Quote: (11-25-2018 03:23 AM)forgottenowl Wrote:
I'm in this age range and hoping to travel everywhere but I'm thinking about where I should go in the next few years.
My question applies for both women and the entire travel experience.
Are there any countries where women go crazy over this age range? Countries where it's good to be this age to get the best social and night life experience? Where do you get the best value out of being young?
The answer depends on many things but chief among them, if you are on this forum, are probably general lifestyle, income/education potential, and women. Correct me if I'm wrong on any of those or if I left out anything major. The answer can also depend on your ethnic/national background as you can play to your exotic factor in several parts of the world if you are black for example but those same parts would be harder if you are white and vice versa.
When it comes to general lifestyle, I'd say that it heavily depends (given your age and my assumption that you don't have a trust fund or something - again correct me if I'm wrong) on whether you can communicate with local people well enough to make a circle of about 5-6 friends whom you can spend most of your free time with as well as pursue educational and job/career opportunities as they present themselves. If you don't already know the local language well enough, be sure to choose a country where you are willing to learn it and make that a top priority right out of the gate.
As for women, the more developed and rich the country is, the more difficulty you are probably going to have here. Not because the women themselves are harder (they are not) but because it will ultimately cost you a lot more in financial terms to get them because everything in those countries costs more (including when you get stood up and have to eat the cost of a taxi ride or something). Another thing to consider is whether or not girls in the country or countries that you are looking into normally live with their parents and have curfews. This is not always a major issue but it can be so it's something to be aware of.
Personally, I spent the period of my life between age 18 and 22 mainly in the Philippines as that is where I did all of my university studies. It was a great place to enter into adulthood but you could replicate much of my experience in another developing country like Rwanda or Cabo Verde as well so don't think you have to do it exactly like I did.
If you are looking to study in another country as well for university or some sort of trade, I recommend finding a cheap country where you will not need to take out massive student loans and look into whether or not you can work on a student visa as many countries allow this and it can be a great way to pay your way through school while also honing your language skills and making local connections. If the country's education system is in English, you're good. If not, many countries (especially those that take in a lot of foreign students like Ukraine) have 1-2 year language programs that you can enroll in before starting regular university classes so that your language skills are up to standard before you start.
As far as general lifestyle is concerned, I would suggest finding a place where you can realistically afford to get your own apartment if that is possible. This is what I did and I was living on only $300-400 USD per month at the time. If you cannot do that from the start, just get a room in a shared house or dorm (done that too) until you have saved enough to pay the deposit on an apartment.
Another thing to consider is the part of the country that you are in. Speaking from my experience, Metro Manila was about twice as expensive as Cebu City and, one you left Cebu City, prices plummeted. What this means is that you do not necessarily have to live in the capital or an expensive city in your new country and you can live in a smaller and possibly more interesting city instead. Your exotic factor can also go up by doing this while costs and crime rates usually go down.
I hope this is helpful and, if you let me know your budget, ethnic/national background, languages you speak, and what you want to study, I can advise you further if you like.
