Why you should consider GAP year/quitting work to travel -

There are number of reasons why we all love to get away and travel. For many of us, we get by dreaming and planning are next vacation. If your anything like me, you want to see almost everything and will pack for your itinerary of all the top sites to see in a place your visiting. Sometimes is comes at the expense of relaxation and often to get everything in it will come at the expense of a heavier price tag. The benefit of taking a longer time off to travel is that you can go at her own pace, cut down on costs overall, and experience more of the local culture rather than cramming in all the top sites. Traveling without specific plans allows you the opportunity to have multiple options and to change your planned based off your enjoyment. Furthermore, there is often a sense of dread as the vacation and your heading back to “reality”.

what is holding you back

Many people dream of taking off a time to travel and will come up with several reasons why they do not feel they can do it. I also kept putting off my dream for one reason or another before I finally took the leap.

If you feel as though you cannot afford it, you are wrong. The amount of money we typically spend on rent, bills, and other expenses was subtracted can be applied to travel living. Before leaving on my year trip around the world, I was spending around 2000 dollars on rent not including bills, food, and other expenses. By giving up my apartment and most of my other expenses, I was able utilize that money on the cost of living of travel per month frequently at lower values then I was paying before. Knowing that the cost of living is frequently cheaper than the cost of living in United States means that your money can stretch much further. In fact, after traveling for a year my calculated cost of living for that year was less than what I pay for the basic cost of living in the US each year.

Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show-Unknown

Of course, the year that I took off I was not working so I had to save up that money prior to leaving which meant things like having roommates, cooking meals myself, not splurging on extravagant purchases, etc. Furthermore, there were number of ways to travel extremely cheaply and many options to make money along the way.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did- Mark Twain

Many people also worry about walking away from their job work or career. While some jobs are more easily able to be left behind and then picked up after time away some jobs are more challenging. But despite this, this type of gap in your resume often is construed more as a positive then a negative. And if it is in fact her dream to travel around then you should not give up on that dream for fear of not being able to get a job upon return.

Jobs fill your pocket, but adventures fill your soul- Jamie Lyn Beatty

Another concern may be missing out on things going on with friends and family back home. Currently, with modern technology, it is very easy to keep in touch virtually. In fact, I found myself checking in with my family and close friends even more frequently just to keep them posted on my changing plans and where I would be. For the most important things you could arrange her travels to be home for essential things, but most people will be very understanding if you miss special events given the circumstances. You can also invite friends and family along on your journey. I had several friends join me. It took a little coordination but was very much worth it getting to share a part of this long journey with some friends along the way. But I found most surprising after returning from a year travel that not much has changed at all while being away. In fact, I found that I had changed substantially, and my small world stayed practically the same.

You go away for a long time and return a different person-you never come all the way back- Paul Theroux

Trust me when I say taking this time off will be one of the best decisions you ever make. There is never going to be a perfect time. You can always come up with an excuse why it is not meant for you. But if you really want to do it you will never regret it. Make changes now to save up if needed, budget and plan but don’t stay in this realm forever. You don’t want to wake up to see your dreams slip away.

And then there is the most dangerous risk of all – the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later–Randy Komisar