Women Don’t Need to be in Crisis to Travel
Why it’s important to recognize the happy wanderers.
“Are you going through a divorce?” my new friend half-joked as we wandered by the Colosseum. To spare ourselves from Rome’s unforgiving sun, we’d waited until dusk to meet for our language exchange. Plus, he had a job. I, on the other hand, was on a little hiatus that involved eating lots of pizza.
“I’m not going through a divorce. Why do you ask?” But I realized where he was going with this.
“Eat, Pray, Love?”
I understand what triggered this question and can’t blame him for it. We were a literal walking cliché — Italian man, American woman, pistachio gelato thrilling our throats as we walked off into the sunset. But we were missing the element of the cliché that’s too often tagged to women exploring the world on their own: Crisis.
Eat, Pray, Love; Under the Tuscan Sun; Wild. There are countless movies, books, and blogs on women getting divorced, selling everything, and moving abroad or backpacking to heal and find themselves. I applaud these women for sharing their stories and inspiring others. We need their voices. But why is the broken woman the only narrative we have?
Girls deserve to see examples of happy women who travel or live abroad because that’s the life they love. They’re not struggling to find themselves — they know who they are. They’re even-keeled and open-minded. They get out of their heads to see, touch, feel, taste, smell the world around them. They avoid drama and cold hearts. They listen to parents fret about their future, but don’t let that keep them home. They don’t need tragedy to give them permission to travel. They dream and they act.
These women exist in reality. I’m friends with them. As an American expat who’s lived in London and Italy for the last seven years, I’ve met incredible women who’ve moved countries or traveled on their own for the thrill. Or the food. Or their career. Or to find a home that’s more aligned to their values. Or maybe they can’t explain why they do what they do, but they feel that wanderlust ache in their bones if they sit still too long.
Why does the entertainment industry prefer the woman on the edge over the one enjoying her life? I realize I have been giving Hollywood and publishers a pass — maybe happy stories don’t have that narrative arc they’re seeking. But then, guys aren’t relegated to sad memoir territory. They can swashbuckle to parts unknown, drink beer, dance, build a startup, and never have to publicly grieve, explain themselves, or analyze their every thought.
My conversation with my Eat, Pray, Love friend motivated me to shine a light on the female swashbucklers I so admire, so I started a travel podcast. Here’s what my guests on the Postcard Academy have taught me about travel so far:
You don’t have to be rich
There are loads of travel hacks you can take advantage of to bring down the cost of travel, from finding error fares, to volunteering, to traveling during shoulder season. In my second podcast episode, Cristal Dyer, a friend and favorite travel blogger of mine, broke down how she’s able to afford her nomadic life. Following her advice has already saved me a few hundred bucks and inspired a trip to Mexico.
You don’t have to be 20
When it comes to travel, people like to advise “do it while you’re young” and “do it before you have kids.” Well, you can travel always, even if you have kids (and P.S., you don’t have to have kids). Robyn Eckhart was over 40 when she ditched her dissertation on politics in rural China to pursue a career in food and travel writing. Friends thought she was nuts, but her new cookbook, Istanbul and Beyond: Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey, is crushing it.
You don’t have to ‘throw away your career’
“Who will hire you with all those holes in your resume?” everyone will ask when you say you want to escape your job and hit the road. Answer: The kind of companies you’d want to work for, the ones that value curiosity and global experience (this is how I got my job at Apple). Journalist Debbie Stowe says moving to Romania in 2002 opened doors that wouldn’t have been available to her had she stayed home in London. Since moving to Rome 15 years ago, Jersey Girl Katie Parla has literally written the book on Roman cuisine (bestseller Tasting Rome).
While I focus on female expats, adventurers, and authors on my podcast, I interview male guests, too, because, quite frankly, men still dominate the publishing world, especially when it comes to travel writing. Plus, I enjoy hearing diverse stories from all genders and walks of life. I just want to see more women being featured for going places because they want to, not just because they’re lost or have baggage to overcome.
As a Medium reader, I’m guessing you enjoy good food, culture, and traveling around. The Postcard Academy travel podcast combines all three. You can find out more about me at https://postcardacademy.co
