The Travel Chica

Live Simple. Consume Less. Experience More.

When I’m Ready or When the Money Runs Out

By

If you subscribe to my newsletter, you already know that Bolivia is the last country of my 20-month Latin American adventure.

(If this is news to you, and you want to be in-the-know sooner, sign up here.)

Back in 2010 when I finally decided to start telling people about my travel sabbatical plans, many asked how long I would be traveling.  My response was,

I have budgeted for a year.  I will come home when I am ready or when the money runs out, and I hope it is the former.

Well, I am happy to say it is the former.

I am ready to go home.

I was not ready to come home after one year, so I am happy that my anal-retentiveness about tracking and sticking to my travel budget, as well as my short stint as a digital nomad, allowed me to keep going.

I am ready to go home.

In fact, I sort of forced myself to go to Bolivia.  Don’t get me wrong.  I WANTED to see Bolivia, but I have been tired and a little lonely, and much of the excitement I felt during the first year of my travels has faded.

I don’t look at that as a bad thing.  It just means I am ready for a change.

I never had a dream of living a nomadic lifestyle forever.  In fact, the thing I dislike most about traveling is re-packing my backpack and getting to the next destination.  While I am happy that I am capable of living simply and being able to carry everything on my back, I do not prefer to actually live out of my backpack.

I am ready to go home.

I got to do something I really wanted to do.

Something that challenged both me and the norms of my culture.

I learned more about myself and the world than I will ever fully realize.

I made some wonderful friends I hope will continue to be a part of my life, even if it is mostly via the internet.

I am ready to go home.

(I have to keep saying it to make sure it’s true.)

What will happen to The Travel Chica?

Travel will always be a part of my life.  I love it.

And there is more to experience in this world than can possibly fit into a lifetime, but I certainly will give it my best shot.

Taking the time to travel long-term, independently on a shoe-string budget allowed me to figure out what aspects of travel make me smile the most, laugh the hardest, and feel that sense of wonder and pure joy.

And I hope that knowledge will allow me to get just as much out of shorter trips and even exploring my hometown.

This website has opened the doors to an entire community of people who love to travel and have no reservations about doing it on their own terms. I have added hundreds of destinations to my travel list from reading other blogs. I have also found that many travel bloggers have a positive outlook on life and are generous, open-minded, quirky, adventurous and slightly crazy (in a good way).

Basically, they are the type of people I like to be around.

So, yes, I will continue The Travel Chica.

I have many more stories (and photos) to share from Bolivia, more finds from my guide book research in Buenos Aires, and there are so many things I didn’t write about during the beginning of this trip because my blog really sucked back then.  (Yes, I am making the assumption that it doesn’t suck now.)

I will write about the transition back to “normal life.”

I will write about exploring my hometown.  (Remember, it’s all in your attitude.)

I will continue to write about my new travels.  I have a lot of places in the US to cross off my list.  And I will be watching flight prices to see how quickly I can get back to a Spanish-speaking country before I lose all my language skills.

And very soon I will be reaching out to all of you to give me some input on The Travel Chica and how you would like to see this site evolve.

Thank you so much for coming along on my journey!

And I hope you continue to keep me company as the journey continues around the next curve.

Comments

  2. Cheers to you, Stephanie. I’ve personally enjoyed following your travels and gaining inspiration from you – even from those days sitting at my home desk-top long before our first flight out of Oregon. So much fun to meet up with you in Buenos Aires, and great to stay in touch via the www. Best of everything during your next transition, and keep that love of life! xx
    Bethany ~ twoOregonians recently posted..The Value of Being a Foreigner

    • I hope to still make my trips as long as possible (the thought of only have a long weekend to visit a city or only one week to visit a country is already freaking me out), but I do like having a comfortable place to call home where I can sit on the patio and drink wine with my best friends.
      Stephanie – The Travel Chica recently posted..Dreaming of…. The Canary Islands

  6. I have loved reading your blog. I would love to see it end by beginning again. I have met so many people recently that try to go home and realized it has changed or they have changed and find an excuse to go back out there; wiser with all their lessons.

    That is why I find a place, stay a year then move on. Not too much packing and plenty of places to adventure out of!

    Cheers!
    Jonathan Look, Jr. recently posted..Sea Turtles, Lightning Storms and Life

    • Thanks so much. To be honest, I think a lot of changes already happened for me leading up to leaving for Latin America… that is what prompted me to make it happen. It will be interesting to see what other changes happened while I was traveling alone and how they will affect my life back home.

      I mentioned that “living the dream” for me was never becoming a permanent nomad. I think what you’ve got going on might be the dream :-)
      Stephanie – The Travel Chica recently posted..Dreaming of…. The Canary Islands

  7. I like your blog a lot. I’ve just discovered it recently, but I read quite a lot of posts. It’s addictive and useful and I hope to visit all those places you’ve been to.

