People always bring up loneliness as the big scary part of traveling long term. And yeah it can hit, but in my experience it’s way more specific than just being far from home. For me it almost always comes down to time zones.
I’m pretty good at being alone. Traveled through Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, spent plenty of full days not really talking to anyone and felt totally fine. Because the whole time the group chats were going. Someone dropping something stupid, fantasy football drama, the usual. That stuff carries you more than you’d think. You don’t need your people physically there, you just need to feel like you’re still part of the conversation back home.
Buenos Aires was easy for that reason. Time difference was workable, I still felt connected. Most of Western Europe same thing. You find a rhythm pretty fast.
Vietnam was tougher. Six hour gap right in the middle of the day and your phone just goes quiet for hours. Nothing. The country is incredible, the food alone makes it worth it, but those dead hours where nobody’s awake back home hit differently than I expected.
I know how that sounds. Needing the group chat to feel okay. Very millennial of me. But I think it’s just honest and I don’t think enough people admit it. Staying in the thread is genuinely what makes long term travel sustainable for me.
Still trying to make friends wherever I land too, that part never really gets easier. But knowing the people back home are still including you from thousands of miles away is a bigger deal than most travel content will ever admit.
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