Go! I was in a rut and left England about ten years ago after getting a TEFL certificate. I’ve been teaching English and travelling ever since, and have only been back to Blighty for holidays. I figure I’ve probably worked half and travelled half. Much better than sitting in front of a computer 11 months a year! I was about your age too (32).

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Do it! I left the states 4 months ago and, aside from some mild homesickness as the holidays approach and some of the usual yearning for the familiar, I haven’t regretted it one bit. I left a stable job, closed up a 10 year part-time professional business, rented out my house, and said goodbye to all my friends. I’m working in Ireland now, as a base for traveling, and am loving it. It’s not easy, but it’s certainly not has hard as all my worries and what-ifs made it out to be either. Ruts are made to be broken!

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You don’t hear many people saying, I regret taking off and seeing a different part of the world, discovering new places and learning about new cultures.

But you hear plenty of people saying, I wish I’d done that when I was younger…

Take a look around http://www.workingnomad.com/ to see how one chap upped sticks and went to New Zealand.

Go for it!!!

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Hi,
I work for a company – http://www.benztravel.co.uk and have been here around 12 years recently we opened a call centre in India and i have traveled back and forth a few times, however – and my main point is…
since we set up the telephone technology which routes calls to India we are in the position to be able to route calls to anyone with an internet connection, recently an ex member of staff who has moved to thailand struck up a deal with the boss and works on a comission only basis from the island of Koh Samui on his laptop – his rent and cost of living is a quarter of what it is here in the UK and he only really needs to work a few days a week to cover his living expences – i think you should look at something along these lines – with the internet and VOIP anything is possible these days…

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There are endless ways to give up work and travel – you might even convince your boss to give you a 6month or 1 year leave of absence while you travel – which you could then decide to come back from , or not. With how cheap living expenses are overseas you could also consider freelance travel writing.

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I’d love to do the same, but haven’t been able to since there are a few responsibilities to fulfill before I give up on my job.

Some consolation is at least I’ve started travelling 3-4 times a year and sometimes even going on loss of pay to make those trips abroad. I know I’ll be a happier person the day I quit my job to pursue my interest in travelling.

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Just over 5 years ago I quit my job to teach English in Spain for a year. I was poor for a year but 5 years on I’m still in Spain with a much better job than the one I quit.

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I am currently working full time in sales and also a part time travel & tourism student at nights at a local college. Most people would love to just never work and travel to see this world of ours….who wouldn’t?? That’s why I am taking this course. Working in the travel industry has many travel perks…FAM trips means…familiarization trips, for companies that need professionals to actually check out destinations as a whole, so they can recommend them to clients…or not. They send you for nothing or next to nothing. After I complete my schooling, I will be able to work any place in this industry, hotels, casinos, cruise industry…etc, Even when you work for an airline, one of your benefits are flying anywhere in the U.S. for $20 and internationally for $40. Not a bad perk. Not to mention the insurance bene’s. Everyone needs some sort of an income or you become what we call “Homeless” Good luck to you and your dream….dreams are good and can come true.

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I also seen on http://www.travelocity.com
an area on the bottom of their webpage called
Travel For Good!!! Read it!

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The website wouldn’t allow me to link directly, so I copied the address. Hope it works. If not, again on their webpage on right hand side near the bottom, its called travel for good.

Travel for Good

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Thank goodness for contact lenses!!! Good luck in your travels!!!

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and the few luxuries you have in another country may be much more appreciated than the many that you have now.

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Ask work for a career break…

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Myself and my wife went travelling round the world for 6 months back in 1999/2000. We both left our jobs but it turned out we both returned to work at the same places again on return.

Even then email was a great tool for arranging jobs while on the move. I remember trying to sort out a return to my old company while travelling up the Amazon. I used to sign off my emails “going back into the jungle now I will check my emails again in around 5 days.”

