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We live in an age where traveling around the globe has become incredibly easy. Airports and flights have made places that were previously hard to get to – easily accessible and technology has allowed many people to work remotely. This means that traveling is no longer something that only a privileged few percent of the population can enjoy.
Remote work has also enabled long-term travel and it seems like I hear of people moving abroad every day. In fact – I often wonder if I will have any friends left here at the end of each year. Moving companies such as Shiply aren’t helping my cause either – as they make moving entire households seem like a cinch.
From what I can gather, these are the ways moving or traveling abroad could ruin you for life:
Learning different cultures
We’re happy at home with our culture. We have July the 4th, pumpkin at Halloween and the Superbowl, just to name a few of course. If you move abroad you will be exposed to a whole new world of cultures. You’ll learn about the Lanna Kingdom in Northern Thailand, experience sacred cows in India and maybe even the beautiful Geisha women in Japan.
All these wonderful and intriguing cultures could very seriously make you become less satisfied with your own.
You will leave your heart all over the globe
Traveling means meeting new and interesting people; people that very often turn into close friends or that will eventually be considered family. People will take you in and teach you about their families, cultures and countries. You may fall in love.
All of this means that, should you return home – your heart will be left in pieces all over the world. You will love someone in every country you have been to and you will miss them dearly.
Your palate will never be the same
We have delightful cuisine at home! What more could we need? Why would you want to try Pho Ga soup from Vietnam, fresh and zesty sushi made by professional Japanese sushi chefs, delectable Korean Kimchi or even fresh-from-the-oven genuine Italian pizza?
Why would you travel the world and try the most delicious and different national dishes, only to return and find that your local Thai restaurant has been serving you what can only be described as a “saturated” Pad Thai.
Materialism takes a back seat
When traveling the world or packing to move country – you are likely to discover that the smaller the better. You won’t want to lug the kitchen sink with you in your back pack and you will certainly find that your children can’t fit in all 100 toys.
What happens when you realize you don’t need to get into crippling debt to get the biggest house or that flat screen TV? Things will never be the same again.
As you can see, traveling abroad or moving there could be very dangerous indeed. Dangerous for preconceptions, dangerous for stereotypes and most dangerous of all – is that you may actually really, really enjoy yourself.
Lynsey @ Eternally Wanderlyn
Monday 20th of February 2017
I love this post!! Traveling abroad is very dangerous indeed. :) One rarely returns as the same person.