People Who Quit Their Jobs And Set Off To Travel The World Are Getting Real About What It Was Really Like
By Hannah Loewentheil,
2024-09-03
Have you ever fantasized about leaving your job and your life behind, packing up a bag, and embarking on the adventure of a lifetime? I know I do all the time. Well, Someone over on Quora asked, "What is it like to quit your job and travel the world ?" Here's what people said.
1. "My wife and I have been on the road for seven months. We quit our jobs last June, sold everything, and packed our stuff into two big backpacks. We walked about 1000 kilometers in China and 700 kilometers in Vietnam so far, and we will travel mostly on foot in the next few years..."
"...We don't want just to visit places or rush to as many destinations as possible in a short period. We plan to live our lives on the road.
We mostly do our own cooking, make delicious sandwiches for the day and cook some noodles at night. If the hostel we stay in allows us to use the kitchen, I make some nice dishes with rice. We figured this is much healthier and cheaper than eating out for every meal (although it won't keep us from sampling local cuisines occasionally).
Spending a lengthy period in a culture gives us an advantage in understanding it. Although I can only speak some daily phrases now to bargain in a local market in Vietnam, it still gets me closer to the Vietnamese people. The books about Vietnam I've read on the road equip me with some extended knowledge (compared to the short paragraphs in Lonely Planet guidebooks) to enable me to appreciate the art, architecture, and music and to understand the culture and the people, especially their feelings.
IMO, traveling like this improves one's sensibility and empathy. You are not just dealing with people in the tourism industry or fellow travelers. You meet local people who speak no English or your own language, who have never traveled outside their own village. You realize that while the cultural difference could be vast, we are all humans and share many common emotions , sympathies, and excitements. This realization motivates us to explore more, improve our language skills, and share our understandings with fellow countrymen or our communities.
I am looking forward to visit the rest of the world like this, it brings me joy and fulfillment."
— Leung K.
Boy_anupong / Getty Images2. "In short, it is heaven, and it's also hell. I never thought traveling the world would be as hard as it was. Quitting my job, giving up on my career , and facing uncertainties was way easier than expected. Back then I was so frustrated that I wanted to know what life has to offer. I had a good job and a very decent salary. It didn't make me happy. But it helped me to save enough money to make a dream come true. The journey itself was heaven. I lived in a flow-like state for a year. Coming back home was quite the opposite. I felt like a stranger in my own country..."
"...Everything was so familiar, yet I did not feel any connection to my environment. I was an alien in my own country. This was not the end of it. Things became even more challenging. Although I began feeling 'at home' again after a few months, I was still trying to understand how my journey shaped me. From an outsider's standpoint, I explored some countries and cultures. But for me, it turned out to be a journey to find myself. It took me years to integrate this lesson."
— Tim W.
3. “' Alex, someone has taken a shit on the floor. Can you go clean it up please.' Call me crazy, but this was the moment I knew it was time to leave my bartending job behind. Sure, bartending was fun. It was easy to slip some vodka into a glass of soda water and act like you weren’t drunk at work. And the odd phone number on a coaster was always appreciated. But when your boss hands you a mop and points you to an actual pile of shit on the floor, that's when you know. So I quit. I’d saved a few thousand dollars over the previous months and I had nowhere to go and no one to answer to. I did something I encourage you all to do at least once in your life: I bought a one-way ticket to a place I’d never been and I just let life happen..."
"...I rounded up my three best mates and pointed my compass to Canada. I was on the road for six months before finally returning home to Australia. I visited some incredible places including Lake Moraine (Alberta, Canada), Niagara Falls (Ontario), Yellowstone National Park, Puerto Viejo (Costa Rica), Panama City, Mount Rushmore, Chicago, New York City, San Blas Islands (Panama), The Cocora Valley (Colombia), and Easter Island (Chile). To sum up what it’s like to quit your job and travel the world… At first, it’s scary. It’s confronting. You might even have second thoughts about rolling the dice and leaving your life behind. But you will never, ever regret it. You should know that you won’t come home the same person you were when you left. And that’s exactly why you should do it."
