Anyone ever quit their job to travel for an extended period of time? Should I? Or is it too late for me at 26? My current job is bullshit, low paying, idk what my future is, and I kinda just wanna die. I do get PTO, but it's only enough for like, 2 week long trips a year. It's just not enough time to see all the places I want to. I have massive FOMO and am jealous of all the 20 year olds who traveled the whole world in between college semesters. I want to catch up, but I fear it'll be hard to recover if I do now. What are your thoughts on quitting a job to travel? Also what do you think the budget would be for like, 4-6 months of full time travel be? I have 55K USD in savings
>>2833377Quit my job in February. Been traveling ever since.>What are your thoughts on quitting a job to travel?Do it. You'll find a way to be an expat. I've been an expat for a very long time >what do you think the budget would be for like, 4-6 months of full time travel be? I have 55K USD in savingsThat's two years of very comfortable traveling. Three years if you're cutting back on shit
>>2833384> That's two years of very comfortable traveling.I guess in theory, but I also don't want to return home with little to no money. It took me about 2 years of work to save up for this, and in this economy idk how easy it'll be to find a new job, even with experience.That said, if I do travel, it will be mostly hostels (mainly to stay social but also cuz cheap), and public transport. Not looking for 5 star resorts, but would also want to experience tourist attractions and at least a few fancy restaurants per trip
>>2833377do it dude. you're 26. now is the time to be a little crazy and follow your dreamsit's not gonna be easier when you're 30+also i agree 100% that a 2 week vacation is simply not enough. i've found 3 weeks is bare minimum for a very good vacation, but preferably 4+.
>>2833399Get a CELTA and become an English teacher if your job is shit back home. If you're good at it or like it you can get a B.Ed. and do international schools, that's what I did
If you feel like this now it will only grow and fester until you underperform at work and or snap. You are only 26 once and you will blink and be 36 which is way too old to be in a hostel. Do it anon, go Vietnam its very very cheap and is likely your OP at Halong Bay.
>>2833377> I have 55K USD in savingsYou could travel for many years on 55k USD.My 2 star hotel here costs $16 USD per night and I spend maybe $4 per day on food.(SE Asia)So that's $7280 per year on food and shelter And this is a nice country, relatively expensive. It gets much cheaper.
>>2833377>I want to catch up, but I fear it'll be hard to recover if I do now.Depends on what your job is and the markets, 55k is a lot of cash if invested properly at your age. I wouldn't quit unless I knew I had a plan to come back in, why not see what positions they have to work remotely. Post Job+years exp and location or this thread has basically nothing
>>2833486Northeastern USBach degree + like 2 and a half years experience at this shit paying entry level office job I actually work from home now, but it's not the kind that's feasible to travel with. It requires a specific computer they provided, and I clock in at a specific time, so I def can't move continents. Even if it was feasible to make it work, if I'm traveling I don't wanna spend 40 hrs a week sitting in a hotel working my bullshit job I hate. I might as well just stay home at that point. If I'm traveling I'd rather just do what I want.
>>2833521>2 years exp>North EastBruh you don't have enough to walk away from and come back in. Assuming 9-5> if I'm traveling I don't wanna spend 40 hrs a week sitting in a hotel working my bullshit job I hateIf you are east coast time you got 8 hours still to do fuck all if in Asia so as long as you're willing to work 11PM->7PM, or if Europe the entire 7AM->3PM before work right?> If I'm traveling I'd rather just do what I want.Why not knock out the midground travel around north america or something, hell even west coast means you're done by 2PM and got the rest of the day to fuck off.
>>2833521Go to Central America. Same timezone. Feel ten times richer. Enjoy Latina puusaay
>>2833377I was the same age as you were when I left on my first trip, 12 years ago. I spent two months in SEA, I wanted to stay but my boomer parents convinced me to come back and that it was better for me to work hard in my prime years. I'm now nearing my 40s and I regret not staying. Time flies, you'll never be as young and energetic as you are today.
>>2833377I left at 20. I'm 45 now. Never went back. Best decision of my life. Made it all work. It's either in you or not.
>>283338455k USD in Vietnam is like three years comfy or five or six if you cut back on shit. How many people do you think retire in Vietnam with less than 55k? If he doesn’t become an alcoholic it should be super easy. If he finds a roommate or gf who splits bills or if he locks in and collects fixed income on a portion of the 55k you could probably add a year or two. Your first month or two will make it seem like your 55k is only going to be good for two years but you either adapt and find better ways to go about spending money or you tire out and do less things and spend less money. This is assuming you do not become an alcoholic.
>>2833584Where do you live?
55k is a strange amount of money. It's a lot but also absolutely nothing. You're going to be sitting on this nest egg and you're going to have to be very diligent about not touching it. I would ask your employer first for an extended, unpaid leave of absence, ideally 4-6 months. It's enough time to really disconnect and get something out of the money. Quitting entirely and knowing you'll have to start all over is going to weigh on you the whole time otherwise. I had my employer give me a 3 month PLOA and it was great. I was able to enjoy the money I'd saved and had a job to come back to. It's something employers should except with millennials being ever precent in the work-force. Do your part to push the culture forward.
