Unlocking Your Dream: How to Travel the World and Make It a Reality- Updated 2024
Dear friend, if you’re drawn to the title of this post and clicked on it, you’re probably eager to embark on a journey and travel the world.
Don’t worry; you’re in the right place, and no one will judge you here. We had the same dream, and we went in search of the same things you’re looking for now.
Are you still wondering what you’re doing in this post? Don’t worry; we’ll get there now. We’re two young people who, at some point in their lives, decided to drop everything and embark on a journey, fulfilling our dream to travel the world.
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Who we are | First considerations | Factors may stop you | Fear | Judgment | Time | Money | Back to 2019 | Conclusions
Pick Your Language but sorry if the translation is not perfect!
Yes, you’ve got it here, but now comes the fun part.
We decided to share our experience with all the decisions and sometimes challenging challenges we had to face in making this choice.
So, my friend, if you too are dreaming of traveling the world or anywhere you want and leaving everything behind, you’re in the right place, or at least we hope so.
So, if you agree, keep reading…..
WHO WE ARE –Travel world
First and foremost, let us introduce ourselves. If you don’t know us, we are Michaela and Simone, two people just like many others who, at a certain point in our lives, for reasons yet to be determined 😉 , turned everything upside down and made the decision to embark on the journey of our dreams.
This article was first written just a few days before taking the flight that would lead us to the most important decision of our lives, “at least until now.”
From 2019 to today, we have traveled to many countries, met new people and cultures, and enjoyed a wide variety of cuisines (much to Simone’s delight).
Our lives have changed dramatically, even though, in some ways, we remain incurable dreamers.
Today, as we are reading and updating this post, many things have changed, such as the fact that we’ve become digital nomads or that our journey has transformed into our way of life.
However, the underlying principles of why we started traveling and continue to do so have remained the same.
FIRST CONSIDERATIONS – Travel the world
A dream for many people is just that – a dream. We don’t always pursue our dreams for various reasons. Traveling the world may seem like an incredibly challenging dream, if not impossible to realize.
We don’t blame you for thinking this way. We currently live in a fast-paced world where stress infiltrates our daily lives at an alarming rate.
While we may like our jobs and our salaries, there’s constant pressure to work longer and harder every day. At the end of the day, we find ourselves living paycheck to paycheck, unable to fully enjoy life as we wish.
This society often makes us feel that success requires meeting certain criteria to avoid being perceived as failures in the eyes of others.
Some of these criteria include owning a house or apartment, having a stable job, starting a family, getting married, driving a nice car, owning the latest mobile phone, and other societal expectations.
For many, these criteria have become long-term goals and dreams, ensuring that they appear successful within society.
We acknowledge that for some, these aspirations are fulfilling, and everyone is entitled to pursue their dreams and goals, whatever they may be.
We believe that it is also simply the fact that your friend has a better car than you, and you want to have the same. Furthermore, we envy people having something better than us, a better house, a great holiday in an all-inclusive resort, or a fantasti dinner in a michelin star restaurant. All this can create feelings like unhappiness and depression.
Just to clarify
We are not criticizing this model of life.
Having a house, a new car or a family with children could be rewarding for many people and beyond all their dreams.
Everyone has the right to believe in their dreams and goals whatever they may be. We’re just trying to explain to you that dreaming or desiring something just because others have it only creates discontent, whatever it may be.
Grab our Travel Checklist and Let the adventure begin!
However, for some people, their true dreams may be different, for example the idea behind this article of going on a long-term world trip.
BUT, many times, and definitely many people (that we sometimes know), out of fear, or sometimes out of social pressure, have convinced themselves that conforming to society’s default life model is also their dream.
And the worst part is that they gave up and started thinking that dreams must remain dreams, and that everything outside the canons is a chimera or wrong in a certain sense.
Are you one of those too? Do you also think, or do they make you think, that dreaming is wrong?
Maybe if you are this type of person, you need someone who has already been there and would like to help you in some way to achieve your goal. In this case, we’ll try, hoping that what we write is useful in some way.
