Traveling Full-Time Isn’t Worth It, Says Girl Who Spent 9 Months Abroad

• I spent nine months traveling the world, and although I had a great time, I wouldn’t do it again.
• Because I was on a tight budget, I often found myself turning down cool experiences to save money.
• I also struggled to make genuine friendships and missed having a space to call my own.

When I was working remotely in 2021, my boyfriend and I packed up and traveled to 22 countries across Europe and Latin America.

Although these were some of the best days of my life, I quickly learned that a lot of the videos I saw on social media that glorified full-time travel didn’t always showcase the downfalls of the lifestyle.

More and more people are becoming digital nomads — countries like Italy have even implemented specific visas for remote workers. However, during my nine months abroad, I learned that the lifestyle isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Here’s why I wouldn’t travel full time again.

I kept looking for places and experiences that felt like home

While traveling full time, I found myself constantly looking for places and experiences that felt like home.

In some ways, it was cool to feel like a local in a new city. However, when I returned home and took shorter vacations, I started to value the places I was visiting for their differences rather than trying to find some semblance of home.

Nowadays, I like having a home base. Shorter trips help me to break up the monotony of life without sacrificing the comfort of home.

It felt like I was constantly thinking about money

When I was traveling full-time, I was on a strict budget. I either drained my wallet or ate cheap food to maintain some sort of financial security while on the road.

I talked myself out of going to every museum I wanted to and purchased cheap meals for dinner instead of indulging in local cuisine that might have been out of my budget.

The moments I would slip up on my spending were when I forgot this wasn’t a never-ending vacation, but rather, my new everyday life.

During the first two weeks of our trip, I wanted to go to all of the must-try restaurants in Paris. However, I soon realized that came at the cost of establishing a strict daily budget for the remainder of our three weeks there.

Of course, it was worth it in the end to save money so I could travel for nine months. However, now that I take a few shorter trips a year, I have more flexibility to make them everything I want them to be.

My friendships at home changed, and the new ones I made were fleeting

I think what travelers yearn for the most is community. When I was traveling, it was really hard to find the same quality of friends I have at home.

When I did meet friends abroad, it was often short-lived. I found that many people traveling full time were only in a city for a few days. Even when I did find someone I connected with, it was hard to maintain a long-distance friendship.

Traveling full time also took a lot out of my friendships at home, as it seemed like they learned to live without me.

When I returned home, it felt like we didn’t have as much in common as we used to. It took me months to get my friendships back to where they were before I left.

I missed having a space to call my own

While traveling, I stayed in 25 different places across nine months. Although seeing so many new places was cool, I missed having a space to call my own.

After spending so many nights in beds that weren’t my own, it was an indescribable feeling to come back home. In fact, when I got back, I was able to create a space that took inspiration from the places I’d been.

I think traveling is something everyone should prioritize, but there are ways to see the world that don’t involve doing it full time.

Nowadays, I plan to take at least four international trips a year, ranging from one to two weeks. This allows me to live a travel-filled life without giving up the comforts of home, career, and relationships.

This story was originally published on April 26, 2024, and most recently updated on January 9, 2025.