Meeting People Is Often Easier When You’re Traveling Alone
In this article, I’m going to teach you that not only is it okay to travel solo, but by following this simple tip, show how you can wind up meeting more people than had you had traveled with others.
I’m blogging about this because I had a fiend mention to me that she wants to do some traveling, but none of her friends can join her, and she’s afraid to travel solo.
She’s not afraid for any safety reasons – she smart and savvy enough be aware of her surroundings in order to sidestep any trouble that might pass in her direction – but she’s afraid of being, well, solo the entire time.
Lonely. Alone.
To which I responded that I, as someone who travels solo frequently for several reasons, am often less alone when I travel alone than I am when I’m traveling with others.
She did the same thing you’re probably doing right now, and that is scratching your head thinking that I’ve lost my mind.
Allow me to explain.
When I’m solo, I’m more apt to go out and do things than I am when I’m traveling with a group or friends. For example: when I was in Sydney, I took a free walking tour (you just tip the tour guide). There were about 20 people on it and I had instant friends. I doubt I would have done this had I been there with friends. (I later took a second walking tour, too.)
I also place myself in areas where there are people and I talk with them. I say hello as I pass people on the street. I poke my head in shops and talk to the employees and customers, often quizzing them about their town. I talk to other travelers in the hotel.
I also seek out busy bars and restaurants, and Happy Hours in particular. These are especially good places to go not to be alone. I may even go a bit early and talk to the employees, asking them things such as “what are your busy nights,” and “what’s the best time to be here to meet people?”
If you’re with a friend or two or a group, you may look at a place, then the menu, and settle down into an empty, boring place. You may want to get up and move around, see if you can find someplace more lively, but your friend is anchored to his or her chair.
So don’t be afraid to travel solo. You just might find you’ll have a better time and even be around more people than had you gone with a friend.
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