Preparing Yourself for a Year of Travel

For many people, the idea of traveling for a long time presents a completely different opportunity to what traveling for a couple of weeks might. It’s not just a holiday, it’s an adventure. It’s a chance to experience a completely different way of life and free yourself from the rhythm of your everyday life.

However, as a trade-off, this also means that this experience requires a lot more preparation. Holidays are fun because they provide an escape from stress; they’re meant to be a reprieve. That’s not to suggest that longer, more intense traveling shouldn’t be fun, but it’s less of a singular experience and can be much more taxing because of that.

Saving Money

The biggest hurdle is likely going to be the financial side of the trip. Traveling is expensive, and when you extend it outward to a whole year of traveling, this fact is only going to become more relevant. Some people prepare for this by saving ahead of time, identifying a target that they’d like to hit so they can support themselves throughout the trip. This means doing a lot of planning ahead so you know how much you need to work and how you can cut costs in the lead up to traveling.

Alternatively, you could plan to work while you’re abroad. Working holidays are a common way to go about this, often giving you access to food or accommodation in return for work. You might also think about freelance work you can do while you’re abroad for a more flexible working arrangement.

What to Do with Your Belongings?

People accumulate a lot of stuff over time. Normally this isn’t an issue, as you just put it wherever you live, making it unlikely to cause any persistent stress. When you go traveling, though, the question of what to do with it all can be a difficult one to answer.

You could put it in storage, but the cost of that will rack up after a while. This could also be a good opportunity for a clear out, using ATV transport companies to help you sell the larger belongings that you don’t need anymore.

On a related note, what about your home itself? Moving in with your family temporarily before you go (if possible) can help you to save some money that would otherwise go on rent, though if you own your property, you might want someone to look after it while you’re away, and you could potentially make money from this, too.

Structure

The structure of your trip itself is something that’s worth thinking about. It’s tempting to go in with as vague an idea as possible, planning your adventure as an open book. This has its charm and might suit the planning style of certain people more than others. However, it might lead to a certain aimlessness that prevents you from coordinating your trip effectively.

Simply having occasional landmarks on your trip can help to give you enough of a direction without feeling as though you’ve taken all of the fun and spontaneity out of your trip, allowing you to effectively plan how to get to these things as well. Ultimately, though, it’s personal, and the right answer will be one that’s unique to you.