As we reach day 365 out of 365 this year, we’re not only saying goodbye to 2019, we’re closing the chapter on an entire decade. We only have a few decades in our life, so we have to make the best of each and every one. For travelers like me, that means seeing as much of the world as possible in 10 years. Just how far can you go in a decade?
According to statistics, pretty far. Despite the fact that as recently as 2018, a whopping 40% of Americans had never traveled outside the country, travel has boomed over the past decade. Due to affordable prices, travel has become more accessible to more people, leading to a record of 93 million US citizens traveling out of the country last year.
Millennials lead the travel trend, with more than 80% of the age group traveling last year, taking an average of 5.6 trips per year. If you do that math, that turns into quite a large number of vacations over the course of a decade. We love to shit on millennials, but millennials are the first generation to realize that dying in slow motion in a cubicle for a barely livable wage is no way to live. For better or worse, social media has made these adventurous nomads really influential. Hence the overall increase in worldwide travel.
If it’s hard to conceptualize how much travel is possible in a decade, I’ll give you my personal example. I’ve visited exactly 51 countries in my life and at the start of this decade, I had never been outside of the country. You might call me a bit of an overachiever, but I’m just dedicated. I’ve learned you can find a way to travel as a student, as an entry-level employee, and as a nomadic freelancer with an extremely inconsistent income. No matter your budget, there are people traveling and living their best life out there for half your salary.
It’s exciting that more and more people are waking up to that fact – something that has undoubtedly contributed to the success of GnomeTrotting over the last couple of years. I’m grateful that I’ve not only gotten to see so much of the world, but I’ve gotten to bring along a couple hundred thousand readers with me. So as I reflect on how far I’ve come in the past decade, I would be remiss if I didn’t send out a big heartfelt thank you to the people that have made my blog a success. It’s been an honor to inspire and inform you all. Keep reading, subscribing, sharing, and liking cause I’m just getting started.
If you’re not already one of the people who have gotten my book ranking in the top budget travel guides on Amazon, you can download Traveling More & Traveling More for free until January 1 on Smashwords.
And if you’re wondering how far you can go in the next decade, reach for the stars. Anything is possible if you really want it.
