I’m Quitting My Job To Travel!

You heard me, I’m quitting my job to travel!

It’s always been my dream to travel and see the world and I just can’t do it only 2 weeks out of every 52. I really enjoy my current job and NYC is still full of adventures, but I’m ready to try some new places for a time. My one-way flight is booked for April 5th, 2016!!

Travel. It’s what’s on my mind lately.

I think it’s painfully obvious to everyone I know that I’ve got a bad case of “wanderlust”. I need to travel more. Every month for the past year or so I’ve been traveling, seeing old friends or meeting new people, and trying to get out of my comfort zone.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain

Almost 8 years ago, I took a chance and moved to a city I had never seen, the center of the universe, New York City. I got hopelessly lost, was scared in the subway at night (ridiculous, I know), and ate way too much spaghetti so I could afford a meager room in a then-undesirable neighborhood. But it paid off. I learned my way around the city, gained some confidence in myself and trust in others, and worked my ass off at work to get a raise so I could move to a better place. Since then, I’ve become pretty comfortable. I live in my own apartment and I have my own regular neighborhood haunts. I have stuff. Lots of stuff. I’m an adult with actual furniture. When I moved to New York, I gave up all my stuff and arrived with a only suitcase and and a backpack of stuff. Now I have 400 sq. ft of who knows what. I’m ready for a change.

And it dawned on me that I might have to change my inner thought patterns… that I would have to start believing in possibilities that I wouldn’t have allowed before, that I had been closing my creativity down to a very narrow, controllable scale… that things had become too familiar and I might have to disorientate myself. – Bob Dylan, Chronicles, Vol. 1

and of course this:

New York I love you, but you’re bringing me down – LCD Soundsystem

How Long Will I Travel?

I’m not entirely sure at this point. I know I want at least three months. That conveniently aligns with the maximum time allowed at once in the Schengen member states, which is most of Europe. I am investigating working holiday visas for long term travel options through my Canadian citizenship. I will be back in North America for a wedding in Toronto in July, but after that- who knows. If I get sick of travel, I could come back to NYC and get another job. But let’s be real, that’s unlikely.

That’s going to be expensive!

Of course it costs money to travel, but once you get rid of NYC rent, I don’t need that much to live on. Since I’m set on long term travel, I’ve written off staying at 5 star hotels every night or eating out at expensive restaurants; this isn’t a vacation. I’ll be staying in hostels for the most part and switching to airbnbs and hotels when I want something a little more private or nicer. I’ve stayed in hostels on a few recent trips and even though I’ve reached the big 3-0, I don’t feel out of place yet. There are also a ton of options now if you’re open to temporary work for free accommodations. I’ll do a separate post about them! Over my years in NYC, I’ve built myself a financial base with a goal to to fulfill my dream of more travel. You may have seen the post A Story of a Fuck Off Fund, which went viral on my feeds a few months ago. The underlying concept of saving some cash for emergencies is awesome and I’m thankful that is a lesson I learned a few years back. After I paid off my student loans 2 years ago, I have been able to scrimp and save enough for a serious life change – in this case a big travel episode. I don’t have kids, a house, or even pets, so selling everything and “just going” is pretty low risk! 🙂

What are you going to do?

This will be the first time in in my life I won’t have a job or school to attend to every day. I imagine how I spend my days will adapt and change throughout my trip, but I plan to do some site-seeing, walk around cities creating photographs, do lots of people-watching while drinking coffee in side walk cafes, catch up on reading, meet new people, practice and learn new languages, teach myself something new, write, take walking tours, go to the beach. As an no-longer-shy introvert I thrive when I have time by myself but am happy chatting with people too.

I’ll be updating this site for my family and friends and as a way to record my travels. Time goes by so fast and I enjoy pausing to reflect along the way. Who knows I might hate blogging hah! but hopefully I’ll enjoy putting my thoughts on paper like I did when I was a kid with no other commitments

First stop:

All roads lead to Rome!