Summary

The author is planning to balance travel and life responsibilities in Europe before moving back to Canada by taking short trips, exploring nearby places, and being mindful in travel planning to avoid burnout.

Abstract

The author discusses the challenge of maximizing travel experiences in Europe while managing a busy life that includes a job, online studies, and caring for pets. With limited time before relocating to Canada, the strategy involves taking weekend getaways, discovering local destinations, and planning a mindful longer trip in the spring. The author reflects on past travel mistakes, emphasizing the importance of slow travel and enjoying experiences without the pressure to see everything. The goal is to create meaningful memories and fully experience each destination without overextending.

Opinions

The author acknowledges the risk of travel burnout from trying to do too much in a limited time frame.
There is value in slow travel and not feeling compelled to see everything a destination has to offer.
Taking shorter trips allows for experiencing the highlights of different places while reducing time away from home and other responsibilities.
Exploring places close to home is often overlooked but can lead to some of the best travel memories.
Mindful planning is crucial to avoid repeating past mistakes of overly ambitious travel itineraries that lead to exhaustion.
The author finds inspiration in the stories and photographs of other travelers when considering new destinations.
A sense of gratitude is expressed for the opportunity to explore and live in Europe, with an emphasis on making the most of the remaining time there.

How to Balance Limited Time and Travel Burnout

How I’m planning to travel in the first half of 2023

As I’ve written about previously, my time living in Europe is limited. Because of that, I want to take advantage of every travel opportunity before I leave.

However, this type of thinking has led to travel burnout as I attempted to do too much in a limited time.

You Don’t Have to See Everything When You Travel

Learn from my experience and opt to slow-travel instead

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As I near the end of my time in Europe, I am learning to balance these two ideas. How do I get as many travel experiences as possible in a short amount of time while still fully enjoying and being present for these experiences?

On top of avoiding travel burnout, I also have to contend with the rest of my life. My husband is away for the next few months because of his job. I also have a job and I am working on an online degree. I also have a dog and a cat who can’t always travel with us. I need to fit travel in between all these other responsibilities.

Here’s how I’m planning on doing it in the first half of 2023 before we are due to move back to Canada.

Take short trips

Because of both my and my husband’s jobs, we aren’t able to go on long holidays. However, one of the advantages of Europe is that everything is so close that it doesn’t take too long to travel to different places.

That allows us to take short trips when we are able to fit them in.

For example, I am planning on heading to Poland with my husband over a weekend at the end of the month. In April, I’ll head to Lisbon with my mom, grandmother, and cousins.

I’m inspired by Tim Ward’s story and hope that I get the chance to discover this beautiful city.

The Most Peaceful Place in Lisbon

Estrela Park: an oasis in a once-turbulent city.

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I hope that taking shorter trips will allow me to discover the highlights of different destinations without feeling the pressure to see everything. It will allow me to spend less time away from home and my pets, and to feel less stressed.

Visit places close to home

While I dream of destinations far away, I find that some of my best memories come from traveling close to home.

There are often so many wonderful places to see half an hour, an hour, two hours away from home, that we don’t take the time to explore because we are too focused on traveling abroad.

Personally, I’m an hour away from Scotland. I’m less than 40 minutes away from the gorgeous East Coast of England. I’m an hour and a half away from the Lake District. I’m 4 hours away from Snowdonia.

Traveling close to home is rewarding. There is much less planning involved. It can be done over a day or even an afternoon. You can bring your dog.

When you know your time is limited in a place, you take every opportunity you have to explore it and you feel grateful for every experience you are able to have there.

As the days get longer and warmer, I look forward to discovering new parts of my current home.

Be more mindful in my planning

While I am definitely looking forward to weekend trips and local exploring, I am also planning a longer trip in the spring.

I have not picked a destination yet. There are so many incredible places to discover in Europe and it’s hard to choose just one.

Right now, we are leaning towards Scandinavia, and this incredible story from Anne Bonfert, along with some great pictures, might be what we need to convince us.

Heading North — Our First Impressions of Scandinavia

Part one of our mini road trip through southern Sweden

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However, my plan for this trip is to not repeat the mistakes of last summer’s trip through Croatia and Italy. It was too long, we tried to do too much, and we finished the trip exhausted and so ready to head home.

Therefore, I am being more mindful in my planning. Rather than trying to fit as much as possible in our trip and to include things just because we’re told we “have to” see them, I am looking at things we truly enjoy doing and planning a relaxing trip.

2022 was an incredible year during which we were able to travel to destinations I had been dreaming about for years. 2023 is going to look different as I have a number of projects on the go and we are planning a move back to Canada this summer.

However, I’m hoping that by taking short trips, visiting places nearby, and being mindful about my trips, I’ll still be able to make some incredible memories and to see some incredible places.

I look forward to sharing my journeys with you and reading all about your travel in 2023!