Traveling is one of the greatest freedoms you can ever have.
Maybe you had enough of your job, and you don’t want to just daydream about traveling the world but are finally ready to do it.
I have been traveling the world for a few years now, and it’s by far the best decision I have ever made in my life.
One thing for sure is, if you quit your job and decide to travel the world, make sure you have a lot of savings and some sort of money coming in. Relying on your savings alone will not be enough. I did this two different times while traveling, and some things ended up being more expensive than I expected them to be.
I ran out of my savings faster than I thought I would.
Make sure you have at least $1,000 a month coming in so that you can afford all expenses while living abroad. You only need $1,000 a month to live in countries like Bali or Thailand, but of course, the more income, the better.
Based on my experiences, I have been able to live a very luxurious lifestyle while living in Bali, Thailand, and Brazil because money goes a long way in those countries and many others as well.
If you can answer yes to most of these questions by the end of the article, then I think you are ready to start your journey of traveling the world.
Are you ready to face judgement from family and friends?
Traveling the world and working online isn’t exactly the “norm” for many people, so be prepared to be asked a ton of questions like…
“How can you live out of a suitcase?”
“Why are you going to Thailand? It’s so dangerous there!”
If you can face the stigma of being a digital nomad, then do not allow the judgments of others to bother you.
Remember, it’s your life.
Don’t let others tell you how you should live your life.
Do what makes you happy, no matter what it is.
As long as it isn’t illegal, of course.
Close-minded people will stop you from doing anything and everything.
Experience things on your own and then decide if you want to agree with their point of view or not.
Are you willing to leave your normal life at home and start living life abroad?
Don’t get me wrong, traveling the world is an experience like no other, but sometimes the journey may get lonely.
“Traveling alone will be the scariest, most liberating, life-changing experience of your life. Try it at least once!”
— Unknown
I am lucky enough to be traveling with my boyfriend, but traveling alone can make you miss your family and become homesick even more. I miss my family while living abroad as I went from seeing them every day to just FaceTiming and seeing them only once a year.
On a better note, spending time alone is a wonderful thing to do.
Traveling alone is a whole other experience that I cannot personally speak on, but have heard many amazing stories about.
You might be able to convince your partner, friend, or family members to quit their job and travel the world with you as well.
If you can do this, it will be a lot easier to leave home, but you may still miss your familiar surroundings and some materialistic things you may have left behind.
I always wish that my family traveled along with Austin and me, but things just aren’t that simple.
I am grateful to know that one day Austin and I will have a family of our own, and we will take our kids along to experience our adventures as well.
Are you ready to live a life of freedom and become your own boss?
This isn’t as luxurious and easy as it seems, but it is definitely worth the time and effort it takes to get to this point in your journey.
What’s better than being your own boss, setting your own hours, and waking up when you want to?
Eating and going to the bathroom when you want to go, not when someone tells you that you can go.
Building up an online business will take up a lot of your time and even a couple of years to successfully build if you’re lucky.
It will require dedication, some sleepless nights, and time to figure things out to create your dream life.
You can start with an online job, something as simple as teaching English either online or in-person in a foreign country.
This will help give you a simple start to the digital nomad world until you figure out what you want to do to make money online and travel the world.
Setting up your foundation for financial freedom will take some time, and it is okay if you fail.
It is better to know you made an effort and worked toward your goals than living your life with what-ifs and regrets from not taking that step in the first place.
Are you ready to get out of your comfort zone and experience new cultures?
At first, I was a bit scared to fly out to Thailand for the first time when the only place I ever flew to was to Florida from New York.
I had never been abroad before, and I had a 24-hour flight ahead of me, and I wasn’t even sure where I was headed or if I would like it.
Well, going to Thailand opened my eyes to what life was like on the other side of the world and helped me to be more grateful for things I had previously taken for granted.
I learned that wearing shoes indoors was seen as disrespectful because the foot is known as the dirtiest part of the body in Thailand.
I could relate to this in a way because I grew up in a Guyanese-Indian household and was taught to not wear shoes in the house.
I found this interesting that Thai people had a bit of a similar culture to what I was used to back home.
You will learn that people abroad aren’t so different from us in America, and you get the chance to learn how people think and view things from different perspectives.
Are you ready to become more open-minded and see how things are for yourself?
Traveling helps you become less close-minded because it allows you to see things for how they are in foreign countries.
We may hear all sorts of things from the media that may not be true, and it will lead us to assume that a country is dangerous or its people are bad.
Before going to Thailand, I was scared into thinking it was an awful, dangerous country because they had prostitution there and that I am a “pretty girl,” so I should be worried for my safety.
I am from New York, and the sad truth is that prostitution goes on in a lot of different places.
I did not let this get to me and was still excited for what was to come in this foreign country.
We cannot live our lives in fear, but we should take precautions for our safety.
People in Thailand are super kind and friendly and speak a good amount of English too.
Even in places like Iraq, you may feel terrified at the thought of going there, but there are many travelers that go there, including some Youtubers who vlog their experiences show that it is not all that bad.
Every country has good and bad qualities, but it’s up to you to decide the facts from fiction when you go there and see how things are for yourself.
Are you ready to possibly experience failure your first time traveling abroad?
I am not at all trying to discourage you from taking this big leap, but a lot of digital nomads, including myself, have failed during their first time living abroad.
Chiang Mai, Thailand, is the first country we moved to after quitting our jobs, and things were really good at first.
Food, rent, and just about everything else was very affordable, but I unexpectedly lost my job, and we became very low on money.
Austin was the only one with income coming in, and we ended up eating just twice a day for a while with the little money we had left in our savings.
This is not the worst-case scenario, but if things were worse, we definitely would have to come back to America and go back to our 9–5 jobs until we saved up money and came up with a better plan before flying out again.
There is no shame in failing. The only shame is in giving up after only trying something one time.
Key Takeaway
If you have answered yes to most of the questions above, I think you are ready to travel the world.
Even if you couldn’t say yes to these questions, I still think you should go for it.
Maybe over time, I can convince you that traveling is a life-changing experience, and you won’t know what it’s like unless you experience it for yourself.
Remember:
- Don’t rely on your savings when you first start as a digital nomad.
- Have savings in case anything goes wrong and you need money to fall back on.
- Don’t listen to others or let them tell you how to live your life.
- Keep an open mind.
- You deserve freedom.
- Don’t be afraid of failure.
If you don’t want to just read from us but want to keep up with our travels as well, go ahead and follow us on our travel page on Instagram @onelifepassport! Comment below what else you would like to know/see about our experiences while traveling the world!
Check out Our recent blog posts:
- 7 Things To Consider Before Moving Abroad
- HOW TO BECOME A DIGITAL NOMAD With No Money 2023 [Budget Guide]
- HOW To Become A Digital Nomad With NO College Degree [2023]
- Are Digital Nomads Rich in 2023? [How Much Money They Make]
