Hello, I am man in the age of 27. Guess, I am getting closer to 30 and starting to reflect on my life.
I wish to stop working for a year and go travel I Asia.
– Take care of my HEALTH(for me right now it is more important than money), explore the World, get and find new ideas, reflect on life, meet new people, find connections for work, maybe business.
I could potentially spend somewhere 1/5 of my saving for living if I don’t find job.
Should I care about finding job after that or figuring money. Any body have such kind of experience ?
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I’ve taken 2 years off since I started working. The first at aged 24 and the second a decade after.
I don’t know really anything about you or what you’re planning on doing to give any real advice. There’s so many different ways of travelling. For example the first trip I backpacked around mainland Asia staying mainly in cheap b&bs with an ex moving by trains and buses. The second was cycling solo around the world which was mainly camping. Each was very different and have pros and cons.
Have a think about what you want to do, solo or in a group. Which countries you want to go, how off the beaten track, what visa restrictions there are, how will you travel, what’s your budget. Have you been away for a long time? What’s your language knowledge? Will you want to maybe stay in one place longer or will you be moving every few days?
If you provide more details of your plans that would help for any specific advice.
Edit: I will say be wary of looking to acquire some profound wisdom on trips. I loved both my trips but I don’t think i came back from either with some enlightened way of seeing the world. Often people who have troubles think simply taking a break will solve them, but when you return the problems will still be there. I loved both my trips, particularly my cycle but I don’t think people see me and go "he’s got such an interesting way of thinking due to the cycling" my wife describes it as "man who loves silence had a year of silence". I went back to the exact same industry I was in before. The only real change for me was having more confidence in myself
I ditched school to become a lawyer after 6 years to go work in motorsports and travel the world.
I personally wouldn’t suggest it.
Many people share your desire, and unfortunately, the fastest way to stop your working days and start your traveling days is to be frugal and put time on your side.
Of course there is a balance to be struck, and you’re only "young" once, but one thing concept I try to personally remind myself is you never hear anyone say "I’m really glad I lived that way in my 20’s". You hear people say they regret not taking care of themselves, being too consumed with work, or not being responsible and setting themselves up. We have a tend to look back at our life and think about mistakes we made or the things we should have done.
The best remedy to that is freedom to go and experience things, like you are wanting. Thats what money is for me. It’s the power to have freedom over that job.
It sounds like you’re doing quite well for yourself if you’ve got a good savings built up and you’re responsible with your money. I would definitely suggest vacationing to get some experience. But once you start working, I say never lift your foot off the gas and get it over with.
If not now, when?
Yes. Take all the time you can afford to take.
> Take care of my HEALTH(for me right now it is more important than money), explore the World, get and find new ideas, reflect on life, meet new people, find connections for work, maybe business.
Seems like there’s just one of these things you can’t do while working
Just make sure that you’re actually the kind of person who can take a year of non stop travel. Me, I feel the need to go home again after four days, max, but I know some people are different. Just make sure that after four months, you won’t be thinking "Eight more months until I get to sleep in my own bed again?"
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Save up to be comfortable. Then do it. You won’t regret it.
Your 80 year old self will thank you for the memories.
My wife and I did it at 35 and made more memories in 9 months than most do and a lifetime.
It costs surprisingly little to travel slowly full time, compared to living in the U.S.
Can also look into using trusted housesitters in combo with a remote job to fuel your exploration.
I left and went and traveled. It’s one of the things I for sure wouldn’t take back. It’s weird to say this but I can definitely level the accomplishments field with some people or at least help your own insecurities. Talking to a guy who stayed and focused on his career and family, may seem like he has it all, but drop that you took a year, saw the world and had a good adventure, you will see the flash of jealousy. This is not the reason to do it. Do it bc it will make you a more rounded person.
If your retirement savings, not just savings are up to date doooo it.
If not you are simply hurting your later self when it’s harder to do things for the right now.
Never taken more than 3 months off but I do 2 to 3 months every 2 to 3 years outside of normal PTO
My boss and I have a good relationship at a small company and we just make it work where I take a leave of absence and then return
I do long motorcycle trips, solo, to clear my head and decompress
The biggest issue was getting my wife on board – as an accountant she was able to make it work financially and then was OK with it but it means I have to save pennies in-between and be able to have money in savings for bills as well as the trip
I say do it. Scratch that itch. If you don’t, you’ll regret it.
You have the money, just don’t go crazy and spend more than you plan.
I’d say don’t do it if you were borrowing the money, but it seems like you’ve been a diligent saver. That’ll carry you further than any high paying job.
I have lots of friends that are nearing retirement age that have made huge money and saved none.
I’m 62. The things that you think about, tell stories about, and remember even though it was decades ago, were the adventures. The travel I did.
Not the times when I worked a lot. What you don’t want to do is get to the end of your life and think "I should have gone travelling when I was young and healthy"
Regrets are the devil.
Do it! I (40) did this from 28-30 and traveled many places and spent a lot of my savings and have zero regrets. Would I have much more saved for retirement if I hadn’t? Absolutely. Would I have gotten similar experiences if I’d waited until retirement age to travel all those continents? Nope!
Wife and I took a year off and moved to her home island with our two kids. Purposely lived kinda poor on the family farm minus private school for the kids. It was a great lessen for my oldest since she was 12. My youngest was 4 and was just kinda along for the ride, but still had a blast. We had a goal of going to the beach 3x a week, we crushed this goal, camping and teaching our child that if you want nice shit you gotta work for it. My wife’s home island is part of America and there were still people living in tin shacks. It was a blast and it’s a period of my life that I remember very fondly. How many jungle adventures are you going to be able to do when you’re 65? How often are you going to be able to camp in a deserted island in your 70’s? I can keep going, but you get the idea. Sure our little adventure set us back financially a bit, but we spent so much time as a close family in our little home on that little island I would hesitate to do it again if the cards aligned . The only thing that you’re gonna have when laying on your death bed is the memories you made and the people you made them with holding your hand.
Do it, you’re only young once. Also far easier to do it before you have significant ties to a place, like a house, spouse, or children.
You’ll never get the chance to do it again in your current state if it’s truly what you want to do right now. Did it when I was 18/19 and even though financially things were tight and finding work after was sometimes hard I will never regret it. 32 with 2 kids now.
Before you take a year off, have a list of things that you want to do and see — personally, professionally, and spiritually.
Some people travel for many reasons. You can try teaching for 3 months in vietnam, train muy thai for 3 months in Thailand, snorkel and diving in phuket for 3 months, and learn meditation for 3 months in Bali.
Some people I know started their online business and leave for southeast Asia to do just that. Some people are busy studying for their online master program while living abroad for 1 year.
Whatever your life goals are, put on paper and get to work while you’re abroad.
Hard to take care of your health without income or insurance
I encourage you to travel. Take the easiest trip first. Look at your vacation time. Figure out how to take the most time off of work right now. Ask someone to feed your cat and just go. Take those 2 weeks to decide where you want to go and for how long BEFORE you blow up you whole life and leave for 1 year +. I actively suggest you leave. Travel and take care of youself. All of life is balance. You need to decide what you can live with and without. You can give up all your responsinilities in life you just trade them for different problems. Start taking care of yourself now. Find a job that encourages your health. Spend more time with friends.