Mostly India and Central America. I guess it depends on where and what sort of hostel we are talking about, but I would definitely have thought a 34 year old single male to be unusual in my travels. Not to the point where I would hiss and cross myself, but out of the norm. A lot of it would depend on demeanor, how old he looks, and how much of a “I’m here to bang 20 somethings” vibe I got.
I set the bar at 25, minimum. 20 year olds scream too much.
Stranger
A year is a really long time. I knocked around Asia for ~2 months after college and in the moment it felt like a blur but when I came back to the States, I definitely felt the effects of putting my life on hold. A lot of my other friends who took a couple of months off to go through SE Asia, India, Europe, Africa, and Tahiti said the same thing. They loved the experience but the opportunity cost is not negligible. We all had to scramble to find jobs and were under/unemployed for at least 3 months (more like 6). Some moved back home and a few even had to borrow money.
I guess my point is, if you’re looking to jump off the merry-go-round for a year, be prepared to run twice as hard to catch up when you want to jump back on. All in all, go get that worthless piece of sheepskin first.
My first big solo trip was a three-month trip to India that I planned for all of two weeks from “Hey, why not just quit my dumb job and go someplace far away” to landing in in the Delhi airport. I had been working seventy hour weeks between three terrible dead-end customer service jobs, had managed to save a tiny tiny bit, and couldn’t see a clear path between where I was and where I wanted to be in life- so I figured I’d just do whatever I wanted and see how that worked out. I had a grand old adventure, saw a lot of the area, made some memories, and realized I was never going to be able to travel to my heart’s content unless I found some creative way to get plane tickets. That eventually led me to Peace Corps (which some members of this board tried to talk me out of), and it wasn’t until then that I started to make sense of what I wanted from my career and how to move forward. I got a lot of focus pretty quickly once I had some role models and saw how the whole “get a fulfilling career” thing works in action, but there was A LOT of stumbling around in between.
That’s part of the adventure though. The fact that he is 35 and doing something that most 35 year olds have given up on doing, even though many may have fantasized about it at 20 but never did it…that all adds to the awesomeness of him doing this now. Who cares if I am “out of the norm” in a hostel. I’m sure I would get along with others just fine, despite the yawning chasm of our unbridgeable age gap.
I went to Switzerland a couple of years ago and stayed in hostels the entire time. While I was, at 30, older than the average hostel guest I was far from the oldest. I remember talking to a middle aged couple from England who’d come over for a vacation and a woman a couple of years older than me who was traveling with her two kids. On other trips I’ve met retired people in hostels.
I did pay extra for a private room for my Switzerland trip, though. I stayed in shared hostel rooms on several other trips when I was in my early 20s and never had a bad experience, but I felt like at 30 I was old enough that this sort of thing didn’t seem exciting or charming to me anymore and that a bunch of 20 year olds would probably be just as happy not to share a room with me either.
I’m not saying he should care. I was just disagreeing with the idea that a 35 year old in a hostel is something you normally see.
I think you should do it. 34 is still very young, although you may not think so, and it’s better to do this now than at age 50 or 60. Having lived in Thailand earlier but temporarily, I myself returned here at age 35, intending to make the move permanent but without any prospects whatsoever. Although short on possessions, I did sell or give away everything I could not carry back in Hawaii. That was decades ago, and it has worked out nicely. But it certainly would not have worked out if I had not made the leap. Don’t listen to anyone telling you not to do this.
The OP sounds like he’s dreaming a fantasy.(Generally one doesn’t just discover a new country and fall in love with it, unless you’ve done some research and know what you’re looking for before you get there.)
The second quote sounds more realistic.
Taking a year off may be the right thing to do, to scratch an itch.
Expect to enjoy yourself, expect to make a few casual friends who you might stay in email contact with.
But don’t expect to become “a new man”.
Going far away doesn’t change who you are.
Go for it and do so w/o hard expectations.
Do it.
I was pretty much in your situation when I was your age, and I didn’t do it. I just kept my job that I didn’t like, and led a nice safe existence. The only good thing - and it’s a HUGE good thing - was that a few years later, I met my partner. But you may not be that lucky. And who knows how many people you’ll meet on the road? A lot more than staying home, and one of the may be The One.
Believe me, you don’t want to grow old and regret not having done this. You want to grow old and have great memories . . . and your book. Whatever dreams you now have for your future, your adventure will reshape them and possibly give you a new direction.
Just do it.
I am going to be really mad if you don’t do it. Do It.
First I would disagree with the idea of selling everything. While there may be a few things which you can get good money for and some pieces of furniture which are very bulky, so these types of item are worth selling; I think you should box up the smaller stuff and store it at your parents (or friends or other relatives). If you “sell everything” it is going to cost significantly to replace it when you come back.
Second in terms of the job situation note that a number of countries have 30% or so youth unemployment rates. I just don’t see how you get odd jobs with so few jobs available and this enormous competition.
Some people here talk about going off the beaten path but I wonder about the language situation there–will they speak English?
OP: how much money will you have available? If you give us a number some people may be able to give advice as to how long it will last.