If you’re still reading at this point, there are likely two reasons:
- You think we’re completely crazy!
- Somewhere deep down, you share a wild desire to travel the world or follow a similar dream, and you’re unsure where to begin planning your journey. You might feel that society doesn’t allow you to follow this unconventional path, and you want to learn how we did it.
- If you chose the first option, well, the truth is that we’re a little crazy in our own way 🙂
- If you chose the second option, you already have the dream of traveling the world deeply embedded in your mind. It’s in your thoughts and your very being, and you can’t imagine doing anything else. You simply want to live life on your terms.
FACTORS MAY STOP YOU TO DO THE FIRST STEPTravel the world
From now on, we will try to analyze one by one the main factors that could hinder you from traveling the world or achieving your dream.
Some or all of these factors may prevent you from taking the first step, and it depends entirely on you, your surroundings, and your situation. In this case, by listing them, we will try to offer you some advice or examples of what we did back in the day. We hope they can be useful in making your dream a reality.
Fear, judgment, time, and money are probably the key points you’ll have to deal with if you intend to travel the world. Everything else, like packing your suitcase or organizing the details of your trip, will fall into place. If you need a helping hand, read this article.
FEAR– Roasted chicken Amsterdam
Of course, fear is one of the major factors to stop you from travelling.
There are different types of fears that always lead to the same direction. Fear creates insecurity and at the end, you decide to postpone or cancel your trip.
In your mind, some of these questions will pop out:
How am I going to live without a house?
With no friends?
Will I find a position in society when I come back?
From our perspective, the answer is always quite simple, YES!
You will be fine living without a house for a while, your friends live their lives and the real friends will stay by your side forever and the society? Well, it is really that important?
One piece of advice we offer is to start thinking about the PRESENT and what is happening in your life right now.
It’s part of the Buddhist technique that many cognitive psychologists adopt in their sessions. In simple terms, the past is already gone, and there’s nothing we can do about it. The future is unpredictable, and even if we try to plan it, it’s impossible to know what will happen.
So why not start thinking about what makes you happy now and forget about everything else? You’ll find that all these fears and insecurities will fade away. You might notice that there are thousands of people traveling the world who are happy with their lives, just like us.
Don’t worry about what might happen in the future; perhaps it will all be wonderfully beautiful, and fear is only keeping you away from your dream. Whether it turns out to be good or bad, it will always be an experience that makes you stronger. Even in the event that, after this hypothetical journey around the world, you decide to return to your “normal” life, you will have life experiences and extraordinary memories forever. We assure you that it will change the way you think and live your life to some extent.
So, if this is a cardinal point that’s preventing you from pursuing your dream, here’s a piece of advice: leave fear at home in the drawer of the past and go to get your dream!
JUDGMENT– Travel the worlds
Another significant factor that might prevent you from fulfilling your dream of traveling the world is judgment.
We live in a society where the judgment of others is very important, perhaps even essential for some of us.
A prime example of this is on social media. People frequently post and share the ‘perfect’ life they are living, but for many, this is merely a facade.
When it comes to traveling the world, there are two types of judgments:
1. The judgment from family members, friends, and colleagues
For most of us, the judgment of family or friends is of utmost importance. They always want what’s best for us, but often, the simple dream of traveling the world can seem crazy and immature in their eyes.
Let us pose a question to you:
Don’t you believe that life is yours and that you should follow your dreams, whatever they may be?
Frankly, our decision to travel the world wasn’t well received at the outset. In their eyes, we were leaving everything behind: our careers and a promising future. We can say they didn’t grasp our dream.
However, with time, they realized that this is our life, and we will embark on our journey to travel the world, whether with their approval or without it.
A few weeks before our global adventure, both our families and friends were genuinely excited about our journey and lent their support.
2. Self-judgment
This aspect is equally vital in attaining your desires. Your self-judgment always influences your decisions, breeds fear, and might hinder you from realizing your dreams.
