Have you ever dreamed of taking a mid-life travel gap year? I did, and it was the best decision of my life!
After my first international trip to Japan, I immediately caught the travel bug. And I’m not talking about getting sick. It was quite the opposite. I got addicted to travel!
Japan was so much different from any place I had ever been. The sights, the sounds, the culture, the people, and the food were so incredible. This trip was in 2015 and I was 39 years old. But that was the true problem after all; that it took THAT LONG for me to even leave the United States. That was because I was busy rising the ranks in my corporate career and that job became my identity. Can you relate?
After taking that trip to Japan, and then making it a point to take one international trip per year, I realized I still wanted more. That a measly two weeks just wasn’t going to cut it. The world is pretty big, and I needed a break from the stress and the endless hamster wheel of a career in finance. I knew it was time. So me and Brianna came up with a plan to make it happen.
We saw so many other people taking these trips, even if they weren’t fresh out of high school or college, and we wondered what was stopping us. So we played an April fools joke on our friends saying that we were planning to quit our jobs and travel the world. Some believed us, some didn’t. The next day we let them know that the joke was on them, and we were really going to do it. The best prank ever!
Let’s get into some of the key steps for taking a career break based on the lessons we have learned, sometimes the hard way.
Table of Contents
Set an Intention For the Trip
Before we started our trip, we knew that we wanted to see a lot of places. There were definitely some musts for each of us. Our goal was to see every continent. Goals are different for everyone, but setting an intention can help you more easily create your trip. While the overarching goal was to see every continent, the intent was to connect with locals and immerse ourselves in the cultures in each country.
Did that mean we had to do that everywhere we went? Not at all. It was just the main theme with several lesser themes. Adventure was another one we valued. What culture are you going to find climbing sand dunes in Namibia, or photographing wildlife? I also enjoyed taking photos and videos of many places. But I made sure that wasn’t all I was doing. Again, I want the experience and not 1000 Instagram posts. I want meaning and connection with actual humans.
When you don’t set an intention, you can simply skim the surface of a destination without actually knowing it. You lose the opportunity for growth, immersion, and reflection. We used to travel like this and we know how fleeting these times are and the memories aren’t as powerful. It can also lead to burnout when you are just going through the motions. An intent creates opportunity, while decreasing frustration and stress. It gets you closer to who you are.
What is your intention?
Here are a few ideas to get the juices flowing:
- Photography Exploration
- Adventure
- Cultural Immersion
- Local Cuisine and Foodie Adventures
- Art and Architecture Appreciation
- Nature and Wildlife Encounters
- Off-the-Beaten-Path Exploration
- Music and Festivals Around the World
- Exploring World Heritage Sites
- Health and Healing
- Learning Traditional Crafts and Art Forms
- Film and Movie Locations Exploration
- Celebrating Local Festivities
- Connecting with Indigenous Cultures
And it is okay, you can have more than one! Clearly we do. But it is important to find that overarching theme for your trip, even if you have some smaller intentions that go with it.
Creating Meaningful Experiences that Foster Personal Growth
A gap year is more than just a vacation—it’s an opportunity for personal growth and self-discovery. During our travels, we made it a point to seek out experiences that would leave a lasting impact, like visiting native tribes in Africa. Or even staying with locals in so many countries. Instead of rushing through a checklist of tourist attractions, we looked for ways to connect with the places and people on a deeper level. Through our connections, we found amazing places that tourists would never find on their own.
Meeting and or staying with locals was one of the most meaningful aspects of our trip. We learned so much about the challenges and triumphs of the local communities we visited, and it made us more grateful for our own lives. This was especially true when we stayed in Santiago, Chile, with a local, and found how generous even the poorest people really are. We found many other instances of this generosity all over the world.
To create meaningful experiences, consider what areas of your life you want to grow in. Do you want to learn a new language? Get involved in environmental conservation? Push your physical limits with outdoor adventures? Every destination offers opportunities for transformation if you’re open to them. Blogging about our travels was one of our favorite practices, where we reflected on how each experience shaped us and also helping others visit these amazing places.
Ultimately, the most meaningful moments come when you allow yourself to be fully present. For us, that meant disconnecting from social media at times, practicing mindfulness, and being open to whatever came our way. These experiences didn’t just enhance our travels—they enriched our lives.
