….that worked in her favor. She certainly didn’t imply that it was for everyone. As an American living internationally right now, I have seen international travel work as a plus for many people. I’ve also seen it cause mindless debt. But it is nice to know that with some thought, it can be a plus to your career.
Sorry if my response lacked clarity; I thought it was clear that I was talking about the article rather than the comment when I said “as was done in the article”. I certainly can’t argue with how someone else’s life turned out when I don’t know the person.
Yes, I traveled in my late 20’s and early 30’s before I married and when I had decided to close my business and go to graduate school. I took 3 different, months long trips. I did it on the cheap, staying in hostels, taking trains, buses, eating where locals eat. It was incredible. Europe, NZ & OZ and Asia, especially Thailand. Asia and Thailand was the most eye opening experience being so different from the US. I traveled all over Thailand for 2 months on $1000 cash, no credit cards. I stayed in hostels for a dollar something a night and ate what the locals ate, many street sidewalk ‘cafes.’ I had the most positive and enriching experiences and met many other travelers from OZ, NZ, Europe where it is very common to travel when you are young. I also saw incredible poverty and many crippled children and adults… I grew to really appreciate the incredible opportunities and abundance that we so often take for granted in the US. After my last trip, I kissed the ground when I landed back in LA, thanking the heavens that I was a US citizen.
I think traveling deepen me as an individual, opened my eyes to develop more compassion and tolerance for differences. My values and priorites in life are more human oriented. Yes, I’m a mother now and have a mortgage etc, my children are also used to eating asian foods, have a deep interest in global politics and have a desire to see the world. I hope that they will be good global citizens. I would urge anyone, at any age, to travel. We need more tolerance and compassion in this world. To ‘walk’ in another’s shoes for just a week is an eye opener….
“Sawatdee Krub”
nice to know you like Thailand , from thai who love to read GRS….. 🙂
I’ve always joked that I had time but no money to travel in my twenties and money but no time in my thirties! I did start making time, however, because, well, you gotta. Any student in college, if there is a way, do a study abroad for a summer, semester or year. I didn’t do it. I was too immature at the time. I can’t regret it though as it was what it was.
I wish I had been able to travel in my 20s. Health problems kept me too poor to go anywhere. I didn’t have enough money to spend to generate a good amount of miles.
I want to travel in Europe in the next couple of years, but as you said, we can’t go for really extended periods of time. My company is small, and someone has to cover me any day that I miss.
Traveling in your 20s really is ideal.
Try to travel when you are young and definitely before children. You will not have much time after. It takes a long time to accumulate vacation time My first trip overseas wasn’t until I was in my 40s and it was the best experience of my life. Everyone I traveled with said to travel when you are young. You are strong enough to carry luggage and walk/hike all day, flexible enough for hostels, can stay up late without being exhausted, and will have a fun time meeting friends from all over the world. I love the work exchange idea and that it will look good on your resume.
I have traveled a lot more for work than I ever did on my own dime.
I prefer traveling with the family than without. Being able to show the husband and kids things and watching their reactions makes any travel a lot more fun and worthwhile. I don’t need to see the Alhambra again, but I do want to experience my family seeing it. Germany was so much more fun sharing with with my husband and child who had never been out of the country than it would have been on my own (especially since DH had high school German and I couldn’t understand a word).
This is how I feel about a lot of travel. I literally have no one to share journeys with. No family of my own. No friends with similar interests and budgets. Some things just aren’t as fun by yourself.
I just got back from a cruise, sadly. But I love to travel. I haven’t tried any of the backpacking through Europe and staying at hostels, but people like to travel differently and like to visit different places. Just do whatever makes you happy. The best kind of travel is where you friends or coworkers do an assignment somewhere and invite you to visit and all you have to pay for is airfare and food (I’ve done this multiple times).
I didn’t travel at all in my 20s: I couldn’t afford it and I was always advised to wait until my life is more “settled”. My parents upbringing didn’t allow for such luxuries (my father grew up as a sharecropper and my mother’s upbringing was only slightly better) so I didn’t have that example. Travel was for retirement.
I’m in my late 30s and it still hasn’t happened. Unexpected life events occurred, specifically health problems and it put me back financially. Hindsight is always 20/20 but I wish I took advantage of my healthier and relatively more prosperous 20s.
