Every year, thousands of otherwise sensible people do something that sends their pension adviser into a cold sweat: they quit job to travel the world, armed with little more than a overstuffed rucksack, a dog-eared copy of Lonely Planet, and a dangerous amount of optimism. Now, in what can only be described as the world’s most cathartic group therapy session, a whopping 69 of these magnificent mavericks have come forward to reveal whether it was all worth it. Reader, the answers are illuminating, occasionally heartbreaking, and — rather wonderfully — mostly positive.
The Great Escape: Why People Quit Job To Travel In The First Place
Let’s be honest. We’ve all had that Monday morning moment — the fluorescent lights flickering overhead, a passive-aggressive email about the communal fridge — where the idea of packing it all in and travelling the world seems not just appealing but morally necessary. One contributor did exactly that after a grim factory job, saving up a heroic £5,500-ish and then proceeding to walk — actually walk — coast to coast across the United States. All eight months of it. In a tent. This is either the most inspiring thing you’ve ever heard or a strong argument for better career counselling services.
Furthermore, the stories collected here span the full spectrum of human experience. There are tales of sun-drenched beaches, chance encounters with fascinating strangers, and what one can only imagine was a spectacular amount of street food. Consequently, reading through them feels rather like sitting next to someone extraordinarily interesting on a long train journey — you’re simultaneously envious and vaguely exhausted on their behalf.
The Honeymoon Phase: When Everything Is Magnificent
The first-timers, it turns out, tend to have a brilliant time. One contributor describes their inaugural year of travel as a period of profound personal growth, fascinating people, and the kind of daily adventure that makes normal life feel like watching paint dry on a Tuesday. Coming home was tricky, admittedly — the reverse culture shock of returning to routine is a well-documented phenomenon — but manageable. They moved out of their parents’ house, found a better-paid job, and generally landed on their feet like a well-travelled cat.
However, it’s the second-timers where things get genuinely complicated. The same contributor who’d previously sailed back into normal life found the return far rougher after their second adventure. Meanwhile, the world had carried on without them. Friends had promotions, mortgages, and small noisy humans. Then COVID arrived like an uninvited house guest and refused to leave, making everything considerably worse. Six years on, they still feel like they’re playing catch-up. It’s a sobering reminder that FOMO works in both directions.
The Bit Nobody Puts On Instagram
Here’s what the travel influencers with their suspiciously perfect lighting don’t mention: coming home is hard. The loneliness of reintegration is real and surprisingly common. Subletting a new flat every two months while your mates are comparing school catchment areas is, by most measures, not the glamorous denouement you’d imagined. Furthermore, employers — bless their conventional little hearts — do tend to look at a two-year gap on your CV with the same expression your nan uses when you mention you’ve been living off falafel wraps.
Nevertheless — and this is the truly remarkable part — almost nobody in this collection of 69 actually regrets it. Not properly. They’d trade the career setbacks, the empty bank accounts, the awkward re-entry into polite society. But they wouldn’t trade the experiences. Not for anything.
So Should You Quit Job To Travel? The Verdict
The collected wisdom of 69 globe-trotting humans suggests the following: go, by all means, but go in with your eyes open. Save properly beforehand. Understand that life at home operates on its own timeline and will not pause politely while you’re watching a sunrise over Angkor Wat. And perhaps — just perhaps — have some vague notion of what you’ll do when you return, beyond a deeply spiritual tan and 47,000 unedited photographs of temples.
The urge to quit job to travel is, at its heart, entirely human and absolutely understandable. The world is enormous, strange, and magnificent. Office carpets are beige. The maths isn’t particularly complicated. Just maybe sort out a pension first.
Read the original story at Bored Panda Weird.
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