Episode 29: Curvy Girl Solo Travels

In Episode 29 of The Curvy Girl Dating Podcast, Cristina shares her extensive experiences with solo travel, recounting trips to places like Virginia, Mexico, Nashville, and more. She discusses the personal growth, friendships, and life lessons she's gained throughout her journeys. She offers practical advice on budgeting, safety, overcoming travel anxieties, and exploring new destinations independently. Cristina encourages listeners to step out of their comfort zones, embrace new adventures, and create memorable experiences.

00:00 Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:47 Solo Traveling: An Exciting Journey
02:19 First Solo Travel Experiences
04:19 Nashville Adventure and Becoming a Runner
08:01 Weekend Getaways and Meeting Friends
09:45 Recent Work Trip to Virginia
12:30 Travel Tips for Plus-Size Travelers
15:49 Budgeting and Safety Tips
19:32 Meeting New People and Group Travel
24:37 Starting Small and Building Confidence
25:52 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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Transcript

Cristina: 0:10

Hi, I'm Cristina After 10 years of dating, I was tired of attracting the wrong type of guys and thinking I had to lose weight to find love. I finally figured out how to date and I found the love I thought I would never find. Each week, I'll teach you dating advice, share dating stories and help you ditch the dating drama. My goal is to help you have fun and create the life you love. If you're ready to take your dating to another level, then listen up and let's go. Hello, welcome to The Curvy Girl Dating Podcast, Episode 29. Today we are going to talk about solo traveling. I'm super excited about this because I love to travel and I just got back from a trip to Virginia. It was for work, but I still got to have a little bit of fun as well as all the work that I had to do. So I have been traveling for years and years by myself. I have just enjoyed it so much because I've learned a lot about myself and I've just got to experience a lot of different things in life. And I think if I hadn't done that, and I held back, I would have missed Hi, I'm Cristina After 10 years of dating, I was tired of attracting the wrong type of guys and thinking I had to lose weight to find love. I finally figured out how to date and I found the love I thought I would never find each week. I'll teach you dating advice, share dating stories and help you ditch the diet drama and help you ditch the dating drama. My goal is to help you have fun and create the life you love. If you're ready to take your dating to another level, then listen up and let's go. out on a lot of friendships and opportunities to grow and discover things about myself that I know now. So it's really important to know a little bit about who you are or what the goal is of traveling and why you want to go. I had done a lot of traveling with my family before, which is why I think it was a little bit more comfortable for me to just get out and try to do it by myself. I would definitely say, embrace the idea of stepping out of your comfort zone. I had done gone places with my family. I've been to, San Antonio. I've been to Mexico a lot. I've done all kinds of different things with family and experienced a lot. Went to Disney World. I've been to different places in Florida. We've been to Arizona. So we've had some experience vacationing, but as far as by myself, I think my first semi by myself vacation was going to Mexico with a friend, Greg. I was probably about 21 or so. Yes, I technically did go with someone, but it was independent as in not with my parents. So it was the first time I had gone out and experienced planning and budgeting all by myself. So we went to Mexico when I graduated college. Oh, I was about 23 or 24 and we just had such an amazing time together. We went to Cancun and Just spent a week at an all inclusive resort and we met a lot of people. We met some people from Canada and some people from South Africa. And even to this day, I think about them and, one of them is still a Facebook friend. It was nice to be able to meet my first group of friends going out and traveling alone. And it was an international trip, which, I don't know if I've done any independent, international trips, but it's definitely on the checklist to do. So after that, I think I waited a few years. I was in a relationship, got out of that relationship, was single and I had gone on my next solo trip, which was for real solo trip to Nashville, Tennessee. So I went to Nashville, I was in a weight loss group So anybody who's a NoBS person, I am still currently in NoBS as well, but this is way back in the day in 2019. I went on a NoBS trip to Nashville and didn't know anybody at all. I knew that there was gonna be people in my group that were gonna go. But they were like strangers, right? And I had no idea who I was going to go with and who I was going to meet and how it was going to go. I planned my plane trip. I planned my hotel and saved up money and just crossed my fingers and said a little prayer. And went out of town to meet a whole bunch of women that I've never met before in my life. And, again, that was, a nice transition on learning how to go out and vacation by myself because in the end I did have people to meet, but more and more that I had practiced going and traveling independently, like getting to the place independently and then meeting up with people that were internet strangers. but meeting up with people that I felt safe, meeting and being around and then coming home by myself was really the beginning of my solo trips. And then I started to do a little more advanced things, and just going by myself and going to a destination where I still didn't know anybody and I was just going to have a great time and wing it and see how it goes. So back to Nashville, I went and again, it was a group event. We were doing, Don't Stop Believing. It was a 5k, 10k and a half marathon that you could choose to do. And I did my