Autistic Travel Voices #6: Mischa

As many of you may be aware, there is very little in the way of travel-related information online which focuses on autistic adults, or has any input from the autistic travel community.

‘Autistic Travel Voices’ is an opportunity for others in the community to discuss topics surrounding their own travel journeys, and how their lived experience of traveling intersects with being autistic.

In this new edition of ‘Autistic Travel Voices’ I had a great conversation with Mischa, who has visited all 50 US states and has been to an impressive 29 countries thus far. Originally from Washington DC, Mischa has engaged with both international and domestic travel since a young age. I had a lot of questions for Mischa based on all the travel stories we had shared beforehand, which you can read below;

• Q1: Would you like to introduce yourself to our readers?

Hi everyone, my name is Mischa, and traveling is my favorite hobby of all time. I try my very best to travel whenever I have some free time. I’m in my late 30s now, and I didn’t start traveling hardcore until I was in my mid 20s for domestic travel or late 20s for international travel. Any traveling that I did prior to my mid 20s was just to visit family or friends. If I could go back in time and change one thing about my past, I’d prioritize travel much earlier in my life. I’d be one of those travelers who started traveling solo at 18, but unfortunately I wasn’t… not even close.

• Q2: Did you grow up traveling, or was it something you started to do when you became an adult?

I kind of grew up traveling, but we were always going to the same places, never anywhere new or different or super interesting. Although I’m originally from the US, I have a lot of relatives in France on my Father’s side, so I’ve been to France a few times during my childhood and always to the same part of France. I also have relatives from France who live in the Netherlands, so I’ve been there during my childhood as well.

As far as domestic travel, my Father and I have taken several road trips from the Washington, DC Area to Miami in the US State of Florida to visit a family friend. In my early and mid-teens, I also flew back and forth between the US States of Virginia and Michigan to visit my Mother when I was living in Virginia with my Father. We also drove from Virginia to Michigan once. During my early childhood, we also once flew to California. In my early teens, I also went on a little family road trip to Toronto, Canada one time from the US State of Michigan. That about sums it up for my childhood travels. Nothing all that special or fantastic!

• Q3: When was your first solo trip? Where did you go?

To me, solo could mean a couple different things, so I’ll answer the question in a couple of different ways. I traveled to France a few times throughout my early and mid-teens, solo, but all of these trips were arranged by my Father, and, of course, there was always a family member or close family friend to come and meet me at the airport once I arrived there. I also received extra attention from the flight attendants, because I was an unaccompanied minor.

I also took domestic flights, solo, between Virginia and Michigan to meet my Mother. When I was in my early 20s, I took a couple of solo domestic trips from Virginia to California to meet a friend of mine at the time. However, it wasn’t until I was 25 that I took my first “proper” solo domestic trip, without the intention of meeting any friends or family members… I took a bus from Washington, DC to Portland, Maine… about an 8 hour trip each way. Then from that time, from ages 25 to 28, I worked on visiting the 50 US States.

At 29, I took my first proper solo international trip, which was to Australia.

• Q4: What have you learned about yourself as an autistic adult since traveling solo?

I learned that traveling is the only time when I feel like a better version of myself. Whether I’m traveling or whether I’m at home, there’s no changing the fact that I’ll often get irritated by the actions of other people, as well as the excessive noise, but traveling makes misery easier for me to deal with. I’d rather feel miserable or annoyed while traveling, rather than being stuck at home feeling miserable or annoyed.

Traveling is the one thing in my life that gives me a taste of freedom and I need more of it! Traveling also makes me feel different, but in a good way that I don’t really know how to explain. In some ways, I’m glad that I’m one of the only people I know who loves to travel, but at the same time, I’d really like to be surrounded by people who share the same passion for travel that I do. Frequent travel is also my way of letting out my nonconformist side; my free-spirited side; and most important, frequent travel helps me feel like I am being myself… which is why I need more travel in my life.

• Q5: You’ve been to all 50 US states, do you have any favorites? And if so, why?