    Living out of a suitcase or a backpack is not my dream either, but there are other ways of seeing the world. I’m also at home now, exploring my hometown and preparing a series of stories and photos which will surely be useful for travelers who will visit it. I can’t wait to read more of your stories.
    Violeta recently posted..Sforza Castle, Milan, Italy

  8. Where are you now?? We´re in Bolivia at the moment (In Cochabamba-heading on to Sucre tonight) and have been following your blog as we´ve spent the last year traveling through Central and South America

  9. congrats on making a decision you clearly stand behind.

    coming home is weird, but changing the way you travel is also really eye opening. I never saw the US the way I do now until I came home from long term travel. i never enjoyed just looking up at the sky the way i do now…

    good luck! cant wait to keep reading the travel chica :)
    Annie recently posted..Notable Photos: Summertime in the Napa Valley

  11. I think it’s really important to know when it’s time to come home- travel like all things is much less fun when oyu have to force it. I’ve been really enjoying my last couple months in the states and while I’ll be on the move soon it’s really made me rethink my travel style and how much I really want to be moving around.
    Steph recently posted..What I’ve Learned From Three Years of Travel Blogging

  12. Love it! My year of travel is coming to an end, but the good news about “going home” or creating a new home is that it’s just as much part of the journey of life as traveling is! Enjoy your time at home and enjoy your new observations about life that came through traveling!
    Jill recently posted..I live in the jungle

  14. Looking forward to continue reading your stories! I’m sure you’ll make the most of returning home, just as you’ve gotten used to making the most out of wherever you happen to be :) Good luck!

  15. Fué un gusto encontrarte en este viaje de la vida. Mis mejores y más cariñosos deseos de felicidad en tu hermoso itinerario de cada día. Te seguiré leyendo con el mismo placer de siempre. Un fuerte abrazo desde Bs. As.!

  16. I am glad you knew when it was time to go back home. There is no point forcing yourself to carry on if your heart is not in it fully anymore. I hope you won’t give up writing completely as I love your blog. So I will look forward to hometown stories and short trips you may take in the future. The very best of luck to you!
    TammyOnTheMove recently posted..A field trip

  21. PS

    excited to read your post about coming back home and transitioning to your life’s next chapter :-) wishing you all the best…

  22. I’ve enjoyed your time abroad and look forward to hearing about your reintegration into American life and your travels in the future!

  26. When it’s right, it’s right – don’t force yourself to do anything you don’t want to. There’s no point travelling for the sake of travel. If you’re ready to go home, just do it.

    Looking forward to seeing where your blog goes next and seeing a lot about the USA!

    Although I gotta say, I really was holding out and hoping for a Cruella Reunion post in Argentina.
    Waegook Tom recently posted..Boryeong MudFest, Or Where I Get Shirtless

  28. What a great trip and even greater goals! I’m sure your next journey–no matter where it may be–will be just as enriching and wonderful!

  31. Wow lady! We tried that for the Latin America thing but we ran into funds running out instead of wanting to come home.

    I can’t wait for the day where I think I’m “ready”. It is mythical to me. Maybe it will never happen? I’m hoping it will.

    Until then I cannot wait to continue keeping up with your adventures – be them at home or abroad. I feel so lucky that we had the opportunity to meet up and have BA experiences together. <3
    Erica recently posted..Photo Essay: I’m having a small affair with Chicago

  32. Congrats on your epic journey thus far, and best wishes for the journeys to come. I honestly don’t know how people can handle being perpetual nomads. We love coming home to our house and our dog, having time to rest and reflect on our last journey while we’re preparing for our next one. Looking forward to seeing The Travel Chica’s evolution!
    Bret @ Green Global Travel recently posted..10 Athletes The World Should Watch At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London

  36. Your blog definitely does not suck! I have so enjoyed reading about your SA adventures, especially because you got to delve into so many places that we only had time to gloss over and we got to fill in the details – it really added another layer to our mere 4 month journey in SA last year. So thanks for that! Look forward to seeing where your adventures take you next =)
    Andrea recently posted..Happy Food At the 2012 Gladmat Festival

  39. I´m glad somebody has written of the feeling of wanting to go home. I´ve been travelling for two and a half years and I´ve made a lot of sacrifices to have seen the amount of places I´ve seen. More and more often I am thinking it would be nice to settle down and be able to buy myself nice things for a change! I look forward to hearing how you adapt.
    Kelly recently posted..Sample the wine in Port

  40. I know how you feel! I am ready to go home as well! But that never means stopping the website.Your home will always be someone elses travel destination.

  43. Stephanie- It’s been a brilliant journey and I’ve enjoyed following along so much. You are lucky to have the revelation that it’s time to go home, I think some nomads lose that ability along the way sometimes.

    Great idea about exploring your hometown- I’m from Detroit, and if I can find different perspectives on tourist angles here, anywhere is possible :-)

    Best of luck on the transition!

  44. I’ve literally only just found your blog and caught up with the past few posts, so I’m really glad to hear you’ll still be writing the blog. I’m hoping that It’ll be of great help if I ever get to South America. And if not, I still really enjoy reading it while on my own adventures. Nice to meet you. :)

  47. Stephanie I’m just catching up on the last few bits of your blog! So glad that you know you’re ready! This post had such a light/warm-hearted feeling to it. You’ll always be THAT Travel Chica, yet I’m glad that you understood the change, the next step in your life so to speak, that is unraveling. Best of luck back in the States!
    Antoinette Bernardo recently posted..11 Years Ago, I Still Remember that Day

  48. All of you travel bloggers are so inspiring! Found you from Tourist2Townie, now I’m addicted here too. I’ve done plenty of travel in my life, have put some on hold to “take care of business” but I think what makes travel blogs so fun is that sense of excitement and discovery. If we bring that into our regular lives, then travel is just one more fun part of life, not the be-all end-all goal. Although I will be traveling abroad again this year, most likely to China. Thanks for blogging!
    American Debt Project recently posted..Weekend Reading Guide: Never Read a Tom Wolfe Book I Didn’t Like Edition

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