Tracing Your Roots in Retirement

One of the most thoughtful things you can do in your retirement is learn more about yourself. Now that you’ve put all the busy days and stressful weeks behind you, it’s time to focus on you. A lot of people dedicate their entire lives to their jobs. Their work goals and their personal goals get all rolled up together. You often identify yourself with your job. Once you’re no longer working, that changes. You have more time to think about yourself separate from work. That includes your history and the family members who came before you.

This is the concept behind genealogy tourism. It’s about learning about your family, not just through names and dates, but through the places they lived, the streets they walked, and the lives they had. It goes beyond just reading books and shifting through historical records. Genealogy tourism allows you to actually walk in the footsteps of your ancestors and go on a journey through their lives.

It’s meaningful to read about your ancestors and maybe see photos of them, but it’s a whole new experience to physically take yourself to the places they lived. 

Genealogy tourism lets you travel the world differently. A lot of travel focuses on the big attractions like the Eiffel Tower, the Roman Colosseum, the Taj Mahal, or the Great Wall of China. Some tourism changes that focus and makes your journey about food or music or nature. These forms of tourism often aim to connect you with the culture of the areas, not just the most popular sites. Genealogy tourism takes this a step further. In addition to helping bring you closer to the customs and daily life of a country or region, it also connects you with your family roots and helps you understand the lives they may have lived.

Getting Started

A good place to start your journey is with a DNA test. This can be especially helpful if you don’t know much about your family history. Many people are only able to track their histories back a generation or two, so getting a DNA test can point in you in the right direction to look further back into your past. There are many services that will conduct a DNA test and tell you more about your family history. Review their terms and conditions, especially when it comes to privacy and security. You’ll want to make sure you understand exactly how they will be using your genetic data.

You’ll also want to fully understand what the service provides. How much information do they give you? What sort of information do they specialize in? Some will focus more on your genetic breakdown and ethnicity history while others will lean more towards getting you in touch with others in your family tree.

Some services let you download your DNA data so you can upload it to another database. This can be helpful when conducting your search since different services provide access to different data. In general, you will likely have the most success when using a service that has access to a larger database. The more information the company has, the greater likelihood of you getting a match. Compare the various services and choose that one that seems the most comprehensive for your needs. 

Do Your Research

Once you’ve done the DNA test (if you decided to do a DNA test), the next step is research. You’ll want to start by finding relevant records. This might include birth certificates, marriage certificates, death records, immigration records, and other important data.

There are specific services dedicated to helping you find this information, though you may be able to do a lot of it yourself through libraries, and national and regional archives. 

It often helps to start your search with one branch of your family tree. For example, research the family member that you know the most about and go back as far as you can into their history. This can help focus your efforts and keep you from feeling frazzled or overwhelmed.

The more planning you do before your trip, the greater the benefits. 

Guided Genealogy Tourism

There are options that involve guided travel with an expert. These professionals can help you conduct your research and many also offer guided tours. Some experts work in specific local areas, such as certain countries, regions, or towns. They can be incredibly helpful if you’ve traced your family heritage to a specific area and then need help exploring further.

Many experts will take you on guided tours. These trips aren’t just designed to show you the areas and the sights. They can also tell you a lot about how people once lived in that area. This will help you get an idea of what daily live would have been like for your ancestor. 

Working with an expert can be costly however, due to the amount of research and planning involved. Make sure to get details, rates, and all important information beforehand.

Exploring on Your Own

You may also choose to explore your family history on your own. This will likely take significant time and planning, but the entire process can be incredibly rewarding. You’ll be able to work at your own pace and set your own planning and schedule.

In fact, researching your family tree can be an excellent retirement hobby. Many retired people have trouble finding purpose in their lives once they’re no longer working. Choosing to spend your time learning about your ancestors can be a great way to pass the time and enrich your life.

Read through documents and historical records but also make phone calls and set up meetings with historians, churches, government officials, and historical societies. Talking to these experts will help you get additional information and even the conversations themselves can be meaningful.

Once you have enough information on your ancestors to plan a trip, you’ll want to focus your travel. This might mean exploring a specific region or taking a physical tour through the life of a particular relative. 

Getting the Most from Genealogy Tourism

Traveling to see where you ancestors lived isn’t just about seeing their homes and workplaces. It’s also about getting lost in the culture. Research meals that may have been popular in the area at the time and find restaurants or chefs that can prepare them. This can help you feel what it may have been like for your great-great-great grandfather or your long-lost cousin. Visit the church they were married in or ask for a tour of the school they attended. This will help strengthen your connection to the past.

See if you can find any relatives who still may be living in the area. For example, if your relative left the region a hundred years ago, they have had siblings or cousins who stayed, and their grandchildren or great-grandchildren might still be living there. You might not have an instant connection with them, but even briefly meeting a distant relative can be thrilling. It can also help you get more information on your shared past.

Even if you don’t meet anyone and even if your search goes cold at some point, there is something especially meaningful about exploring your past. You won’t just see where your family members once lived, but you’ll also get to see how far your family has come. This can help you appreciate what you have today. For instance, if your ancestors once lived in a small village with no running water, it can feel pretty magical to compare what they have to the place you live in today. On the other hand, you might use the experience to change what you’re doing with your life and embrace more of the past. You may want to live more like they did and that can lead to meaningful life changes.

Retirement is about finding the life you truly want and genealogy tourism is a profound way to experience that.