5 Ways You Know You’re Near the End of Your Backpacking Days

Posted on November 22, 2018  •  3 minutes  • 564 words

Going on a backpacking trip is an exciting adventure. It doesn’t matter if you’re going across the country or around the world, you get to experience new things and learn more about yourself. If you’ve never backpacked before, it may be a journey to bump near the top of your to-do list. There will come the point, though, at which backpacking no longer offers the same excitement as it once did. If you get those feelings, it may be a sign that you’re near the end of your backpacking days and you’re ready to settle down. That isn’t to say all of your exciting adventures are ending. It means that you’re ready for a new chapter in your life. How can you tell that your backpacking days are ending and you’re getting ready to settle down? Ask yourself some of the following questions first. Do New Adventures Still Sound as Appealing as They Used To? If how you used to backpack doesn’t sound as appealing anymore, there’s a good chance you’re near the end of your backpacking days. If you have troubles keeping up with the group and would prefer to slow down, it could mean two things. The first is that you should start looking at settling down and starting your career, family, or a different path in life. However, it could also mean that you just need to pick a different group to travel with. Do You Prefer Having Your Privacy More? For backpackers, most likely you are staying in hostels or other shared places. If the thought of sharing a room or bathroom with a stranger—even your travel buddy—alarms you, that could be a sign that you’re ready for something different in life. Are You Looking at Real Estate While Travelling? When you’re young and backpacking, you may look at the houses and think they’re neat and it would be cool to live there. However, if you’re looking at the real estate market, wondering how much it costs to live there and if you could afford it, you may be ready to start settling down. Next time you travel to major cities in Canada like Toronto, ask yourself if you’re looking at the Toronto real estate market seriously, or just admiring the homes. Do You Have Plans Restricting Your Backpacking Life? Before, you most likely planned out your life so you could backpack wherever you wanted, whenever you wanted. Take a look at your plans now though. Are you trying to fit in some time to backpack in the middle of your life plans? Are you stressing that you may not have time this year? Maybe you have some time off, but now you’re planning out your vacation rather than winging your trip. Either way, if you have plans, you’re likely near the end of your backpacking days. Are You Planning an Educational Trip, or Just for Fun? Here’s a big question to ask yourself: what is the purpose of your trip? If you’re still going to party, run around and meet new people, you may still have some more backpacking years left in you. But if you’re trying to squeeze in more educational and sightseeing adventures, are you really backpacking anymore? Use these questions as a guide. This isn’t to say that you cannot backpack anymore. Rather, they may be signs that your backpacking days are close to the end.