1. Get Insurance
My parents never had health insurance growing up – I suppose they enjoyed throwing caution to the wind for themselves and their two children. Or, rather, that my Dad thought most doctors were scammers. Because of this, we hardly went to the doctor. I am frequently reminded of the time I had strep for a week and when I my Mom finally took me to urgent care (after missing 3 days of school), the doctor looked at her in judgement and said “Why would you wait this long before bringing her in?” All of that to say, I’ve had my own health insurance since I was 18 but am a frequent second-guesser of insurance. So for a while, I also threw caution to the wind and said “What’s the worst that could happen?” and until that point, I had not solo traveled outside of the U.S. When I started on my 6-month trip around the world, I said, well, if there’s anytime to try out travelers insurance, it’s now. And let me tell you – I am so glad I did. So, something you need to know about travelers insurance (that I didn’t know), is that it works a little differently than most insurance. Basically, you get reimbursed for any claims. When I briefly lived in Thailand I had a bad accident (the details will be left out, for sure, sorry not sorry), and was rushed to the emergency room and upon arrival I had told them I had insurance. The hospital was beautiful but the amount of English spoken was sparse. I didn’t understand that they couldn’t accept my travelers insurance. Nevertheless, I needed quite a bit of stitches under anestesia and paid $800 out of pocked for the surgery, the drugs and the follow up. A few day later, I called my insurance, they instructed me to send me the details of what happened, where I was, along with the receipt of the injury and any cost of medications. I did and eventually got the reimbursement about a month later.
All of that said, I shopped around for a while for high-rated, inexpensive travelers insurance and found that WorldNomads was the absolute best. They are affordable, great for travelers who want to visit many places in one trip and all around, easy. On that same 6-month trip, I went to 10 different countries and $____ was the total cost of insurance.
2. Get a Backpack, Keep it Light & Stay Organized
I know it can be so hard – I still struggle with the “keeping it light part”. I want to look cute in every photo, and for a woman who is more on the mid-plus size range, its important for me to dress in a way that flatters my body type. Even more difficult when you travel to a cold location and my sweaters are thick af. I like to use my suitcase only when I am wanting a more “put-together” look as opposed to the usual “dirty-backpacker” and I’m only going away for a little while. But, to each their own.
Why get a backpack?
- I suppose I may be biased, but after getting a travel backpack I hardly ever use my suitcase. Overall, I think it depends on the type of traveling you’re doing. If you’re going for a longer trip to multiple locations, you need a backpack. Suitcases are fine for a short trip where you’re not going to have to be lugging it around everywhere you go (have you tried pulling a suitcase on cobblestone streets? Not fun.) Backpacks are great for long trips because it can come with you very easily. If you get to a place that has a lot of stairs, cobblestone, or need to take a plane to a bus to a ferry and feel like suitcases can slow you down, or honestly, maybe you just want to have two free hands, a backpack is the right choice.
Why travel light?
- I don’t feel like I need to explain this too much. If you end up having a suitcase, lugging it around is already annoying, lugging it around if its heavy, is even worse. But if you do end up taking my advance and getting a backpack, your back will thank you. I have never had back issues and constantly overpacked my backpack and when I came back from my life as a nomad, I had to go to the chiropractor weekly for a while until my back felt better. Make sure to use the chest and hip straps to save your back – even if you look dumb, trustme
Why keep it organized?
- You will thank yourself, trust me. Get some compression packing cubes. You’ll be able to pack more things and you can easily label them so when you’re searching for that shirt you love, you don’t have to “explode” your whole back. I typically organize them into the 4 cubes as follows: Largest Bag = Bottoms, Medium/Large Bag = Tops, Medium Bag = Outerwear and Occasional Wear (i.e. Swimsuits, Jackets, Pajamas, Loungewear), Small Bag = Underwear, Bras & Socks.