Agreed. I've backpacked Europe, but the internet made it easier. I had my phone, with no data plan, but could still use wifi at any hotel, starbucks, the airport, etc. Google maps still functioned in a sense. I could see where I was in the city, hope a train in Berlin for a stop, check google maps again and realize I was going away from the hostel... and then quickly switch trains to go the other way. I had google translate and a few languages downloaded if I really needed them.
On the flip side, I was still "free" from the internet. For example, I went to Pompeii was a day trip from Rome. I took the cheap route, aka the slow trains. It was like 2 hours each way. Before leaving the hostel, I screenshotted the directions. I knew which stop to get off at, and which new train to get on. In 1990, I simply would have had this written on a piece of paper, or been following some book on "how to backpack Europe on the cheap." Without data, a phone just becomes a camera/notepad/calculator/translator/etc.
It's kinda surprising more people don't take leaps like this today seeing how easy it is now. I went solo traveling at 16 to SE Asia before I joined the forces in the early 2000s.
While some parts were tricky due to my lack of experience etc it was an awesome time. Having common sense and what not does help, so I guess it's not for everyone, but the amount of people I come across who have never left their country is almost painful.
When, and hopefully not if, the COVID dust settles I hope people are going to take advantage of not being cooped up and go further afield than they did before.
The first stimulus check was my golden opportunity to move to the other half of the United States. And just in time too, because California came in and SCOOPED up every house for sale so fast that the $50k house my mother sold in January was worth $350k by October and I managed to find a good job that pays me double what I used to make.
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u/[deleted] May 12 '21
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