I'm at that stage where I want to take an extended break from life. I'm lucky enough that I'm self-employed so have no restrictions on the amount of holiday I take, am single, have no children and don't want them in the foreseeable (or even distant) future and have a small nest-egg that I can utilise for travel. I didn't have a traditional gap year at 18 or after finishing university and only now feel financially secure enough to travel.
However, life still gets in the way. Yes, I'm self employed but if I don't work, I don't earn and therefore my savings will deplete pretty rapidly, I still need to pay the mortgage and I have the responsibility of a dog. Additionally, at 31, I feel that I'm in that age bracket where I'm too old for backpacking but also not old enough yet for a SAGA holiday. Do I stay in hostels and potentially feel out of place (and get annoyed by the constantly drunk youths) or opt for more luxurious hotel rooms which will quickly reduce my funds?
Yet, I'm determined to experience the lifestyle I admired from afar at the traditional gap year ages but was too scared to do anything about. Through an unfortunate series of events, my twenties did not live up to that young, carefree lifestyle associated with the decade, but coincidentally I feel freer, more confident and more motivated to experience that now.
While packing up a bag and living out of it for a year is still a little out of my comfort zone, I am open to the idea of frequent trips, say every six weeks, and potentially every now and again being away for up to a month at a time (mainly because I'd feel guilty asking my mum to look after the dog for that long). I'm prepared to sacrifice time and spend just 24-48 hours for a trip. In 2019 I went to Venice for exactly 28 hours, however I saw the main attractions, explored enough of the city and got everything out of the trip that I wanted. Yes, I could have spent longer there and other places will need more time but if it's the difference between going for 1-2 days or not at all, I am happy to compromise.
Comments
Post a Comment