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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?

#21

Post by jacquesm »

waterlesscloud wrote: post #7
sitkack wrote: post #4

It is often cheaper to travel that sit at home in your western apt. If you can sublet or give up your place, costs are not exorbitant. 1) Find an itinerary using http://www.airtreks.com/ they are amazing. Seattle -> New Zealand -> Australia -> Malaysia -> Nepal -> Turkey was about 3300 USD. 2) Get a nice place for when you land, like 3 days. Use that time to find lower cost habitation. 3) Don't over plan. Don't over…

On the flip side, I traveled a lot more when I was younger than I do now, and I wish it was the other way around. I didn't have the perspective to appreciate everything when I was younger, and a lot of it is sort of a blur. My experiences these days tend to come with a lot more appreciation and depth. Grass is always greener, I guess.

Or do both...

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

#22

Post by jacquesm »

orofino wrote: post #11

In May 2012 my wife and I did this. It went well, but little went to our initial plan. The experience was far more stressful than either of us expected. Constantly having to find food, a place to sleep, and figure out where/what is next, was tiresome. However, we really enjoyed the experience and found some places off the beaten path that we really loved. We found out that we love hiking and that we wanted travel mor…

> I can talk about this for hours.

Please do!

Is your blog still up?

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

#23

Post by jbutewicz »

I got laid off from a job I was at for four years. Always wanted to travel but with school and work never had a chance for any extensive travel. I took two trips on my time off.

USA Road Trip. 14 days. 17 states (NJ, PA, MD, VA, TN, NC, MS, LA, TX, NM, CO, KS, MO, IL, IN, KY, WV). 6,000 miles. Total for two people: $2750. Per person: $1375. Per person per day: $98.

http://jbutewicz.com/usa-road-trip-video-concluding-remarks/

European Road Trip. 44 days. 14 countries (Italy, Vatican City, Monaco, France, Spain, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway). 12,000 miles of driving. Approximate total for two people: $12,000. Per person: $6,000. Per person per day: $133.

http://jbutewicz.com/europe-trip-video-concluding-remarks/

My blog has much more in depth detail if you are interested.

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

#24

Post by allworknoplay »

A few years ago I quit my job with the idea that I had three projects I wanted to work on, I could do them from anywhere, and probably one would pan out into my next startup. TLDR: it worked, one did, and I had an awesome four-month trip in the process.

I subletted my room in NYC for a bit more than I paid, bought a plane ticket to Goa, and started there. It was the right decision insofar as it's a very soft landing in India, which can be a fairly difficult place for a lot of people. After two weeks and some research. I moved on and spent time in a bunch of different cities in India and Nepal; most days I would simply sit and write code in whatever hostel or home stay I was at, eat cheap street food for lunch, and generally be really, really productive. When I felt like it, I'd go take a walk or see something cool in the area or take a couple days and go on a short vacation somewhere else (e.g. I would never have wanted to spend much time in Agra, but it's a short overnight trip from Jaipur to go catch the taj mahal at dawn and then explore agra fort and take a walk before getting on a bus back).

It's actually the perfect vacation -- traveling can be really stressful, always trying to get to the next place, cram in all the stuff you have to see, etc. You wind up doing crazy things like exhausting yourself taking overnight buses to save time and hostel costs. But I spaced out what could have been a 3-4 week trip across four months, and it was relaxing, productive, interesting, and fun. I got pretty well into each of my projects (all of which involved acquiring new skill sets), figured out the one that had legs and was right for me, and turned it into my next startup.

The toughest part was in Kathmandu, where at the time power cuts were 14 hours a day, and of the 10 hours with power, they were mostly at night. But it was actually nice -- I got up early every morning with a charged laptop, worked until the thing was nearly dead after the power had gone out, went to a rooftop cafe to read for a while, went back and worked/charged again for a while, went for a long walk, and got back with enough charge left to last until the power came back on.

Overall, a pretty great life.

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

#25

Post by recursify »

I quit my job at Amazon and went on a 4 month long bike tour through South East Asia... it was kind of a sporadic decision, but basically it was a gut feeling that I needed to get out there and mentally reset.

Great experience and would definitely do it again, especially bike touring. You kind of get into this rhythym of: wake up at sunrise, eat breakfast, decide on route, cycle as much as you feel like, go swimming, talk to people, find a place to camp/sleep, fix bike, go to bed. Every week or so you'll hit a major tourist centre where you can get a western meal/talk to other English speakers... then you're back on the road!

If you're burnt out/are looking for a reset, I'd avoid trying to work and travel at the same time, if you can afford it.

