8 Reasons A Girl Should Travel In Her 20s
As a female and a travel junkie, I cannot understand my friends who rarely venture out into the world. Like, I get it – Netflix just added Gilmore Girls or whatever, but why binge now when you could live your own drama in Europe or Asia or literally anywhere other than your bed. Save the unlimited Hulu account until you’re at least 30 please.
There are plenty of reasons why everyone should travel any chance they get, but here is a list of my top 8 reasons why every 20-something female should buy a ticket somewhere today:
1. Experience
This one is the most obvious. I legitimately cannot comprehend why you wouldn’t want to travel to all the amazing places the world has to offer. Seriously! You don’t like airplanes? Take a road trip. You can’t swim? I hear there are mountains and deserts in certain places in the world. Just go! If you don’t have money, I can’t help you because travel does require at least a little bit of moolah these days. But there are plenty of places to go that still get you out of your comfort zone and won’t use all of your emergency pizza money to do it.
2. Cool international wardrobe
I love to shop. I also love looking at girls pass me on the street that look absolutely amazing in their outfit. And if that girl is from a different place than I am, chances are I can learn something from her outfit that I can take with me back home. Some of my most prized possessions and frequently complimented outfits came from an abroad trip. I can only hope that one day I look remotely as cool as those French girls. Ugh.
3. Hot foreign men
You’re young and hot. This is a given. Youth is beautiful no matter how you look at it. You know who else agrees with me? Hot foreign men (or women if that’s what you’re into). And where better to experiment or search for true love than far away from parents and gossipy friends who are only your friends because they like talking shit about you. You are totally welcome to hook up with your slightly smelly hostel bunkmate you met your first night – if you want to! It’s better to try out things now before you’re stuck getting set up by your married friends who pity you because they began to think being single is a disease.
4. One-upping Your Rival
If you told me you don’t have one girl that you’ve always competed against for everything and you despise secretly, I would say you were lying. She probably even tried to steal your boyfriend or something. Anyway, traveling in your 20’s is the perfect way to throw shade back in the coolest way. Think about it: she is at home taking a billion pictures of her dog sleeping on her lap while you are posting photos from Indonesia. I like dogs and all, but Indonesia wins every time. You will make her incredibly jealous, guaranteed.
5. Avoiding Real Life for as Long as possible
Funemployment is only fun when you don’t have to move back in with your parents and be their DD. Better to do it in a foreign country sans curfew amirite?! Traveling is incredibly rewarding culturally and you could even use it to get a job in the future, depending on what you want to do. I am taking this beach vacation for resume-filler Mom, obviously! (But actually Mom, lmk if you can drop me off at the airport.)
6. Friends everywhere
Of all of my favorite reasons to travel, this is the best. I have friends all over the world. Even if you can’t make it to some of the farther corners of the planet, chances are you will make a friend in the next decade that has been there. And if you are on a tight travel budget, nothing is better than free lodging and a local tour guide from these friends. Plus people with accents are really fun to play drinking games with!
7. Envy From Others
Similar to #4, this is all about showing others how cool you are. Yeah sure, some girls are like, “I don’t do that, that’s superficial and selfish and I like all of my friends.” To you I say, okay Mother Theresa, you do you. Now, let me tell you a story. One time, my good friend Meghan went with a group of girls to Ireland for a long weekend. While she was there, she met this German girl who was traveling by herself through Europe after college because she didn’t want to get a job. She had just gotten her backpack stolen at the hostel but went out with Meghan and the other girls that night. She ended up paying for all her drinks by challenging people to sing-offs and arm wrestling contests. Meghan and I both agreed that she was undoubtedly the coolest person we could hope to be like. Not because she had questionable safety rules but because she was so open to new experiences and meeting new people and had this amazing attitude – in other words, we were crazy jealous of her. Be that German girl for everyone in your life, they will appreciate it as much as you do.
8. Do it Now!
If you don’t do it now, when will you? You don’t know what’s going to happen in your life in the next few days let alone in the next decade. Traveling when you are in your 20s leaves you room for mistakes because you’re still in the selfish “I don’t give a shit” stage of your life. Forget to pack underwear? Go without or buy some at a questionable bodega – it doesn’t matter to you. You aren’t tied down by kids or bills or adult things like brunch or pilates just yet, be sure to enjoy it while you can.
Even if you already have a big-girl job, chances are you aren’t making that much money anyway. Missing a few days isn’t going to end your career. And you’ll come back to the office tan and bragging about how hot your scuba instructor was and feel like you might actually make it through a full week of work without an extended lunch break.