Why I quit my job to travel around the World
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After graduating college I took a job as a student tour guide taking college students from the US all around Europe. If you’ve studied abroad in Rome, Florence, or Prague you have probably heard of these guys. Obviously, you don’t earn a high income as a tour guide so I came back to the States to get a “real job”. I had the idea of traveling across Southeast Asia for over two years as I built my career and continued to push back my dream trip.
My job allows me a standard amount of PTO (Paid Time Off) with the usual holidays you would expect. However, I didn’t want to take a two week trip. I wanted to really live there, embrace the culture, and have a completely different experience than one gets when they vacation. I wanted to have the time to settle into a place, and the freedom to travel at my own pace.
I’ve given myself a $10,000 budget to spend five months traveling, starting in Southeast Asia and somehow making it back to my home in New Jersey. While traveling I will be working on a few projects with the hopes that I can start to earn an income and make this a more sustainable lifestyle. I plan to travel very lightly, and focus on having experiences in different locations rather than collecting a lot of things and “mementos”.
There are a few key things that I will bring with me from place to place, but I’m not overthinking bringing every little thing I could think of. Many of the things I will need (clothing, toiletries, medicine) can be purchased in most* of the places I’m going. The staples are items that can’t be purchased abroad or are difficult to find. For me, that is mainly the electronics I’ll be bringing (phone, laptop, camera) that I plan on keeping with me for the entirety of the trip.
I’m 27 now and am at the stage in my life where I’m not doing this to party or be lazy and bum around. I have specific interests in all the places I plan on going and am excited to see how they collectively shape me as a person. I see this as an opportunity to not only grow as a person but grow my career and help to inspire others to take action.
If you are interested in following my journey, check out the podcast I’ve started and connect with me on LinkedIn. I’d love to chat!
