quitting work (and stashing) to go see the world

[COguy]

I have a question that I have been pondering lately.  I am 26 now (almost 27) and I have been to almost all 50 states and I have no real interest to travel domestically.  However, I have always considered it a life goal of mine to travel to at least 6 continents.  Currently, I have been on two international trips, both while I was in high school.  For years I have focused on getting my education and excelling at work first.  I have seen the light through this site that work is not everything and I have ramped up to saving 60%+ of my post-tax pay (but, I have always been a saver).  So, if I keep this up for 10-15 more years I will be just about FI. 

However, I want to see the rest of the world to get an idea of how good we have it.  I have a very good engineering job that enables this savings rate and I honestly enjoy it, but at the same time, I see the years fluttering away and I know that it will be harder to travel later even if it is in my late 30s.  I also only get about 2 weeks of vacation a year which makes it hard to put together a real international trip.  I don't want to spend $1000+ on a plane trip to go somewhere for a week.  So, I think that in the next 6 months I will come up against wanting to quit or at least take an unpaid sabbatical to do some traveling.  However, with this the stashing stops and in fact may slowly go in reverse. 

Since I think everyone on here does a good job of looking at life from a perspective of maximizing happiness, I am curious what you think about quitting a job versus sucking it up and keeping the stashing going and putting off goals till a bit later.  Has anyone done this, thought about this, etc? 

[wiferkhart]

I say plan for it and go for it!

We've done several 1 to 3 month unpaid sabbaticals over the past 18 years so that we could travel and have never regretted it. 

Also, don't discount doing stuff like that past your 30's.  If anything, we've found it easier to travel the older we get.  (New skills acquired, more time to learn local languages, deeper comfort with who we are and what we need to be secure/happy while away from home....)

In fact, we're in the planning stages of our next adventure/sabbatical now. : )

[StashinIt]

Ummm yes! I had a co-worker/friend who did this. Was actually offered a unpaid sabbatical when he went to quit. He just quit anyway since he wasn't happy at the job. He traveled for 6 months, came back and picked up a job with more pay fairly easily. We get together once in a while and he's planning to do it again.

I don't think he's ever going to be FI long term per se. He is frugal enough, but works for a different purpose.

Anyway, the whole point is freedom anyway. Free from the mandatory 40 years of working. This is just a variation.

[mustachecat]

I'm your age. I only started traveling internationally in earnest three years ago, but I've made it to three continents so far. Personally, I'm not in a rush, and I don't think traveling in my late 30s will be tough, just different. If you're in good health and good shape, it won't really matter. I think I'll be happy with the perspective that age gives, although I'll continue to travel until then.

You'd be surprised how cheap flights can go... I got to Morrocco last year for less than $350, and I let $250-$350 fares pass for Rome and Istanbul. I haven't seen anything truly fantastic for Asia or the South Pacific, but until I have the money for it, there's plenty else in the world to see.

Would your office let you take an unpaid three-month sabbatical? You could buy a round-the-world ticket for a few thousand dollars and go wild. It might help you scratch the itch with a pretty negligible impact on your long-term financial goals.

[okits]

Some of us do visit faraway places while only using five vacation days at a time.  If you're otherwise good with your job, it's a way to hang onto it while still seeing the world.

Ideally, you'll fly out Friday night (or afternoon, if those are the only flight times available and your employer will let you get away with a half day) and arrive Saturday.  Depart on a holiday Monday and arrive home same-day.  That gives you half of the first Saturday and eight full days on the ground.  (This also works if you have a Friday holiday long weekend, just fly out on Thursday, return Sunday.)

You'll want to arrange your plane ticket early as holiday long weekends are disproportionately busy travel times (drives the cost up), and the flights that work with your schedule may not be the absolute cheapest option for your trip (I pay more for non-crappy connections and airlines, anyway, so completely accept that as just a cost to making the trip work.)

It's not weeks or months away, but I'd rather go and see some of what I want, than none at all.  I have negotiated a few two-week vacations with my employer (I'm long-served enough to have the vacations days and they know this is an important part of my satisfaction in being employed there.)  I know I could wait for the perfect time/circumstance to travel in order to get more time away, but there might never be a perfect time, and I would get bitter putting off my travel dreams, when they add so much enjoyment to my life that I don't get from my work or other interests.

If your employer will cut you some slack and you're willing to compromise a little on your travel desires, this can work great.  From 27 to now (33), I've worked continuously, full-time, and have visited 23 new countries on five continents (lifetime total: 42.  Haven't seen Australia or Antarctica yet.)  Growing my 'stash has been great, but the real highlight of those years have been my amazing travel adventures.  I'm glad I didn't put any of them off.

(And you can travel late-30s and later, too, but costs skyrocket when you bring a spouse and children with you.  You also aren't likely to stay in scummier, "local flavor" accommodations, either, which is a great way to save money when you're young.  You gain wisdom and perspective from seeing the world, too, but what you get out of it in your 20s will be different than in your 30s, 40s, 50s, etc.  What I've learned from being abroad has positively shaped me and my life views, so I'm glad I didn't wait to enrich my mind in that way.)

