How Travel Can Help You Live a Better Life

You may be wondering why some people like to travel frequently, and especially to far-off locations that they’ve been dreaming of visiting. The truth is, travel can be extraordinarily good for you if you follow some rules that I’ll set out here. Whether you are looking for a quick getaway by car or intend to hike amongst green areas, travel represents some highly desirable attraction to distant locations that just won’t go away.

Here are the rules to follow if you want to travel and improve your life:

● Aspire to Visit Places That Are Inexpensive – Sometimes, it is good to travel on a budget rather than go to pricey places. It teaches you to appreciate nice things that don’t cost that much money. This means setting aside a certain amount every payday strictly for your travel expenses. It is also good to have a buffer amount just for emergencies since part of the thrill of traveling is that you never know what could happen.

● Do Your Research First – Before you start hitting the stores to purchase this item and that gadget that you may need for your travels, be sure you’re buying the right thing. Where would you need such items? Why would you need those purchases? Can you buy something less expensive but equally good? Compare stuff from different brands. It prevents you from buying items that are too expensive. Practice thrift. Remember, traveling doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg to be fulfilling.

● Bring Along a Friend – This is quite important if you really want to have fun. For one thing, you can compare notes with each other during the research stage. Your friend might want to go somewhere better than the place you had in mind. Then, during the actual journey, you and your friend can share your impressions with each other. That’s better than just bringing home a bunch of photos of your trip to hand over to your friend. It’s also important to have someone to back you up if something negative happens during the trip.

● Set Out Goals – Personally, I like to get lost in a new place, so I can find my way back to the original point before I got lost. No kidding, it’s fun to get lost if you’re brave enough. But you should always plan to find your way back, otherwise, something untoward may happen to you. So my personal goal is to roam around the tourist spot and get familiar with its nooks and crannies. Another personal goal is to sample the local cuisine if it looks safe enough to eat. My last goal is to never lose sight of my travel companion so that we get lost together and find our way home together also. Friends make travel fun.

● Be Aware of Local Cultural Rules – Yes, there’s much that has been said about “immersing yourself in the local culture”. It might even have become a cliché of sorts. But as a survival strategy, it is very important to bear in mind which practices are offensive to the local culture. If you’re a man, are you allowed to talk to the native women, even if it’s just a simple “hello”? If you’re a female traveler, are you permitted to talk face-to-face with the native men? Are women and men allowed to sit beside one another, even if they’re from the same tribe or cultural group? Are locals allowed to join foreign travelers in a getaway by car? Acknowledging rules such as these will help you steer clear of trouble while allowing you to enjoy what the local culture has to offer.

● Bring Cool Stuff Back Home – You might know people who really like it when you bring home things from your travels. There’s no age limit to traveling and there’s no price range set in stone for travel souvenirs. Of course, if you’re on a tight budget that may limit the number of items you can hand out as souvenirs to family and friends. But if you haggle carefully, you might be able to buy affordable items that you know people back home would enjoy receiving. Personally, I liked it when my mom used to bring home some culinary treats from her travels abroad just for me and my siblings. My sister was also known for being generous with the souvenirs she acquired during her travels. So I’m just paying it forward when I bring home souvenirs for my own friends. Who knows? They might reciprocate the gesture when they travel too. This fosters relationships.

As you can see, travel has its ups and downs. But travel can allow you to enrich your mind, body, and soul by experiencing life as others do. If you are scared of risk, travel might not be for you. But if you welcome risk, you won’t be stuck at home watching the news 8 hours a day. Instead, you’ll be seeking out ways that others have discovered to make their lives more interesting.