7 Reasons Why You Should Travel When You’re Young

7 Reasons Why You Should Travel When You’re Young

Do you feel stuck?

Or that there is more to life than where you are right now? 

Has COVID made you realize that being trapped in one place has caused your mind to explore the future possibility of travel? 

Or maybe that travel seems much more possible now that you can do pretty much anything from your computer?

 If so, find out here how traveling has changed our lives, and why we believe that it’s so important for young people to travel during their peak years.

Generation Z Travel Facts

• Generation Z are individuals born between 1997-2012
• 63% of Gen Zers want to travel in 2021
• 56% of Gen Zers want to stay in eco-friendly accommodations
• Gen Zers are constantly looking for their next great escape
• Booking.com reported that Gen Zers ranked “travel and seeing the world” as the most important way to spend their money (Booking.com)
• Gen Zers are known to be highly adaptable, tolerant, and smart
• Gen Z travelers gain cultural benefits from traveling and also contribute to the places they visit (ETC Report)

How Travel Has Changed Our Lives

Throughout the past month of living in Bali, both of our lives have completely changed. 

We decided to make the bold move of leaving everything behind, and moving to a country that is over 8,000 miles away from our home in the United States. 

Our goal on this site is to inspire you to make the same decision as us, and move to a new place while you are young. 

If Matt and I can move to Bali at the age of 22, so can you. 

Let’s get started, here are 7 reasons why traveling when you’re young is one of the most incredible decisions you can make.

1. Nothing Holding You Back

When you are young, whether that is fresh out of high school, college, or in your 20s, you likely don’t have the same type of attachment to home that may hold you back in the future.

Right now you might not have kids, a home that you own, a long-term career, a pet, and so on.

These types of things aren’t things that you can just leave behind, and they make it harder to travel or move somewhere across the world long-term in the future.

Matt and I just graduated from college, we do not own a house or car, have no pets of our own, and don’t have an office job that we need to go into every day.

So, now makes it the perfect time for us to get up and go, and start experiencing a new life.

2. Traveling Builds Character

Sure, anyone can say that they went on a week-long trip to Mexico, but can they say they left everything behind to go live in a foreign country for a year? I don’t think so.

Throughout your life, you will meet many people and hear about countless crazy life stories, so why not create your own crazy life story by doing the unexpected?

3. Discover And Appreciate Different Cultures

Coming from the United States, there isn’t much of a sense of culture… unless you count watching football and drinking beer on Sunday.

But, in countries all over the world, there are new cultures to explore, learn about, and appreciate.

Here in Bali, there is such a strong sense of culture, and it is apparent through many things such as dance, sculpture, and drama.

On the second day of arriving here, we even got to experience the most famous cultural tradition in Bali, known as Galungan Day.

The holy day of Galungan is a 10 day long holiday which is celebrated by the Balinese by spending time with their loved ones, eating delicious food, and it celebrates the victory of dharma over adharma.

Matt and I even got to take part in a blessing done at our villa and learned from our friend, Kadek, about the importance of the holiday.

4. Traveling Makes You Responsible And Independent

Traveling is one of the greatest ways to teach yourself to become responsible, independent, and learn fundamental organizational skills.

Whether you are booking tickets, finding accommodations, going through the airport, or even calling a taxi in a new country, every decision you make will only impact you.

For Matt and I, we are lucky to have each other, but we still go through everything here in Bali just the two of us and every choice we make will only impact us.

Gone are the days of our parents booking our plane tickets and making sure we get to the airport on time, here in Bali we are all on our own.

If you struggle with being responsible, detail-oriented, and independent, traveling the world is one guaranteed way to fix that.

5. No Future Resentment

If you want to look back on your life and be proud of what you have accomplished, there’s nothing to be more proud of than having seen the world.

Personally, I don’t want to grow up to be an old woman looking back on my life and thinking “damn, I wish I would have done that”.

And that’s exactly how I feel about traveling.

If you want to do it, and if you feel the calling to see the world from a different perspective, then just do it.

Even if you go on a trip and it’s completely different than you imagined, at least you were brave enough to go for it.

You are currently in the most active years of your entire life, so why let that go to waste?

Trust us, we’ve been in Bali for less than a month and we are already so proud and happy with our decision.

6. Figure Out Your Life

If you don’t know what you want in life right now, you are bound to find something that you are passionate about when you travel.

Whether it’s learning a new language, becoming a yoga instructor, trying new food, or even talking to a foreign local and hearing their life story, there is absolutely no way you won’t fall in love with something in a new country.

For us, we have found a passion in sharing our experience with all of you, in the hopes that our journey traveling as young Americans can help inspire you to do the same.

So, if you feel lost, have no strong passions or desires, don’t know your life purpose, or are even stuck doing a job that you hate, then travel the world and you are bound to learn more about yourself and what you really want to do with your life.

7. Learn Compassion

Growing up, Matt and I were both extremely blessed to live in such fortunate ways.

We both had our education paid for by our parents up until we graduated from college, had food on the table every day, and had a roof over our heads.

In America, and specifically in the social and economical circles that we grew up in, it’s easy to forget… or maybe to not even realize…. just how lucky you really are.

Traveling to new countries makes you realize the harsh reality of so many people.

Here in Bali, and especially because of the negative impacts of COVID, more and more families struggle to make ends meet, mothers cannot feed their children, and many cannot afford the bare necessities needed to survive.

Ever since we landed in Indonesia, we have been able to see with our own eyes how difficult it is for countless people to survive.

It’s incredibly shocking and upsetting, but most importantly, it’s a wake-up call.

Traveling has given us a newfound sense of compassion, and a strong urge to help those in any way we can.

Whether it’s volunteering at local charities, or even making friends with those on the streets and buying their families meals or giving them some money, there are so many ways that you can help.

Gaining a sense of compassion for others, and learning to appreciate and be grateful for all that you have is undoubtedly one of the greatest life lessons that traveling has to offer. 

So… Are You Ready To Travel?

Now that you’ve read our list of reasons why you should travel when you’re young… are you ready to embark on your next adventure?

What lessons have you learned from your past travels?

Thank you for reading, and we hope to hear from you in the comments below!