People who manage to travel a whole lot more frequently than those who take their annual holiday, for prolonged periods of time too, all tell a story of how their peers, colleagues and family members believe that they’re hiding millions of dollars in wealth somewhere. This is especially true in the case of traveling internationally, because they hold a common misconception that traveling is expensive.
While we probably can’t blame them for believing that traveling is expensive, what we can definitely blame them for is blatantly disregarding all the information about how to make travel a lot cheaper we often readily want to share with them. I mean sure, you might have a really hard time believing me if I told you that I’ve been able to score a bed that comes with Wi-Fi, hot water, drinking water and a kitchenette area for $1.63, but if you took the time to dig as deeply as I’d be encouraging you to in sharing that information, then you only really have yourself to blame for still believing that frequent travelers are loaded. Frequent travelers are comfortable “slumming” it out in hostels as backpackers and you can find some really good hostels for under $2 per night. The reality of it is that you won’t even be slumming it out as these get really decent.
It’s just a matter of the cost of living being a lot lower in some countries, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the corresponding quality of life is low.
So let’s take a look at some key pointers which are synonymous with the hostel life…
Paying for a bed
When you book a night or more at a backpackers’ hostel, what you’re essentially paying for is a bed and the immediate space around the bed, as well as for the use of all the amenities which form part of the room. Some of the more tightly-packed hostels would have a up to 10 or more beds in what was essentially an apartment, which means that everybody has access to some of the basics of an apartment, like two bathrooms which they’d have to share, cutlery and crockery, as well as any kitchen appliances.
These days Wi-Fi pretty much comes standard with any form of accommodation, including hostels.
Great value for money
As a result of effectively paying for a shared living space in which your allocated bed is contained, you get great value for money. Often the very low price amounts to something very close to what a couple would have paid for a similar sized space had it been an apartment, or just a little bit more than what would be asked of a traveling family to pay for their accommodation.
It’s not meant for long-term living
The heck it is isn’t, I can hear many seasoned backpackers saying! If you can master the art of doing laundry that is to be hanged off your bunk-bed and you can shift your position around every few hours so that you don’t get too uncomfortable, then hostel life can definitely make for a long term living arrangement.
