Travel Girls

A couple of months ago, as I would reflect on my life and talk to my single friends about their lives, I started noticing a pattern. In general, my friends who had traveled overseas several times or had lived overseas for some prolonged amount of time were mostly chronic singles. These girls, like myself have collectively visited or lived in every continent of the world but had never had a long-term relationship.

This made me wonder if there was a connection between traveling and finding a mate. Although there is no way to prove the connection, I have a couple of theories about the relationship between traveling and its impact on a young women's dating life.

First, I think that some travel experiences have such a profound impact on a young women that it causes her to become dissatisfied with the status quo. For me, it was entering the National War room in London, climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and seeing the milky way from the beaches of Bora Bora that made me see my normal life as kind of boring. I wanted more, and it was like I had become addicted to traveling. Where could I go next? What other amazing things could I experience? My everyday life, not matter how great, was barely enough to match that feeling of seeing places that few people in the history of the world before our times have ever seen.

Second, the young women who loves to travel enjoys the idea that singleness provides freedom for travel plans. As as single girl, I can commit much of my life to planning, saving money, and preparing myself for the next great travel excursion. I perceive that it is only my single status that also allows me the freedom to travel as I please because I don't have to consult with anyone or combine my savings in order to go. If I have the time and the money, I can go wherever for as long as desired.

Third, the more a girl loves to travel and has the freedom to do it, the longer she spends traveling. Usually travel girls will start, for example, with few days in Mexico with friends, then a longer study-abroad trip or missions trip to Asia, then a few months of work-study in Australia, and finally, her bags are packed to move into her apartment in Germany for the next two years. As you become comfortable with the idea of being in another country, it becomes less scary to go live there so you want to stay longer and longer.

Fourth, the time that a young women spends traveling, leaves little time for matters of the heart. That time away is, particularly for Christian girls, marked with few dating experiences in that overseas country and, certainly, a complete lack of opportunities to date guys from back home.

Fifth, it may be the lack of men back home that makes going somewhere else and not having a man a lot less tragic. It is really not that big of a deal to me if I spend a summer in London and leave without a boyfriend because I wouldn't have had one if I was back home anyway. This becomes more true the older you get, I think. My 35, 40, 45+ year old single friends think less and less of picking up and going away because they all say "It's not like I have anything or anyone here holding me back!"

Sixth, being a chronic single causes women to have a certain strength and independence that makes them capable of handling the cultural shock of traveling and living overseas. At this point in my life, I have had to do a lot without the physical presence of others. Driving the other side of the road, dealing with haters of American tourists, eating new delicacies, using a uni-sex bathroom is no tougher overseas than waiting in lines or at doctor's office alone, going to a party alone, going to church alone, spending a Friday night alone, cooking for one or any of the other things that I do as a single woman.

Seventh, the excitement, unexpectedness, adventure, and learning experiences of traveling feel much like a romance. In a relationship, there is always some compromise but at the end you want to spend time together. I can feel the same way about my travels. I may not love everything about Paris, but I love to spend time there. I love the sounds, the sights, the tastes; it is a sensory experience that tugs at my heart strings just like having a crush on a guy. If I have not been given the opportunity to experience a romance, than this is a safe healthy alternative.

Finally, I think that traveling might actually be God's gift to single women. He blesses us with great experiences and we can even use our travels to serve Him. Although I am not a believer in forcing single people to do missions just because of our status, I think that missions trips that suit you gifts, volunteering in churches, or even just living as a Christian in another country can all be part of God's plans for this world.

Images retrieved May 15, 2011 through Creative Commons from:

Pyramids http://www.flickr.com/photos/89649959@N00/5275093636/

Eiffel Tower http://www.flickr.com/photos/terrazzo/3958413757/

Sydney Opera House http://www.flickr.com/photos/bdearth/4028846906/

Asian Temple http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahbaker/55448647/

Fjords http://www.flickr.com/photos/adactio/13149177/