very first 10K there and I had been, getting ready for it and training for it for a first time. And I, that's how I became a, runner. I don't know if I would call myself an experienced or great runner, but I moved my legs forward in the direction in a running pace. That was my first experience doing a 10K and traveling solo. So we get there and we have this Facebook group and so I checked into my hotel and I just took a deep breath and I wrote on the Facebook group,"Hey, my name is Cristina. I'm wearing this. I'm going to go downstairs and if anybody wants to hang out, come and meet me." Luckily, I met Rosie and I tagged along with her and her family the whole time and we had a great time, but I also met a lot of other friends as well, but she was the first person who responded to my message and reached out. And it was her first time in a NoBS event as well. So we met up and got to become friends and we're still friends today. So it was pretty awesome and amazing. And I really appreciated that experience and meeting her as well as meeting all the other women that were in my group. I met Julie as well, there's so many different people. Cara, it's just, I had such a great time meeting just so many different people. Too many to list. So anyways, I did my 10k. It was an awesome weekend. I learned a whole lot. I came back home and I was pumped and ready to do my next trip already. So I didn't do anything as adventurous by flying, but I had done some weekend getaways and, went out of town to different cities around Texas. So I had gone to San Antonio. I had some friends there. So I would drive to San Antonio. I went to Austin by myself. Didn't know anybody, just different little towns around Houston that were, three hours max away and got a hotel room and went and just had a good time. Sometimes I met up friends. Sometimes I met up my internet friends that I've been friends with for a long time and they were total strangers, but it was awesome. And then some of my best friends, T and Shanna, I met them in Galveston for the first time. My aunt had a beach house and we were doing a first of the year, girls weekend there. And we just had a good time doing vision boards. And it was the first time we had met each other. We had been friends online for several years, probably about one or two years. and we still meet weekly five years later. Every Saturday morning we meet and get together and talk about our businesses and we pump each other up and talk about what's going on. And we're just my best friends and we talk every single day and chat with each other. So I had created this relationship with them and we decided to meet up in Galveston and go on this vacation together. And we just created like this awesome. Girls Weekend, and I still have my vision board right here on my wall from that weekend. And it's just very special and I love that I have it still. So anyways, the last trip that I just went on, I just came back from it last week. That's why I didn't have a podcast last week I went to Virginia for this work trip. It was fun. We had a great time. It was a lot of work, I also met a lot of my peers, my coworkers for the very first time there as well. So I knew, again, this was an event that I went to traveling solo, but I knew I was going to meet people, but I didn't know anybody. I didn't know how they were going to be, if they're going to be nice or nerds or, whatever. I'm a nerd too, but like just people that I wasn't going to get along with, but I got along with everyone. It's such a great group. We had so many memories and inside jokes afterwards. And I'm just so glad I got a chance to meet all of these people that I work with every day. And I talk to every day and I've never gotten a chance to meet them in person. So it was great to see their personalities in real life versus just behind a computer. And so it was a really special trip and I'm glad I got to do that and looking forward to the future trips as well. But we did get a little bit of playtime and we went to DC our very last night there. We took an Uber from Virginia to DC and we took a bus tour We hopped around in the bus tour. We learned a lot about our U. S. history and about the D. C. area. And we had the best tour guide, Dion the 13th, by the way. So if you go look for that tour, because he's amazing. And Mr. Sean was our driver, but we went to this bus tour and I got to see, all these amazing places. I got to see these monuments. I got to see the White House. I was on the South Lawn. I got to see, so many things. I can't even think about it right now because it was so exciting, but we took so many pictures and it was just a quick experience. We were there three hours. We jumped in, jumped out, and I got to experience going to DC in very cold weather at night, but it was a very eventful and exciting trip to go on and just check out for a second. So had I not said yes to this work trip because I was too scared, I wouldn't have been able to experience that trip to DC and I wouldn't have been able to experience meeting my co workers and just having a great time with new friends, right? I went in meeting co workers and I came home with new friends. All I'm saying is take the risk, get out of your comfort zone and say yes to those trips. It might be a trip to a work trip, but you have the option. Say yes, just go. What do you have to be afraid of? I know a little bit of traveling. There's some discomfort there. I know that there's a lot of anxiety, being plus size and flying. Having to get a seatbelt extender or having an extra seat or getting just really uncomfortable and just tight in a space, in an airplane or something. But there's options for you that you can do to solve that. You can fly first class. but I know if you fly Southwest, they have a customer of size policy that you can get two seats and, they'll accommodate you to have two seats so that you can be comfortable in the flight. and you can also drive if you're close enough to somewhere that you could go to and go on a driving trip