It’s fascinating to realize that traveling has been something people have loved throughout all time. St. Augustine, born in 354 AD, is known for saying, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” Yet, in the 21st century, despite all the privileges we have, the average person finds traveling a rare experience.
Recent studies have found that Americans take the least amount of time off for vacation. Interestingly, despite Europeans taking far more vacation time, 84% of Germans and 69% of French people claim to be vacation-deprived. With less time for recreation, travel is understandably trickier to manage.
In this article, let’s look at three unique reasons to put it higher on your priority list because it’s so worth it.
1. You Can Start a Genuine Travel Blog
The good thing about finding the time to travel is that it gives you experience that can be used for multiple opportunities. Have you ever seen those cool travel blogs and wanted to make your own?
Well, the technical side of that is easier nowadays with AI-assisted website creators like Hocoos. All you have to do is answer a couple of questions, and in a few moments, you can have your travel website up and running.
However, it’s not just the technicalities that make people hesitate. The fact is, conviction and authentic experience play a huge role, and you develop them by exploring the world for real. This is important; if you want your content to be successful, it’s got to resonate with people. Writing from a place of authority is a key part of that process.
Being genuine will set you apart from the many travel blogs that publish content from cursory online research. It’s also a bonus if starting your blog is something you knew you wanted to do before traveling. Rather than trying to remember your experiences as an afterthought, you’ll be on the lookout to experience the best that each place has to offer.
2. You Get to Learn New Languages More Effectively
As much as people like using Anki flashcards and ChatGPT to learn new languages, it’s never going to beat real-world immersion. What’s more, you get the most up-to-date input when learning from native speakers.
Take English, for example. New vernacular and references keep popping up every year, and even Millennials lose track of what’s happening sometimes. If you were to learn English conventionally, your initial vocabulary would be a bit formal and bookish.
What happens next is a journey to lose that formality and learn how to speak informally as well. It’s the same process for most languages, which is why the best way to learn a language is to travel and interact more with native speakers. This also gives you the benefit of accurate pronunciation.
Of course, all this isn’t new knowledge. Even The Yale Ledger confirms that interacting with native speakers and living in a foreign country facilitates better and longer-lasting language retention.
3. The Post-Vacation Clarity is Worth It
Travel has the power to change your perspectives on so many things in life. This is something that Melissa Kirsch talked about in an NYT piece. You start to question why you do things the way you do them. You become more empathetic, and stereotypes about people start to evaporate.
Many travelers are surprised at how constrained and limited their old life felt back home. The perspective shift also helps you become so much more grateful for what you have when you see the sort of lives people lead elsewhere. More than anything, you end up realizing that there’s so much more to life than you thought.
On a lighter note, some travelers also end up finding the city of their dreams to retire in. This is something you want to keep an eye out for.
Think about it– when you get back home, the fact that you’ve found the perfect place to spend retirement can act as a sort of North Star that motivates you. Every time work feels stressful or you’re feeling aimless, you know there’s a purpose that you’re working and saving up for.
To summarize, traveling is so much more than a source of leisure. Unfortunately, so many people rarely get the chance to experience it except for a single week or two each year. If you have the opportunity to travel, don’t let go of it because few experiences transform you the way traveling does.
