Taking a Year off to Travel...Do people really do this?

[NorCaSpinna]

Hello all,

 

I am a 24 year old male currently working. After a recent breakup, I found myself doing a critical re-evaluation of my life and it's different areas. I have found that I am not living life at the "level" that I should be. I also found that I want to achieve a level of self confidence that I have not yet and the only way for me to do that will be to go outside of my box and make significant achievements and ventures

 

I sat down and thought and wrote a list of all the things I would like to do (get in shape, move to a different city, etc.) One of the biggest things was travel.

 

Now I have heard people say (through business conversations, etc) that they took a year off and traveled all over the world.

 

I am curious to know if anybody has done this and what their reactions were and if it was a experience that helped them grow.

[rocio]

I haven't exactly taken a year off from my career to travel. But I have travelled. Most of it I did in the 2 years between High School and University. I think that absolutely the experience will help you grow. When you're far away (geographically) you get this great perspective on your life - like you're outside looking in. It also gives you exposure to the way other people live their lives.. Especially if you visit a 3rd world country. There is so much that we do automatically - because that's "just the way things are done". When you travel, it lets you realise how many options you really have in your life.

 

Where are you thinking of travelling?

[NorCaSpinna]

Well, right now I can say that I am in the "delusions of grandeur" stage...so to answer your question...everywhere!! hahaha. I know that I would like to go to the UK & Europe (London, Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam, etc). After that I wanted to do a tour of Asia (Bangkok, Nepal, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo) and then finally Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

 

Would I need a year to do all that? I just think being away from home for a while would be something I would want. To be able to come back and start anew.

[rocio]

Wow, you must be loaded. You wouldn't necessarily need a year to visit those places. But sometimes it's nice to spend a few weeks in one place.. To get to know the local people and the local scene. As a tourist, it's easy to get so caught up in the tourist stuff that you completely miss the true personality of the place you're visiting.

[NorCaSpinna]

hahhah far from loaded ("DELUSIONS of grandeur") yeah I've been thinking about it. I am trying to get a bunch of varied opinions and at the end when the trip is planned, the locations list will probably be significantly smaller.

[MacGyverRI]

How are you going to pay for it all?

 

 

I'm in the beginning stages of doing the same thing but I am buying a 27' Sailing Yacht because that will save me mega $$ on the hotels/transportation, it sleeps 6 and wind is free.

[Juliana]

I took a year off to go insane, basically. So yeah, people do that kind of thing -- a sabbatical. You want to take a sabbatical (rest period) to travel, I say go for it. If you check out sell-off sales you can get cheap flights anywhere. If you call up a courier service, they might hire you to courier stuff to remote places; you just have to come up with the return fare yourself. It's well worth doing.

 

I enjoyed being crazy, but now I'm back to my real life...work, et al. Thing is, the life you come back to never seeems to be the life you left. In my case, it's much better, so I highly recommend it. I believe that anything you do to fulfill a life goal or a long-held dream is a positive thing (yeah, I'd always suspected that I was crazy, but I'd never really tried, you know? lol).

[NorCaSpinna]

Wow, being a courier huh? That would be interesting to say the least. It's weird, I was writing last night and I thought about what it would be like...just to one day do something like this, lose contact with everyone (except family and a few friends) and then see how much things have changed in a year.

 

Sounds bad but I think it would be interesting. Juliana, where would I find out about these said "sell-offs?" Where did you go on your sabbatical?

 

 

Thanks to everyone else for there responses

[Juliana]

A friend of mine asked me before I went to France, which Paris was I looking for? And I immediately understood; I was looking for the medieval Paris.

 

The places you will go to have history. You have to know not only where you are going, but when. The present? The past? If the past, where in the past? Or maybe you want the future, the hidden city that isn't present yet, but is there, even so.

 

You don't have to stop working to devote a year to travel. I would continue working if you need the money to go. Sell-off sites are great for people who are free, single, and able to take a week off here and there. Trust me, if you know where you're going, and what you want, you can see alot in a few days.

 

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