One month into a five-month solo European trip, a 22-year-old Australian questions whether the experience is worth the money. With ongoing global instability making her return uncertain and expectations weighing heavy, she's discovering that extended travel isn't always Instagram-perfect.
The post on r/solotravel titled "Is it worth it" captures a feeling many long-term travelers experience but rarely discuss publicly: "Occasionally I question whether the experience is worth all the money I am spending."
The Setup
The traveler is one month into five months, moving quickly through Europe: staying 2-4 nights in most places, volunteering short-term three times during the trip. She's feeling homesick, unsure, and questioning the whole endeavor.
Critically, she notes: "I have an expectation that I should be having the best time of my life because I will never get this amount of time at this great age to do something again."
This expectation — that long-term travel should be constant euphoria — is perhaps the biggest trap.
The Pressure to Be Living Your Best Life
Social media creates a toxic narrative around extended travel: every day should be magical, every experience profound, every moment worth documenting. The reality is far messier.
Long-term travel includes: - Days spent doing laundry and finding grocery stores - Exhaustion from constant movement and packing - Loneliness despite being surrounded by people - Decision fatigue from planning every single day - Homesickness and missing familiar routines - Guilt about spending money on experiences that feel "wasted"
None of this makes it onto Instagram. But it's the actual experience of extended travel.
The 2-4 Night Problem
The traveler is staying 2-4 nights in most places. This is the worst possible pace for long-term travel. It's too fast to settle in and experience a place authentically, but too slow to be an efficient whirlwind tour.
Experienced long-term travelers typically recommend: - 1-2 nights: Quick stops for specific attractions - 5-14 nights: Sweet spot for getting a feel for a city - 1-3 months: True immersion, slow travel
The 2-4 night pace means constantly packing, checking in/out, figuring out new transit systems, and never settling. It's exhausting and prevents the depth of experience that makes long-term travel worthwhile.
The Money Question
Five months in Europe for a 22-year-old Australian likely costs AU$20,000-30,000 all-in. That's a massive investment for someone early in their career.
Is it "worth it"? That depends entirely on what you're measuring:
If the metric is constant happiness: No, it's not worth it. You'll have bad days, boring days, and days where you wish you were home.
If the metric is Instagram content: Maybe, but you could get the same photos with a 3-week trip.
If the metric is personal growth: Possibly, but only if you're actively reflecting on and integrating experiences rather than just accumulating passport stamps.
If the metric is life experience: Yes, but that value won't be clear until years later when you realize how the trip shaped you.
The Global Instability Factor
The traveler mentions "the war going on that makes it uncertain about my return to Australia." This adds a layer of anxiety that makes enjoying the present nearly impossible.
Traveling during geopolitical instability creates constant background stress: Should I go home early? Am I being irresponsible staying away? What if flights get canceled?
This transforms travel from escape into a source of additional anxiety.
What to Do at Month One of Five
Practical advice for the traveler (and anyone in similar situations):
Slow down dramatically: Pick one city and stay 2-3 weeks. Experience boredom. Find a favorite café. Have a routine. This is when travel becomes meaningful rather than performative.
Lower expectations: The trip doesn't need to be "the best time of your life." It can just be... a trip. With good days and bad days.
Stop comparing to an imagined ideal: There's no "correct" way to feel during long-term travel.
Consider going home: If the anxiety about global instability is overwhelming, there's no shame in cutting a trip short. Five months was an arbitrary choice anyway.
Find a community: Volunteering (which she's planning) helps. So do coworking spaces, hostels with common areas, or local activity groups.
The Brutal Truth
Extended travel isn't for everyone, and it's certainly not a guaranteed source of happiness. The pressure to have "the time of your life" often ruins the actual experience.
The traveler asks: "Is it worth it?" The answer is: Only if you stop asking that question.
Constantly evaluating whether experiences justify their cost makes it impossible to be present. The "worth it" calculation can only happen in retrospect, months or years later, when you understand how the experience changed you.
The best travel isn't about the destination — it's about what you learn along the way. Sometimes that lesson is uncomfortable: that your dream trip feels harder than you expected, that you're not having constant fun, and that's completely okay.
