The Travel Do Over – A Tale of Two Interns

The first stop along The Great Ocean Road in Melbourne
Big Ben Flower Show video screens
Time for a change or travel do over?

I won’t lie – I do enjoy a good “I told you so” when someone admits I was right with advice.  At a recent lunch, however, with our current college intern and former intern, I wasn’t feeling any sense of satisfaction – I was sad.  Sad that our former college intern was telling me he wished he had listened to my advice to take time off to travel before transitioning to a full-time job (for the next 50+ years).  Within a week of graduation he had moved into a new apartment and started his full-time job – the vacation clock struck 19 days. He would have 19 days to use as vacation, sick or personal to use in a calendar year.  Since he started mid-year, he received half.  He said “I should have listened to you”, I laughed and said “I’m the old person (aka your parents age) that no one listens to”. He wanted a travel do over.

My advice was based on experience as I’ve been working for over twenty years since college graduation.   In fact, when I did change jobs, I gave three weeks notice and ended on a Friday only to walk across the office complex with my desk accessories and pictures to begin my new job that Monday in a different building.  No time to decompress and reflect on the past twelve years at one firm and the immense changes and challenges yet to begin at the new firm.  My vacation clock struck too and I started on the hamster wheel of work, eat, gym, sleep, rinse, repeat longing for my travel escapes to reset my body, mind and spirit.

Our current intern who has an offer to start a full-time job in New York City in August has time to have some fun before entering the working world.  She had done the semester abroad (I only wish I had that opportunity in school back then) so was planning with friends to rent a Winnie to do a U.S. cross-country road trip.  I sat at lunch jealous of the endless possibilities she has in front of her and in awe of her independence to take to the open road and use her free time wisely.

South Coast Iceland Ring Road
No traffic on the South Coast tour of Iceland

And then I started thinking about a travel do-over, all of those places and itineraries I’ve never done that require more days than I have, permission from my bosses and a mobile lifestyle (or wealthy lifestyle) to support me.  I’m not sure I want to change time and all of that movie magic but maybe experience the travel do over as an adult (I might need to wait until retirement though).

  • I wanted the gap year (of travel) many foreign students take before starting college (or their job)
  • I want the time to take a cross-country road trip with friends
  • I wanted the semester abroad or semester at sea
  • I wanted to experience those long repositioning cruises disconnected from the world to relax.
  • I want to experience house sitting on a tropical island or in a luxurious home
  • I wondered if I have it in me to be nomadic for an extended time (more than a month)
  • I wanted to be selfish and think ME, ME, ME rather than BILLS, BILLS, STUDENT LOANS (now Mortgage)

If not often you get a travel do over and I wonder if I had one what would I do with two weeks, a month or even two months?  Makes you dream of winning the lottery as the only option out there to tear yourself away from the routine and drama of life.  So I ask you, what would you do with a travel do-over?  Where would you go, for how long and why?

Sailing in Hobart, Tasmania on water with blue skies and puffy clouds
Ironically, my only sunny Tasmania day and I was on the ferry to the art museum to be inside. A great reward of a day after all of the rains

 

5 thoughts on “The Travel Do Over – A Tale of Two Interns

  1. I already have tentative plans for my next long trip, which will happen once I’ve built enough passive income + online income to survive. I’ll be in Southeast Asia, both because of cost considerations and because it’s an awesome region to explore. After that, we’ll see. I like to keep my options open.

    It’s easier for someone who actually wants a nomadic lifestyle like me, I guess. If you actually like your full-time job, then it’s a little tough to balance that with travel, unless you’re a European with lots of vacation time. 😉

    Maybe it doesn’t have to be so black and white, though. What about taking a sabbatical or requesting to work a few days of the week “from home”?

    1. I’m definitely seeing a lot more sabbaticals lately from people all around me – some people doing it instead of their typical OE in London or wherever, some doing it in addition to, later on in their career. As someone who likes her work and doesn’t want to be nomadic, it’s definitely a model that resonates with me.

      1. Sabbaticals seem in theory a lovely break if your job allows them, otherwise they seem a bit scary if you are between jobs. I grew up in a time when you had one (or two) jobs to ensure there was always money coming in – luckily today folks can earn money remotely (I need to figure this out)

    2. Deia – your nomadic lifestyle sounds wonderful especially the passive income part. I’m trying to figure out the online/remote working income and other factors to balance out my travel needs. My current job doesn’t allow sabbaticals (I’ve requested many times over the years) or working from home which makes my vacation time so important. Have a great time in Southeast Asia -look forward to reading about your adventures.

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