Meg Goes Global

Leaving home comforts and everything you know is hard. And it’s always going to be. Too quickly do people put up a million and one barriers as to why now is not the ‘right time’. I don’t have the money, I’m secure in my job, I’ll miss my family, I don’t have the time. But these will always be true depending on where you place your priorities.

I understand that being able to travel is a massive privilege, and that there are those who are physically unable to for health reasons or because they have others relying on them financially. That being said, for a large number of people it’s simply your own boundaries standing between you and that trip.

We’ve all seen the motivational TikToks: “money comes and goes but I’ll never be 21 travelling Thailand again” and I hate to say it but this couldn’t be more true. You’ll have enough money when you start prioritising saving for your trip. You’ll have enough time when you clear your calendar and leave your job. You’ll take the risk and miss your family but know you are doing something amazing for yourself. The grass is greener where you water it so if it is your goal to travel then start by placing your highest priority here and the rest will fall into place.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some points in your life that it makes more sense to up and leave, which is why most of your typical backpackers are of similar age range, before having kids and with less financial responsibilities. This is so different for everyone, and some times are going to make more sense than others. The point here being that there is never a perfect time to go, and the opportunity won’t always jump out at you. It needs to be created.

Too many times to count I have been asked when I am going to be done with travelling and get a ‘real job’. Or what my intentions of coming back to ‘real life’ and settling down are. At the age of 21 my point of view is that this is as much real life as any other it’s just a different version. I am experiencing life just as much as others who choose to study or go into full time work. Normally these comments come from a place of curiosity more than anything else, but I like to point out that I am just living life as it comes and don’t feel the rush to ‘settle down’ any time soon. There are a massive number of people who live nomadic lifestyles for long periods of time but you just don’t hear about it as much as the majority of us living typical 9-5 lives (not that there is anything wrong with this), because these nomads are off living their lives for themselves and no one else.

With all this being said, it’s possible but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Don’t wait for the right time to go, make it the time to go and do the hard thing because you will ultimately benefit from it.