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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?

#141

Post by afarrell »

zacharycohn wrote: post #96
afarrell wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> don't plan ahead Don't take this too far though. Otherwise you might end up at some dude's house in Kilkenny trying to determine if he's going to let you crash in on couch or if he wants you to sleep in his bed. Or you might end up walking from Juno to Omaha beach hoping that you can hitch a ride with some Canadians back to Caen.

Second one sounds awesome. I hitchhiked with two German girls back to Jerusalem from the dead sea in some Russian dude's car. Fascinating guy. Highlight of the trip. YDIMA (your disaster is my adventure)

I mean, it was fun for me too and wasn't a disaster because I did in fact run into a Canadian couple whose son happened to be going to RPI. I'm just saying that not everyone is prepared for an 8-hour hike in the dark through the french countryside and those folks should plan ahead.

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

#142

Post by jeremyis »

aidos wrote: post #137
jeremyis wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the great reply. I want to end my trip by spending 3 months in Spain learning Spanish. I'm thinking of Valencia because I think it'll be fairly warm there even during winter months, it's somewhat central, I hear it's fun, and everyone speaks Spanish... Barcelona would be a really fun city to live in also but I think it'd be better to be surrounded 100% by the language I am learning instead of Catalan :-) B…

Cool! Totally normal. My wife and I were 28 last time we did it. The language school would put you somewhere appropriate I would have thought. Last time we were with a lovely lady in her 60s.

Awesome - thanks!

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

#143

Post by sitkack »

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.

Maybe traveling while young allows you to see with appreciation and depth now.

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

#144

Post by sitkack »

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.

Maybe traveling while young allows you to see with appreciation and depth now.

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

#145

Post by [deleted] »

reddytowns wrote: post #42

I quit my job to travel the world about 5 years ago. I lucked out in some investments and am now in an early retirement, mostly spend my day working on my own computer projects, surfing, and occasionally going on trips to different places. I came back after a year, but after spending 18 months in the states, wanted to go travelling again. I'm currently staying in Taiwan, and periodically travel to the neighboring cou…

[deleted]

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

#146

Post by cedricd »

golergka wrote: post #117
cedricd wrote: post #13

I quit my job for a year and did this with my wife. We didn't work while traveling -- it would have been too hard / distracting. This might sound odd, but traveling takes as much time as a real job -- the amount you spend just figuring out where to go next and what to do is significant. If you want to work while travel then your best bet is to taking a break from travel and live somewhere for a little while. It's not…

> don't plan ahead You must have a passport of some country which has pretty good visa agreements. For some of us, traveling the world requires sitting in a lot of embassies first.

I had to spend time in embassies too. When you travel for a year it's possible to do that where you are. For example, I got my visas to Myanmar and India in Bangkok. You do have to plan a few days ahead. I meant don't plan it all before leaving.

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

#147

Post by SamReidHughes »

marincounty wrote: post #28
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.

Online poker is (or was) pretty low risk -- you play a bunch of tables, play reasonably, there are betting limits, and you reliably win money from people that are bad at it. It's really just a grind. Of course, that's not the only way to play it.

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

#148

Post by jacalata »

jeremyis wrote: post #127
aidos wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As heliodor mentions below, language schools will sort you out. In Brazil I walked in and made gestures that I wanted to learn Portuguese (they refused to speak English, even though some of them could, a little). The conversation went on like that and eventually one of the staff took me on a bus to where I would stay with a family. I ended up with a relatively wealthy family, others at the same school were in totally…

Thanks for the great reply. I want to end my trip by spending 3 months in Spain learning Spanish. I'm thinking of Valencia because I think it'll be fairly warm there even during winter months, it's somewhat central, I hear it's fun, and everyone speaks Spanish... Barcelona would be a really fun city to live in also but I think it'd be better to be surrounded 100% by the language I am learning instead of Catalan :-) B…

I'm 30 and I'll be doing this in a couple weeks, set up through a language school to stay with an old couple in Santiago.

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

#149

Post by jacalata »

harmmonica wrote: post #29

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 norm…

I'd love to see your spreadsheet, I'm heading off myself in a couple weeks. My email is my username at gmail.
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