Hello!

[emrys]

Hello Squat the Planet!

My name is Paul, I'm 21 years old and currently living in Austria - Though I'm usually kinda shy around online communities I thought joining this site would be a good first step in getting to know some people who can share their travel experiences with me. I'd love to travel myself but I'm kinda forced to take it slow due to issues with anxiety and depression which prevailed for the last 8 years of my life. But I'm doing my best to get better and to be able to fulfill my dream of travelling the world at the fringes of society one day <:
Any stories, advice or help from anyone who knows what it's like to get enough guts together to make the first step is very welcome! I'd also be happy to talk to anyone who is experiencing similar problems, things are much easier if you don't need to go through them alone E:
Thanks for reading this, I hope you have a great time whereever you are, and I am really happy that there's so many people who do this kind of thing!
{3

Paul

 

[wizehop]

Welcome man! my dad is from Wien. Spent many summers in Austria growing up. Great country!

 

[Adnil]

Welcome aboard, Paul
Hope you find healthy methods to cope with your anxiety and depression.

Safe travels, from Squat the Planet !

 

[Vulture]

Don't take it too slow welcome mate

 

[emrys]

Thanks for the nice replies <:
And @Vulture, yeah, I'm just not really good at telling too slow and too fast apart, but I definitely don't wanna spend my whole life just waiting for something to happen ;D

 

[Whereamiwhatdoido]

Hi Paul, welcome to STP!
I'm excited to see somebody posting out of europe.
What are your expectations to travelling? Hope to see you on the road soon as possible friend

 

[emrys]

I'm not quite sure what to expect yet, I've travelled before but never like this. I just know that I feel better the farther away from home I am, seeing new places and getting to know new people is amazing <:
But I also tend to feel scared easily, so I'm a bit overcautious at times - part of the reason why I didn't leave already.
In general I think I should expect a little bit of everything - it's not always gonna be easy, but probably never dull ;D

 

[Whereamiwhatdoido]

I'm not quite sure what to expect yet, I've travelled before but never like this. I just know that I feel better the farther away from home I am, seeing new places and getting to know new people is amazing <:
But I also tend to feel scared easily, so I'm a bit overcautious at times - part of the reason why I didn't leave already.
In general I think I should expect a little bit of everything - it's not always gonna be easy, but probably never dull ;D

Is there any places you'd like to go or see, or the opposite, like things you know you don't want or places you don't like to go?

 

[emrys]

Is there any places you'd like to go or see, or the opposite, like things you know you don't want or places you don't like to go?

I'd love to go to the Uk for a bit, my girlfriend and I will be hiking in Scotland in the summer (she goes to university, so she only has time to travel then) - but I'd really love to explore the place a bit, but other than that I'm not really picky, I'd just love to get around <:
What about you? Are you travelling currently? ;D

 

[Whereamiwhatdoido]

At the moment I am not travelling. Though I'll probably not be able to stay home much longer. Been working the last two months and just quit the job.

Currently considering to hitchhike through the eastern european contries. Something like Poland - Ukraine - Romania - Bulgaria - Serbia - Hungary - Slovakia - The Czech Republic then back home. Make that into a one month trip or so.

 

[wickedwench]

It must be awesome to be able to travel across countries as quick as we travel between states. I'm jealous of you guys for that...but I bet it has its own serious drawbacks, so not that jealous.

As for getting up the guts, I have no idea. I already lived on the street back when I was younger, so it was a no brainer when we had the chance to become rubber tramps and times got rough. Having my own wheels is a lot easier. Doing it as a family was harder because there are a lot of things to consider that way, so all our obstacles were practical. I'm sure you'll do what feels right to you when you are ready to do it. If you do take to the road when you aren't ready, you probably won't like it so much. Take care!

 

[emrys]

@Whereamiwhatdoido -> That sounds like a really cool plan, I've been to Hungary ages ago and one of my friends has been trying to get me to go to Prague with her for a while now, but it didn't work out yet. But I bet your trip is gonna be awesome, these are all really cool countires - I hope you have fun on the road ;D

@wickedwench -> It's really great, because the culture is just so different in every country - different languages, people, landscapes, food ... But of course there's a lot of hassle with passports if you travel in and out of the EU (or even inside the EU, they are putting up a fuzz because of the refugee situation atm)
Also thank you so much for the kinds words, I'm sure there will be a point at which I can hit the road too, I'm really excited for that already, but I'll take it one step at a time <: