Should I Quit My Job and Travel?

After an eight-year relationship ended, I threw myself into my work. I climbed the ladder and was proud of my success. But somewhere along the way, I realised I was unhappy. I’d find myself crying, I wasn’t sleeping or eating properly, and the things that used to light me up now felt hollow. Something needed to change.

That’s when an old university dream came flooding back – the one about travelling around the world. Now I was free and single again, I could make it happen. But it didn't happen immediately.

For years, I swung like a pendulum. I was torn between two equally terrifying possibilities: to drop everything and travel, or stay safe in the miserable life I’d worked so hard to build. Would I regret not taking this chance? Or would I regret making an expensive mistake even more?

If you’re reading this, chances are you know what this feels like.

The honest answer is that you probably won't feel completely ready. But there are two things worth checking before you go.

The first is your finances. Travelling with minimal savings and no emergency buffer creates a low-level stress that follows you everywhere — it's hard to be present when you're anxious about money. If your finances don't feel stable yet, it's worth waiting. That was true for me.

The second is harder to measure. Can you tolerate not knowing who you are for a while? Extended travel removes the structures that normally tell you you're doing well — no more performance reviews. You'd need to get comfortable measuring your days by curiosity rather than productivity, and by presence rather than achievement.

If the idea of quitting your job to travel keeps returning no matter how many practical reasons you find to dismiss it, that's probably telling you something. However, if you're hoping travel will solve a problem you haven't been willing to face yet, it won't — and you'll sense that within the first few weeks.

Leaving your job to travel will cost you financially and could impact your career too. You'll no longer have your monthly salary. Your career momentum may slow. You could miss weddings, baby showers and other important moments back home.

But staying has costs too. Your commitments will gradually accumulate — a partner, a mortgage, potentially children — making the logistics of leaving harder with each passing year. Constantly saying no to your desire to travel could lead to regret surfacing years later.

Both choices have a price. The question is which one you can live with.

Money worries often top the list of reasons people talk themselves out of travel. This was certainly true for me for a long time. But before you assume it’s out of reach for you, let’s look at the options.

Most people find they need 6-12 months of basic living expenses saved before they go. To calculate the costs of your trip, check out my Substack article here. A lot depends on the destinations you choose and what kind of accommodation you'll choose.

If you want to save more money, stay longer in each destination. In most places I stayed a month or more. As well as being able to negotiate better accommodation rates, it could open you up to unexpected adventures as you get to know people better.

There are also ways to earn while you travel. countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand offer working holiday visas that allow you to earn legally while you're there — knowing this existed removed a lot of my anxiety before I left. Schemes like Workaway and WWOOF let you exchange skills or labour for free accommodation. And if you own a property, renting it out while you're away can cover a significant chunk of your costs.

Sometimes the answer to “should I quit my job and travel?” is: not necessarily.

Before the thought of being jobless sends you into a spin, consider whether your employer might consider offering you a sabbatical. It is increasingly common for people to agree a set period of a few months to embark on their journeys before returning to their post, giving you the safety net of guaranteed employment to return to.

If you work for an international organisation, another option you could explore is the possibility of a temporary transfer to an office in another country. This would give you the experience of living abroad without having to sacrifice your monthly salary, and you could use your weekends and holidays to travel the local area.

The one caveat worth knowing: for some people, having a guaranteed job to return to makes it harder to fully let go. The sabbatical becomes a holiday rather than a reset. If what you're seeking is genuine distance from a role or lifestyle that no longer fits, quitting might be the clearer choice.

In my experience talking to dozens of travellers, nobody regrets taking time off to see the world. The biggest regret I hear is not doing it sooner. Even one person who faced challenges finding work afterwards said she still wouldn’t change a thing. The real question is: would you regret not taking this chance when you had it?

Their concerns usually come from love and worry about your security. Parents especially may struggle to understand why you'd leave a stable job. Friends sometimes feel unsettled because your decision highlights their own unexplored desires. Listen to genuine practical concerns, but don’t let fear-based opinions stop you from pursuing something meaningful to you.

A lot of people worry they've missed their window or that going travelling is something you do in your early twenties. I was almost 35 when I went travelling. A mid-career break to travel can work well because you have more financial stability and life experience, plus you’re still young enough for adventure. I met incredible people in their thirties, forties and beyond during my travels. What matters most is your mindset, your individual needs and your health.

Most people travel for between six and twelve months. That timeframe gives you enough distance from your work identity to experience meaningful change, while keeping career re-entry relatively manageable. I travelled for a year, which felt right for me. The right length depends on your financial situation, what you're hoping to gain and how comfortable you are with an extended gap.

No, though it may slow your momentum temporarily. When I returned, the gap in my CV rarely came up in interviews. When it did, I explained that I'd travelled solo around the world and started this blog, and interviewers responded well to both. What matters is how you frame the experience. The idea that a career gap is catastrophic is largely outdated: people take breaks for all sorts of reasons, and careers continue.

If you've been wondering whether you can afford to quit your job and travel, the real question might be: can you afford not to?

Part of you knows that when you look back on your life in years to come, there will be that travel dream you never pursued. This is your opportunity.

Ask yourself honestly: what's really holding you back? If the answer is your own fears, that's understandable. But it's a poor reason to close the door on something that's potentially life-changing.

There is a lot to think about, so it always helps to break it down into small chunks — and to hear from someone who has already done what you're about to do.

I don't regret taking time off to travel, and I don't know anyone else who did either. Most people say it was the best time of their lives.