Anyway the moral of the story is that will not become un-employable if you go off travelling, especially if you work in the travel industry. If you are doing a good job at the current company then more than likely they will want you back when you return, if not there will be plenty of other jobs around.

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The past few years I have changed my routine in order to travel more. I didn’t end up changing jobs or shifting countries, but changed my role and work pattern a little in order to support more travel. I also did away with luxuries like car ownership, latest gadgets etc in order to help fund the travel.

So far I am enjoying it immensely, but will soon need to reconsider (for a number of reasons I won’t go into).

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Darren, oh, have I felt your pain. I quit working full time and switched to freelance/contract work only so I could travel. I couldn’t find an employer who really wanted to give me 3-6 months off every year so I could jet about the planet looking at stuff. I haven’t been able to quit working entirely and I still do plenty of non-travel related work, but I haven’t had a full time, permanent job for seven years or so. My income has taken a hit, there’s no denying it, but I am SO MUCH HAPPIER.

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My wife and I just split up about 3 months ago and she doesn’t love me anymore and doesn’t want to try. She has already found someone else. I always wanted to just take off and travel the world. I don’t have kids but I have 4 dogs. I will have to find homes for them before I go but I think this will be best for me. I know it will be hard and I will be hurting for my family and my wife but I’ll be hurting anyways so I might as well just do something that I’ve always wanted to do and be happy about it. It’s going to be hard to leave my dogs because I love them so much. But how sad would it be to not live the life I want because of dogs. That would be something I would regret. I would love to do this with my wife but she is gone forever now and I’ll just have to do it on my own. Now I just need to pick a destination and a date.

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Hi Darren,

I’m a 33yr old Ex soldier whose favourite memories of the Army were traveling.

You only live once and I wouldn’t wish you to have any regrets later on in life.

You have no committments, money and the rest of your life ahead of you.

You could spend some time working for a charity in a developing country which would be rewarding and when you tend to the needs of others God will Bless you………He will fulfill the dreams of your heart.

I think you already knew that you wanted to travel.

Stop being a MINCER and get out there…..LOL!

You will learn so much, but you must be wise.

God Bless!

Alex

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Darren,

I do not know the end of the story but I agree with the rest of the posters. I have been fortunate enough to do some traveling and I cannot think of a better way to spend my time. I am now making decent money but my day-to-day duties are getting really so boring that I am seriously considering taking off again. Good luck and remember that what people regret the most is the stuff they didn’t do.

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Yes me and my hubby and child are renting out our flat taking some equity from the morgage giving up our jobs and are going travelling sod it what the hell life is not about 9 to 5 why not be different who said you have to live the same as the everyone els cause its the norm.

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I gave up corporate Canada and sold my house at the age of 46. I have never looked back. I now teach at the university level, and for the past four years have held a position where I have five months off a year. I have seen and been to places that I never dreamed I would see. Anything is possible, if you really want it. Good luck!

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Go for it Darren or you’ll regret it. I’m 30 next year with no kids or wife and I’m packing up and going to New Zealand Feb 2010. Quitting a €50k job because it’s demoralising and my spirit has been crushed, there’s no other jobs to be had, and going to rent out the house for the year. If I can’t rent it I’m just going to freeze the mortgage for the year. No job set up in New Zealand but I’m not worried as I have enough savings to see me through the year and if I don’t get a job when I come home I will just draw the dole (not that I want to do that for too long though). Still you don’t need a whole load of savings as there are plenty of ways to be resourceful when travelling and there are plenty of websites that will tell you how. You’re never too old to travel. To quote Mark Twain: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.

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The company who organised my working visa recommend that you have at least €2800 of savings when you get to New Zealand. Doesn’t seem like a whole lot. I definitely won’t be spending my money willy nilly when I get over there. I hope to get some part time work over there which should cover food bills and entertainment. Don’t drink that much so I won’t be flogging all my money on booze. Just looking forward to experiencing a different culture. Will worry about finding a permanent job when I get home, no point in worrying about that when I am over there. Things always work out in the end if you want them to. Spent so long thinking about travelling the last year and I could have spent another 10 years thinking about it so I just bit the bullet and paid for my working holiday visa and nothing is going to stop me from going. You might have a car you could sell to raise some funds or you might need to make some sacrifices in your day to day spending.

