5 Reasons I Decided to Take a Leap of Faith and Leave the USA to Travel Full-Time

There comes a point in life when waiting no longer makes sense. I spent years telling myself that one day I would travel the world, live freely, and write my story on the road. But “one day” kept getting pushed further and further back because life in the United States has a way of keeping you tied to responsibilities, bills, and fear of what will happen if you step out of line.

Eventually, I had to ask myself the hard question: do I want to keep living in a way that looks secure on paper, or do I want to live in a way that actually feels free? That question led me to this decision. I am leaving the United States to travel the world full-time as a writer, historian, and spiritual coach. This is not just about me. It is about choosing peace, joy, and purpose over cycles that no longer serve me.

Here are the five biggest reasons why I finally decided to take this leap of faith.

1. Life Is Too Short to Keep Waiting

We do not get a second run at this life. I looked at the way I was living and realized that if I can manage over $3,000 in living expenses each month here in the U.S., then I can also manage to live my dream life abroad. The difference is that in the U.S., most of my income goes toward bills and survival. That leaves very little room for what actually fills my soul.

How many of us put our dreams on hold until we feel “secure”? The truth is, security is an illusion. No matter how much we prepare, life is still going to hand us the unexpected. What we can control is how we choose to live right now. For me, that choice was clear. I would rather invest my money into experiences that make me feel alive than into bills that leave me drained.

2. I Am Bored With My Current Life

I have lived in three different states and visited over 20, but lately, my spirit feels restless. I look around and realize that nothing excites me here anymore. I have always been drawn to jungles, mountains, and coastlines, but the coastal cities in the U.S. do not call to me. They feel crowded, artificial, and rushed. When I travel outside of the U.S., I feel an energy shift. People treat you differently, time feels slower, and you are reminded that life can be lived in a hundred different ways.

If you are reading this and you have ever felt like your days are starting to blur together, that is your soul telling you it is time to make a change. Sometimes boredom is not laziness. Sometimes boredom is a signal that you are not in the right environment to grow anymore. I had to accept that for myself. My body is still here, but my spirit has already moved on.

3. Diversity Inspires Me

Every time I step into a new country, I feel my creativity expand. The colors, the languages, the food, the traditions, the music, the way people interact with each other—all of it fills me up in ways that a textbook or a classroom never could. As a writer and spiritual coach, these moments become fuel. They help me tell better stories, connect with more people, and see life from perspectives I could never imagine if I stayed in one place.

Diversity is not just something to admire. It is something that transforms us. Being around people who live differently pushes you to reflect on your own values. It makes you wonder why you do what you do, why you believe what you believe, and whether those beliefs are even yours to begin with. If you have ever felt stuck, traveling to a new culture has a way of shaking loose the pieces of yourself you forgot existed.

4. Living Abroad Will Save Me Money

This reason surprised me the most. People often assume that traveling is expensive, but the truth is that living abroad can actually cost less than living in the U.S. When I started doing the math, I realized how much of my income was going toward car payments, insurance, gas, streaming services, high rent, and utilities that only seemed to keep rising.

By moving abroad, many of those bills disappear. Of course, I will have new expenses, but they are often far less than what I pay now. On top of that, the quality of fresh food is often better and cheaper than what I buy here. Imagine waking up to the ocean or the jungle, paying a fraction of your old bills, and knowing that the money you once spent just to survive is now going toward living. That is the life I want, and I know I am not alone in that desire.

5. Choosing Peace Over Oppression

This was the deepest reason of all. The energy in the U.S. feels heavy. It feels depressed. The unspoken expectation is that you wake up, go to work, and complain about the system, but never truly break free from it. Every generation before me has carried this weight, and I realized I did not want to live my entire life carrying it too.

As a Black woman, I deserve peace. I deserve joy. I deserve mornings where I am not waking up already feeling behind. I deserve to create a life that does not revolve around struggle. My ancestors did not have this choice, but I do. And I am choosing it for all of us.

When you think about your own life, what cycles are you tired of repeating? What burdens are you carrying that were never yours to begin with? Sometimes the most radical act of self-love is to say “enough” and step into a new way of living.

Closing Thoughts

Leaving the U.S. is not just about traveling. It is about stepping into the version of myself that I have always known I could be. It is about honoring my dreams instead of silencing them. It is about saying yes to freedom, to joy, and to the unknown.

I share my reasons with you because maybe you feel the same pull. Maybe you have been waiting for the perfect time, the perfect amount of savings, or the perfect opportunity to finally chase your dream. I am here to remind you that life is too short to keep waiting.

The chains are only as strong as our decision to keep holding on to them. And I have finally decided to let go.