“How To Quit Your Job And Travel The World!”
It feels like every few minutes I stumble across somebody who has done just that.
Saved up a few thousand of their hard earned pounds, quit their job and left to travel the world.
And that’s wonderful.
I admire anyone who knows what they want from life and takes the plunge to do it.
And if travelling freely is what you want, then I say go for it.
As soon as there’s a bit more money in my ol’ travel fund I’ll be joining you.
But there’s a lot of people who aren’t a position to do so or don’t want to pack everything up and leave, and I find the “Quit Your Job To Travel The World” headline a bit of a slap in the face because so many of the articles suggest that if you don’t “JUST GO” you’re just making excuses.
But what if they’re not excuses but you don’t want to pack everything up to travel?
What if you love the country you’re living in and don’t want to sell/rent your house?
What if you already have your dream career or you own and run your own business?
Well I’m here to tell you this.
Despite what a great big chunk of the internet would have you believe:
Travel and work are not mutually exclusive.
You don’t have to pick one or the either.
It is not an either/or option.
There may be a few occasional sacrifices, but you can do both.
You just have to pick a solution that’s right for you.
So how do you incorporate more travel into your life?
Well it depends on what you want.
If you want to live a life of nomadic freedom, then your best bet is to find a job in an industry that enables you to work from anywhere. Web design, freelance writing, illustration, social media management and graphic design are just a few.
But if you don’t want to hop on a one-way plane ride, then there are plenty more things you can do to maximise your time exploring.
For example:
Plan Ahead.
Public holidays are there to be used to your advantage.
In England we have 8 bank holidays each year which typically fall on a Friday or Monday (with the exception of an occasional substitute day). Which gives us an instant 3 or 4 day weekend. This gives you a whole 3 or 4 day holiday without needing to use your holiday entitlement (vacation days).
…Alternatively book off multiple Fridays and Mondays so that you get four days of holiday but only use 2 days out of your holiday entitlement.
Plan things for your days off so you’re not tempted to stay in bed and watch a Netflix marathon.
…We’ve all been there.
Take more days trips.
Get out and visit that castle you’ve lived near for years but have never been inside.
Climb that hill with the amazing panoramic views that you have always wanted to photograph.
Drive three hours to go to that restaurant you’ve always wanted to eat at.
Learn something new about your city – you may even be surprised by what you find.
Take a road trip.
We’re not doing it just yet because Asia is first on our long-term travel list.
But at some point in the future S and I are going to buy a van, convert it and travel across the UK and Europe on epic (and hopefully sunny) road trips.
Find out if the company you work for offers transfers.
You’d be surprised by how many companies have branches abroad or are looking to expand in other countries. I have a friend who started work in Manchester (England) and now works in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) all thanks to that lovable blue box, IKEA.
Go camping.
Obviously if you’re reading this from Dubai a tent isn’t going to be very appealing given the heat that you experience in the UAE. But for people that don’t live in a part of the world that feels like a beautiful inferno, this is definitely an option. There’s so many beautiful nature trails across the UK, why not walk some of them and set up camp under the stars?
There are so many ways to travel without leaving everything to live out of a rucksack.
You don’t have to pack up your things and “just go”, you just need to get outside of your comfort zone and open your eyes and heart to what the world has to offer. Because travelling isn’t a destination, it’s a journey, and it doesn’t matter if that journey takes you ten, or ten-thousand, miles away from your house, it’s how you explore the place you find yourself in that counts.
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