Is traveling internationally actually cheap like the internet claims?

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Basically, what I'm asking is whether my idea of travel is similar to what people say when they claim "international travel is so cheap! It's so easy to visit anywhere you want in the world on a dime?". Or do they mean "You can travel internationally with barely any money, as long as you pinch every penny by flying at 3am in the morning on a shady airline, couch surfing with strangers so you don't have to pay rent or meals, eating meat and cheese sandwiches 3 meals a day with water and only doing activities that don't cost money like visiting landmarks, going on hikes, etc.

>>1076157
the latter. it's only "cheap' if you're quite wealthy to begin with.

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The impression I get from /trv/ is of a bunch of penny-pinching NEETs who are losers in their own country but expect to be worshiped as exotic and intriguing species when they travel abroad. Hence all the questions about fucking Asian ladyboys and which country has the easiest girls.

Then you have the meme-tier posts about "how can I earn money while traveling" where the insufferable ESL autists and delusional blogger faggots like to chime in with their wisdom. Funny how they're always on 4chan on a Saturday night instead of enjoying the superior culture they claim to be enjoying.

There are many other travel discussion boards online where grown adults with jobs discuss how to game the flyer miles system and earn free nights in luxurious hotels. Anyone who pretends that staying in a dirty hostel out in the nigger-infested Bronx with a bunch Real Traveler TM stereotypes complete with dreadlocks over a night in a high-rise Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan is kidding themselves basically.

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Traveling is always relative to the person traveling. I wouldn't say it's "cheap" but again, cheap is a relative term. If you make enough money going and spending a few weeks abroad isn't going to be that finically difficult. If you're idea of enjoying a place is renting an apartment for a month or staying in a nice hotel then you should do that just realize that's going to be more expensive. I personally think(along with most people on this board) that you'll have a more genuine experience couch surfing or staying at a hostel.

Travel is like buying a car. If you have a lot of money then you just buy the best car on the lot. If you're like everyone else you have to look at what you want, how much money you have, and then pick the car that fits those categories. Often you'll find that budget severely restricts the amount of cars that fit both those so you have to make tough choices, like you do everyday in life, you fuckwit.

It's cheaper for me to travel than to live in Toronto. So the only thing left to solve is how to make money so I'm gone for longer. I generally work for 2-6 mobths and fuck off until the money runs out. I did northern Europe, Australia and a bunch of expensive countries over 11 months and I'm not a fan of budgeting.

50 bucks a day is a pretty good rule (even in the most expensive countries, you can compensate by couchsurfing and eating shit food). It can be done on 30 but I don't enjoy that anymore as I'm getting older.

So no, it's not cheap but it's about priorities. I can drop 200 on a night out in Toronto or that'll buy me a weekend (or even a week) in many places.

It's funny cause everyone thinks I'm doing this amazing thing traveling in no budget. It can be done, you just have to put your time in and work hard when you're not traveling.

>>1076166

You don't have to tell me what you earn, but I'm curious...in the general ballpark, how much do you save up during those six months to be able to afford to stay abroad for almost a year?

Cheap is relative

You're not going to fly to a country on the opposite side of the planet from you for less than $1000 roundtrip

But the $5000 tour ads you see are also absolute thievery

>>1076156
They are basically click bait. The best way is just to make a list of what your expensives are and budget it yourself. Afterwards look up some tips to save money and see if they apply to you. Then throw in some extra money just in case.

Never ever look at an article for Europe in $5 per day or whatever and try to follow it exactly. You will end up having a miserable time.

>>1076156
>Is traveling internationally actually cheap
>I don't want to be restricted by living in a hostel or couchsurfing

So basically you want to travel cheap but don't want to do it in a way that makes it cheaper?

Travelling is only as expensive as you want it to be.

You can travel, eat and have a place to stay for free if you hitchhike and squat.

If you want to travel comfortably and cheaply, you have options like cheap airlines and hostels.

You want absolute comfort? Pay for first class with meals and drinks, and stay in hotels.

Or just combine it in whatever way you want. Travelling is literally as expensive as you want to be comfortable

Ig you are from the USA. Plane tickets. Plane tickets are the only part of travel that will not scale along your income for whatever country. The most expensive cost is just getting their and back

>>1076156
"Thousands for a plane ticket and hundreds to eat and just do basic activities within the culture"
International travel definitely isn't that expensive but travelling comfortably isn't dirt cheap either.
With a bit of effort you can find plane tickets to most countries for $500-$1000 (flying Economy).
Hotels and restaurants will be around the same prize as i the US in first world countries and cheaper in second and third world countries.

If you want to live like a local I'd recommend renting an apartment/room on airbnb.com.

You can use websites like numbeo.com to compare cost of living in different cities/countries.

>>1076156
So as with everything money related it's all relative. I compare it to how much I would spend living normally in my city and on the road I often spend less. I live in an expensive city though.

Basically for me the cost of travel is $50 per day + cost of flights. Flights can be anywhere from $300-1000 round trip. They can be more of course but if you look long enough and go in the off season you can travel anywhere from North America for under $1000.

I usually spend around $3000 per year on travel as I'm limited to about a month due to work. Is that a lot? I guess it depends on the person. I don't think there's anything in life that will bring me more pleasure and enjoyment for $3000 than going somewhere I've never been before.