17 too young to go solo? - Page 2 - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

glitterhairdye · 12-07-2007, 08:42 AM

It all depends on who you are... I spent a lot of time with 20 something year olds and hung out at the hostels with older people. I also drank. ALOT. And in the the netherlands I smoked a lot. I did get too drunk sometimes/all the time but that's just me. I was never in a really bad situation... Some guys would make me uncomfortable sometimes but they were usually random ones who were leering at me in a club, and they guys from the hostel usually came to my aid. I got in free to lots of places and it's a good conversation starter to say, hey i'm 17.
My upbringing was very suburbia. I was raised by a single parent and really close to my family. I had really good grades all through high school and though I probably started out on the bad things to quickly my upbringing was by no means rough. DOn't assume on that, suburban kids can fend for themselves to you know.

**Canadian Bacon** · 12-07-2007, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simply_angelic

I did NOT have an incredibly rough upbringing, thankyouverymuch. I grew up in the middle of the boons (and by boons I do not mean a shabby part of town, I mean the middle of buttfuck nowhere) with my unbelievably wholesome parents. People I have never seen drunk, dont smoke, never done drugs, and all-around goody two shoes. My mother actually walked out of the living room when we first watched the italian job because she couldn't stand to watch all the bad things they were doing (for those who havent seen the movie, the beginning is not particularly gruesome by any account and I'm pretty sure all they'd done at that point was steal some stuff).

All I'm saying is that going backpacking solo while you are 16-17 as a single female traveller is more dangerous than travelling as:

a male of similar age
with a group or a friend
travelling when you're older

Simply put, you're less experienced and more prone to mistakes when you're younger. Generally speaking of course.

Laura if you went on your own that young and nothing bad happened... that's all good. But you must admit that there WAS risk invovled doing it... even in Europe... that's all I am trying to say: see the other side of the picture.

**simply_angelic** · 12-07-2007, 09:57 AM

First of all she's not 16-17. She's graduating from highschool that year and will be turning 18 a couple months later.

Secondly, I never said there was no risk. There's risk involved in everything. Just driving down the street has a great deal of risk these days with the number of DUI's people are racking up. In any city, in any part of the world walking around alone at night is never really going to be safe as a female. There are too many creeps out there. It doesn't matter if it's your city or one across the ocean, the risks are the same. And the precautions you take are similar.

So yes, there are risks but you can't grow up and learn without making mistakes and learning for yourself. People can tell you how to do things for years and years but until you finally experience it first-hand there is no way you will really know what it's about and how to deal with certain situations. I know people who are 25 and are no better off than my 12 year old cousin. In fact I met travellers like that while I was abroad.

As a person, travelling solo did wonders for me. It taught me so much about how much I am really capable of and how strong of a person I really am. I wouldn't trade in that experience for the world. And I think that it was at a great time in my life to do it.

**LiveFreeorDie** · 12-07-2007, 10:43 AM

At the end of the day there is no right answer and the person has to know themselves. Some people have their shit together at a young age (Laura, I would put you in that category even though I haven't met you) and other people never get their shit together. I am not sure I would have been ready for that at 17/18. I really don't know. If you are brave enough to contemplate it and undertake the trip, you probably have enough guts to work through problems. The biggest thing is you need to be aware of your surroundings and be a little skeptical of people's intentions as a younger female. That's reality in any environment, particlarly a city. Have fun, keep your wits about you, trust your instincts (if someone seems sketchy, they probably are) and everything should be fine.

**joe7f** · 12-07-2007, 11:29 AM

^Having met her, I would say that I am very immature for my age and/or she really has her "shit together" :D

--Joey

samedifference · 12-08-2007, 12:40 AM

Yeh I spose everything in life has risks but I'd rather take a risk and live life a little dangerously than drift into somthing ordinary just because it promises security. Great advise though thanks.
Being 17 I wouldnt be able to get a working visa overseas if I remember correctly. Are there any jobs in europe that you dont need a visa for (particularly interested in the Netherlands)? I wish I could find somthing like job or uni course that im interested in that i could do overseas for a relatively long time, a year or so. Traveling around europe is more expensive than I first thought haha.

**Rozza** · 12-08-2007, 03:50 AM

^ if you can't find a course which lets you do a year or so abroad, why dont you just go abroad for uni?

**simply_angelic** · 12-08-2007, 07:52 AM

You can always find a job at a hostel or a local bar (or both). If you work at a hostel you usually dont really make much money, but your expenses are covered or at the very least you have free accommodation...