I'm hoping to find, from others who have dealt with similar situations, some ideas on HOW to plan a trip when you just know you need to hit the road. What is your planning process, and how do you choose where to go, etc. And what are some ideas for those who do not want to spend the next decade travelling, but would like to just go on an adventure for a few months or the better part of a year. What kind of volunteer activites, jobs, groups, etc have been meaningful to you. And how did you arrange to put your home-life on hold during that time.
Your questions are definitely all over the place.
My responses are, perhaps, different from others as my experience is different. I read that while you are happily married, you dream of travel and perhaps your spouse doesn't have this same dream. Like so many other things in marriage, this is an area in which you can try to build some compromise and that might mean traveling for shorter periods and alone. No one says that you must always travel with your spouse.
Lots of things in a marriage get negotiated early in the relationship and then difficult to renegotiate later. Don't expect him to change and one day decide that travel is something that he desires. This is extremely unlikely to happen.
My suggestion is to sit down now with your spouse and discuss your dreams of being able to travel and figure out some sort of compromise. Years ago I worked with a pediatrician who was married to a foreign service officer who wanted to work overseas. Their agreement, he would be responsible for deciding where they lived for the first 10 years and then it would be her turn.
Before the end of my first year of marriage my husband and I took the first of many separate vacations. That pattern has remained. We take some vacations together and some independently. After all, while we love one another we don't have to prove that by doing everything together and there are some things that each of us enjoys that the other doesn't.
To address your questions quoted above. I wouldn't start by looking to travel for a few months or the better part of the year. I would start by looking at being away for a few weeks.
some ideas on HOW to plan a trip when you just know you need to hit the road. What is your planning process, and how do you choose where to go, etc.
You start by thinking how much time and money do you have without negatively impacting your joint goals. For example, you are saving for a house. How about also saving for a short trip for you to go someplace you want to go? Pick a place that is relatively nearby or inexpensive to reach for a week or two. Set reasonable goals.
And what are some ideas for those who do not want to spend the next decade travelling, but would like to just go on an adventure for a few months or the better part of a year.
Start smaller. Think about a few weeks, not months or the better part of a year.
What kind of volunteer activites, jobs, groups, etc have been meaningful to you.
What places, languages, history, culture, architecture, activities appeal to you? This isn't about what I like but about what you like. How do you spend your free time? Your own interests should direct you to which volunteer activities, jobs, groups, etc are meaningful to you and those may or may not direct you to where to travel. Sometimes a trip you take or a person you meet will help you decide where you want to focus your travel and sometimes it will happen in reverse and sometimes travel and things you do at home are completely unrelated.
As an example, over 20 years ago I met two young men from Russia. Since then I have been to Russia multiple times, taken classes in Russian at the local university, sought out museums that have Russian art exhibits, read Russian history and novels. But neither of these two men now live in Russia and so while my interest in Russia is still strong, now I also travel to visit them where they live.
So I will turn the question back to you. What interests do you have? They may influence your decisions about where to travel or they may not.
And how did you arrange to put your home-life on hold during that time.
Your question about putting your home-life on hold during the time that you travel indicates some conflict. If you are talking about long term travel - years, for example - then travel becomes your life. If you are talking about shorter term - weeks to months - then you need to think about what bills need to be paid while you are traveling and how to arrange leave of absence from your employment, etc. Either way it requires planning and asking questions regarding what is important to you and what are your priorities.
Ruth
