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

In the first couple months, I spent a lot of money. My habits were shaped by my cushy job and my friend group's hobby of wining and dining whenever possible. Besides looking at my weekly or monthly spending, my best learning was to measure the "jollies per dollar" of each purchase (as my old coworker would say). A 20 dollar meal doesn't necessarily make me twice as happy as a 10 dollar meal. I still keep that practice in "happiness math" with me today.

After London, I flew to the Netherlands where I met my current girlfriend, who was on a weekend trip from a Germany. The next few months were awesome. She was finishing up her grad studies, and I had nothing better to do but to chase her around different German towns she needed to visit. After she turned in her thesis, we drove through Italy together for a month. We got a lot of jollies out of the cannoli and gelato there... Not sure if it was more than the cost though.

After that, I followed my dream to go to southeast Asia. We parted ways, and I stayed in Thailand and Vietnam for another couple months. By that time, I had lost some steam and was much more introverted and reflective than in Europe. As an aside, an important change for me on the trip was that I stopped my regular habit of heavy drinking. I probably got drunk five times on the whole trip. Anyways, I loved it in SE Asia. The food, culture, and nature were amazing. Driving a scooter through the hills of Northern Thailand is one of the highlights of my life. I almost died a couple times driving a scooter though, so I can't wholeheartedly recommend it.

After returning home for a couple months more, I moved to Berlin to live with my girlfriend. We've been here for two years and are quite happy with our lives at the moment. In all, I'm so grateful that I got the chance to do that trip, to learn that I could live out of a backpack, to meet great people and my amazing partner, and to take control of my life for the better.

But that's just a high level overview. There were some tough parts and there wasn't any enlightenment moment where I realized my true destiny. That's said, I learned a lot about myself and what I'm capable of. I'm a much happier and healthier person today than I was when I left. Happy to share any more details or stories if people are curious!

As someone who travels in order to get more winter, not less, I don't see this one as a benefit! But the rest makes sense.

Overall, I think that it comes down to time management, and expectations. The world is a wonderful place if you are prepared for both its beauty and its uglier sides. You see both while nomading.

[1]: https://medium.com/@_bramses/yes-i-was-a-digital-nomad-no-it...

This is lower stress than trying to go to a random bar and strike up a conversation when I don't know the local language very well, and if you're staying long-term, it's a natural way to develop friendships with locals.

There was a roaring trade in American coca-cola in Beijing because enough people wanted to avoid the local version. As a non-American, I couldn’t taste the difference, but the imported stuff was 3x the price.

Another phrase I heard often was an irate “This would never happen in America!”