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John – did you get to NZ in Feb?

I have just started thinking about travelling, hopefully next year in 2011 and your case sounds very similar to mine.

Im 25 this year, savings and time off from work are not a problem, however I do own my own flat. How did you find trying to rent your house out? This is my biggest concern!

What is NZ like, have you considered travelling to Australia? Be good to hear from you! Darren – all the best for your travels and everything you decide to do!

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Wow what can I say it’s so good to find a blog where people share the same values and passions in life!! Just reading peoples comments make me feel so positive that travelling the world is the way forward! I too am in a huge dilemma though, travel or stay and progress with my career!

I’m 23 yrs old and lucky enough to be working in good job since graduating as a project engineer. The experience, money and future career prospects are extremely fantastic for someone my age but the huge problem is whether to say or go. I do enjoy my job but I often feel under immense stress at work and wonder is it too much responsibility and hassle for someone my age.

During 2008 I managed to save enough money to have my first experience of travelling and was lucky enough to go to South America. The experience has changed me and views on life completely, making me so determined to see more of the world. The trouble is all my life seems to revolve around constant work and yes it will see me in a very good position in 5+ years time, but for the last few months all I seem to think about are ways to leaving everything and go and work my way around the world!

I’ve only spoken to a few people about my true feelings and people’s opinions are generally polar opposites. Some people have said its time for me to grow up and work for a living, whilst other peoples reactions have been what are you waiting for, saying you only live once and whilst you haven’t got many commitments etc

What should I do? I feel at breaking point thinking about it all the time, it almost consumes me daily, what’s the best thing to do? The huge urge to get up and go is so much, but am I going to throw everything away that I’ve worked for up to press?

Do people think I should stick my job out for the next few years and get more experience before leaving?

I also have a few other ideas, firstly I could try and get a job in the same field abroad, or go for a total change and become an expedition leader?

If people could give me some advice, tips and their thoughts on how to come to a decision I would appreciate this so much!

Sorry about the essay

Cheers

Mark

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Do it! Even if you don’t have the money. Take a loan. Write about the experience. Check out nomadicmatt.com. I believe I read he makes $30,000 a year off his blog. You have a great reputation and could be doing the same! (Find a sponsor…not traditional ads.)

Other things to consider…rent a smaller flat and save the extra money for traveling. Can you do contract work and make more than you do today? Can you do some freelance travel writing gigs. FIND A SPONSOR. Are you getting my message?

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Hi Mark,

Your asking a question that many people have either subconsciously or at the forefront of their minds.

You don’t mention why you want to travel though? Other than previously it gave you a new look on life.

However you do mention that you’re not happy at work, or at least, routinely fantasize about leaving.

The 9-5 job, can at times be mind numbing. The idea of chucking it all in is a thrill, and can add that bit of excitement to your life behind the desk. But that’s just it. The thought of travel, escapism, and throwing responsibility to the wind is very addictive, and hard to contain.

How about this? Why not set yourself some goals. Long term, eg. 10 years plus, what do you want to be doing then? Family, big job, both?

Medium term, the same, different job, different company. Have traveled the world?

Short term, save, promotion?

Now add in travel. Can it fit in there? Can you take short vacations to exotic places twice a year for the short term, while saving for medium term goals?

During this time you can save, work out what you like, and want to do. It’s also a time when things like taking a leave of absence can take place.

Set goals before jumping into anything one way or another.

Thats my 2 cents, and I’ve been traveling over 5.5 years, so you’d think I’d be pushing you to do the same.

It’s a personal choice. But, I do know that setting yourself goals and targets helps.

All the best with your decision,

Dave

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