Jordan Siemens / Getty Images4. "By the time I was in my final year at university, I was exhausted from running the rat race. I still remember my six-year-old self under pressure to be at the top of the class. And it never stopped. Board exams. Joint Entrance Examinations. University exams. College placements. I wasn’t running away from hard work, but I hated the fact that life was all about grades rather than knowledge and salary rather than job satisfaction. So, I decided not to apply for any job. I knew if I got a job, it would be immensely difficult to quit. I knew I would be swayed away by the baits of promotions, comfort, and predictable income...So I quit my job before I got one. I still don’t have a college degree..."
"I'm traveling full-time and visit home only to meet my family and get visas. I always wanted to travel slowly so traveling isn't all about ticking off the touristy attractions of a place from an itinerary prepared by travel agents. I immerse myself in its culture and local life when I spend 20–60 days at a place. I rent a room, get a scooter, and make local friends. I feel a part of the community. I feel I'm no longer being seen as an outsider. I feel accepted. I feel connected. This would have never been possible with a regular job. I'm never in a hurry to return home. Living this lifestyle, I feel every place I visit is a home...
I never run out of exciting places to see. As I can choose where I want to spend my time, I pick the ones most appealing and gain a new perspective. People say travel broadens your outlook towards the world and people. And it isn't easy to know until you see the world from a different perspective. Sometimes you get surprised by the differences in cultures and sometimes you are amazed by the similarities....You are surprised by how some stereotypes of places its people are shattered and how some of them are strengthened.
For me, traveling is always more about the experiences than the destination. Despite being an unmatched brilliance, the Taj Mahal doesn't evoke any emotion in me. However, I have sentiments attached to diving and exploring the magnificent underwater world of corals and sea creatures, biking through the clouds in the mountains, braving heavy rains, getting high on local drinks, losing my way in the forest, and many other experiences (some of which I won't mention publicly).
Finally, traveling is all about the people. 'H appiness is only real when shared.' A good company can lighten up even a wrong place. I've met people from around the world and made many friends. I made a friend in Chiang Mai, and I met her again in Kuala Lumpur. I have friends all over the world.
Ultimately, ' I took the road less traveled, and that has made all the difference.'"
— Aman M.
5. "The night before my 24th birthday, I decided to do something I always wanted to do. I hated my corporate job. My favorite way to pass time at work used to be updating an Excel file containing my tentative itinerary to travel the whole country of India. It used to be my only source of entertainment amidst the mind-numbing, monotonous routine. Three days after my birthday, I put in my papers. My boss was more confused than angry. Those few days, while I served my notice period, were awesome. Surprisingly, my body aches vanished. I got my voracious appetite back. My parents came to terms with the idea of me traveling alone . And then I left Mumbai..."
"...Man, it was liberating! Three days into the trip, I canceled all my tickets. Then onwards, it was just impromptu planning every day. I ate on the streets and sometimes slept in the open. I did whatever I was cautioned against. I made friends daily. They helped me chalk out my next destination, ensuring they were my trip's best hosts. I hitch-hiked whenever I could. I asked for free food and a free stay, shamelessly. And I was welcomed with open arms. I befriended a dog in Goa, learned how to travel without a ticket in Jan Shatabdi, observed with awe as a Kathakali performer put on his makeup, stayed in a hut alone all day, just breathing, witnessed Deepavali on two consecutive days (Tamil Nadu celebrates a day before the rest of India). And I conversed with people without having any common language. There were numerous experiences. I felt like a toddler, suddenly starting to walk and looking at the world from a very different angle. And then I came back to Mumbai. Only this time, I was much more calm. I felt a sense of satisfaction, having learned a lot about nature and life. And never once did I feel any regret about leaving my job. Now I'm waiting for my passport and some savings. Next stop, Europe!"
Swissmediavision / Getty Images6. "In 2017, I was 21 and working for a very informal company in San Diego. I wouldn’t say I liked it, but I needed the money. I saved for a while. One night, one of my best friends sent me a screenshot of plane tickets to Iceland and persuaded me to have a trip this summer with some other friends, and magically, without thinking about it, I said, 'screw it, yes, I’m in.' We went to Iceland, which was not a common destination for vacations then. After that, we flew to Switzerland and visited the most popular cities. Amazing country. It is beautiful, peaceful, and well-organized...:
"...After that, we went to Paris. It was like a dream. Meeting a place you have only seen in a lot of movies, seeing the Mona Lisa, Eiffel Tower, etc. Our last city was Amsterdam, a very chill place. I bonded a lot with my friends in there. We had a lot of fun in Dam Square at night. A very pretty downtown! After that trip, I returned to Mexico with not too much money but many memories. I met new people, made stronger friendships, and started to meet a new person, me, based on the experiences I had. Changing money for memories is the best investment, and now I understand it. If I have the money again, I will do it one more time. Traveling while young with your friends is the best experience you could ever have."
