Seeing the same four walls, the same streets, and the same people day after day is a sure recipe for distress. Getting away on vacation, even if just a short weekend jaunt, can revive your sense of happiness and well-being. Traveling has the ability to awaken so many of your latent, or completely dismissed, attitudes regarding life in general.
Happiness – One university discovered that spending your hard-earned money on experiences as opposed to material things will boost your happiness level significantly.
Monetary Worth – Depending on where you live, you may think your money doesn’t go very far. In fact, you may even feel that you are ranked among the impoverished! But monetary worth is totally relative to where you hang your hat. For instance, in Dallas, $5 can barely buy your lunch; but, in Thailand, that same $5 can pay for your room at a nice hotel with free WiFi included.
Make Lasting Friendships – When you’re on the road, it just seems like everyone you meet, especially others traveling like you, are just more hip that the people you know and meet back home. According to the University of Colorado, people who travel are commonly perceived as having more charisma and therefore are more likeable.
You’ll Actually Learn – There is no college class anywhere that can prepare you for anything the way real world experience can. For example, as you’re paying for your brunch in a foreign city, mentally calculating the exchange rates between the two currencies (to see if you’re getting a deal or if you’re getting robbed!) in unmatched by any macroeconomics class.
Welcome to Tolerance 101 – Your patience may wear thin around the town you call home, especially if you have a position in which you work with the public on a daily basis. When you travel to a foreign land, you’ll have everything from language barriers and sharing bunks with total strangers to customs you’ve never heard of. You’ll learn patience, and come to embrace openness, all the while realizing how small your problems back home really are.