Shownotes:

For a frequent flyer, my decisions are usually based on the situation that I’m in. My choices when it comes to the mode of transportation and accommodation usually depend on whether I’m all alone or traveling with someone. But aside from this, the majority of my choices depend on which would take me less time to do even if it means I’d have to spend a bit more.

Hello and welcome to the Traveling Introvert. Today I am going to talk about the differences traveling alone and the differences you make with the decisions that you make and traveling with somebody else. I'm currently figuring out some travel and one of the options I had and I'm going from New York to Washington or Alexandria area and so, I know Alexandria very well and everything is kind of expensive in Washington. And so, I decided that I was going to go to Alexandria instead.

Now as I'm traveling by myself, I looked at the differences between going by train or going by bus. And if I go by train, I have to remember that depending on how long it is, and that generally I'm I'm probably not going to go the restroom because when you're traveling alone it's extremely difficult if you're traveling with luggage or stuff that you want to go to the restroom and feel that your stuff is safe. Yes, you might be on a train and no one can go anywhere but at the same time these things happen.

I've definitely read about, even on planes where people have had things stolen. So when I'm looking at distances and how long a trip is going to take I could take a bus which I think would take me four or five hours. I say four or five because the registered time is about four but we all know traffic is a thing. I could take the train so that was fairly easy enough for me to think about. And then I'm going to stay in Alexandria and then I'm going to go up to Philly for the day. And I again was looking at that Philly.

It's funny with the flights and the trains. One train was $39 and that was to go from Washington, Union Station to Philadelphia and to go from Alexandra was $51. And you your mind you're like, "Ooh, 30 to 50, that's a really big jump.", but actually it's only $11 difference. But, beside the point. The big thing that I had to do was go from Alexandria to roughly the Springfield area in Massachusetts. Now I could take a train and I love taking trains because you get enough personal space and you can get some work done because most of the time the internet is on.

Slow as though it may be, you still get to get stuff done and you get enough personal space which for me is a really big thing. However, the cost was about $100 and it was a seven hour train ride which is great until you consider the fact that you have to get your own food beforehand. There is apparently a buffet cart in there or a food cart, catering cart and after you like to get up and pee. When's the best time? You can ask your neighbor to look after your stuff but do you feel jittery? And going, finding where the bathroom is on the toilet, on the train ... or my other option which I didn't think was a possibility was to catch a flight.

There's a flight from Dulles to Hartford for $90 and it takes like an hour. It really doesn't. I've been on that flight before and it's kind of an up, down sort of a thing. And so I'm going to take that. I would love to take the train. I would get a lot more done but at the same time it's a one hour flight and I don't have to worry about bathroom stuff. The other thing that I find that I do differently when I'm traveling with someone, towards traveling by myself, is the type of accommodation I will pick.

If I am by myself I'm more likely to pick a hotel with 24-hour room service or 24-hour reception so I can drop my stuff off and it can be looked after while I go and do other things and just that feeling of I have a place to go. There's probably going to be a door person there and I don't have to be in an area that I'm not ... even if I'm in an area that I'm not familiar with I feel slightly safer whether that's legitimate or not. Whereas if I'm traveling with somebody and I'd be quite happy to take an Airbnb room for example.

Whereas if I'm traveling with somebody else I'm more likely to want to have the whole space rather than an Airbnb room and will probably do Airbnb over a hotel unless the hotel is really nice in an area that we want to be in or is not as expensive as we would have thought between the two of us. So it really does depend. But for me, a lot of it is about personal space and personal safety. And for me it's also about cost and time. I'd rather do something quicker so I'm happy to spend more money to take the train and take a flight then to do something that will take forever and be cheaper. That's just not something that I want to do.

For example, to go to Philly I could definitely catch a five buck, $5 train. Sorry. Let me start again. To go to Philly from Alexandria I could catch a $5 bus. Actually I can only get that from Washington but ... and the train is actually going to cost me more like $40, but then I have to get to Washington and then change from bus to bus and then get on and you know, the personal space on buses is a little less, a little more cramped and you just don't feel as comfortable. Do you eat? Do you offend the person if you don't eat? If you drink, whatever it is. So I am more likely if I am traveling by myself to take the train or the plane. Thank you for listening. This is Janice from the Career Introvert. I look forward to helping you with your business and your career alongside your introversion.