My only comment to this is when you actually do travel, don’t wind it all up to be something soul awakening and awe inspiring when you get there. My MIL was that way in NYC when we took her and for every experience she had such high expectations that everything was pretty much a disappointment even though for me and my family it was a lot of fun. Relax, appreciate, and enjoy.
It’s just far easier to travel in your 20’s because of all the reasons you stated plus you’re not as picky either. Spending a night in a hostel is no big deal to a younger person. But the older person has gotten used to certain creature comforts and has certain expectations.
But with all that said, with effort this can be done by anyone at any stage in their life, it’s just a question of their motivation to do so and their expectations,
“High-speed rail is a common way to travel overseas.” Did anyone else’s mind revolt at this sentence? 🙂
I can’t imagine any time in my adult life where I would have been comfortable in a hostel. I have been on short church retreats where you share a room, but 1)it’s at most two nights, 2)it’s usually (though not always) much fewer than 14 people, 3)they’re all Christian women who I already know or there’s max two degrees of separation. And those situations made me annoyed and uncomfortable in my twenties.
I also wish the author had been more qualifying with the assertion about the career advantages of travel experience. I may be short-sighted, but I fail to see how international travel would help an actuary with no desire to ever work overseas. (If I wanted to work overseas, than obviously it would hurt my chances if I’d never even been out of the country.) I would have appreciated an acknowledgement that everyone’s career goals and requirements are different.
I don’t understand why high speed rail makes your mind revolt?
Read the sentence again.
YES, travel when you are young and do not have kids. I understand that there are people out there who do not love change and being out of their comfort zone but for those who dream of travel and the exotic…go for it.
Like most Kiwis, I expected that I would have a long working trip to Europe before settling down. Although I did some travel in the South Pacific area in my 20s, I never got to the UK. Finally, when it was mid age crisis time, I left the school age kids with my husband and did a 10 week backpacking trip around the UK. It was the most liberating experience of my life….traveling and exploring on my own and not being anybodies mother, wife, daughter etc. During working years I made the most of my short vacation times for travel.
Now I am retired with a small income. My priority is to travel and I have a few side hustles to help fund this. I am one of many oldies who still uses hostel dorms when I travel and eat those ham sandwiches. If it means I can afford two months in an exotic country instead of just two weeks….I will choose the frugal travel way. Besides….when you travel on your own you have others to talk to at the hostels and who share their travel tips. Once I get $3000 dollars together it is enough for a month or two of travel. Anybody of any age can do it but is easier without kids.
Awesome! My husband and I feel the same way. For us, seeing the world is the best part, not the mode or travel or accomodations, or even food. You can travel so cheaply if you don’t need to be pampered along the way.
Not looking to be “pampered”, I just want to be comfortable.
One person’s luxury is another persons necessity. A cheap (but not fleabag cheap) hotel room is fine if it’s just for the night during a roadtrip to somewhere but if it’s a hotel room that’s gonna be our base of operations for multiple days then damn right we want it to be a nice room.
The author is right that generally travelling when you are younger is easier. However, travelling viewed differently by different people. I have a friend who can afford to travel all she wanted, but she has only been out of her country once. She just has no interest in going anywhere.
Personally, I find that travelling with loved ones, young ones included, is more interesting than travelling alone or with adults only. The kids are a big responsibility, I agree, but seeing new things through their eyes is much more satisfying.
“I have a friend who can afford to travel all she wanted, but she has only been out of her country once.”
From my point of view it depends on where you live: The USA for example is so huge that I’m focusing my travel plans entirely within it for some time now after realizing that I’ve visited more cities in Europe than in my own homeland. I’ve never been to a single national park either, something I’m just getting around to remedying this coming summer. Of course if you consider most of the USA to be merely flyover country and consider only exotic locales to be worth exploring then well so be it.
Hi Jeff: My friend lives in Zimbabwe. Her siblings live overseas but she has refused to follow or even visit them. By the way, she is single and has no kids.
And there is nothing wrong with that, no one is required to spend their own time and money to travel to see relatives if they don’t want to. A friend and I were having this discussion yesterday about visiting family and it came to how his keeps dropping hints about how he should come visit but “Not once have they shown any interest in coming to visit me when I ask.”
