Why You Should Travel While You’re Still Young And Single

In today’s age of desk jobs and rush hours, many of us find ourselves settling into an all-too-familiar day to day routine. It’s not hard to imagine feeling bored, drained, and maybe even wanting to escape. While these feelings are absolutely normal, they are unpleasant and canget stressful.

The good news is that there’s a quick and easy way to add some much-needed excitement to that seemingly monotonous life. And if you are young, single, physically fit, and with a suitable income, all it takes is an open mind and a sense of adventure.

Why travel?

Not only will traveling give you something to look forward to in the near-term, the time you’re away may also help fire up enthusiasm towards your current job, or perhaps life in general. Plus, the thought of going to a place you’ve never been before could help lighten you up and give you a more positive outlook while you wait for that vacation day to arrive.

If you’ve ever thought about traveling but have been delaying it or if you feel like you just need a break, here are 5 reasons why NOW — while you’re still young and single — is the best time to do it.

1. You still have fewer financial obligations.

Being young and single in most cases gives you full control over your money. Generally, you have that freedom to use your money on whatever you can afford to buy. You may keep it in the bank, invest it somewhere, give it to your parents and siblings, or spend it on expensive cellphones and gadgets.

And if you don’t have financial obligations to your family, you likely have spare cash to either add to your savings, or devote to your first-ever travel fund. Depending on how creative you are with your finances, you might even be able to do both.

Photo from justonewayticket.com

This means it’s entirely up to you whether you will spend your hard-earned cash on a new gadget or a plane ticket to one of your dream destinations.

2. You still have a strong and healthy body.

Until we get our chance to bathe in the Fountain of Youth, we are left to accept the reality that our bodies will age every single day. And for the average Filipino who loves eating chicharon, sisig and crispy pata, our teenage years up to around our middle 40s could well define our golden years in terms of body strength and general health.

Photo from Ample Proportions

The closer we are to our youth, the better the chances are that we’ll survive physically demanding travel activities such as mountain climbing, surfing, rafting, long bus and boat rides, swimming, or even just exploring a 5-floor museum on foot.

In short, we’ll need every drop of that vibrant energy if we really want to try all the adventures that come with traveling. If you’re in your 20s or 30s, this is an advantage.

3. You can still be flexible with your time.

You may have all the energy and money in the world but if you are struggling to balance your time between work, your family, and friends — it will be a challenge to even make travel plans.

But if you are young and single, this won’t be a problem.

Let’s say you’re married and have three kids who all go to school during weekdays. Will it be easy to bring each member of your family with you for a long vacation when you also have to consider their schedule? Will it be financially possible considering the multiplied expenses? Or do you think you can be selfish enough to go on a solo trip while your family stays at home?

Traveling as a family can definitely be done but it involves a lot of time, numerous considerations, and careful planning.

Having fewer responsibilities in life gives one the opportunity to save more money, easily file a vacation leave, pack your bags, and go.

4. You still have the freedom to meet random friends and maybe even your significant other.

Traveling definitely opens a whole lot of opportunities to meet new people. You just have to squeeze a little of that Mr. or Ms. Congeniality out of you and you’ll rapidly expand your circle of friends.
Not only will you learn many things from the variety of people you’ll meet, you’re also bound to find good friends along the way – some of them even bearing the potential to create a significant impact on your life.

Young and still untied to any vows, you have the liberty to explore every corner of the social world. You’re free to build relationships with the people you come across during your trips and if you feel that the circumstances are right, you can even take your friendship to another level.

5. You’re more open-minded.

Traveling is not just about going out there and enjoying ourselves; it involves learning — a tremendous amount of learning.

Since young people are also in the process of discovering themselves, they tend to be open-minded. And with a sizable memory left to accommodate various experiences, the continuous process of growing up ensures the passage of new ideas. Some could turn these experiences into mind-boggling realizations obtained by letting go of personal biases — a method which may come difficult if you’ve already crossed that point in your life when you think you have already firmly established your beliefs.

Seeing the world while you’re young and single will challenge you to weigh things independently, gain a wealth of new ideas, and help you shape your desired personality. You’re handed the freedom to select which ones you will consider as truth over a set of abstract thoughts and decide whether this truth will change you to become a better person or not.

“Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountains and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.” – John Lubbock