Dealing with the obstacles to traveling the world starts by overcoming the external and practical elements of such a journey and working your way inward. Coming to terms with leaving your job (Part 1) and being prepared financially (Part 2) are easy to overcome because ultimately you are shedding things and leaving them behind.
After coming to terms with your family (Part 4) and your future (Part 5) you might have to face the one person you can’t go without, your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife. How you approach your significant other is probably the most important part of the process.
Have A Plan
It’s easy after breaking your plan to travel the world down and making it realistic to get excited and simply plop down a “I’m going to travel the world” or “we’re leaving” on your loved one. The thought of traveling the world seems crazy at first to all of us who’ve contemplated it – once it’s not so crazy we’re ready to go and often neglect to consider that the people we love need to hear the plan too.
Assuming you’ve done a good job formulating a plan and putting it on paper you can share how you’d like to travel the world with your sweetie. It’s important though to get them in on the planning process as early as possible and not to be scared your idea will be rejected.
“We” Not “I”
Your plans and relationship can be easily derailed if the topic of traveling the world becomes a huge argument or creates a big rift.
Ongoing Process
If you’re worried about what your significant other’s initial reaction don’t be. A first reaction is not a final reaction and you’re bound to face some doubts. (You did too when this idea first came into your head!) Overcoming each of the 7 obstacles to traveling the world don’t happen overnight neither will convincing or planning a trip around the world with your partner.
The process is ongoing for you both. Hopefully you’ve begun discussing the idea to travel the world early on and can go through the doubts, triumphs, and obstacles together. We each have things that take longer to accept or work around so move at the same pace so one person isn’t playing catch-up and ends up feeling lost.
Make Or Break
These are what I call “make or break” moments – what is more important to you and what will your ultimate decision be?
Finding love on the road is different and as Nomadic Matt notes,
There’s a bittersweet nature to love on the road. There’s a short shelf life to them. Relationships tend to last as long as the people are traveling together. But they tend end better than relationships back in “the real world”.
but adds this,
So is it possible to have love on the road? Yes. Occasionally you meet that special someone who also happens to be going your way. You end up traveling on the road for awhile, spending months together, and having a great time doing it.
Couples Who Are Traveling The World
Is it possible to travel the world with the one you love? It is and there are so many travel blogs out written by people doing just that. Here are a select few but there are plenty of others on my links page.
Next week we’ll tackle the biggest obstacle to overcome and only person who can hold you back from your dreams – yourself.
[photos by: haileybugg, Brandon Milner, laurenmarek]