I would probably say that California is my favorite state. I love the weather in Southern California, and I love the City of San Diego and the City of San Francisco. San Francisco is probably one of the few cities on the West Coast that also feels like an East Coast city in the sense that it’s smaller in terms of area; more compact; more urban; less widespread; and has more row houses. San Diego, on the other hand, like most cities on the West Coast, is more widespread and isn’t well known for having many row houses. Even though San Diego is a widespread city, I personally found it safer and easier to get around than Los Angeles. I don’t know much about Sacramento, but what I did see of it on a short layover seemed nice.

• Q6: Did you feel like some states were so culturally different it was almost like visiting another country? Or was that not the case?

To me, no matter what state I was in, I never felt like I was in a different country… but then again, maybe I haven’t traveled enough in each state to make that determination. Some aspects of US culture in general can be found in every state, though. There might be some cultural differences between states, but some aspects of US culture exist nationwide, or at least that’s how I see it.

• Q7: Do you have any travel goals for the near future?

I’m far behind on my travel goals, because I spent my entire 20s making horrible mistakes that didn’t need to be made, and not prioritizing travel as much as I should have. I could have been much closer to my travel goals by now, but the best I can do is to work toward my travel goals from where I am right now. My travel goal is to visit at least 100 countries as quickly as possible, and who knows what my travel goal will be once I achieve that goal!

On a separate note, I have gotten a lot of my travel inspiration from a wonderful organization called “NomadMania.” Speaking of NomadMania, if you consider yourself to be an extreme traveler or a hardcore travel enthusiast who wants some travel inspiration, then I very highly suggest following NomadMania on all of your social media accounts! Take note of this!

• Q8: Can you think of any ways in which being autistic may benefit or hinder any aspects of your travels?

As an autistic or neurodivergent individual, traveling can be more difficult, because of the fact that I tend to get very annoyed by loud noises and fast movement. For example, I love to take pictures and nothing annoys me more than people constantly stepping in the way when I want to take a picture of something… or staring at me as I take a picture. Being stared at makes me feel too self-conscious and nervous.

At the same time, though, I realize that there will always be times when people will step in the way of my pictures, especially in crowded areas… and sighing and getting irritated won’t make it stop, as much as I wish it would! Not only that, but I personally find it extra difficult to deal with people who I find to be difficult or unfriendly.

• Q9: If there is just one thing you want other autistic travelers to know, what would it be?

Start traveling young. The younger, the better! Don’t start traveling later like I did, otherwise you might regret it for many years to come! Just book your first solo trip and don’t think too much about it, but I’d say that countries such as Iceland or Portugal are great for beginners taking their first ever solo trips.

• Q10: Do you have any personal advice for autistic adults who are looking to travel solo, but may have some safety concerns?

I never thought about this, but my common sense tells me that it might be wise to carry a whistle; try to be back at your accommodation before dark or not too long after dark; if your gut instincts lead you to feel unsafe, call a taxi or use a rideshare app to get back to your accommodation, even if it’s just a short distance away; and last, but not least, put in some extra research on the safety of the neighborhoods that you intend to stay in.

• Q11: What does accessibility in tourism mean to you?

To me, accessibility in tourism means having facilities that cater to different needs, such as ramps and elevators for wheelchairs on all floors; signs written in braille; more accessible parking spaces; quiet rooms; playgrounds; sensory gardens; etc.

• Q12: From your own experience, how accessible do you feel the tourism industry is currently for autistic travelers?

I never thought much about it, but I do think that the tourism industry has room for improvement when it comes to autistic travelers. I do think that ‘quiet rooms’ should become a thing in major airports first and then eventually smaller airports, and I also think that there should be a mix of autistic staff and staff who are trained to deal with those of us who are autistic and sometimes tend to have meltdowns. I also think that adding more artwork to more airports, sensory gardens, and calming music would be a good step forward!

If you would like to keep up to date with Mischa and his global travels, then you can find him over on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and TikTok.