so that you can take your own car. I've taken a trip to Dallas on a bus. It was like a luxury bus. It's called Vaughn Lane. I really like that. I live in Houston, so it'll take you to Austin or San Antonio or Dallas, like the bigger cities. So that's a great option because you're in a nice bus seat, it's air conditioned, it has free wi fi, you can uber when you get into town to your destination, whatever. So there's lots of different options that you can have when you get there if you're choosing to take a Vaughn lane or a bus. So driving, Vaughn lane, plane, get two seats, customer of size. Again, seat extenders are an option, when you get on the flight. If that is something that is a concern for you, they can be very discreet about it. It doesn't have to be, and I can't guarantee you that it's always discreet. Sometimes it's not, but you don't need to be discreet. Think about it. it's something that you need for your safety. And you deserve it just like everybody else deserves to have a seatbelt for their safety, you do too. So if that's going to be the requirement for you to be safe and be on the trip and have comfort, then that's what you're going to need. And that's going to be the accommodation that you need. So there's nothing to be ashamed of if that is something that you'll need to have to be safe to fly to wherever you're traveling. So just keep that in mind. But yes, get out of your comfort zone and try different things. Sightseeing, I sightsee by myself as well. I just find different things that would accommodate a single person. That bus trip totally could have gone by myself and really enjoyed it. When I went to Nashville, I did a bus trip. It was like a jump on and jump off trip and you buy your ticket. I did that by myself. That was fun. You just get your ticket, you get on the bus, they tour you around, they make a stop. If you want to stop and go visit that part, you can go and jump off and then another bus will pick you back up and you get to do that all day long. you get to see a whole bunch of things all at once. And it's, there's no worries that you're by yourself or not. This is hot in here. I don't even know what to do with myself. I'm sweating. So anyways, there's a lot to do and things that you could do to accommodate yourself when you're solo. So don't let that hold you back. Budgeting is also something that, is important to do when you want to travel by yourself, be flexible in your budget, but also know where to splurge and where you can save, right? Like I, have tried. I'll just price out different things and I'll see, okay, is an Airbnb a best place to stay? Is an Airbnb like getting a room or a little house or an apartment or a condo. Or if I'm in a shared space, like which one is the most affordable and which one's safe. Hotels, I like to stay at hotels. But I like to stay at ones that have good reviews, that are safe, that are walkable potentially if that's in the budget. If they're not walkable, or is Uber an option, or public transportation that's safe an option? Do they have like a hotel bus that'll take you to a tourist area and pick you back up, things like that. There's just different ways, if you're flying somewhere, what is the expense between Ubering to the airport and driving your car to the airport and leaving it there and then paying for it every single day? Those are things to consider when you're trying to budget and where you want to splurge and where you want to cut the budget. If you want to, make your own meals or have snacks and then have one meal out. Like I know a lot of times it's uncomfortable to go out and eat alone. So if you want to have like snacks for yourself to keep yourself, satiated, or you want to make your own food at your hotel or your apartment or anything, find which places are going to accommodate that for you. Or if there's a restaurant in the hotel, and that's a comfortable place to eat on your own, that's also a good option. Just pay attention to those things when you're budgeting and planning. I think that's, one of the most important things is the safety, looking for safety and looking for the accommodations and which ones you want to save on, which ones you want to splurge on. But definitely safety is important. I always tell my parents what hotel I'm staying at, what room I'm in. If I need to put my little location tracker, I will if I'm flying or something. especially if I'm driving too, so they know if I'm stuck or in a car accident or something, they can track a location to see that I'm not getting to the destination. But I always keep somebody in mind that I can contact and have that too. When I'm in the hotel or in the space, I write down emergency contacts on a piece of paper and I leave it by the remote or I leave it somewhere that if something happens, somebody can see, who I am and who my contacts are and how they can reach people that know me, stuff like that. You just never know and it's always better to be safe and have that available than to not. Again, reading about where you're staying, having any kind of safety apps, keeping your friends in the loop. Knowing a little bit about your accommodations, those are the most important ways to stay safe in my opinion. Sometimes if I'm in a place, I might talk to, the front desk person and just ask questions about, what's a good time to be home. just ask them about the local environment and see if there's any where I should stay away from and where, is a good place to go. Where are tourists and travelers? Are the locals friendly? Are they not? There's a lot of different information that you can obtain to make the best of your trip. So that would be also something else that I would recommend, but take the time to meet new people while you're out there. Again, there's different ways that you can travel solo. I many times travel solo and end up meeting people I know or they're in a group that I was in online. Like I have tons of internet friends all over the country and I'm sure I could meet them for the first time and become