7. "This past April, I quit my job at Dell, crammed some stuff into a backpack, and went to Southeast Asia (and a few other places) for about six weeks. It was not exactly 'traveling the world,' as we only went to a few countries, but it was more of a backpacker/adventure travel experience than I had ever had. (Last month, I made another two-and-a-half-week trip with a backpack to Australia and New Zealand, which has gotten much less scary since then). The trip was much more modest than others described on this thread, so I won't act like it was some kind of transformative experience or anything. That said, I did learn a few things..."
"...I learned I don't need that much 'stuff' to exist. Back in the U.S., I had an amassed closet and a dresser full of clothes, most of which I never wore. My travel clothes consisted of two pairs of shorts, three pairs each of underwear and socks, about six T-shirts, and a sweater.
I vastly underrated "home" while I was living there. Adventure travel is a tempting siren when you're sitting at your desk job and dreaming of grand adventures at Mt. Everest or the Great Barrier Reef. I think this caused me to ponder the future and underrate the present. Home is fantastic . I live in a country where I can freely travel and live in any of 50 states, where all of my friends and family are easy to see and contact, and where I'm relatively unmolested by the police/government/taxman/whatever (I'll grant that this doesn't describe everybody's experience in the USA and that I'm luckier than most in this regard.). For some reason, at the beginning of my trips, I always think I'll never want to return home, but every time, I'm mistaken. It's made me more thankful and observant in my regular life in the States.
People are people are people. No matter what country you go to, people put their pants on one leg at a time. Even though different cultures can be vastly different, most humans share many everyday experiences...
There's nothing so special about 'backpack travel,' but it's still awesome. I think everybody should take at least one backpacking trip, even just for the opportunity to have a terrible time and learn a lot from the experience. There's a lot to see out there."
Pixdeluxe / Getty Images8. "I was 28, single, had a high-paying job and a new mortgage. I was also running out of time. If I didn't move quickly (before I turned 30), I'd lose out on the working holiday visa opportunity forever. Then, the guilt kicked in. By 30, I should have had a good job, a house, a wife, and kids...During that time, I learned a valuable life lesson: There is nothing scarier than settling for a life that is less than the one you can live. I had a well-paying, respectable job that didn't light me up. I had a mortgage. And I felt trapped. I realized that staying in my comfort zone was not comfortable at all. So I asked myself, 'How might I make this work?'"...
"...First, I researched where I might move and got excited at the possibilities. Then I nervously asked my company for a transfer overseas, and surprisingly, I got it. I explained my decision to my dad, and he said something that has always remained with me...' Son, go now while you can. Don't have regrets like I have now when you're my age.' With his encouragement, I booked a one-way ticket to Toronto. A month before my departure, I put my house on the market and found a tenant to cover my mortgage repayments. I felt liberated by deciding to chase my dreams and listen to what 'I' wanted.
Ten months later, I was on a flight to Toronto. Over the next two years, I made wonderful lifelong friendships, traveled to places I never knew existed, flash-mobbed, free-hugged, and hitchhiked across Canada, became an entrepreneur, and grew in more ways than I thought possible. Now, I'm on a mission to empower creativity, freedom, and connection so we can make a positive difference in the world. So, if you're debating whether to chase a dream and follow an opportunity right in front of you, ask yourself: Are you settling for a life that is less than the one you have the chance to live? If yes, how does that sit with you?"
9. "It was exhilarating, exciting, exhausting, educating, confusing, boring, frightening, and humbling (not necessarily in that order). You will see things in a new light. When you return, things that were 'big problems' before you left will seem petty and insignificant. You will have to confront your preconceived notions about people and places. You will learn a lot about other cultures and yourself. It's one of the best things you can do. I wish more people would do it. Then the world wouldn't be so full of hate and bigotry."
