How Travel Changes Your Views About Money

Apologizes again for the delay since my last post. Last week was only the second week I’ve failed to post something on this blog since I started it a year ago (Wahoo! 1 year birthday of NYPFGuy). The transition to European lifestyle has completely taken over, and I have been completely exhausted traveling throughout Italy taking in the sights in Rome, Florence, Pisa and Tuscany. Whoever thought that a mini-retirement would give you more time to write was definitely not backpacking around the world….

 

Taking in the sites in Pisa, Italy

 

My 10-day whirlwind as a tourist is over, and I’ve settled into my next Workaway here in Fivizzano, Italy, where we’ll spend the next 10 days working on an agriturismo (basically a farmstay).

 

Volunteering location in Italy

 

But now I’ve got plenty of free time in the afternoon to write so the blog posts are back! So here we go….

 

Step Outside Your Door To Learn Something New

 

Throughout our day-to-day lives, it’s so easy to get caught up in our own reality bubbles, thinking that our lives and existence is the norm. We can become only concerned with our jobs, houses, friends and the latest news story. Also all too common is becoming overly-obsessed with money, possessions and status.

However, our reality bubble is not the way of life for most of the world’s population. Most people living around the world are not living in developed nations with the same access to the comforts and freedoms that we get to enjoy on a daily basis.

Most people live a much more basic lifestyle than Western nations and don’t have access to the same levels of wealth and luxury which we might take for granted. Most people are just concerned with providing for their families and trying their best to get by.

And these things that we taken for granted are not just our possessions and level of wealth relative to the rest of the world, but also some of the most basic freedoms and rights.

In many cases, it takes stepping outside of your door and comfort zone in order to learn something new and experience a new way of life. And in my opinion, this is one of the most important reasons for travel…

 

What You Can Learn From Travel

During the 3+ months of travel I have been through so far during my mini-retirement, I’ve been to Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Italy. While exploring these countries, I have witnessed many different ways of life, cultures and levels of wealth and material comfort. The sometimes drastic changes seen after crossing borders can really open your eyes to how where you are born can truly affect your way of life.

Also, simply having to travel through these countries on a budget can make it necessary that one learns to adjust to a new lifestyle. Budget travel in Cambodia is much different than budget travel in Italy. Simple things like being able to drink the tap water and have access to healthy food can be taken for granted.

Here are the top 3 things I have learned from long-term travel, and I emphasize “long-term travel” because taking a 1 week vacation to a new country and staying at a resort is not the same as spending 3 weeks experiencing a different culture’s way of life. So here we go:

• Living On Less is Easy and Comfortable: In many places I’ve traveled to, I have slept in basic accommodation, ate local food and simply enjoyed my days spent in a new culture. No fancy hotels, expensive tours or buying new stuff every week (partially because my backpack is just too small!) Living on less money and with few possessions is easy and comfortable (most of the time….). There were a few instances where I would’ve given anything to be back at home sitting on a comfy couch, watching Netflix and eating a cheeseburger haha.
• Access to Education is Priceless: Everywhere I’ve been in the world where there is some sort of hardship, such as poverty, corruption or severe inequality, I think to myself how this could so easily be changed if the local people just had better education. Being able to speak English (rapidly becoming a global language), take advantage of technology and understand more about what the global economy can offer, would give so many people great opportunities in life. Unfortunately, in countries such as Cambodia, people just don’t have access to the level of education that every child gets in the United States. Even in areas of the U.S. with bad public schools, children still have access to libraries, computers, the free internet and economic freedom to pursue their dreams.
• We Take For Granted Our Way of Life: I’m not just talking about our level of comfort and material possessions, but also the freedom and opportunity we are given just by being born in a westernized society. Freedom of speech? Access to public education? The ability to move between socio-economic classes? Even though the U.S. has a growing wealth gap, anyone can start from nothing and make something of themselves. In parts of the world where there is no access to public education, the internet is censored and corruption is so rampant that making economic moves is damn near impossible, many people become stuck in poverty with little hope of getting out. Just being born in a country like the United States puts you ahead of most of the world.

 

 

Making friends in Vietnam

 

Be Grateful For What You Have

After traveling the world, I’m now reminded every day of what I have been given in this life. Freedom, opportunity and quality education are all blessings that I will never take for granted.

What makes me even more optimistic is how no matter where you are in the world, most people are happy and grateful for what they have, regardless of their circumstances. I think this is one of the biggest lessons that people in developed countries should take away from traveling and learning from other cultures. We are given so much in life, but we somehow have ended up to be some of the most unhappy people on Earth. Let’s take a lesson from the rest of the world, and be grateful for what we have and take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way.

Travel opens up your eyes to different ways of thinking, and you’ll never look at your life the same way again.

 

Question: Have you had your perspective changed by a travel experience? How has travel changed your life?

Leave a comment of send me an email!

 

NYPFGuy