Travel always contains an element of the unexpected - a chance encounter with people, places and sometimes, even a life lesson. Skyscanner Australia checks in with the subReddit r/digitalnomad to discover what people have learned while globetrotting!

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There are many reasons why people travel abroad. Some are forced to for business or family reasons. Others go for long weekends or fortnight getaways, simply needing a temporary escape from the mundane realities of life.

Then there are the people who travel to learn: those who recognise that fully experiencing other peoples and cultures can provide benefits to your education and wellbeing that are pretty impossible to achieve any other way.

This was a popular recent discussion in the subReddit r/digitalnomad — a community of people who use technology to work remotely and live an independent and nomadic lifestyle. The original poster _globe_potter wrote:

So I’ve just returned to my home town in freezing cold Quebec from a few years living and working abroad, mainly in SE Asia. It’s made me realise how much more I’ve learnt and grown as a person during my time away than I ever did at school and college. Really interested to know what you guys have learnt from your travels?

The thread was very popular, receiving over 50 upvotes and 20+ comments. So what have digital nomads learnt from their experiences abroad? Here are some of the best bits.

Learning from new cultures

The highest voted comment by user wanderlou described what she’d learnt about other cultures:

Living in a load of different places I’ve learnt more about how other people live their lives. Like in Japan I became super tidy… partly because I had so little space but mainly because when my Japanese friends came round at first they’d be so disgusted by the state of my place :’)

User zippidydooda replied:

Japan made me much more courteous to others. I love the way Japanese society is focused on the needs of others, which results in everyone treating everyone with respect. No one takes a loud phone call on the train, for example – there is a sign telling you not to!

This sort of experience is extremely important, especially for those of us that grew up in small towns and cities, where everyone tends to come from a similar background. Broadening your mind and learning about how other people do things will help you make better decisions about how you live your own life.

Learning tolerance and acceptance

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We live in an increasingly diverse and connected age, full of opportunities for those that can comfortably live and work alongside people from all kinds of backgrounds. Several posters on the thread mentioned how travel has helped them do this.

In an essay sized reply, user Shivadxb spoke of how his living situation has benefited his child:

My kid was born an expat, who knows where he’ll live or die. His class at school has 25 kids, 17 nationalities probably 10 different languages, his best friends are a half English half Indian kid who’s never lived in either of those countries, a half danish half Arab kid who’s never lived in Denmark and a blond haired Finnish kid with blue eyes and an Arabic name and Syrian father. “To these kids skin colour is literally unknown, it’s just not something that registers with them at all, nationality has a very flexible definition and none of them have any concept of racism yet.

Echoing this, user wonderliv pointed to a blog she’d recently posted on the subject. In it she writes:

The most valuable assets of every country in the world are its people. The best realisation that you will get from travelling is that there are true genuine and amazing people everywhere. No matter their colour, religion or nationality you will find amazing people in every corner of the world.

Learning to challenge yourself

As _globe_potter mentioned in his original post:

My biggest lesson was definitely self discipline. I’ve been working remotely the whole time and in order to make the most out of my trip whilst still surviving I’ve had to make some tough choices. I was so lazy and unmotivated at school, but when the choice is sucking it up and putting in the work versus ending an amazing adventure… there’s really no choice but to shape up!

Other Redditors seems to have had a similar experience. User maidenmad wrote:

I feel like if I did decide to go back to a 9-5 now I’d be so much better at managing my time. I remember before always being the last person in and always having to stay late… Now I’m used to getting up early to [get stuff done] so I can make the most out of the day. I could even imagine early morning gym sessions, which I could never manage before.

The human mind is interesting because we’re programmed to keep ourselves safe, comfortable and secure. This may have done just fine for our cavemen ancestors who barely had the chance to get out of their own backyard, but today we have so many more possibilities.

Travelling helps us break out of our bubbles and experience all of what life has to offer. User bikermoose said:

I think travelling teaches you about what happens in real life. It very often takes you out of your comfort zone because you are in a place where you are not a local, don’t understand the language and are not familiar to the culture. As a person it makes you more human to be in contact to other cultures and learn about their reality vs yours.

These are just some of the ways travel can enrich your life. You can read the full thread here. But… if you really want to discover how much you could learn, you’ll have to get out there and explore for yourself!

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