7 Ways Purposeful Travel Abroad Will Change Your Life Forever And How To Do It Right!

Ditch the Tourist Traps! Here’s Why You’re Probably Doing Travel All Wrong…

We’ve all been there, returning home from a trip feeling more drained than when we left.

It’s the travel equivalent of binge-watching a TV show only to realize you remember none of it.

That’s because most of us aren’t really*experiencing our trips, we’re just collecting places like Pokémon.

I used to be a champion at this. I’d rush through landmarks, snap a quick pic for proof, and move on.

I once spent 24 hours in Madrid, technically visited, but all I really remember is sprinting through the Prado like I was on an episode of The Amazing Race.

My passport had stamps, but my memories? A blur.

Hell, I don’t even take photos when I travel!

Then one day, it hit me. 

The best trips, the ones that actually meant something, weren’t the whirlwind bucket list tours.

They were the ones where I had a purpose. 

When I spent time in Georgia, I wasn’t just “visiting.”

I was trying to understand how a country that’s at a literal crossroads of Europe and Asia manages to have its own fiercely unique identity.

In Ukraine, grocery shopping became a language lesson.

In North Macedonia, what started as a casual dinner invitation from my Airbnb landlords, turned into a deep dive into the country’s post-Yugoslavian history over homemade rakija.

The difference?

I wasn’t just looking at these places, I was learning from them.

And that’s when travel stops being a fleeting escape and starts becoming something that actually stays with you.

So how do you do it?

Here’s how traveling with purpose transforms the experience, and how you can do it too.

1. You Build Deeper Cultural Connections

There’s a massive difference between seeing a country and understanding it.

Tourists see the surface.

Travelers with purpose dig deeper.

When I lived in Albania, I learned that real cultural connections don’t happen in museums, they happen in living rooms and backstreet cafes.

I met a local on the minibus ride to the coastal city of Vlore who insisted I join his family for lunch, and what started as a quick meal turned into an entire afternoon of storytelling.

Before I knew it, I had a front-row seat to a personal history lesson on Enver Hoxha’s bizarre dictatorship.

Listening to my host, it became clear just how deeply his peculiar brand of communism had shaped not just their family, but nearly every Albanian I’d meet along the way.

You don’t get that from a guided tour.

The same thing happened in Georgia.

It wasn’t the centuries-old monasteries that helped me understand the country, it was standing in the kitchen of my favorite Georgian restaurant in Tbilisi.

This restaurant wasn’t in the most touristy and popular district of Tbilisi, but in the neighborhood I had come to call “home”.

I was given the honor of learning how to make khinkali (dumplings) from a woman who had come to treat me like an adopted son.

Want real cultural experiences?

Here’s the secret:

• Get out of the tourist districts.
• Accept at least one invitation from a local.
• Learn their traditions instead of forcing yours on them.

2. You Learn a New Language (Faster Than You Think)

You don’t need Rosetta Stone when you have real-life struggle.

When I first moved to Ukraine, I barely knew any Russian and even less Ukrainian.

But you know what’s a great teacher? Survival.

Want bread? You better figure out how to say it.

Need a bus ticket? You’ll learn the phrase real quick after getting scolded by a cashier.

Language immersion forces you to adapt. You stop relying on translations and start piecing together meaning.

And the best part? People appreciate the effort.

Even if you’re butchering their language, locals respect that you’re trying.

I’ve had doors open for me (literally and figuratively) just because I made the effort.

Tips for language immersion:

• Learn the real basics first (how to order food, ask for directions, not just “hello”).
• Let yourself make mistakes. Embarrassment is part of the learning process.
• Make friends with someone who refuses to speak English with you.

3. You Gain a New Perspective on Home

Nothing warps your worldview faster than seeing your own country through someone else’s eyes.

When I first started living abroad, I assumed everything American was just “normal.”

But the moment I left, I realized just how different we are.

Take work culture Americans brag about, “grind and hustle”.

Meanwhile, in Spain, I watched entire cities shut down in the afternoon for siesta.

In France, a new friend I had made laughed when I told him I had a job that only gave two weeks of vacation.

“Is that even legal?” he asked, genuinely concerned.

Then there’s the obsession with personal space. I learned in Ukraine that standing too far from someone can make you seem unfriendly.

In France, eating alone in a restaurant often meant they’d seat me with a stranger, which make for some great, unexpected dining experiences and a great way to meet new people…

Imagine trying that in an American restaurant.

Lessons from coming home after living abroad:

• The things you thought were “universal” probably aren’t.
• Reverse culture shock is real, prepare to feel like a foreigner in your own country.
• You’ll start noticing things about home that you never questioned before.

 4. Set a Clear Travel Goal

Ask yourself: “What do I actually want to experience?”

Most people just pick destinations based on what looks good on Instagram.

But a purposeful trip has a mission.

Maybe it’s learning Flamenco in Spain instead of just taking selfies in front of the Alhambra.

Maybe it’s diving into history in Poland instead of just grabbing pierogi and calling it a day.

The more intentional your goal, the more memorable your trip.

5. Choose the Right Destination for Your Purpose

Where you go dictates the experience.

• Want to learn a language? Go somewhere that forces you to use it (France, Spain, Ukraine).
• Want deep history? Try Poland or Albania, you’ll get more than you bargained for.
• Want a complete cultural shift? Go somewhere outside your comfort zone (Bulgaria, Albania or North Macedonia).

And if you’re volunteering?

Please, for the love of travel, pick a place where you’ll actually contribute something valuable, not just snap photos for social media.

6. Live Like a Local (Even If You’re Just Visiting)

Skip the overpriced hotels. Forget the tourist trap restaurants.

Follow locals.

When I first moved to Tbilisi, I was lured into an “authentic local” spot right in the heart of tourist central.

Sure enough (surprise, surprise), I was shocked to find myself surrounded by other clueless foreigners fumbling through overpriced menus.

However, the real local spot?

Turns out, the real “hidden find” was hiding right under my nose, in the outer-district neighborhood I’d originally picked to save money and avoid the tourist crowds in the first place.

Go figure!

In this so-called “hole-in-the-wall” restaurant, nobody spoke English, the food was half the price, and the owner poured me homemade wine on the house.

I became a regular from that very first night!

Want to travel like a local? Do this:

• Use public transportation.
• Stay in small guesthouses, even individually family owned Airbnbs, not chains.
• Observe first, participate second.

7. Document Your Journey, For Yourself, Not Just Social Media

I hate taking photos!

There, I said it!

But, for years, I’ve dragged around this strange sense of guilt for not “capturing memories” on film and plastering them all over Facebook.

But honestly, who really wants to see yet another cheesy YOLO cliché clogging up their feed anyway?

But here’s the thing, the best travel moments can’t be captured anyway.

The real stories, the ones you’ll tell years later, won’t be the ones on Instagram of Facebook.

They’ll be the weird, awkward, unexpectedly human moments.

Like the time I researching my family roots in a village in Northern Italy and ended up at a local historian’s home, having dinner with his wonderful family.

Or the first time I tried (and failed spectacularly) to impress a group of Ukrainians by downing a shot of vodka like a local.

Always keep a travel journal, even if it reads like drunk texts or scribbles at 2 a.m. 

Trust me, your future self will thank you when you’re flipping through those notes and thinking, “Wait, did that really happen?”

Newsflash: It did!

Travel With Purpose, Change Your Life

Traveling with purpose isn’t about checking off places, it’s about collecting experiences that actually matter.

So next time you plan a trip, ask yourself: Are you just passing through, or are you actually experiencing it?

And if you’ve had a travel moment that changed you, I want to hear it.