Motivate Me Mondays: I want to TRAVEL

As a 26 year old female who did not take her first plane ride until she was about 20 years old and did not get her first passport until she was 24, I have set out to make sure I travel more while I am young. I did not grow up taking family vacations and having enough money to travel to amazing places at least once a year. I regret putting limits on myself when it came to traveling and I had to learn to lift those limits and find ways to make it happen for myself. Often times we hear of people coming across these amazing deals and traveling to all of these beautiful places but I know we all wonder how much money this will really cost us. Often times it is either money or fear holding us back from traveling and I hope to help you understand that their are ways to move past those fears. DaNae Grubbs is a fearless 26 year old who was willing to share her story of how she came to travel so much and how she even made it possible for mother as well.
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1. Name, age, occupation, little bit about yourself 

Name: DaNae Grubbs

Age: 26

Occupation: IT Infrastructure and Operations Engineer at a large consulting firm

Current City: San Antonio, TX

Hometown: Peoria, IL

Colleges: NCA&T (B.S. Computer Science), Syracuse University (M.S. Telecommunications & Network Management)

I absolutely love to travel – I love the thrill in finding an awesome deal somewhere + having to research about my destination (neighborhoods, public transportation, culture, food, weather, currency, tourist attractions, local hangouts)

2. At what age did you start taking traveling seriously ?

At the age of 21, I landed an opportunity to do an internship in England. Under these circumstances, I had to travel there and navigate the country by myself. From this experience, I became curious of other places in the world and also felt empowered to travel anywhere!

3. What’s your favorite place you’ve visited? (If you can’t name just one name up to 3)

Lisbon, Portugal

Tokyo, Japan

Barcelona, Spain

4. 3 places you still want to visit ?

Bangkok, Thailand (Going in March!)

Hong Kong, China (Going in March!)

Africa (Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania)

5. Best deal you’ve ever come across for a trip?

$214 RT to Lisbon, Portugal (2016)

$218 RT to Abu Dhabi, UAE (2014 “Dubai Christmas Deal”)

6. Where did you take your mom?

Milan, Italy

London, England

Paris, France

 7. Was this her first international trip?

YES!  She had never been out of the country or even had a passport beforehand.

8. What was the driving force behind wanting to make this trip possible for your mom ?

Whenever I travel to different countries, I always made it a priority to FaceTime my mom so she could see the different tourist sites and attractions (with me virtually). I just knew that she would have much rather preferred to be there in person experiencing it with me. My mom has sacrificed a lot for me to get where I am today and although I cannot give her the world, I can at-least show her it. Through my continuous “travel deal” stalking, our tickets were under $500 RT.

 

 

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*Picture of DaNae and her mom*

9. How many countries have you visited?

17

10. What type of advice can you offer those who want to travel more but don’t know how to make it possible ?

  • Reach out to people that you know who travel frequently and inquire about how they make it happen!
  • Save money now for a flight so that when a deal comes, you’re ready to book! ($600)
  • Traveling alone can be scary but it’s normally the more rewarding experiencing.
  • If you want to travel cheaply, it will require a great deal of flexibility.
  • The internet has so much great information – you can research and find anything you want/need to know.
  • #BookDatIsh

I have a ton of resources that I use to gain knowledge about where I am going + to make traveling affordable.

  • TheFlightDeal.com
  • Google Flights
  • HotelTonight
  • AirBnB
  • TripAdvisor
  • Travel.State.Gov
  • Nodmadness Travel Tribe

 

I hope this story will motivate those who want to travel but feel as though they do not have the means to do so. I encourage everyone who wants to travel to just simply do it. Do not let ANYTHING limit you because anything is possible! And in the words of my fellow people who love to travel, as DaNae said, #BookDatIsh !

Let Tay Tell It

 

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