World Tour, Long Trip: Why Hit the Road?
It is set, we are leaving!
For me, the idea of touring the world was… really just an idea: “it would be great but I never will…”. A dream and all the barriers that go with it – no time, no money, too many fears, you can always find an excuse.
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About a year and a half ago, we were in Jamaica for a week of holidays and we met that French couple who had just taken the leap and was planning on travelling for two years. The idea then grew in our minds… why not?
Some people will probably see this project as an escape. We will more likely hear that we are only trying to move away from reality. More or less consciously, there might be some truth to it. But my problems, they’re in my head. And my head… it’s travelling with me! We see this long trip with another eye: rather than moving away from reality, we are taking control of it and making what we want of it.
See the world
Our desire to discover the world is an obvious reason: we both love travelling.
My love for travels comes from the year I spent in England as an au pair a few years ago. I would be out and about every weekend with the friends I met there. When I came back to France, the only thing I had in my mind was to leave again.
Travelling to discover other countries, see how things are elsewhere, live a different experience. It is actually simple, we want to admire different landscapes, meet people, taste new dishes… in short, see the billion wonders of the world (even if we would need several lives to see them all!). To change you way of living for several months is also a means to step back and put your life into perspective.
Get out of your comfort zone
Let everything behind and just leave is scary. I want to travel to meet new challenges: 10 months with no income, lead a life on the opposite of the daily humdrum that we know too well. This decision is actually not so easy to make. But if it really is what you want, you might as well go for it and stop asking questions, or the good ones. You will always find a reason to postpone and eventually, it is never the right time. With this project, I am hoping to get rid of a few fears and push my limits.
Another challenge for me will be to learn how to plan less. I want to give more room to spontaneity. It can only give us more freedom and I will have fewer reasons to get upset if something doesn’t happen as planned!
Share an extraordinary experience Together
These few months won’t be a year of holidays, a year off or even a year in a parallel life! It is just another project to enjoy life together.
Our personal and professional situations may allow such a project more easily (even of anything is possible if you really want it): couple with no children, Simon working remotely and me as a freelance. We definitely have some predispositions for this nomadic life ahead of us.
I would never have taken the leap on my own though. Travelling alone sounds much less interesting to me since I need to share what I live and my impressions as things happen. I feel like I can’t 100% make the most of it if I am on my own. Our similar way of seeing life and our desire to travel make it obvious to share this experience with Simon. Taking some time together is important to us before making the family bigger.
