Before I had found a place to stay in Exeter, I had already decided how I would get there. It was either by train or plane, and I chose the train.
The decision was not based on an impulse. It was based on the environmental impact of both journeys. A flight from Maastricht to Exeter releases somewhere between 150 and 250 kilograms of CO2 per person. Additional CO2 produced by flying, about 100-200 kg, would need to be offset by 5 to 9 trees over a course of a year. The train route only releases a fraction of that, and reduces my carbon footprint, just by giving up a long part of my day.
Part of that choice was environmental. By choosing lower-emission forms of transport, I hope to contribute to a better climate, a lower footprint and responsible consumption and production. One person’s travel choices will not solve climate change, but it is a way I can reduce my own environmental impact.
The other reason is harder to measure. Travelling sustainable often means traveling more slowly, and there is a value to that. A flight shows you clouds, a train shows you the country you are actually moving through. I look forward to watching the landscape gradually change from Dutch fields to Belgian towns, and eventually to the English landscape. The journey itself becomes part of the experience.
Furthermore, I will continue my commitment to sustainable travel after I arrive. As a Dutch student, biking is already part of my daily routine, and I would love to keep doing that in Exeter. I plan to use the bike for lectures, groceries, and exploring the city. This will not only contribute to reducing emissions, but it will also encourages a closer connection to a place and it will turn everyday errands into a fun way to engage with the local environment and nature. Moreover, it improves my contribution to sustainable cities and communities, which Exeter already contributes to, by encouraging students to bike or walk in and around the city.
For destinations farther away, I plan to rely on buses or regional trains instead of booking taxis or renting cars. These choices support more sustainable forms of travel while reducing emissions and resource consumption during my stay abroad.
Door to door, the train trip will take more hours than flying. However, those extra hours feel less like a sacrifice and more like an investment in traveling consciously. Choosing the train over the plane, the bicycle over the taxi, and the slower routes over the faster ones, reflects the kind of traveler I want to be. When I return to Maastricht in January 2027, I hope to bring back not only academic experiences and newmade connections with the people I met there, but also proof that international travel and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand.