And when you come back, you’ll be just as stagnant. That is, if you do what everyone is telling you to do here, namely, just go off to a country almost randomly just the for the sake of leaving.
If you go somewhere, you have to go to that place because you specifically want to go to THAT particular place, and because you want to live AND WORK in that place.
The whole romantic thing of getting on a plane and going wherever, and just being free and untied is great, but that’s really just like junior year abroad–it’s a diversion, rather than an investment in a life in that particular place. Otherwise, you’re never going to feel a true belonging to the place you end up in–you’ll always be “temporary,” and you won’t be advancing your life.
So, unless it’s a place that you want to be in for it’s own sake, don’t expect the stagnation to be gone when you come back.
Il n’y a qu’une vie c’est donc qu’elle est parfaite. - Paul Éluard*
You’re about to do something insanely awesome.
Coming out of retirement (thanks Mangetout, hope you’re well!) to say:
Hell yeah do it.
No dependents, shitty job, itch to travel. What the fuck are you waiting for?
I’ve upped sticks five or six times over the past 20 years, alternating between travel and expatriatism, and managed a semblance of a career on the way. Last time I did it was last year, in my mid-forties, but my uncle and aunt did it last year as well and they’re in their sixties. It’s a way of life that I love, despite the challenges and problems it raises along the way.
While I respect the opinions of those who are telling you it’s a dumb idea, they’re arguing from a position of ignorance because they’ve never done it themselves. If you read the posts in this thread from people who actually have done it, you’ll find that 100% of them are positive.
That’s because - see quote at top - whether shit goes well or shit goes badly, it still goes. To travel and live in other countries and cultures is experience that will expand your mind and your horizons forever, mostly for the better, and allow you to see your own life and culture as others see it. That is something priceless.
Yes, it does set you back a few years financially and career-wise, but it’s not as bad as others are making out. Furthermore it’s a great talking point on your resume, and opportunities sometimes pop up along the way: in 2005 I randomly ended up working on tsunami relief, which was the most fulfilling experience of my life; I’ve got a friend I met there who has an interest in film production. Last year he was making a reasonable living teaching English in China, and now he’s making films in Shanghai.
The other thing you’ll find is that you are not alone: there’s an entire community of people out there on this planet doing what you’re proposing, of all ages and nationalities. I read somewhere it was 10 million at any given moment. You don’t see them now because they’re out in the world, but you will meet them, you will travel with them, some of them will become your friends. And nowadays the internet gives you the opportunity to find them and hook up with them too.
Yes, but who gives a shit.
I travel in a relatively unplanned way, which I prefer. Go somewhere, think about what you want to see, go see it, see what happens. It’s personal preference though - if you feel jumpy without a plan then make one (just don’t blindly enforce it if something interesting comes up). A compromise to this is if you buy yourself a round-the-world ticket, and then you’ll have a rigid framework on which to hang your spontaneity.
NO. Terrible idea. Forget vehicles. Ownership/insurance and transport across borders is an absolute nightmare. I bought a motorcycle in Vietnam once and while it was fun, it was totally illegal and I had to run roadblocks all the time.
Look me up if you’re in Italy.
Couple more thoughts:
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You will need more money than you think. Probably about $30,000 for a year’s travel if you want to have any fun, and you’ll really be thinking about budget on that. I once returned from a trip with cash in hand, but only once. Particularly if you start in Europe, you’re going to burn budget fast. As you will in Japan. I would personally recommend maybe starting somewhere cheap like south-east Asia and work your way westwards.
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You will also need several grand in the bank at home to support you when you get back until you find a job (provided you don’t end up staying somewhere).
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If you make saving money for the above as your absolute priority in life, you can do it. You’ll have to make sacrifices and it may take a little longer than you thought; but your dead-end job will become more tolerable with this goal.
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Round-the-world tickets are stunningly cheap. A couple of grand for like five flights to different continents. Do your research, and find out how you can buy one. You may have to get to London first.
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Your EFL qualification will be useful in European countries; in other parts of the world they usually don’t give a shit, plus you can get a fake EFL certificate on the streets of Bangkok. The ability to network if you stay in a place for a while is far more important - I’m unqualified but my private language students pay me a lot of money because I’m a native speaker, regardless of my lack of qualification.
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You will probably find occasions where you can make pocket money or get free accommodation working in a bar or for voluntary organizations - usually illegally. By all means take advantage of this but don’t rely on it.
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I’ve got other practical tips that I’ll send you as I think of them.
A word of caution: you will come back a changed man, but not a new one. Wherever you go your problems will still follow you. But by adding vast amounts of challenge and trauma and positive experience and fascination into your daily life, eventually these things will put any issues you may currently have into proportion.
The world is vast and right now you’ve seen a fraction of a fraction of it. The greatest boon of this modern age is the ability to see the world with relatively little effort. In your situation and with your desire to go, it’s insane not to do it.
*There is only one life; therefore it is perfect.
