Reasons to Take a Career Break or Sabbatical to Travel
Having previously detailed our career break / sabbatical adventure in a series of posts, I wanted to respond to some feedback and draw together a quick list of the reasons why you should be thinking of doing this now!
Everything is impossible, until you do it.
For many people (myself included), the idea of an extended period of travel after having started your career and having saddled yourself with a mortgage, always seemed like something more akin to a pipedream or a fantasy.
When I saw however that some friends of ours decided to take advantage of an extended maternity leave period after the birth of their second child to rent out their property in London and re-locate to Florence for 6 months, it made me really think. Surely, if this was possible for a couple with 2 children under 3 years of age, then surely should be possible for myself and others. Taking a sabbatical from work is an option.
Cost of Living.
Don’t get me wrong, travel will usually end up costing you something, and often quite a lot. Whilst, there are ways of funding your trips or ‘making travel your job’, such an approach won’t be for everyone and in any case will take some time to get up and running.
However, given the rampant increase in day-to-day cost of living in many countries right now, the price of travel (and depending upon location, the cost of living once you are there), can sometimes look like comparatively good value. Taking London as an example, with the cost of a price of beer in a ‘standard’ pub now routinely nudging £7, the relative price difference between a few after-work drinks or a bite to eat in a bang average chain restaurant compared with a set of plane tickets to a European destination (or even a long-haul trip) starts to look very different once you put any sort of value for money or enjoyment analysis across it. There are plenty of travel sabbatical options out there, so start thinking. Also, check out the cost of accommodation - in some places it can be a lot less than you think.
Rent your place out.
If you are a homeowner, then your monthly fixed costs will obviously be one of, it not your major consideration. In truth, this can become more of an opportunity than a risk. Although you may need permission from your mortgage provider, renting out your property for a period of time is usually possible. Whether this is shorter-term arrangements via sites like Airbnb, or maybe a whole year, the key thing is that you have options. Given the nature of the rental market in most places, you will probably find out that you cover your monthly repayments and utilities, with maybe a small amount left over to help you fund your trip.
If you are not a homeowner, then the end of a rental tenancy agreement can provide you with all the flexibility you require. Storage facilities are competitively priced and there really hasn’t been a better time to become mobile.
Change.
The world changes. Constantly. Therefore, the place you dream of visiting today, will inevitably be a very different place in even five years as modernisation, globalisation and mass tourism take hold. Throw in geopolitical factors (that much deferred trip to Russia now seems much more difficult for example) and you really do risk a lot just by kicking things down the road for that unspecified time ‘in the future’.
You aren’t getting any younger.
As you become older and hopefully more comfortable, the things you will expect from a trip in terms of comfort, travel, accommodation etc will also change. Therefore, a trip to a particular destination will almost certainly become a more expensive trip when you are that bit older, and so deferring it will ultimately end up costing you in the long-term.
Please don’t take any of this as gospel – this is very much my take and in places I have deliberately simplified, exaggerated for effect and made some sweeping financial generalisations. The reason being is that like many things, this is about mindset change. If you are remorselessly logical and addicted to risk calculations, then you probably won’t end doing very much at all. Sometimes, you just have to take a leap of faith. That said, hopefully the above points will give you a degree of reassurance together with a push to start planning and start putting plans into action! Happy travels.
PS. This article gives an account of our thought process and how the idea of our trip came together.
The Considered Journey is a travel blog focused on travel reviews, travel tips and travel guides, all focused on travel inspiration with a view to helping you make the most of your trip and maximise your travel time.
Having travelled across Europe, Asia, South America, North America, and parts of Africa, we have a host of experiences to share with you. As our focus is on helping you make the most of your trip and maximise your travel time, we highlight the best things to eat, best things to drink, best places to go, and best things to do. In addition, we have written a range of airline reviews, hotel reviews, airport lounge reviews and credit card reviews, and also cover topics such as travelling as a couple, career break travel and sabbatical travel.
We understand that circumstances vary from trip to trip, so we cover everything from luxury travel to some more budget travel options, and the traditional to the modern.
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