Resources for cultural immersion and free lodging with locals:
Servas is a very old program that started way before the internet (post WW2), and is an avenue to foster peace and cultural exchange during a stay. The general rule is a two nights stay where the host shares the local culture. But we have had stays that extended up to two weeks. It really depends on the host, but the experience is incredible. Many of the people in this program are of older generations, but that means there is so much opportunity for younger people to take part in this more immersive way to meet locals.
Couchsurfing is a more modern platform that was free until recently. However, the price is well worth it as you can have travelers stay in your home, or stay in other people’s homes and connect on a deeper level. While sometimes it really is just a bed to sleep on, we usually end up interacting and have made many friends using this program. As we have been on both sides, we enjoyed showing people around our own city and then had the same for us abroad. The people we met really got us off the beaten path and created some of our most memorable experiences during our travels.
Be Welcome is an alternative to couchsurfing, but is still free. We haven’t used it before but are curious to check it out. If you know about it and have some experience, we would love to hear from you.
Budgeting and Saving for Your Year of Travel
One of the biggest obstacles for anyone considering a travel gap year is the financial aspect. A year without a steady paycheck can feel daunting, but with careful planning, it’s entirely achievable. Brianna and I saved up for three years before we took the plunge, and the first step was to create a realistic budget.
Start by estimating how much you’ll need for the entire year. This includes flights, accommodations, food, activities, transportation, and a buffer for unexpected expenses. If you plan to visit multiple countries, be sure to research the cost of living in each one. Southeast Asia, for instance, is much more affordable than Western Europe. We saved up $50,000 for a 14 month trip but only needed half of that. That included expensive locations like Africa for two people. Without Africa it would have been about $18,000 for 9 months. Some people spend that on a couple of two-week vacations.
Another option is to rent out your home while you’re gone or even sell some belongings to fund your travels. We lived in an apartment, so renting wasn’t an option, but it will be for our next adventure (we bought a home). Being in an apartment made it easy for us to move out and even sell a lot of our larger items. We put the rest in storage, which happened to be free for us at our parents’ home.
Earning Money While You Travel
Look at your current financial situation. How much money can you save by cutting back on non-essential expenses now? Brianna and I started eating out less, canceling unnecessary subscriptions, and becoming more frugal in our day-to-day lives. Every dollar saved brought us closer to our dream year abroad. We also had a dedicated savings account/investments that we funded the same amount from every paycheck. It added up quickly with the two of us contributing.
Taking a year off doesn’t necessarily mean leaving work behind entirely. Many mid-life gap year travelers find ways to fund their travels while on the road. Brianna and I just saved up money beforehand, but if we wanted to extend our journey, we had lots of options. From writing to coaching, there are plenty of opportunities to earn money remotely as long as you have a good Wi-Fi connection. Check out our 34 ways to make money while traveling article.
Consider your skills and how you might leverage them while traveling. Teaching English, working in hostels, or doing seasonal work are great options if you don’t have an online-based job. We met many fellow travelers who used platforms like Workaway or WWOOF to exchange work for food and lodging, which not only saved them money but also gave them immersive experiences with local communities.
For those who want to continue growing their career, a gap year can also be a time to develop new skills. Whether you take online courses or attend workshops abroad, your time off can become a productive part of your professional development and self development. I truly believe we become better people after traveling and have an opportunity to reset.
The Real Point Behind Meaningful Travel
When you travel and dig deeper into cultures and more meaningful experiences, you step outside of your comfort zone and grow. It is also the ultimate way to broaden your understanding of humanity and see the world with a more empathetic lens. By traveling, we felt rich in experiences which are far more valuable than money. The true value came in the deeper human connection we felt while traveling. It was a travel journey and a spiritual one.
Another point that I want to end with is that the world isn’t so scary once you get out there and actually see it. As we mentioned earlier, there is so much generosity out there in the world. We found new inspirations and even changed course in our own lives after this experience. We are extremely grateful to have had this opportunity and want more people to take trips like this to reevaluate what truly matters.
While you’re here, I want to share that I’m opening up a brand new program I’m calling the Mid-Life Travel Awakening. I’m ready to help readers like you take your own travel sabbatical or mid-life gap year. Inside, I provide the tools, support, and travel hacks you need to travel longer, dive deeper into your experiences, and return with a renewed sense of purpose. Let’s get out of the daily hamster wheel and drive real meaningful change by seeing the world with intent.
Join the priority list here! The first 20 people have more direct support in the beta version as we create it with your direct feedback.