Internal conflict is a real issue that many of us deal with on a daily basis. In a world driven by glitz and glamour of social media, seeing someone else’ perceived life of luxury can be a bit depressing from the view of your bedroom. While others are traveling the world and seeing all of it’s beauty, I neglected to love myself first and place fear based barriers in front of me.
I’ve always used the excuse of, “I’d totally travel alone but I’d much rather share the experience with one of my friends so we could have an awesome story!” There’s only one issue. I don’t have many real friends. I have many acquaintances, people whom I’ve shared experiences with, but none that have made it to the top 5 on one hand.
Additionally, anytime I’d suggest a trip, no one would take me seriously. It’s a shitty feeling to be stoked to go see the Pyramids and no one else is rallying with you. It’s almost as if everyone else is scared to travel as well. Or maybe they’re just comfortable in their little bubble of America. I don’t blame them. We have it made.
And everyone either seems to have tons of time, but no money. Or money, but no time. They have to request “time off” from work. Time off? Are you kidding me? This is your life and it’s happening right now. Why on earth do you need to ask someone to live your life? Oh, that’s right… you have bills to pay. Got it.
I feel like if someone really wants to do something, they’ll make the time or they’ll make excuses. Unfortunately, most of the time people will choose the ladder. So fuck it, I’m off!
Where I’ll Be Going
San Francisco, USA
Reykjavik, Iceland
Dublin, Ireland
London, England
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Paris, France
Barcelona, Spain
Rome, Italy
Milan, Italy
Lugano, Switzerland
Zurich, Switzerland
Munich, Germany
Budapest, Hungary
Prague, Czech Republic
Stockholm, Sweden#FlightLife— Chris Altamirano (@chrisalta) November 25, 2017
I may even fly from Rome, Italy to Cairo, Egypt to go check out the pyramids! I’m sure I’ll decide when the moment presents itself. 16 cities, 13 countries. Total time traveling will be about 2-months.
How I Can Afford To Travel for 2-Months Straight
I’m sure you’re wondering how I’m going to pull this off, simple. Money! Ok, it’s obviously not that simple. Yes, I have an apartment and other responsibilities. For starters, I made about $30,000 in the past 2-3 months knocking on strangers doors. What Having Your First $10,000 Month In Door-To-Door Sales Feels Like is an article I wrote to give you an idea of how I made the money and how it felt.
Here’s a break down of my monthly expenses:
Rent – $750/mo
Utilities – $70/mo
Cell Phone – $180/mo
Food – $500/mo
Total monthly expenses: $1,500
As you can see, my monthly expenses aren’t that much. I live pretty frugally, don’t shop for clothes or really spend my money on dumb shit. I already learned that lesson (blew $10,000 in a month) and it’s no bueno.
How Much Is This Trip Going To Cost?
You’re probably thinking this trip is going to cost me $10,000. And I used to think the same thing but after calculating all of the flights, it’s not as expensive as you’d think.
Total costs for all flights is $1,747
And that’s with choosing all of the most expensive flights. I’m sure I could spend less money by taking trains but I want to get to each city quickly or else the trip would be a lot longer and of course would cost much more accommodations. Speaking of accommodations! Where will I stay?
Where I’ll Rest My Head––HOSTELS!
No, the movie hostel isn’t an accurate depiction of what hostels are like. They’re actually pretty cool. When I traveled to Barcelona, Spain last year, my friend and I stayed at St. Christopher’s Inn’s. We met some really amazing people, the front desk receptionists were super helpful, and the overall vibe felt very safe and fun. Not to mention, you don’t spend an arm and a leg on hotels or AirBNB’s!
I spent a total of $9.31 (USD) per night. Yes, nine fucking dollars. So if you multiply 60-days x’s $10.00 then that equals $600 total to rest. I’m sure I’ll get an AirBNB in each city at least once, so ramp that up to $1,000-$1,500 total.
Total cost of the trip including flights, stay, and food will be about $5,000 total. Not bad for 2-months of adventuring.
Why I’m Doing This and The Chief Aim
I’m 28-years young and according to Google, the average life-expectancy of a male in the United States is 78.74 years-old. If that math is accurate, then I’m only 10-years away from being halfway done with my life. I feel like we as American’s have this “let’s just chill” mentality. I’m all about enjoying life, but in a sense I believe there should be a blend of patience and urgency.
Patience in that everything in life is happening exactly as it should be. And urgency as in, let’s fucking go! Let’s take the trip! Let’s build the business! This being content in our cities bubble thing is downright pathetic and depressing. I’m not okay with simply being okay. I want more. I want fulfillment. I want experiences that will heighten my sense and grow me overall as a person.
The main goal for my travels is no goal at all. I have zero expectations. I suppose I’m going in to have a greater sense of gratitude for what I already have. Life is too short to just stay in one place and call it a life. I call bullshit on your lack of ambition and on your lack of resourcefulness to make your life happen.
I’ll let Gary Vaynerchuk take over for the remainder of this article.
Best,
–– Chris Altamirano
P.S. If you’d like to come, reach out on Facebook. I’m always up to journey with someone who has adventure in their heart and passion in their soul.