This is applicable not only to your world travels but to all aspects of life. When you start questioning everything you do, it will have a significant impact on your life and decisions.
Remember, we are all human and bound to make mistakes. The most substantial errors will only make you stronger. So, start living fully and critiquing yourself less. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; there’s a whole world out there to explore, and the ultimate goal is to travel the world!
TIME– Travel the worlds
Today’s society is moving very fast, and we are just trying to keep up with the speed.
We always put off our dreams until later due to a lack of time or thinking that we always have time.
Overall, our perception is that we don’t have enough time in the day to do everything we want. The truth is that we only have one life, and no one knows when our time will end.
So, if we already know that we live on a timer that accumulates minutes, hours and years, why don’t you stop for a moment and make your dreams come true?
Do you need more advice on this topic, or have you understood the concept! tik tak, tik tak….
Come on, ok, it’s true that the clock continues to run, but we’re certain that you still have a few more minutes to continue reading this article, so go ahead.
Our Tip: Wise is a great card if you want to travel the world and not spend a fortune on bank fees and currency exchanges! We use this online bank during our travels and have never had any problems, even in remote places around the world.
MONEY– Travel the worlds
The last factor which might stop you from travelling is money.
In your head, you are probably thinking about TRAVEL = SPEND A LOT OF MONEY.
When you are going on your only holidays for 2 weeks, you are going to enjoy it to the fullest and probably spend a lot of money.
Travelling during a whole year or full-time, it is very different than going on 2 weeks vacation.
In recent years, apart from the global pandemic period, we have been traveling full time and we can assure you that there are millions of ways to make your dream of traveling the world come true.
Here we simply list the first two that come to mind.
Save Money
The best option for us was to start saving money.
It may seem difficult, but it is the most common way for many world travelers. Starting to save money for your trip will also help you change your mindset, which you will need when travelling on a tight budget.
You might start thinking that it is impossible to save money because there is nothing left from your salary to save. Well, it is possible!
Stop buying new clothes, shoes, bags, phones, or decorations for your house; trust us, you already have everything you require.
Definitely, you want to have the best phone on the market, however, instead of buying a 1000 EUR mobile phone, you can also get one for 300 EUR. The phone has the same functions and apps, and you will save 700 euros for your next flight ticket to travel the world.
It doesn’t seem that difficult, right?
Now, vices are the hardest to leave, whatever they are. For example, going out to eat for lunch or dinner was the hardest thing for us, as we love exploring new cuisines and going to amazing restaurants.
Basically, in the years surrounding the firm decision to save money to travel the world, we reduced it to a minimum and only went to restaurants for special occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries.
You know what we can tell you: thanks to all those missed dinners, we have visited more than 50 countries and eaten out almost every day!
Our Personal Tip: What helped us was a simple piggy bank, which you cannot easily open and take the money from. It is quite a funny way to set money aside.
Work during your trip
Currently, there are various opportunities to travel the world without needing a lot of money, all thanks to technology.
For example, many people travel the world and work at the same time. There are endless possibilities, from the famous travel bloggers who earn money through videos and reels to digital nomads who make money on the go in various ways.
The world has changed dramatically after the pandemic, and what used to be a job for a few has now become a daily routine for many.
An example is us; currently, we are digital nomads. We work on this blog full-time (if you want to help us, use our affiliates, or click on ads, it’s free for you and a favor to us).
We have also opened a travel shop with travel products we personally selected, and Mika started her online marketing business a couple of years ago, right in the middle of our trip around the world and this famous pandemic.
His company focuses almost exclusively on Pinterest, helping entrepreneurs to exploit the potential of this visual search engine.
Other possibilities to travel while working…
And what does Simo do when you travel?
Simo, apart from being a digital nomad and helping me in our online business, works in the kitchen several months a year in different parts of the world, enjoys cooking for others and is not so tied to his job but has discovered that this solution for now it makes him feel good.
Imagine that now he is cooking on a farm in the middle (almost nowhere) of Iceland, could you believe that Simo is cooking on a farm? ahaha what a twist life is!
