Sometimes I give travel advice, sometimes I give relationship advice. And sometimes, both go together.
I can solo travel and I can definitely travel with my girlfriends. But traveling with my significant other is a whole different ballgame. At least it was.
Previous to my current boyfriend, I HATED traveling with my “significant” other. Little did I know that this hatred toward spending time with this person 24/7 meant that I really didn’t want to spend time with them ever. But when I met my current boyfriend and we went on a weekend trip to New York early into our relationship, I knew I would love traveling with him. I didn’t tire of him holding my hand, deciding where to go next or coming back to the hotel to relax in robes and flop down on the bed to indulge in an hour of watching television. I actually dreaded the idea of going home. And this feeling continued each time we traveled together. I genuinely love adventuring with him!
You see, traveling is a great way to decide if you are a good match for your other half. Traveling puts you through a few situations that can show someone’s true colours:
- You are with them ALL the time
- You may be faced with conflicts: where to eat, what to see under a demanding timeline, etc.
- Exhaustion (one person is too tired to continue sightseeing while the other is not)
- Food not settling with you (just being honest here…there’s nothing worse than getting food poisoning early in a relationship)
- And one that happened to me while I was in New York: Alcohol consumption that goes a little beyond what you bargained for…and we’ll just say that HE wasn’t the one that drank too much
When these little triggers occur all at once it can lead to a bigger trigger and there’s nowhere to escape without feeling like a jerk (i.e. packing up and booking a new flight home. Alone). If you feel the urge to pack your bags before the vacation is over, you know that you’re not going to be able to spend your life with this person.
I encourage everyone who is early the early stages of a relationship to go a little weekend getaway – nothing crazy, but something safe and close enough to your home that it doesn’t put you in an uncomfortable position. The idea of being with them for days at a time is so appealing but when you’re living it you feel a little more pressure and you’re forced to either be yourself, or be uncomfortable because you feel like you can’t be yourself.
