Those of you who follow my adventures (or rather my current life as a hermit thanks to my Master thesis) on social media will know that this month I’m off travelling again for the first time since summer.* I’ll soon be ticking off another two countries from my European bucket list: Denmark to visit an Erasmus friend who normally lives halfway across the world and Poland for an EU workshop.
Now, you may be thinking that’s not something to complain about and I assure you me, myself and my itchy feet are very excited about these trips. But travel ain’t free. Sure, I’ve always been an advocate of and even lived by the quote in the title of this post and I’ve always managed to travel on a budget, but for years now, and especially during my bachelor when I travelled a looot more often, people have been asking me how I could afford to travel so much. The truth is I actually can’t, not really. I’m a student from a low-income family living in one of the most expensive countries in the world receiving zero financial assistance (no more student loans like the good old Bachelor days) and working as much as I can to earn enough to survive in Luxembourg. I’m not looking for sympathy here and I’m well aware that it was my own decision to move to Luxembourg (a decision I do not for one second regret) and my own choice to travel, but there’s a reason I haven’t been booking those Ryanair flights as much as I used to and probably still shouldn’t be: I need a dollar, a dollar is what I need.
And yet, I am constantly faced with a paradox: travel and worry over a lack of money or sacrifice those trips and be able to at least survive each month until pay day. But surviving is not living and the truth is, whether I travel or not, I don’t seem to get any richer. So whilst the saying “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer” may not tell the whole truth, I guess I’d rather be broke in Copenhagen for a weekend than broke sitting at home all day! PS I’m aware of the metaphorical meaning behind the expression but it’s worth recognising the sacrifices that sometimes need to be made in order to live by those words.
Sure, travel has become much more accessible than in previous years, but even budget travel is still a luxury that not everyone is so lucky to enjoy. I, for one, am perfectly aware of my privileged position as someone who has been able to explore beyond my birth country and I think it’s important for those of us who have had this privelege to remember just how lucky we are. In this regard, one need only look at some (of course not all) of those people who voted for Brexit two summers ago. Whilst I wholeheartedly disagree with their decision, a part of me can’t help but wonder that if some of those voters who had never travelled outside of Britain and thus failed to experience one of the greatest benefits of EU membership had seen more of Europe or even the world, then the outcome may have been different.
Anyway, moving away from politics, I’m off next weekend for the most budget-friendly Copenhagen experience possible (hopefully it is possible)… So, wish me luck and I’ll be sure to offer some tips when I return!
*I’m also working on a blog post on my US adventure so watch this space.