[boy_bye]

it's also possible to get to a place with your job where you can telecommute full-time, or even for a month or so, while you travel or just live somewhere else. i was able to do that with my last job, and went on a month-long road trip with a mifi connection. i worked every other day on that trip, and so was able to stretch 10 vacations days into 4 full work weeks. with the job before that, i took an unpaid month off to go work for ralph nader and it was no problem.

i am hoping in the next year or so to be able to work out a telecommute option with my current company -- lots of people work from home there, so it shouldn't be a huge deal. it also merges well with the way i like to travel, which is to go to one place and stay there a while.

anyway, these all become options once you build up enough career capital. (see the other thread on why follow your passion is bad advice.) ifi were in your shoes i think i would keep stashing, take some short trips, and work hard to get awesome enough at my career that i could earn thfreedom to do it anywhere.

[Mariana]

I would absolutely recommend taking extended leave or quitting your job to travel! I quit my job about two years ago and spent eight months living abroad/travelling. I also took a year off while in college to live abroad.
I'm a nurse and after graduation I worked in a hospital for 18 months. At the time my boyfriend was in France getting his PhD. I knew that he wouldn't be able to get a job in the city where I was living (his field is very specialized!) so I'd have to quit my job when he moved back to the states, anyway.
My contract at the hospital ended, so I decided to quit my job rather than stay on. I moved to France in October of 2010.  My boyfriend graduated in April of 2011. We traveled to some countries while he was finishing his program because once you're in Europe travel is cheap and easy. After he completed we took two months to travel from France to Russia by land, and then into China and Mongolia.
I had the best experience living abroad and travelling and I look back on that time very fondly. Definitely no regrets, but I would have regretted not doing it!

[kkbmustang]

You could always explore finding employment overseas. That way you could continue to grow your 'stache, but still be able to travel extensively.

[reverend]

I would also say go for it. I used to do that a lot little over a decade ago. Work a year or two and save up, then quit and travel for a couple of months to a year. Come back, get a job, then repeat.

I've yet to pay for a hotel as I stay with friends and family instead, which is a great way to see Europe.  Take the train to Paris, stroll around for a day then stay at the cousin's apartment and get more ideas of what to see.
Repeat in Germany, Sweden, Italy etc. 

The biggest problem I find is packing light. I always end up with a damn carry-on when I only NEED what fits in a backpack. :)

[sideways8]

I've been working nonstop since I got out of college (where I took courses non stop). Your idea sounds great! Go for it! I haven't even seen all 50 states yet and the closest to foreign travel I've done was a family trip to the Bahamas when I was 13 or so. Now I want to do this! Aah! Haha! It would be nice to just do what you want instead of what other people are telling you to do for once.

[Tom Reingold]

You should do this at least once a lifetime. I did it when I was 20. I quit my job and gave up my apartment. My father encouraged me and gave me a little extra money. He said, "Go until your money runs out, and I'll put you up when you get back. Never again in your life will you have the money and the unbound time to do this."

I didn't appreciate that last point, because I was 20, and I couldn't picture it being difficult to do it again. I'm 52 now, and I'm hoping I can do it again. I suppose I could more easily scrape up the money than the time, though. I'm still a wage-slave.

I wandered through a few countries in Europe for three months. It was a memorable experience, to be sure.

Money spent on experiences is better spent than money spent on goods.

[jimmygibbon]

I say go for it!!  I follow a coupla guys who travel perpetually on around 500.00 per month.  Andy Graham has been to 90 countries www.hobotraveler.com and Earl has been to nearly as many  www.wanderingearl.com

[Darrell]

COguy ... from an old(er) guy's perspective: I would definitely go for it. There is so much to be gained from travel ... the journey is everything. I did it a bit differently - when I was 17 and had just finished high school I enlisted in the Canadian Navy (at that time you could do that with your parent's signature) and I stayed in the Navy for five years. After basic training and then trades training (I was a Rad Sea tech - basically a communications tech) I was assigned to a ship out of Esquimalt, BC. In almost three years of sailing time I got to see / visit: the U.S. (San Diego, Ketchikan, Hawaii), Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, and even made it to Vladivostok, Russia for three days. It was great for me at that time as I really did not want to go onto post-secondary education then. The slogan for the navy recruiting at that time was "Join the Navy and see the World" ... and I did (at least the pacific regions). And, I got paid to do it. When I got out, I had a trade, discipline, money saved, and a more mature outlook. Anyways COguy ... make your plan ... take the plunge, enjoy LIFE, broaden your horizons, experience and explore ... it sounds like you're at the right stage in life (and have the mustachian values) to do it.

On another little side-note: I follow some of the exploits of some of the people that are currently walking around the world (google world walkers) and I am envious! On my bucket-list is the desire to one day start a walk along the "Ice to Fire" route - from just up the way from where I live in Tuktoyaktuk and walk down the two continents to Tierra del Fuego. I've been planning this for over a decade now ... just not sure if it's ever going to happen for me but I can dream eh?

[The Taminator]

Make it happen Darrell!