I traveled and spent time in a different country as a child (family lives internationally), and went on a few family vacations in the countries near where relatives lived, so I didn’t really feel the need to travel when I got to be on my own.
Now that travel isn’t as consistent as it used to be for me, I am starting to feel the bite of the travel bug at age 30. I’m more one to plan for a large trip every few years, rather than go on cruises (where you only see the port and some beach) or short jaunts twice a year. I like the idea of getting used to a place and really having it settle into my bones and mind. I wouldn’t say I’m much of an “adventurer”…as in I don’t like having a full itinerary when I travel. I just like to walk/hike, and explore, and eat. I like tours as well, the few times I’ve done one…and museums. I like more of a culture/ learning experience than a party, adrenaline, hostel hobo one.
Still in my 20s…but yep, made the decision to prioritise travel young before settling down. No regrets.
I can honestly say I don’t know anyone that I grew up with that “traveled” in their 20’s. Its just not in the culture of the rural Midwest. Work and try to get a start in life is what youth is all about where I come from. I think traveling and vacations are more of a European thing. Not knocking anyone who does travel, but I don’t know how a person could afford not to work or have a job after the age of 16, and taking time off to go see the world is something I cant even comprehend. Cheers!
I totally agree with almost everything you said, but really disagree with this statement: “Once you start working toward your long-term career goals, it becomes nearly impossible to consider any serious travel.”
It’s simply not true. I’ve literally spent ALL of my 20s traveling long term AND building up my career. (I’m 27 now.)
If you look at traveling as a lifestyle rather than a vacation, you get to travel to more places than you could have ever possibly imagined, and you find ways to support yourself & build your ideal lifestyle while you’re doing it.
A few times, I’ve gotten into countries through international internship exchange programs, and one of them even led me to being CMO of an app development company in India at the age of 25. How’s that for having a ‘real career’ while traveling?
Back in the mid 90’s, when I was 25, my mom called me at work one day and offered to take me to South America to see the Amazon. I was in my starter state government job. I told my boss I was taking two weeks off to do it. I had the leave, but they had this rule that you always had to maintain one week of vacation time on the books and it seemed I was in the danger zone of not having it. I told him either it was my vacation notice or my two weeks notice. He could decide. I remember my boyfriend being appalled saying “you just can’t do that!” I felt I could. I was a paper short of earning a Masters degree, had money in the bank, and I only made $19,000 a year. Surely I could quit and come back to a more lucrative job. It ended up being just two weeks vacation, not my notice, and I would do it all over again. I have two mortgages and two young kids now so i think my traveling days are behind me for a while.
I love trains and wish they were an option in the US like they used to be (a century ago). However, they are rarely cheaper than flying in Europe or SE Asia. With low cost airlines like Ryan Air, EasyJet and Air Asia, its super cheap to fly anywhere. There are plenty of exceptions (I’ve taken a high speed train in Turkey that cost less than the bus). Trains in Germany and France, however, aren’t exactly cheap. I think I paid €65 for a train from Heidelberg to Nuremberg.
I never traveled in my 20’s, it’s now in my 30’s that I travel and it because of having a career now that I can even afford to. I didn’t have much desire to back then, nor the money, nor a job that even paid vacation time. I also never had a partner to travel with back then so I’d be always paying double for hotels despite being by myself: no, no hostels for me even back then, go ahead and call me a snob if you wish. Now I have my girlfriend to travel with and she get’s to travel in her 20’s due to me taking her along and subsidizing much of the costs for her.
The best way to travel in your 20s is to find work abroad. I was an au pair in Spain and taught English in Japan. I got to see most of Europe via train and youth hostels, and learned Spanish. The Spanish skills have been invaluable for my life and career.
Teaching English in Japan paid very well. Check out the JET program which is still in operation. I got to know Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong while it was still under the British. If you are in your 20s, look for English teaching jobs in Asia so you can earn some money, really get to know the country and its people and culture. You can also explore other countries as well.
The travel never stopped to me. My own kids have crossed the U.S., traveled internationally and speak three languages, and they are only 5 and 7!
YES! And then repeat in your 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and…well, you get the point. For me, travel isn’t just about the fun, it’s about getting outside yourself and experiencing other cultures.
