actually, seeing as I'm bouncing from pillar to post today anyway, think it's only suitable I cover TRAVEL !
I am an absolute free spirit when it comes to travel, I want to go EVERYWHERE and see as much as I possibly can. Of course though, there are barriers to me doing so and things I really need to consider when it comes to travelling anywhere.
Distance: this is a big one. Why? Bathrooms. Airplane bathrooms aren't wheelchair accessible. They're barely able bodied people accessible. So I tend to stick around the 3 hour maximum airtravel limit for fear of my bladder exploding.
Another thing I'm always conscious of is the airline I fly with. Many wheelchair users have had issues where their chairs have been damaged beyond repair, misplaced it even permanently lost. As far as I know, they're stored with the luggage (could be wrong though)
Obviously essential mobility devices are a little more difficult to replace than a suitcase. Often chairs are custom made and incredibly expensive. Airline accountability, reliability and how I've seen them respond in the past is often how I choose who I fly with vs price.
Transport systems. What is the transport like wherever I need to go? Is it accessible and easy to use? Is it expensive? Do I need to book it in advance or is there accessible taxi alternatives?
London, as much as I love the city, has a pretty horrific underground system in terms of access. It does however make up for it in busses and taxis so getting around for me wasn't impossible but it certainly wasn't easy either
Berlin was pretty difficult. Many of the trains weren't accessible and we didn't have great luck with patient or friendly drivers. I was on a college trip at the time and most of our time was spent with 6 gals trying to lift me on and off trains and looking for lifts
Amsterdam was great, I have to say. The train we got from the airport into the city was great and the trams were pretty accessible; even if there was a step the people there were so incredibly helpful and I was NEVER stuck
On that, I always ask travel facebook groups what they thought of the people in whatever country I'm extensively researching. I like to know that if I'm ever in a bind in a foreign country that the people are relatively approachable if I can
Obviously there's good and bad people everywhere, but you can tell from the tone of a city if youre able to ask a randomer for help or not whether its directions or where they suggest for somewhere to go.
Hotel accessibility. This is of course massive and its one of the reasons nobody can ever surprise me with a holiday anywhere. A lot of places will say they're accessible but they're really not.
Whether it's doorway width, a "small step but it's manageable" situation, the bathroom (I need a wheel in shower with a seat. In my 5* in Amsterdam that I had spent all my savings on, I had to get a stool sent up and it was really unsafe).
The ability to pee and shower are always my main concern when I'm looking at where I stay. I've stayed in so many "accessible" rooms where things just really haven't been suitable
Terrain is another big one. There are places that are just purely off limits to me in a chair. Prague and it's cobblestones, Edinburgh and it's 6000 hills. The layout of a city is incredibly important to me as a wheelchair used
That's meant to be user but ye get me. The point is, there are so many more things to consider that are, as per usual, an easy fix. Or not a problem if they'd just been thought about in the design process
It's like most topics really, disability is a complete afterthought.
