Wondering If Traveling Abroad Is For You?

Traveling abroad has always been ''The Dream'' for me. The big question I have always been asked from people find out when I was 18 I left the nest for Vienna and I have boyfriend in Vienna is ''What did your parents say or think?''. Which has alway been difficult for me to explain specially in German. So here is the awnser, I did not leave because of a boy, I picked Vienna because of that reason but my parents were not in a state of shock when I made up a date to leave. They were a bit worried for me since they didn't know what would happen and if my heart was broken I would be a bit out of reach. I have never been a wild child or have given my parents reason not to trust me and my choices.

The thing that was actually suprising to me was when I told some friends and ran into people I knew a long time ago the question of what college I would be attending would come up. After telling them I got a scoff and the shocker ''Why does that not suprise me that you would go to college in Europe'' okay I admit one friend didn't know where Vienna was, then the common mistake of when hearing Austria she asked me to get a picture of a Kangaroo to send back.

Since I have been in Vienna I have done some traveling on my own at both hostels, and hotels. Sometimes you can find cheap rates at hotels, like when I was visiting Prague with my boyfriend last Febuary we stayed in a Bed and Breakfast which was only 30 euros a night including breakfast.  Now we didn't share a bathroom but our window looked out into the street and the hot water was sparce and the water pressure was as if someone was pouring water on our heads with a cup.


If you are considering traveling abroad it is a good to consider a few things.

•  You should start off with taking a good few days to do nothing but think about it, I believe anyone who would consider traveling abroad can do so. Just you have to take a hard look on what luxury you are willing to give up, i.e. sharing bathrooms, not having 3 meals a day, etc.
• You are lucky if you have a partner in crime willing to travel around with you, but the problems that come with traveling in a pair you can't do what you want you also have someone else to think about. You will also have to have a strong relationship with this person because no matter for how long or how short you are planning on traveling you will be with this person pretty much 24/7. 
• A good idea is to look at a map of Europe or any continent for that matter, and look at where you can fly into and from there look at the bordering countries or cities that you know you want to visit. By doing this you can get a good idea of where to first and also help with downsizing your list of 100+ stops to visit. 
• Find a job and save all that you can, buy working, saving and making sacrifices of not buying that handbag or going to the movies with your friends will really determine your will and drive to make this trip. Trust me you won't be able to bring that nick nack along with you on your trip and you can always rent that movie when you get back.
• Watch the currency exchange every day. Do some research on where it is best to buy currency, most banks will exchange it for a fee and sometimes it can take a few days. When watching the rates you can wait until it drops and if you believe it will drop lower don't hold onto your money but in small increments exchange your money so if it doesn't drop but does the opposite you won't hate yourself as much.

Traveling alone I think can be enjoyable but has its pros and cons.  I love having someone to share the moment with me, but if I have to I will go alone. I think that is something most people traveling should consider, what is their personal preferance on traveling and would they be willing to go alone. Do not not go if noone else is willing to travel abroad, and don't let your gender determine wether going alone is a good idea. You will hear so many different opinions but ultimately it comes down to what it is you want.

I also believe in having a good plan and making sure your route is mapped out and planned ahead, but also too much planning is never a good idea. Sometimes you just have to let things happen with no plan and not have your plan set into stone.

For me it has always been when I did something unplanned and see what comes is when I have always had the best of times.



Traveling with someone can limit yourself to not doing everything you want to, and can also limit yourself in meeting new people. I believe you don't have to be an out going person to travel alone because if you are shy traveling in a group or even alone will open you up and get you out of that shell.