People often ask me if I get lonely when I travel on my own, and it's a fair question. But after more than 40 solo trips, I realize that being alone and being lonely don't really have much to do with each other.

I took myself to see The Devil Wears Prada, the musical, in London, on my own, with two empty seats beside me and a very tall woman right in front of me. What happened in that theater, along with a note from a subscriber, Irene, were important reminders for me.

In this episode, I take apart the difference between loneliness and solitude. You can feel lonely in a marriage, in a crowd, or in the same loop of the same week and still feel completely content at a table for one. I get into the research on the capacity to be alone and share the small, ordinary shift that made solo travel feel lighter after 40. If you are a solo female traveler, or a woman who wants to be, and you keep bumping into the worry of what if I get lonely out there, this is the conversation for you.

In this episode:

• The empty seats beside me
• Taking up space on your own
• Taking a book to dinner
• Alone vs lonely
• Onward

This episode is for you if:

• you've talked yourself out of a dinner, a show, or a trip because you'd have had to go on your own
• you travel solo, or want to, but the thought of a table for one in a bright room stops you cold
• you're a woman over 40 who does alone at home easily, yet dreads being alone where other people can see you
• you've reached for a book or your phone as a buffer so you don't look like the woman nobody came with

Take the Solo Travel Fit Quiz at https://freedomlookslikethis.com/solo-trip-fit

About Freedom Looks Like This

Freedom Looks Like This is a podcast for women over 40 who want to travel solo, or who already do, and want to go deeper. Host Damianne President explores self-trust, decision-making, and what it actually takes to stop waiting and start moving. New episodes every Tuesday. For solo female travelers, midlife women, and anyone who suspects that the real barrier isn't logistics.

Support the show

Freedom Looks Like This is a podcast for women over 40 who want to travel solo, or who already do, and want to go deeper. Host Damianne President explores self-trust, decision-making, and what it actually takes to stop waiting and start moving. New episodes every Wednesday. For solo female travelers, midlife women, and anyone who suspects that the real barrier isn't logistics.

Email: contact@freedomlookslikethis.com

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