Why travel isn’t just for retirees
Sian Pages – Travel Planner
If you’ll indulge me for just a moment, I’d like to share a story with you about my grandfather. He always used to tell me he’d been fortunate to ‘travel’ whilst in the forces and spoke with such passion about the places he’d fallen in love with – Petra in Jordan, being his absolute favourite.
When I asked him why he didn’t continue travelling after he finished his tours, he simply said:
“We always thought we’d have more time and there always seemed to be something that got in the way, because we didn’t make it a priority”.
He used to tell me, almost every time we spoke, to travel the world and do it now, before ‘life takes over’.
Anyone who knows me well, will know that I live by this mantra and I plan to return to Petra when my son is old enough, to scatter my grandfather’s ashes.
So many people put off the dream of travelling until they retire. It’s a ’future’ prospect – something to reward ourselves for, later in life, when working long hours, and raising a family isn’t our main focus. Our ‘bucket-list’ gets put on pause – instead, choosing to prioritise the immediate.
Now. Whilst I can say that the immediate will always be there, there is a good argument for why your travel dreams might not still be, if you wait until you retire. From health and financial demands, to a rapidly changing world, here are some reasons why you should seize the day and start travelling now.
You might not be healthy enough
Ok, so let’s get the most clichéd one out of the way first… There really is no way of knowing what our future health looks like. We don’t know how long we have, nor do we know how active we’ll want to be in retirement. This is why looking at what your dreams are now, makes perfect sense.
Have you always wanted to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef?
Or how about hiking a glacier in Alaska?
Maybe you’d love to learn how to Tango in Argentina.
When you retire, who knows what your focus will be. There’s no time like the present, so don’t leave your bucket list for later – get out there now while you can!
It could cost more
As we get older, the risk of health issues increases and with that, higher insurance premiums. Add to this, the likelihood that you’ll no longer want to fly long haul in economy (comfort please)!
When you travel as an older adult, your tastes change – you are less likely to compromise on lowering your standards (and nor should you!) These things stack up. Making travelling anywhere further afield, more expensive.
The world is changing
We‘ve all seen how the world can flip in a moment, going through a pandemic and the effects of that. It’s not such a stretch to imagine that there could be other ‘world altering’ events that could take place between now and your retirement.
Climate change is also going to impact on how we travel in the future. Even down to islands that may be your dream destination, being underwater within decades.
Travel helps you grow
There is no denying that travel enriches our lives in so many ways. From the bonds we create with fellow travellers, to the memories we share with our loved ones.
When we travel, we learn new ways to live, embracing new cultures and ideas. Who knows what you could discover that once integrated into your family life, changes the way you live forever!
Travel shows you how to get out of your comfort zone, embrace new experiences and learn more about yourself than you ever thought possible. It gives you the ability to be a storyteller.
As Albert Einstein once said, “When you stop learning, you start dying”. So why wait until retirement to reap the benefits of travel? Start travelling now and fill up the pages of the story of your life.
Get in touch
If you’d like to discuss future travel plans you have in mind, get in contact with our in-house travel consultant, Sian Pages, on sian.pages@notjusttravel.com.
Sian will be more than happy to spend time talking you through your options; remembering her service is delivered at no cost to clients and professional connections of Longhurst.
Happy Adventures!
