Mid 30's crisis and travel?
Replies: 48 - Last Post: Aug 31, 2012 10:54 PM Last Post By: egypt1am
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15
Thailand, Laos and Cambodia are exciting, cheap, have wonderful food, travel is easy with a well-established infrastructure and you can do it all using the English language. Vietnam and Burma are maybe a little too much for a "newbie", Malaysia isn't so exciting and the islands are also best kept for the future.You can go solo but you'll never be lonely.
Dave
17
Do it, do it, do it!When you're lying on your death bed, you don't want to be regreting you didn't break out and travel.
Some good advice I read years back was:
If you heard tomorrow that you had a terminal illness and had only six months to live, what would you do with the time left to you? .. Whatever you answer with is what you should start doing NOW!
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For what it is worth, I just turned 50 and plan to bail out of my job in the next few months to travel for a year or so. I took a 3 month trip 4 years ago and promised myself I'd take a full year soon after. But, alas, fout more years have elapsed and I have not departed yet. Trust me, it does not get easier the longer you wait or the more money you save. Go now while you have the enthusiasm and health to do it. The only regret you will have is if you put it off and never end up doing it. You will NOT regret that you took a break in the middle of your career. One year is a small amount of time in the span of a career. Spending a life having never done anything but work is a crime.19
Oddly enough, my 13 month trip opened doorways that gave me and husband a more than a positive impact on our careers - both financially and the opportunity to move into different career paths.Also, I found that I and others on interviewing panels considered that independent travel brought with it a whole series of skills useful in the workplace eg: decision making, organisational skills, self reliance, risk taking, ability to take responsibility etc etc.
20
Thanks for all the messages of encouragement peeps :-) just what I needed.I would love to be able to just disappear off right now ;-) unfortunately I have been paying off an ex partners debts for the last 7 years (long story) so I have not been in a position to save enough pennies to go. However that is shortly due to change in the next few months and since I'm used to living on a shoestring that money is going straight into a savings account instead for my RTW fund. It's not a case of not being brave enough at all more a practical issue in that all my spare money has had to go to creditors for the last 7 years. Anyway the end of the tunnel is nigh.....and I'm so excited I will finally be able to make a lifelong dream reality. Whoop! :-)
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Thanks again for all your words of wisdom and encouragement you all rock - I'm so glad I found this forum ;-)I know sometimes change can be scary and there is a tendency for people to want to cling to what they know and what is familiar and be nervous of making a big change in their lives, such as giving it all up and going travelling. I had an experience some years ago that made me realise that change can be both a powerful and liberating experience and sometimes you have to step outside that comfort zone and wonderful things can happen. That is how I feel about my future plans, that giving up the job and going solo is going to be an amazing and life changing experience and I can't wait! It's going to be a bit frustrating waiting to get to the point where I can go, but oh so worth it :-D
And thanks for the offers of advice and ideas no doubt along the way I will be picking your brains and expertise! Many Thanks Silverpaws xxxx
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I'm never more alive than when trveling. When I'm short of cash, I take better care of myself. Eating for cheap health maintenance. Creative.When we go through Hell (problems in another country), as we work our way, learning things we wouldn't have, we learn more self respect and humility.
Talking about it with folks of another culture, we learn. The fun way.
Happy trails.
Rule 62.
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26
I hope 37 isn't old :) just been made redundant and heading off a week before my 37th birthday on a solo trip. As my mother says " for the first time being single and having no kids is a good thing..." cheers mom but she is right :) thinking about the following:Edinburgh to Vancouver, Seattle, Monterey, San Francisco, LA, Fiji or Hawaii, Sydney, India. Hitting places I have never been and chasing the good weather and avoiding the cold and monsoon, hence the reverse order :)
Any other suggestions on route, land or air access?
27
I've done what you propose twice, once in 2000 (6 months) and once in 2007 (two years).I strongly suggest that you skip the USA and Australia and head straight to the 3rd world. If I were you, I'd buy a one way ticket to Bangkok , Kuala Lumpur , or Jakarta and do your travels through SE Asia, China, Tibet, Nepal, and India, maybe flying back from somewhere in India when you're done. Alll of those places are super cheap and your money will go about 3x further.
Ken
28
Just got back from 5 weeks in Italy and Europe. My advice is to jump in and get your feet wet, so don't wait until you have all the money.you think you'll need. Get out and explore based on the time you can get away. then you will have some idea of your "travel self" and better know what you're willing to experience. For example, I love Rome but will never drive in that city again; found that I don't need to do it there.29
Egypt1am, if you want to experience something different, and can't do both, go for Fiji rather than Hawaii. it has more cultural contrast and less city vibe.