Yes, you should travel in your 20s. And your 30s. And your 40s, and in fact, your whole life. I am well into my 50s, have two young children, and will travel until I am unable to do it any more. Just like anything else, if you decide that this is a priority, you can plan for it and make it happen.
I grew up very much lower middle class, and my parents never traveled. When I quit college after 2 years to backpack around Europe for 4 months, my Father told me I was “throwing my life away.” I returned, put myself through the remaining 2 years, and when I graduated, I did it again for 3 months. I then put myself through grad school, working full-time, and when I graduated I quit my job (at age 30) and traveled all over Latin America, Asia, Oz, NZ, and the Pacific for a year. There have been many other trips since, for business and pleasure. Altogether, 60+ countries to date, and more than 3 years total outside of the US.
Flash forward 25 years, and I am married (met my wife, another traveler, while I was traveling in her homeland, Argentina), have two beautiful kids, and yes, a mortgage, savings, investments, etc. We don’t drive new cars or spend a lot on clothes, but who cares? I am self-employed, and we travel with the kids whenever possible. (2014: 2 weeks in Costa Rica, 2 weeks in Argentina, a week in Yosemite, multiple camping trips, and several long weekends.) Their school schedule and my wife’s limited vacation time does limit our ability to take longer trips for now, but the kids are great travelers, and no doubt we will figure out how to go for some longer trips within the next few years.
I am not relating all of this to congratulate myself, but to give encouragement to others. If travel is among your priorities, you can make it happen, along with your other financial plans and preparation for old age. My travel has enriched my life in more ways than I can count. If you don’t understand that, or don’t understand why someone would be willing to sacrifice to make it happen, well, I guess I could never explain it to you anyway.
On the other hand, if it is important to you, figure out how to make it happen – you will NEVER regret it. And neither will your kids.
I think one should focus on college/career more than traveling in 20s. Those are foundation years.
I see many missing colleges/careers..doing poorly (financially) in 20s..that catches up with you.
One can very well travel in 30s and 40s.one just need to balance the family life. I became financially free @ 35..now I travel alone as well as with family.
If I would have taken more time off for travel (by not focussing on my career) during 20s..I would be bogged down with family and work/business now.
Some employers really appreciate well-traveled people. Especially in service and tourism industries…and even in more conservative environments. It gives off the vibe of well-rounded, somewhat worldly individual, and may allow better relatability to clients and customers of different backgrounds (or who also like to travel).
By the time you’ve gotten an interview or a job, it is already acknowledged that you have the basic skills to do a job…it’s the “something extra” that helps determine whether you get the job or not during the interview, or if you move up in the company once you get a job. Not to say travel is the only way to accomplish this, but I don’t think that it has to be at the expense of a career, and can in fact boost one’s career.
Yes! We traveled a ton in our 20s and don’t regret a single trip. You’re spot on with your suggestions for doing it on the cheap–there are so many ways to see the world without spending a lot. We’ve actually selected destinations by just choosing the lowest cost airfare before, and had a wonderful time!
Hotel points have been our friend, but we’ve also stayed in our fair share of hostels. What I’ve found is that once you’re there and you have a place to sleep, just about everything else can be accomplished very frugally. It’s all about strategizing on sightseeing and eating!
Yes and no, to yes you have more energy to do exciting thngs, but low on cash, but there’s always trade for work. Later years a person can respect the cultures more and have matured a little more so I think later years would be more valuable for me.
There is some truth to that. When you are young it is more just to see the place and the social life with it. As you get older you develop a special interest in certain subjects and then that makes travel even more interesting as you concentrate on those subjects. I think the physical energy goes down though as you get older….a bit harder to climb up those hills and stairs in your retirement years so I recommend not leaving all your travel until you are in your late 60’s.
I don’t necessarily agree that travel helps your career, but I think it enriches you as a person. It can test your patience and adaptability. It will expose you to fascinating cultures, people and ideas. It can make you more independent and self-sufficient. It can also make you appreciate what you have, even as you learn that there are so many other ways to live life and view the world that are equally valid.
You can always try to find a job in your 20’s that includes travel. A lot of students go into consulting because it tends to have a heavy amount of travel. Not always to premier destinations, but you can usually rack up miles and orchestrate work trips so you can go to a premier destination in-between work travel.