>>2833903>I would ask your employer first for an extended, unpaid leave of absence, ideally 4-6 months.What fucking reason would I even give? "Hey can I take several months off so I can fuck around and travel?" I don't think that would fly. Also, I need to quit my job and find a better one anyway. My current job pays in the teens which is embarrassing at my age.
>>2833916How do you have 55k at your age then?
>>2833377Use the money to do a professoinal qualification in something you're remotely interested in, think:>scuba diving instructor>english language teaching>working on boats>being a pro barmanThis way, you can drop 10k on something on a study holiday, which will help you grind out extra cash while you travel, and keep that 55k pumping. Combined with interest from savings, you could have a slower paced life for a while.The worst thing to do is go yolo and spunk your spendings. It'll be hard to adjust afterwards. Have mediocre, soulful travels and keep it real.
>>2833917Living with parents
>>2833916It worked for me. And no, I don't live with my parents. I am a paramedic and during covid work was offering a 1k USD stipend to work an overtime shift, so OT plus 1k. I worked 6 days a week for about 2 months straight. I'm 29 of that matters. It was a lot, even after taxes at about 50%Ask them with the full intention of quitting if they say no. Push comes to shoves you might have the upper hand, it's a gamble for sure. IDK about the normie job market right now but I guess it's not great. If you aren't a marketable human it probably won't work, idk.
on your death bed as an old man, you're not gonna be thinking "damn i regret not keeping my old shitty job back when i was in my 20s" lol
>>2833934Instead you'll be thinking about how it sucks to have to pull part time shifts at Walmart at 70 years old because you cashed out your nest egg at 30 so you could fuck off in Thailand for a year. There is a way to do this responsibly OP.
>>2833937nobody's life is getting ruined by spending 50k traveling in your 20s
>>2833377Your budget will primarily be determined by how much expensive touristy shit you want to do. Visiting population centers is cheapest, but it sounds like you want to go on a hundred excursions.
>>2833937There is nothing irresponsible about a 4-6 month sabbatical. However, cagie wagies will always see it as desertion of duty in their mind, and some of them will refuse to hire you simply out of spite, because they don't have such freedoms.
>>2833943Why would you only do it once? The world is worth a lot more than one trip. I'd say budget 20K for the first trip, but don't go overboard throwing money around in the first weeks. You'll burn yourself out. There's only so much rich food and other pleasures a man can enjoy before he becomes glutted.
>>2833899>Where do you live?Nowhere. Permanently traveling now
>>2833937>There is a way to do this responsibly OP.How's that?>you cashed out your nest egg at 30 I dont plan to blow ALL my money, I was just giving context on the cushion I hypothetically have. A lot of it is in a HYS account too, I make like $145 a month.How far could 10k get me? Or 20k? There's a lot of places in the world I could honestly wait till I'm an old boomer to visit, like Scandinavia, Greece, or India. However there's a lot of traveling I want to do NOW while I'm still young, mainly most of Europe and East and Southeast Asia, so I can live while I can
>>2833377Im also 26 and fantasize about this all the time. My job is relatively easy but I cant get myself to do more than the bare minimum, kinda wish theyd fire me so I can neet for a year. Job market is so bad rn though
Quitting a job in this market sounds crazy to me, but you do you.
>>2834044There's a potential first mover advantage. AI and emerging nations all over the world aren't going to have a positive impact on the western labour market....
>>2833377>>2833973just quit and maybe do a working holiday visa if you're that worried about money, look it up
depends how hard it is for you to find a jobcuz if you travel for 4-6 months and blow up all your life saving, then after your travel you'll be poor and without a jobthink about the dreadful feeling you'll be having 3 months in thinking about what's about to come in a few weeks when you're backyea you can travel for 2-4 years if you're smart with 55k usd. but then what. 2-4 years out of your life is nothing. just make sure you're not coming back from your travel in a worse situation than before, cuz it sounds like thats whats going to happen to you. after that the next step is the rope desu
>>2834063I came home from five months in Asia and got an Amazon flex job and delivered pizza for Domino's while living in a short term rental for 4.5 months and then I went to Asia again. I did this at 29 with a 20k nest egg. OP has plenty of options.
>>2834067sound like a good plan if you wanna keep working fast food job till you die
>>2834068this is a travel board, boomer
>>2834063>>2834068I mean, would this really happen if I have a degree and experience? Couldn't I just find another random office job?
>>2834090im 26 lmao>>2834091> Couldn't I just find another random office job?can you though ? I have a degree and experience and i don't know if id be able to find a job easily if i left my current office job if yea I don't see the problem with travelling for years if you want. Just dont make decision that will hurt you later on or will set you back years If you think a lifestyle of working as a pizza delivery for a few month to be able to travel for a few months and repeating this cycle forever, i mean go for it. not for me tho, i'm older than 16
>>2833521>shit paying>saved 55k in 2 years???
I'm in a similar boat OPjust turned 25working shitty dead end call centre jobI'm quitting next week and going to Asia for a couple of months then on to Australia for a working holiday visa.I'll use the money I earn there to fund some travels then eventually to help fund a masters degree when I get home.Life's too short to be miserable and stuck in an office your whole life. Take the plunge, just make sure you have some semblance of a plan behind it.