I would probably lean slightly towards not doing it for two basic reasons:
- You seem like you are committed to a certain outcome that is far from assured. I think whenever you take a chance in life that could really backfire, you have to be invested more in the process than the outcome. It’s like deciding you want to act so you can be a movie star. If you want to act, act. And have no expectations that something grander has to flow from that to make it worth it. Most trips abroad don’t result in enlightenment or clarity. They certainly don’t usually allow for temp jobs for travelers who may not speak the language and don’t have a degree, nor do they provide fodder for a compelling book. That’s pie in the sky nonsense that makes be think you not seeing this for what it is.
If you can honestly say that you need to do this for its own sake, then you should go, but don’t expect getting on a plane to make you a better person in and of itself. Every country you’d visit has thousand of people who live there, seeing and experiencing the things you hope to be inspired by, who feel the same way you do now. A change of scenery can be good, but it’s not a panacea.
- You don’t seem emotionally and financially prepared to do this. While some people can travel indefinitely with no real plan in mind, most people can’t do it successfully. If you don’t have the resources and wherewithal to do it right, don’t do it. Don’t put yourself in a position where you are waiting at random places for western union money transfers from your parents so you can eat. Yes, traveling and being unencumbered can make you feel free, but having no money or options can make you feel pretty powerless and stagnant too; especially in a foreign country. Figure out where you are going, how much it’s gonna cost, what you will do if things don’t work out, and whether you can really stomach things not working out for one reason or another.
The emotional part worries me too. Have you really taken ownership for your demonstrated lack of followthrough? I don’t say that to be a dick, but rather because open ended travel takes a lot of some skills that you seem to have issues with in some areas. Additionally, just the very idea that you will just travel country to country working in service of writing an autobiography/travelogue is so illogical and improbable that I worry you are not grounded enough to deal with the rigors of traveling alone for months on end. Unless you are currently a professional writer and expert traveller with connections in all these countries, thinking this is even possible is borderline delusional.
Regardless, only you know how prepared and capable you are to do this. Take all this advice with the appropriate grains if salt. Most of my greatest memories have been visiting foreign countries, so I can understand the pull. But, don’t let it blind you from reality. Think long and hard about whether it’s with it. Would you go if it meant you might have to work longer before retirement? If it meant sleeping on your parent’s couch for a year when you got back, or having to borrow money from them to survive during or after your trip? If it meant losing a few friends who have moved on without you? Are you okay sitting over a toilet alone in a developing country suffering from food poisoning? Are you okay being alone in general with few people to rely on or trust? Are you okay eating foreign foods, not speaking the language, or dealing with being robbed, lost, or taken advantage of?
If you can say it means that much to you, then you’d be a fool not to go. But only you can really make that assessment. I would just strongly advise going into this with your eyes wide open. Either way, best of luck to you.
Let me ask you this. Does it make sense to quit your job, take one month off to travel and then come back and look for a new job?
I’m guessing probably not in your mind. Because that is a much more immediate timeframe. It means you need to start looking for a job in a month. Saying you’ll do it for a year allows you to put off dealing with your life problems until some far-flung abstract horizon. A year off let’s you say “Hey, who knows what will happen it a year?”
18 and 22 year olds take “gap years” to put off college or work and other real world responsibilities so they can spend more time goofing off (regardless of their bullshit about “expanding their mind” or “finding themselves”). You’re a 34 year old who is unhappy with the way his life is going. I don’t think doubling down on goofing off is the best choice for you. Because when you are done, you’ll be right back where you started. But now you’ll be a year older, no job and less money than you had a year ago with nothing to show for it except some new single-serving Facebook friends.
Really the whole issue I have is that you are running away from something instead of to something. And that “something” you are running away from is your actual life, which you should be trying to fix.
As I said, why not take a month or two, then come back and figure your shit out?
My suggestion is to secure a job with an American company in a European or Asian location. Since you are willing to buy your own plane ticket, offering to pay your own relocation cost may make you more attractive as a candidate. I have no idea what you do, but I’m in an industry that puts people all over the world, mostly close to American military installations.
This way, you have an income (and a tax benefit, btw), a legitimate visa, and every weekend to jaunt around. Getting from Stuttgart, for example, to any other place in Europe is quicker and easier than getting to NYC from Chicago.
Just a thought.
35 will be old in some places and some hostels, but totally normal in others; my parents stay in backpacker hostels all the time, just not the mad partay ones, when travelling, and no-one’s ever batted an eyelid at that.
I agree no-one will be interested in a travel book, unless you’re an amazing writer, but I really don’t see why spending a year travelling is not ‘real life’. Real life is not just whatever makes you money, and I find it pretty sad that some people apparently think it is. If you’re stuck in a rut, doing something big can make a massive difference, and not always in the way you expect. I didn’t exactly improve my job chances by travelling, I admit, but I came back with a new hobby, (and practically membership of a different subculture) which has had a massive positive impact on my life since.
I did that stuff when I was younger- before college. I’m glad I did.
I had kids when I was older than most and I’m glad I did that, too.
If you have money, put it in the bank and forget about it while you roam around. You will then be in the unique position of accepting the challenges and limitations of travel on a budget and having a nice cushion for later. That seems like an ideal situation to me.