10. "I just resigned for the third time in the last ten years to travel. I'm going to rewind to 2012 when I'd visited around four countries. I had been working for the last few years with the same company in multiple roles, getting a good steady income, but I knew I was young, hungry, and passionate to see more than my little city in England. I come from an Indian background, and it's unusual in our culture to leave a good job to 'travel.' I know in my family it's almost unheard of..."
"I was 23, and the only thing I was sure about was I wanted to travel to see the world. I did a lot of research and set my sights on Canada and Central America. I booked a one-way ticket, told my family, and set off to Vancouver in the Summer of 2012. I travelled for around eight months..I worked in a summer camp and slept in a hut made of palm trees in wooden cabins in the jungle.
I took dangerously high-speed packed buses and boats that felt they were going to break at any moment, and I crossed land borders in the most violent countries in the world and hitchhiked in cities. I lived with a family in the city and stayed with a tribe on an island without electricity. I ate local food, went volcano boarding, and learned unbelievable amounts of history. To answer your question, what is it like? It's exhilarating; it's educational, and I learned about life, people, culture, languages, and food to anybody reading this and wanting to quit traveling. I say do it! You have more to gain than ever, and later in life, when you reflect, you will remember the incredible places you've traveled to rather than the job you've always had! Fast forward to now, 30 countries later, I just quit my job again, saved a little more, and started my next travel adventure.. this time to Australia and Asia."
— Harika
Johnce / Getty Images11. "Perhaps the single greatest feeling in my life came on the first day of my first (of three) 'quit your job and backpack the world for months' trips. My friend and I had arrived on one-way tickets to London the night before. It was a beautiful day, and we were sitting in St. James Park, trying to decide what to do. And not just what to do that day but what to do in the coming weeks and months. It was exhilarating. With no plans, we were just throwing out ideas: let's go to Marrakech; they say Prague is beautiful; can we get above the Arctic Circle? Could we take the Trans-Siberian railroad? We did all those things, and I saw and experienced things that changed (and I think improved) me forever..."
"But to be honest, none of those topped that incredible feeling of freedom we had that morning of infinite potential. I don't believe there is any other way to get that feeling than to commit to a step-into-the-void, open-ended, I'll-know-where-I'm-going-when-I-get-there adventure fully. One of the worst feelings I've ever had has happened to me on all three of my multi-month trips. And each time I felt it, I knew it was time to go home. It is the flip side of the freedom coin. The first time I was in Shanghai—seven months into my trip—walking to the train station.
Suddenly, I became acutely aware that everyone hustling along that sidewalk was going somewhere or doing something that mattered. Except for me. They were going to work. To meet friends. To see the doctor. To play soccer. Whatever. I felt rootless, decadent, and parasitic, spending my days, weeks, and months wandering through museums and temples. I could not wait to get back to work, relationships, family, and permanence. I don't believe there's any other way to appreciate the importance of purpose and community than to consciously cut those ties and float free of them for a while."
— Alec B.
12. "Deciding to quit my secure and reliable job in the finance industry to travel the world was one of the most exhilarating feelings I've ever experienced. The scariest part of it all was realizing and deciding that this was what I needed to do. My journey is not exactly typical, but it proves you can figure things out along the way..."
"...In 2013, a friend of mine mentioned to me one night that she wanted to travel to Australia and South East Asia for a few months. For some reason, I immediately said I'M IN! I took some comfort in the fact that this was my knee jerk reaction, like my body was pulling me forward before my brain had time to throw fear in to the equation...Perhaps this was a long time coming because I knew my job made me dread waking up in the morning, and the idea of the unknown was far scarier than the idea of staying in this job and in this lifestyle for one day longer.
I spent four amazing months working and traveling in Australia and one month exploring Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, where I sipped homemade rice wine with our Indonesian taxi driver, witnessed endangered wild orangutans in the jungles of Borneo, and snacked on four-inch grasshoppers in Bangkok. I had no idea what I planned to do after this, but I figured I might as well take advantage of 6 months left on my work holiday visa in Australia! What happened next was unexpected. I landed a job at Australia's number one investment bank and decided to stay and be sponsored. At this time, it was more important to me to stay and live in Australia than to create a new career. Do I regret it? Not one bit! I spent two and a half more years there, building lasting friendships, exploring jaw-dropping landscapes, and falling in love. However, the nagging feeling of my soul being crushed slowly in a career that didn't provide any fulfillment finally got the best of me, and I knew I had to leave.
