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Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

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Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#91

Post by ramblerman »

anm89 wrote: post #67

I quit my job in 2015, rode a tiny motorcycle around South America for 4 months, and then traveled the world for 2.5 more years. I made a small photo blog about it https://andrew-max.github.io/ I'm now in the process of trying to relocate full time to Colombia. I also now have an anxiety disorder I didn't start the trip with. I made a few real friends that I'm in touch with years later.

> I also now have an anxiety disorder I didn't start the trip with.

Out of curiosity, was this from any particular incident, i.e. safety in south america?

Or the converse, adapting back to hecticness of office life?

Or something else, if you don't mind sharing.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#92

Post by Veen »

multimedial wrote: post #3

I am always wondering how these data nomads are actually sustaining themselves. As a freelancer, I had quite some hard time to find paying gigs, not to mention that most of the time I was asked to work on premise. This said, I do not claim to be the smartest guy when it comes to business, nor to development…

I could afford it because I had pre-existing relationships with the businesses I worked for (as a writer, not a developer). While technically freelance, I didn’t have to worry about finding work while I travelled.

If you can, it’s probably easier to go remote with an established income than quit and start from scratch while travelling. Otherwise you will spend a lot of time hustling to get clients.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#93

Post by superbcarrot »

hayst4ck wrote: post #47
keiferski wrote: post #12

Absolutely worth it, however I'd offer a few short tips: 1. Try to stay in one place for a few months, minimum. If you can stay a year or two, do that. Jumping from city to city every week seems exciting at first, but it quickly makes everywhere feel the same. 2. To quote Lao Tzu, when your work is done, forget it. If you work remotely, actively disconnect at the end of the day. It's too easy to be constantly plugged…

> Try to stay in one place for a few months, minimum. I second this. 2 months is the minimum amount of time per country, and 2 weeks per city if you expect to get anything more than a handful of good meals and a couple adventures out of a place. My better memories were all from places I stayed for over 2 months, and all have more to do with people I met than the place itself.

> My better memories were all from places I stayed for over 2 months, and all have more to do with people I met than the place itself.

How did you go about meeting people in the first place?

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#94

Post by dave_sullivan »

nexus2045 wrote: post #49
redisman wrote: post #7

I did the digital nomad thing shorter term - for a few months. Kinda fun but I still found work even more invasive on my time than at home. Everyone’s having fun and relaxing at the beach while I’m sitting at the reception area trying to connect to the crappy wifi to upload my work or join a call. Or I’m sitting at a hotel room all day/night working because the time difference is weird or just working in a coffee sho…

This is a cautionary tale... I'm considering doing the same myself, and hopefully can get the most out of it. What would some of you have done differently? Considering mostly East Asia, and will be having a remote full time developer job.

Depends on where you are, but I work remotely on my own during the day and then have a meeting at the end of my day (around 7pm for me) and beginning of their day (9am for them) to touch base. We skip that meeting a lot and just communicate via issue tracker.

You can make it work, but it's important for me to not work "american hours" because I'm asleep by then. Try to focus on the 1 hour of overlap somewhere.

And in my experience potential clients are very weird about the whole travel abroad thing. They think I'm less committed or escaped the zoo or something so I have to show them that I have the same level of commitment remotely as if I'd showed up at their office.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#95

Post by esturk »

swiley wrote: post #30
rsync wrote: post #11

If you have even the inkling that you might want to do this then you absolutely should. Opportunities and projects and ventures will always be there. Your youth will not.

Why does everyone try to travel when they're young? There are things youth helps with but visiting other countries doesn't seem like one of them. Finding a partner and building a family is though and that's very hard when you're always in a different place. Plenty of people end up traveling more than they want to later in life for business anyway.

Traveling is simply easier when you're young. For example, have you ever wanted to climb Mt. Everest? Guess what, it's going to be a lot easier in your 20s than 60s.

Put it another way, the set of all places you can visit while young is simply bigger than when you're old. Places that require intense physical exertion will be off limits to you.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#96

Post by devoutsalsa »

superbcarrot wrote: post #93
hayst4ck wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Try to stay in one place for a few months, minimum. I second this. 2 months is the minimum amount of time per country, and 2 weeks per city if you expect to get anything more than a handful of good meals and a couple adventures out of a place. My better memories were all from places I stayed for over 2 months, and all have more to do with people I met than the place itself.

> My better memories were all from places I stayed for over 2 months, and all have more to do with people I met than the place itself. How did you go about meeting people in the first place?

Dating apps, couch surfing, and getting out of the house & going where the people are. Expat groups on Facebook and WhatsApp, too.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#97

Post by kylehotchkiss »

tayo42 wrote: post #48

Ive always wanted to do this, but I don't know what I would do with my stuff? Sell everything seems dramatic because i do have sentimental things. The idea of paying rent for a place in america/california and not using it feels wasteful

I’ve used closetbox.com for this in my situation. I’ve had my stuff there for years. They aren’t traditional self storage and keep my stuff in a big wooden box a few floors off the ground in a temperature and humidity controlled warehouse so I don’t worry much about things getting damaged. I have been back several times to drop more things and have verified they take good care of my stuff. Pricing is reasonable. Roughly $200 monthly for a two bedroom apartment worth of stuff in Southern California.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#98

Post by devoutsalsa »

anm89 wrote: post #72
dejv wrote: post #29

I traveled for five years or so. I was having great time, but I've probably overdid it for year or two. What worked well for me was quiting mixing backpacker circus with less known destination. It was fun to sleep at hostels, party with fellow travelers and have fun, but it gets old after while. I split my trips into 3 to 6 months chunks after which I just come back to one of my bases, recharge for a bit and then wen…

Yeah, I think going out to find yourself or being transformed is mostly a fools errand. I also don't regret my travels but didn't find any of that.

I suppose it depends on where you’re starting from. I started traveling at the end of 2019, and I’m still doing it. I’ve matured in all sorts of ways. For me, there was a lot I didn’t like about my life before I left. The problems that were local I left behind, and the problems that followed me I worked on.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs to travel the world, how did it go?

#99

Post by kylehotchkiss »

tracer4201 wrote: post #23

I took a leave of absence for a year. I went to India for 3 months in 2016, then Pakistan for another 3 months, followed by Afghanistan for 1 month. Afghan and Pakistani people are by far the friendliest among any nationality. I ignorantly thought they are intolerant of all non Muslims, but it turns out they could teach us a thing or two in hospitality and kindness. I learned some Urdu and Hindi along the way. Pakist…

How did you get from India to Pakistan? Did you walk through wagah pass?
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