Budget: I think it worked out to about $15/day over the 4 month period, which may have included a flight home too.

I came back feeling energized, optimistic, and found a job at a great startup within a month of being back!

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

#26

Post by ifyoumakeit »

I spent the last four years doing web development while on playing drums in multiple touring bands. I got to travel abroad for free, and meet great people through it.

Unfortunately I remember very little of this time because I was taking on freelance projects to make side money and using mobile broadband to work in the van. It was incredibly stressful and one of the worst ideas. Multitasking the two jobs just burned me out quicker.

I wish I had planned it all out better so I could actually enjoy it fully. If you're going to travel, make sure you have the time to actually experience it.

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

#28

Post by marincounty »

panorama wrote: post #12

I quit college to travel for 2 years and played online poker as a means of income. There are parts of it I regret, like being a bit callous with money and not really knowing what I would do afterwards, but I was young (20) and having disposable income (which I regret not saving) can affect you as a kid. It should be noted that dropping out of college is NOT something I regret. I think that may have been one of the be…

"I quit college to travel for 2 years and played online poker as a means of income." Wow--online poker! I couldn't imagine the worry factor, but I'm not a gambler. When I look back on my life, the only real money I made was doing something risky. Right now, you made me realize I need to add more risk to my life.

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

#29

Post by harmmonica »

After spending a couple of years traveling on and off after quitting a job, there are a few things I wish I'd known/asked myself beforehand.

1. In your daily life, are you typically happy/comfortable not having a schedule? You might say "I'm traveling to get away from daily life," but longer-term travel is not like taking a vacation. It's much more like daily living. If you're happy not having a schedule in your normal life, don't plan much when you travel. I didn't even ask that question before I went traveling, but by nature I have a hard time not having a plan so I planned the s* out of my travels (I picked destinations around the planet, bought plane tickets to a chunk of the first destinations, planned activities/goals along the way and even had future destinations in mind (zoom out on Google Maps and just dream/lust after places! You'll almost immediately have a plan even if you don't like planning!). Anyway, I'm super stoked I planned the trip. I would've been a bit bummed if I hadn't, but as some posters here have said, planning isn't for everyone and you have to know what you like. And of course you can have a bit of both. Doesn't need to be "no plan" vs "plan every day," but structure, if you enjoy structure, is key. If you are too structured and are traveling to change yourself, of course ignore this advice.

2. Do you feel a need to accomplish things? I'm just going to go out on a limb since you're asking this on HN that you like "getting stuff done." You might be an "enjoy the journey more than the destination" person, but a big part of the journey is progressing/growing and so, again, related to schedule, plan on actually accomplishing some things while traveling. My partner and I, though not particularly outdoorsy, took advantage of several months of traveling to do some short, but serious (for us) hiking and I have to say that absent those events during our travels we wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much. It's awesome seeing the world, and talking to the people who inhabit it, but the desire for accomplishment doesn't go away when you do longer-term travel. Like I said, it's not like a vacation (though of course we were happy to find ourselves on nice beaches after pushing ourselves to reach "the top of the mountain." And your mountain can be hiking, learning a language, building an app, volunteering, etc. We just happened to want to see some epic nature)

3. Does my partner "love" me enough to not kill me if we're on top of each other for months on end (and vice versa)? You can only ask this, of course, if you're planning on traveling with a partner. You can always take breaks from each other, which is likely easier if you're traveling with a friend instead of a romantic partner, but I think saying upfront what you're both comfortable with is important

Apologies for the long post. Not sure if you, the OP, will read it, but if you want a spreadsheet with an around-the-world budget, hit me up and I'll share a Google one with you. I think I still have it. The single longest trip we did during the 2 years was three months (far shorter than a bunch of the folks who commented), but I/we stayed almost right on budget the whole time, which is actually much easier than you might think because as long as you have some flexibility timing-wise you can always save money on the big-bucket items (air/travel, lodging, food).

Oh, one last comment... If you love travel, and have dreamed of doing it more extensively and think you can pull it off, just do it. The only frustrating thing about traveling (for people who really enjoy it!) is not being able to do more of it.

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

#30

Post by aidanlister »

I did the digital nomad thing for 5 years and 9 months, across 70 countries: http://www.trott.in/accounts/1/worldmap

It was incredible, and I would recommend it to anyone.

And, it's never been easier to do ... if you haven't got much tying you down then give it a shot, take as long as it still feels rewarding. You'll know when it's time to go home.

I've now settled back in Australia this past year (much to my surprise) and am equally enjoying having a fixed address, a great friendship group and relationship, and having time to really focus on my startup. I wouldn't change a thing.

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