Nevertheless, his desire (for now) is to cultivate his work and passions around the world, alternating between them.
Will he succeed? We are sure he will ;-).
- That’s why we’re adding this option for you: the option to stop and work for a defined period (or not), like Simone does, to continue and pursue your dreams or, more simply, to keep the journey going.
- Another option, especially if you are language-oriented, would be to become a teacher. You can’t imagine how many people teach English or any language around the world and work while they travel.
- Then there are other options or apps that offer you food, accommodation, or both in exchange for your work (like Workaway), although we haven’t tried them and are not sure how they work.
- Or, for example, you can volunteer.
- There is also the option of using (we recommend it only in cases of emergency) apps like couchsurfing which allows you to save some money on accommodation and stay in close contact with the locals.
PS: Don’t take advantage of it and respect your host, don’t be tight-fisted.
Anyway, there are many possibilities to travel the world even if you are not wealthy and have limited money; it depends solely on your personal preferences and your determination to pursue your dream.
Our Personal Confession “BACK TO 2019”– Travel the worlds
This is the original text that we wrote in the first draft of this article in 2019, we liked the idea of leaving it as it was 😉
“If you already follow our blog for some time, you might already know our SECRET.
We already bought a one-way ticket to travel the world and we are super excited to start our adventure in October 2019 in Chile!
We can assure you it was not an easy journey to get to this point. We had to go through different stages, our fear, judgement from us and others, lack of time and not enough money.
Although we both work for good companies, we have reached a point that we really need a total and complete change in our lives.
We want to follow our dream and travel the world for a while until we feel like it.
Doubts?
To be honest, we had some doubts a few times about whether we were doing the right thing. Especially at the beginning, when our families and friends did not understand, how could we leave our lives, jobs, and careers behind to travel the world.
Together we have realized that what we really want is a break from everyday life. We just want to travel the world without thinking about the past or future. We live now in a present so let’s enjoy life!
What is next?
We are still in Amsterdam, we are packing what’s left of our clothes and personal belongings, and at the beginning of September, we are heading to Prague (Michaela’s hometown).
Prague will be our starting point, where we start our crazy project!
As we mentioned, our journey around the world starts in October 2019 in Chile, so if you are interested on our trip, follow our blog and social media, so you won’t miss anything from our adventure.”
Conclusions– Travel the worlds
And here we are back in 2024.
Many things have changed, as you have already read, but ultimately, we are happy that we took the first step and managed to realize our dream.
From here on, we don’t know exactly what will happen, but we are sure that as long as that clock keeps ticking, we will always strive to continue traveling as much as possible and conquer every small and big dream that we don’t want to leave locked inside that damn drawer.
We hope this post has served you, even if in part, to try to realize your dream of taking a journey around the world or whatever it may be. If you have any questions or need more detailed information, feel free to write to us; we will be happy to assist you in any way we can.
From now on, it’s all in your hands.
We await you on the other side of the world. Greetings from your friends at Fun Food Traveling!
Last tip: If you’ve made it this far, you’ll already have your backpack packed, but you’re missing one thing: travel insurance. Our personal recommendation is Truetraveller as they have great support and healthcare coverage around the world. And don’t worry if you forget, you can purchase insurance during your trip!
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wonderful article,my name is Clinton a young curious newbie blogger from Nigeria. I hope you visit the vast tourist spots in my country.
Hello Clinton, we will definitely try thanks a lot!!
I love this. Ever since I was little, when everyone was planning a house and wedding and 2.3 children, I knew I did not want any of that. I wanted to stay creative and see the world as much as I can. To this day I still do not have any of the things you listed (although I do have a smartphone) and I am in no rush to get any of those things, especially not a house and permanent job contract or car!! Enjoy Chile and your new adventure – it sounds amazing! I am still working on that digital nomad life (and saving like crazy) so hopefully in the next few years I will be able to do the same! x
That’s amazing that you are having the same dream, we are super excited and I believe it will be the journey of our lives! So true about the house, car and kid, never felt I need that haha!