Travel Myths Black People Need to Let Go

People are unfortunately working themselves to death with little to no time to accomplish their goals or partake in any hobbies. Not only are we dealing with the dreaded nine-to-five rat race, but oftentimes political, social stresses and the financial task of actually saving for a trip comes into play. We believe in LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE, ERRRR DAY! So for anybody reading this--baby, it’s time for a break.

Now, I’m sure many of you are thinking, “I can’t travel because I got bills” and that is understandable. But, if you are really serious about travel, try to save what you can so you experience the world around you. So, let’s get into some of the myths about travel and get to the root of what’s really holding you back from living your best life… ERRR DAY!

“If you don’t start learning a foreign language now you’ll end up starving or on the streets!”

It is good to get into the habit of learning a new language, but believe it or not, people in just about every major city know English. Most practically take every chance to practice it with those who speak it fluently like yourself. People throughout South America pay mucho dinero to have a regular hour-long conversation with a native English speaker. So much for that myth of you having to spend hours in a classroom learning a new language before you buy a ticket. This practice is the same in Asian and European countries. I’ve even heard stories of girls sleeping with guys in Taiwan just so they could practice their English. Now we’re not saying take it that far… but hey YOLO!

“Everything is expensive when you are abroad”

Prices for goods, accommodations and entertainment are going to be different no matter where you go--‘different’ being the keyword. Let’s compare Madrid to Miami.  While entrances and drinks at popular nightclubs may seem pretty steep, excellent wine is rather cheap. Plus, you get a free small snack with EVERY drink ordered at a bar. Can’t beat that, right? In Buenos Aires, the clothes and shoes are expensive and, generally speaking, of pretty bad quality. However, wine and bottles of tequila at clubs are very cheap, and you can get a five-star steak dinner for 20 bucks. Learning how to save money for a trip now will make the experience there will be worry-free when you land.

Let’s be honest: if you are “vacationing”, you will spend money. This is why saving for a trip is important to new travelers going abroad for the first time. People tend to throw extra money around on nice dinners, souvenirs, or that one theater shows the guide book states you MUST see! If you’re a Canadian doing those same activities in Vancouver, I promise you would spend even more money.

“Traveling is Scary!”

I’ll admit it. A considerable number of my friends, family and colleagues are content spending the rest of their lives on U.S. soil—bagging the country’s states, greatest cities, territories and national parks instead of foreign countries. Several people have expressed security fears as their reasoning and feeling like an easy target in a post-9/11 world. It’s a shame. However, I don’t fault them for wanting to experience the vast beauty of the mainland US first. Instead, I’ll do everything I can to encourage other internationally-minded people to fall in love with the world across borders and plant new flags for black travel. 

Many foreign cities thrive from tourist circulation and will welcome you with open arms. When traveling abroad, you learn so much about the culture, yourself and the world around you. The experience you gain from leaving your backyard and going someplace foreign is way more rewarding than living in fear of the unknown--one of the many positives of black travel.

“If something goes wrong abroad you’ll have no insurance coverage, and even if you do, the service will be terrible.”

This is one of my favorite excuses not to travel. Let’s break this down a few ways. First, fear of illness or injury should be a reason to travel and to “seize the day” and have no regrets if something does happen down the road. Second, health care is quite cheap everywhere in the world… except in The States.

This means emergency travel insurance is usually less than $40/month if you’re supplementing existing coverage.

“The Work-A-Holic with not enough vacation time.”

Yes. Some could argue that working conditions in the US are pretty damn good compared to other countries. We get benefits, dental, paid time off and other perks, but did you know the U.S. is the only advanced economy that doesn’t guarantee its workers any paid vacation time? Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). And for the amount of vacation time that MIGHT be given, more than half of it goes unused--a wasted opportunity not to expand black travel. 

While everyone’s personal experience is different, there are far too many excuses why we aren’t traveling…working yourself to death SHOULDN’T be one of them. Overall, life is what you make it, so don’t let these excuses or any others keep you from experiencing the world around you!