Top 5 Excuses Not to Travel That Must Be Conquered

1. If you don’t speak the native language, you’ll end up starving, homeless, and suffering anywhere outside of your country.

    I can remember meeting a friend from Los Angeles, in Spain, who is bilingual in English and Spanish but refused to leave Spain and explore the rest of Europe because he did not speak the language.  He ended up staying behind in Spain, while I traveled to Italy and on to the rest of Europe for a few months.

    Almost every major city in the world and every major tourist destination has English speaking people working at tourist destinations.  English is the universal language, and people around the world want to cash in on opportunities to work and travel abroad. Without English, you’d be very limited, no matter where you go, whether it’s for travel or for work.  The internet and globalization have only helped to speed up this process of making English the world language. 

    Remember, there are 7.5 billion people on this planet.   Traveling is a business, and people everywhere depend on it for income.  So wherever you can think to go, there is already infrastructure in place for travelers.  I met a 14-year-old boy from Japan at a youth hostel, who was traveling alone in Mexico. I hung out with him for a few days, just to see if he was really alone and he really was.  His parents sent him traveling for the summer, so he could learn some life skills. He was brilliant and mature for a 14-year-old, something I’m sure developed from traveling alone.

2. Foreigners hate me for my race, religion, or nationality.

    A Jewish friend of mine was worried about traveling through Mexico with me because he was orthodox and thought people would not accept him.  The truth is most people have their own lives to worry about and are not going to invest their time trying to make you feel unwelcome. He ended up going on the trip and he had the journey of his life.

    During President George Bush years, several of my American friends would not travel abroad with me, because they were worried about backlash due to the unpopular Iraq war.  I even met Americans abroad that would say they were Canadian to deflect any ill will. I’ve traveled through the worst and the best of times all around the world, and I’ve never hidden who I am, and I have never had a problem. 

    Ignorance is everywhere in the world, so don’t add to it.  There is always going to be someone who is angry at their situation and wants to take it out on someone else.  This should not deter you, this is everyone’s planet, and it’s here for us to share. I am a Los Angeles Lakers basketball fan, does that mean I should not go to the Golden State Warriors game? 

    I always treat people with courtesy and respect, and they treat me the same way.  This is the same everywhere, if you find people are not being friendly to you, then maybe you need to be nicer.  In the end, remember wherever you go, you can always come back home if you’re not comfortable wherever you are.

 

3. Everything is expensive when you travel.

    You're going to have tradeoffs everywhere you travel to in the world.  If you compare two cities, such as Washington D.C. and Paris. In Washington D.C., most of the best museums like the Smithsonian museums and monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial are free.  While in Paris the Louvre is around twenty dollars and most of the top museums charge an entrance fee. If you want to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, it’s about thirty dollars. But the wine, baguettes, and art are going to be the best in the world at the best prices.  The subway system is also much easier to use and affordable.  

    No matter where you’re going, you’re going to be spending on things you usually wouldn’t.  That’s part of the travel experience your paying to see something new. Like paying to go to the movies and see the latest Avengers movie or buying a burrito at the new Mexican restaurant down the street.

    The flight is usually your most significant expense.  But you can make it up in other ways during your trip.  You can save on accommodations, food, alcohol, and entertainment.  If you make adjustments, you can live the same anywhere you go. In the Czech Republic, the beer is some of the best in the world, and it's cheaper than water.  I ate a lot of eggs, dairy, and bread at home as they were very inexpensive there. When I traveled on to Greece, those items were expensive, but olives, cheese, and tomatoes were a good deal.  So I changed my diet and ate as the locals did.

    Try to live as much like a local as you can, this will give you a better experience and save you money.  Avoid hotels and use Craigslist to find rooms or apartments for rent at a much lower price than even Airbnb.  As you interact with the locals, ask them where the best places to eat and visit are. These places are usually less expensive and give you a more traditional experience.  Use the bus or ride the subway, instead of Uber.

    One more thing to keep in mind is that traveling is usually cheaper than staying home.  When I calculate my rent ($1500), food ($400), car ($300 gas only), and all my other expenses,  I usually end up paying around $2800 per month, and that only covers all my basic living expenses.  I have never spent more than that amount for a month worth of travel. I know that it can be done very quickly, even if you don’t make an effort to save on your trip.  But I am not trying to spend all my hard-earned cash in one place. I'm trying to make the most of it and enjoy it as much as I can. For some useful strategies to build income for traveling check out the books; How to Become Rich and Successful. The Secret of Success and the Habits of Successful People or How to Become Rich and Successful: Creative Ways to Make Money with a Side Hustle.

 

4. You’ll miss out on activities with family and friends at home.

    Sure, you’ll miss out on some activities or events at home, but you’ll be making your own experiences abroad.  When you’re back in town, you’ll have a lot more stories and experiences to share with everyone else. Plus you can always do video calls or sending videos of you singing happy birthday.  Those tend to be unforgettable.

 

5. What if I get sick or something happens to me while I’m traveling. 

    Healthcare is inexpensive everywhere in the world except in the USA.  I pay $400 a month for my health insurance coverage in the USA. When I travel, I buy travel health insurance for $56 a month with better coverage, including a medivac plane back to the USA from anywhere on the planet.  So it’s much cheaper to get insured or have medical treatment anywhere in the world outside the USA. 

    One of my friends went to Spain for the running of the bulls and broke her hip.  She ended up needing hip surgery and being hospitalized for two weeks. When she got out of the hospital, she was worried about the medical bills, and she was billed $80 for everything.

    My 84-year-old aunt and her 68-year-old boyfriend wanted to go to Argentina, so her boyfriend could visit his 94-year-old mom after not seeing her for 40 years.  Their main concern was “what if we get sick and die?’. My response was, “Even more reason to go.” Carpe Diem, getting sick and dying is more reason to travel and do what you’ve dreamed of.  You’re never too old to travel. You don’t want to go out with regrets. 

    As for crime or terrorism, worrying unnecessarily about this is what stops most people from traveling. Unfortunately, after the attacks on September 11, television ratings were through the roof as people were glued to their televisions hoping to see the information that would keep them safe.  The news channels caught on and started using fear to keep people watching their televisions, watching commercials, and generating more revenue for the networks.  

    I remember watching the news and the weather forecaster saying there was rain coming.  Those days are gone, now all we hear is “storm” coming. It’s the same thing but rebranded into something that will catch your attention much more and cause you to stay glued to the television and help boost the television station’s ratings. 

    When you turn on the news, sure you’ll see some bad news, that’s what sells.  But again there are 7.5 billion of us, and things are going to happen, and they happen everywhere, just the same.  So don’t be fooled by the overgeneralization that the world is unsafe, it’s just the opposite.