A desire to travel isn’t something that is wholly unique, many of us long to wander the corners of the earth and enrich our lives with its beauty, wonder, and of course it incredible food (India, Mexico, I’m looking at you babes).

However, spending all your days living in the travel clouds can (and personally has been) damaging for your predictably less-glamorous reality, and your bank account.

 

 

Too often I find myself scrolling through travel blogger feeds on insta, or looking back through my own holidays snaps when I am hit by a sudden pain in the chest; a longing. A longing to be strolling down the bicycle-lined streets of Amsterdam, or brunching in Budapest (anywhere but being cooped up in my bedroom job searching really).

But obviously, when your balance is £3.72, and your cracking open your groovy chick piggy bank just to afford a cheese and onion pasty, you start to realise that those flights to Berlin will have to sit on the back burner for a while…

The crushing reality of a life spent working 9 to 5 day in day out, wishing all time away for the weekend, seems soul destroying. I blame Uni, it sets you for an easy life with a routine involving way too many naps and solo trips to Barburrito.

 

 

I’ve always found comfort in having ‘something to look forward to’, and relied on it as being the sole way to get through the daily grind of working life. However, this does result in weeks turning into months, with whole chunks of your life slipping away, conjuring the feeling of life being one big waiting room.

The only real way I can think to tackle this, is by attempting to make the daily mundane aspects of life, as exciting as humanely possible. Become a tourist in your own town of sorts. I’ve never been a lover of the big crowd-drawing attractions, I mainly go to just tick them off the list, I’d much rather find a picturesque little café, sample some local cuisine and people watch. – All things you can do at home (albeit with buskers solely playing Wonderwall in the place of some more culturally invigorating tunes).

I believe that a lot of joy and confidence comes from solo adventures, whether that be taking yourself out for brunch or spending an afternoon scouring all your nearest charity/secondhand shops. Even catching a film at your local independent cinema captures a uniqueness and magical quality absent from a trip to your local Odeon. I recently saw ‘The Death of Stalin’ at the Cameo cinema in Edinburgh, and although pricey (around £10 a ticket), it offered a much more whimsical and unforgettable experience. Hyde Park picture house in Leeds is reasonably priced and makes the cinematic experience much more memorable.

 

 

Nonetheless, I am not going to shy away from the magic of holidaying. As an avid traveller and list-maker, I often get nearly as much joy from the planning and daydreaming that precedes a trip, as from the adventure itself! I love searching the net for places to go, delicious places to eat, alongside planning the outfits I will pack and wear for such occasions. The savvy and undeniably stylish LostiN city guides also come in very handy when planning a trip (particularly European city breaks), as well as being highly instagrammable!

 

Remember that travel is definitely the best thing to spend your money on!! – (I’ve learnt this the hard way, cheers ASOS) Many thanks for reading and happy travelling! (whether that be to Sydney or Skegness!)

 

Em