I packed my bags with the biggest smile on my face. I spent two months traveling Fiji and New Zealand alone, something I'd never considered if I hadn't taken that initial journey to leave the US, get out of my comfort zone, and distance myself from the toxic idea that traveling alone is just weird. I kayaked through the Fijian jungle that I could only explain as a scene from Jurassic Park , trekked (more like stumbled) through Tongariro National Park, home of the famous 'Mount Doom' from Lord of the Rings ,' and experienced the most wondrous three hours of my entire life: swimming and playing with hundreds of dolphins in the ocean off of Kaikoura, New Zealand!
Now I'm back in the States (for the time being), growing a career coaching business that incorporates these fundamental lessons I've learned from conquering my limitations with my business partner's headhunting expertise in the hiring process. My love of exploration and culture does not end here. In a few months, I'll be working out of Lima, Peru, networking, coaching, and building a business while living the life I only dictate for myself."
— Sarah M.
Oleh_slobodeniuk / Getty Images13. "I quit my job to travel, and it was the most rewarding experience ever. On so many levels, I tested myself, challenged my prejudice, met new people, discovered new cultures, and (kind of) learned about myself too. It sounds like a cliché, but it's the truth. I can't recommend it enough. I always knew the rat race wasn't for me, and my travel experience confirmed it to me…"
"... After getting a job at 20, I worked and saved hard for five years. I had saved around €30,000 to travel for 18 months on a budget, but I could still allow myself a few pleasures: fees for attractions/sights and a good amount of beer for fun. I designed my route and brought it to a travel agent for a quote. I broke up my trip into several stretches. Still, the route was London to Delhi, Delhi to Bangkok, Singapore to Sydney, Sydney to Queenstown, Queenstown to Santiago, and Rio to London.
I wanted to start my trip in India to test my resilience and adaptability: it's meant to be such a culture shock that if I survived India, the rest would be a walk in the park.
It's about what's right for you. I enjoyed having a rough plan, knowing roughly where to go and what to see, but I also value flexibility, so take that into account. You will meet fellow travelers who've been to a fantastic place you hadn't heard of; you will get stranded somewhere overnight, caught in a tropical storm, a fallen tree on the road will delay your progress, the bus won't leave on schedule because it's not complete yet… no worries, take it in your stride it's part of the fun…"
Rhisang Alfarid / Getty Images14. "It was fun but stupid. I got away with it for a few reasons: I was in my mid-20s when a flaky 'pursue your passions!' attitude was tolerated in the young; I came from a privileged background so mom and dad could bail me out if need be; The economy was still pretty good, and I was practically assured I'd get a decent job when I re-entered the workforce; and finally, I was healthy as a horse and didn't really 'need' health insurance..."
"I flitted about Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Canada, parts of Central America, and the interior of Mexico, and also jotted all over places in America that I wanted to see. The 'rents did have to bail me out financially a few times. I don't know what I would have done without the family money. I settled down at age 28, got serious about my career, and limited my travel to the vacation time I'd earned. It might seem more limiting, but it's great, knowing that I have an apartment, a job, and a paycheck to come home to!"
15. "I quit Microsoft, got an around-the-world ticket, and went on a solo nine-month, 13-country trip. It was the best thing I've done. I'm back to working for Microsoft, but the experience opened my eyes to many things..."
"You'll learn to trust your instinct, intuition, and judgment. You'll learn to read small prints and achieve new levels of open-mindedness and humility. You'll learn what really matters to you. You'll learn to challenge authorities. You'll learn how strong and weak you are. You'll learn about loneliness and how to make friends with it. You'll learn it's fantastic to be completely alone. You'll learn to be grateful for little acts of kindness. You'll learn the world is big and beautiful and people are kind and generous. GO FOR IT!!!
— Vi N.
Solovyova / Getty Images/iStockphotoHave you quit a job or left something comfortable behind to travel the world? Do you have any regrets? Tell us about your experience in the comments or in this anonymous form .
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Local NewsIt’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0