friends and enjoy their town or their city that they're in, with or without them. But at least knowing that they're close by and they can tell me a little bit about. where they live and their hometown and giving me some tips on how to enjoy that vacation, if anything. So yeah, decide how you want the vacation to go. Do you want to go and be alone? I've been to Corpus Christi by myself and I just went to the beach and I was just quiet and nobody but my family knew that I was there. I just, took a little break from work. went to Corpus Christi for vacation, hung out at the beach. It was very super chill. I didn't do a whole lot and it was a relaxing weekend. Whereas other times I've gone and I was busy. I flew into Philly one time to meet one of my best friends. She was getting married in Delaware I did meet them there. We went quick Philly tour, went to, New York, did a quick New York tour around, got the hotspots, and then went to the wedding in Delaware and then came back. But. Just finding out what kind of experience do you want? Do you want it to be alone? Do you want it to be where you meet friends? Do you want to go alone and find new friends and discover new friends? What is the goal of the vacation? You might want to be adventurous sometimes, and sometimes you just might want it to be quiet and relax a little bit. Take that time to grow and connect with yourself, and really embrace the experience. the time that you're spending doing something independently and getting that confidence to talk to people and meet new people and just go out there and enjoy your life and experience things that you've never been to or seen or experienced before. So that's a really good way to figure out who you are and what you like and what you don't like. It gets you out of your comfort zone and helps you practice talking to people and getting that sense of if you feel safe, how much do you want to share or not share, it gives you those, personal boundaries on how you want to communicate with people. And it just gives you that practice. So it helps you share a little bit more if you happen to be a little more timid and don't want to share a lot about you. But also sometimes I tend to over share, but then I realized,"Hey, it probably wasn't a good idea to tell this person what hotel it was at," or something dumb like that. It really helped me, figure out what was okay to share and whatnot and make better decisions in the future. It's important to practice those things. sometimes you make mistakes and sometimes you don't, but you learn through it and just overall choose the safer side than not, but also experience your life. I've never done it, but I would totally do it. There's also traveling groups of solo people. You can find different traveling groups that you can sign up to go by yourself, but it's really a group, in the end, you end up having a group of people, but you're going by yourself, like when I went to Nashville. I knew there were going to be people that I, somewhat knew that they were in the same event that I was going to, so there was gonna be a lot of people, a lot of women that were going to go to the same event and do the 5k or the 10k or the half marathon, that they've been working really hard and training for it and, communicating online for a while, and even though I knew nobody, I was able to feel right at home the second that I walked in the door of that hotel. There was this breath of fresh air that I felt like. This whole entire hotel is full of women just like me. And that was a really good feeling to have. So if you go to these travel groups, they're solo independent travelers, but they're around your age, they might be all women, and you might create these beautiful friendships that can flourish and that you guys can go independently to see each other at each other's towns. So it's a really good way to meet people as well, but yet you're still in a group setting that you get to feel a little bit more safe than if you were to completely go by yourself. Because at least if you're in these groups, they know where you are and you can have somebody, keep tabs of you as well, like the program, right? So I would definitely recommend doing that if it was too intimidating to just go out. Start small. You don't have to go to the other side of the world on your first travel trip. Just if it's a staycation and you just want to go to a hotel in your town, like again, I live in Houston. It's a big town. If I want to stay downtown and get a hotel, which I have done plenty of times just to get away from my own space and just make myself feel special and do something nice to myself that was like a self care thing. Just go to another hotel. I get out, do things in town that I don't normally do because I don't want to drive in there, and enjoy that part of town and then stay at the hotel and go home. Like you can do that because you're still in the comfort of your area, but you're still doing something different and you're getting out of your comfort zone just a little bit, but you always know that home is right around the corner. So that's a great way to start like practicing solo travel. And then again, take a little road trip, maybe two hours away, maybe three hours away, and then work your way up into doing bigger things like flying somewhere, or taking an international trip or doing one of those websites where you have group solo travelers. So anyways, I just really wanted to share my experience of traveling and I just really enjoyed that trip to DC and meeting my coworkers and it just struck a light in me that I figured it was a good opportunity to share how much I enjoy solo travel and how amazing and awesome my life has been and how many friendships that I've created through traveling alone. And just, I've just learned so much about myself. So I just wanted to share that and give you that opportunity in your head to think about it and do something like that for yourself as well. So that is all I have for today and I will talk to you next week. Thanks.