Never did to hostels.I don’t travel First class. I just travel.
As a teacher, I applied for teaching overseas. Starting in Germany (seeing Europe) in my 20’s I was well funded for pensions and big cities. Married an Army guy. We moved a lot in our 30’s and had two children. In our late 30’s we were assigned to Hong Kong and traveled all of the time. Again, well funded.
There are plenty of jobs overseas if you look for them. You do not have to go “cold turkey” from work in order to have an excellent experience. A good friend is just repatriating from six years in Switzerland with a company that hired them in the US.
BTW- the greatest thing of traveling with kids? They are wonderful ambassadors. They, too, have pictures of themselves in amazing places.
I would not trade my travel for anything! Neither would my kids!
Life is about having stories to enjoy and tell and few things fill you with more memories than travel. I did it in my 20s, just after I saved some cash from my first job
I grew up relatively poor in the countryside. I travelled for a year when I was 24. I’d finished my degree, worked for a couple of years, saved $8,000 (actually, I got it by selling my car) and left to travel around South America.
Now I’m in my mid 30’s, have somehow managed to build a very success career, worked in 4 different countries, about to travel to my 50th country, managed to get a post grad from an Ivy League school, have a wife and a beautiful daughter with another on the way.
I can’t recommend strongly enough the importance of travel as a core life experience in your 20’s. It builds insight and empathy for the rest of the world, it builds independence, and you get to see things that will help you comprehend the world in later life. I did it 11 years ago and it was by far the most defining experience of my life.
You have a life to get into and pay off debt, find the love of your life, get married, have kids. There is no point in life (perhaps until retirement), where you are so unencumbered.
If you do it right, travel can be cheaper than your current existence. Your not paying rent (hostels are cheap), you don’t have utility bills to pay, you don’t have to put petrol in your car, and now that the US dollar is strong again, groceries can be much cheaper in other countries.
Its one of the great periods in life where you are time rich but $ poor, so adjust accordingly (bus instead of plane, cook in the hostel, don’t eat at restaurants, don’t buy stuff you can’t fit into your backpack and carry with you, haggle for the stuff you need, etc).
It is the only period in your life where you can be truly free. You don’t have to worry about career, life, relationships – only about where the road is taking you next (and where you sleep that night).
Personally, the biggest thing that stopped me going earlier was fear. Here’s how that played out;
“What will happen to my career” (it ended up opening doors for me and helping me to reach a career height that I could not have achieved if I stayed at home. Don’t get me wrong, I still worked hard, but it worked out really well for me)
“what happens if I run out of money” (I did, in Europe. I lived off a budget of $4 a day for meals for a month and living on a friend of a friends couch. I ended up staying there, getting a job, hating it, getting another job, and that job launched my career. That experience made me appreciate poverty and made me stronger),
“Where will I sleep” (There is always a place to sleep, hostels, airbnb, couch surfing, etc).
“What about my existing life” (It will be there when you get back. Same friends, same bars, same weekend plans, same hangout places).
“Won’t I get lonely/afraid/lost” (yes, but you will make new friends, people that are also travelling, who know the way, or can tell you a better way, help you out. Just check into any hostel anywhere on the planet for instant new friends)
“What if…..” (….how about “what if I have an amazing time”, “what if I meet the love of my life”, “what if this changes my life for the better”, “what if I find myself drinking a beer overlooking an amazing sunset, on an amazing beach with not another soul in sight”). Carpe diem.
Anyway, just my 2c.
I totally agree with everything you said. I am 22 and just recently moved to Hamburg Germany. I plan to travel around Europe for a few years and see some more stuff before I settle down with kids. In your twenties, it is just easier. You don’t have as much responsibility, you haven’t really figured things out yet, and you are eager to discover things for yourself. I talk way more about this in my blog post that you can read here.
http://www.bergmann-net.de/dibe/bergwerk/blog/?p=115
Thanks for your post on the traveling industry. I’d also like to add that if your senior contemplating traveling, it’s absolutely crucial that you buy travel cover for senior citizens. When traveling, elderly people are at greatest risk of having a professional medical emergency. Getting the right insurance cover package in your age group can look after your health and provide peace of mind.
That’s an excellent point Tena — thank you!