View source for 5 hard truths about quitting your job to travel the world

Cruising Bai Tu Long Bay in Northern Vietnam.<br>Ashlea Halpern<br><br><br><br><br><br>So you think you want to quit your job to travel? Sounds amazing. But don�t be fooled - it�s not all motorbike adventures and daiquiris on the beach. <br><br>Traveling long term, and embracing the career uncertainty that accompanies it, is no picnic.<br><br>I would know. In the fall of 2014, I gave up my cushy job as a magazine editor in New York to embark on a year-long excursion with my begrudging boyfriend. <br><br>Fast-forward 365 days, and we�ve explored 15 countries and two special administrative regions, including China, Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines, Thailand, [https://www.myanmartour.com/adventure_myanmar_tours_tl302.html myanmar cycling tour], India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, and [http://Www.Covnews.com/archives/search/?searchthis=Australia Australia]. <br><br>I checked in with The M Dash<br>around the [http://imageshack.us/photos/six-month%20mark six-month mark] to report my experience to date - the highs, lows, and dirty little secrets nobody warns you about. Now I�m back in the U.S. and planning my next move. Am I glad I did it? Hell yeah. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. But that doesn�t mean everyone should. Here, five things to consider before you hand in that two-week notice. <br><br>1. Long-term travel is exhausting.<br>You don�t think about this when you�re sitting in a job you dislike, dreaming of the "what ifs." But nonstop travel can be physically, mentally, and financially draining. <br><br>The faster you go and the more you try to see, the tougher it gets. Rootlessness and a lack of routine can be thrilling for some and panic-inducing for others. So before you give up your day-to-day, do a bit of soul-searching and ask yourself: Do I hate not [http://Www.Gameinformer.com/search/searchresults.aspx?q=knowing knowing] where my next paycheck is coming from? Do I freak out over minor disruptions, like missed trains or delayed flights? Do I agonize over things beyond my control, like typhoons or terrorist attacks?<br><br><br>If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, then maybe all you need is a two-month sabbatical, or even a great ten-day vacation. Why rush to the E.R. when a Band-Aid will do? <br><br>2. You can�t be a "digital nomad" if you can�t plug in.<br>Heading into the trip, my grand plan was to save up a bunch of money but also do a bit of writing from the road. What I didn�t anticipate was just how slow and/or non-existent the internet connection would be in the majority of countries we visited - including places I thought<br>were more technologically savvy, like South Korea and Japan. (Don�t even get me started on the Great Firewall of China and its quest to block, oh, everything.) <br><br>Moreover, traveling itself became a full-time job; when we weren�t busy experiencing a place, we were researching or making bookings. Point being: If you think you�re going to quit your office job for a sweet telecommuting gig, you better make damn sure you know how solid the WiFi hookup is wherever you�re headed. After all, did you really fly to the other side of the world to sit in a Starbucks? <br><br>Spotted outside Nishiki Market in Kyoto, Japan.<br>Ashlea Halpern<br><br><br><br><br><br>3. Nobody cares about your trip. Really.<br>In my original "Travel Truths" post<br>, my number-one rule was: "Not everyone will be stoked for you." Well, guess what? If they didn�t want to hear about your travels before you left, they certainly don�t want to hear you start sentences with the phrase, "One time in [fill-in-the-blank country]�" And that sucks. <br><br>When you return from any kind of extended jag, you�ll feel as if you�ve conquered the world (because you have). You�ll have a million crazy stories and photos to share, but you�ll quickly learn that nobody - not the immigration officer at LAX, not your old work pals, not even your mother - wants to hear or see them. <br><br>On the contrary, what people do<br>want to know is how you plan to get a job, make money, make up for that year-long gap in your r�sum�, and get a new apartment now that you�re "back in reality." Better thicken up that skin, woman - you�re gonna need it. <br><br>4. You�ll be depressed when it�s all over.<br>Unless you had a terrible go of it on the road, there�s just no way around this. Nothing at home could possibly be as stimulating or challenging as the travel you�ve been doing. Every day  [https://www.myanmartour.com/adventure_myanmar_tours_tl302.html Myanmar Adventure Tours] was an [https://www.myanmartour.com/adventure_myanmar_tours_tl302.html Myanmar Adventure Tours]. Back home, you know the count, even if you have no job or routine in place. <br><br>Compounding that low-grade depression will be catch-up sessions with friends, wherein you learn what they�ve<br>been up to while you gallivanted around the world: winning promotions, landing book deals, buying homes, making babies. <br><br>This may lead you to ask, "Wow, what have I done with my life?" But you just have to flick that demon off your shoulder and keep your perspective. I�ve always been driven more by experiences than status or material things, and my travels have reinforced that. If I�m never "rich" in the monetary sense, so be it. I saw more of the world in the last year than some people see in a lifetime. You can�t put a price on that. <br><br>Chishingtan Beach in Hualien, Taiwan.<br>Ashlea Halpern<br><br><br><br><br><br>5. You  [https://www.myanmartour.com/adventure_myanmar_tours_tl302.html myanmar cycling tour] might - gasp! - miss office life. Or at least work.<br>While traveling, I didn�t miss having a structured work environment or even a steady paycheck; but I missed having the ability to contribute creatively to an enterprise larger than myself. I got over it by channeling my passion into a project of my own making. <br><br>In due time, travel taught me to be fiercer, more independent, and more self-motivated. Most importantly, it gave me the confidence to take even greater risks - like starting my own business. For a hot second, I considered rejoining the cubicle army in New York upon my re-entry, but I now accept that I�m just not cut out for that kind of sedentary and regimented lifestyle. Travel taught me how to make my own opportunities, and that�s exactly what I plan to do now that I�m back.