Travelling for longer periods can be an exciting way to grow your perspective on the world and develop as a person. No matter what your approach, however, the people and places back home won’t put themselves on pause as you go. This can be one of the most challenging aspects of long-term travel, where you return home expecting consistency only to find everything has changed.
Take an active approach to staying aware of what happens back home when you’re away, and you’ll be more likely to fit back in comfortably when you return. There’s a lot to address here, so let’s jump into it.
Staying Updated and in Touch
In the age of easy-to-access internet, staying in contact with people at home is simple, it’s just a matter of effort. Whether you’re hanging in Taipei as we’ve covered at The World or Bust, or you’re backpacking around Brazil, maintaining a web presence is almost always possible.
When it comes to your local city or country, consider starting each day by reading 10–15 minutes of news articles. This way, you won’t be left in the dark when you do eventually return, feeling left out of conversations everyone else takes for granted.
You can also track the life developments of other people by following friends and family who are more active on social media platforms. From here, remember to maintain an active back and forth, even setting up monthly or weekly catch-up calls if you can. You might also like to try watch parties on a platform like Teleparty, synchronised across time zones.
Your Own Changes
The other side of this equation comes from facing head-on that after extended travel, you won’t be the same as when you left. These changes can be entirely positive, but they can make it difficult to fit back into the exact position you left off. You might be interested in new sports or activities, or you might get heavily involved in new social scenes.
This can mean that instead of trying to freeze life when you’re away, you leave it open for a more flexible return. Take your living situation as an example, where you might choose to sell your old property so you can start fresh in a new place after you land. If you’re curious about this route, you might start by asking: “Could I value my house with Sold?”. This platform provides advanced systems featuring free cash offers and no hidden fees. Letting you sell in your own timeframe, an approach like this can leave your future more open, so you can fall more easily into how you’ve evolved after returning.
Travelling does change us, but it can also help us appreciate the core parts of life that we can’t do without. It can help us better value our friends and families, and how much they make living better. When you do finally set out, it’s vital to maintain a connection with these key elements while also understanding that the person who leaves will not entirely be the person who returns. Stay in contact, keep as flexible as you can, and you’ll find yourself in a better position when you do arrive home, and as you prepare for another trip.