Deciding to Quit my Job for Travel Adventures
It started with a bad day at work. Then splitting a bottle of wine with my husband. A little tipsy and a little desperate, I half-joked, “Imagine we quit our jobs and move to Australia?”
Poof. The next thing I knew, we were planning our exit strategy and putting our house on the market.
Our initial plan was NOT to travel the world. It was just to plan a desperately needed vacation. After recently getting back together after a brief separation (let’s be serious; marriage is hard), we were falling right back into our old robotic routines - working long hours, barely connecting with each other or the kids, and going to bed every night claiming ‘tomorrow will be better’.
Over the past fifteen years working in healthcare with adults affected by brain injury, stroke, and other life-altering conditions, I witnessed how illness can abruptly reroute one's life. Many people put off traveling until retirement, only to find themselves too sick by then to take the trips they had long envisioned.
While this decision was extreme, I don’t want to become one of those statistics. I want to travel while I have my health, enthusiasm, and ability to share this with my kids.
When we told our family and friends, we got mixed reactions. Most assumed we were joking, some admired our courage to pursue such an adventure, and others were concerned about what they saw as the risks of selling our home without a permanent base to return to.
Leaving behind the 9-5 grind to travel the world full-time with kids probably isn’t for everyone. It takes a bit of insanity, careful planning, and loads of preparation. (Also, a healthy dose of convincing a teenager I’m not ruining his life).
But if it is for you, here's the step-by-step process my family followed to turn our travel dreams into a reality.
I'll be honest: the extensive planning and preparation required at times made me question whether it was all worth it. It felt like there was a never-ending list of forms to fill out and things I never considered.
What about the dogs? How will we get a six-month supply of my son's medication? What’s the right visa to apply for? The to-do list was extensive. However, we took one big category at a time to make it more manageable. Having gone through the process, here are the steps for making travel with a family manageable.
Just Do It. Make the Decision.
There is a quote that says, ‘No decision is still a decision’.
Many people dream of traveling, but few make it happen. While we were thinking about it for quite some time, there were many doubts. Is this the right time for the kids? What if we get sick of each other? How will we finance a trip like this? Then, there were the kind but not always helpful questions of worse-case scenarios from family.
Our excitement outweighed our fears. We finally settled on a timeline and booked a flight to Sydney, Australia. Nothing was arranged. There were more questions than answers. Bill and I looked at each other, squeezed each other's hands, and made the gritty teeth emoji face at each other😬as if to say, “holy shit, we are actually doing this.”
Then we:
Discussed goals, concerns, and logistics as a family
Our goals were quality time with each other and our kids (ages 11 and 13).
Explore as much of Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia as possible.
Have a family volunteer experience in another country.
Considered the pros and cons of long-term travel with kids
Agreed on a flexible travel timeline
It started as six months international, but we had to switch to 3 months international because of Bill’s job.
2. Prepare financially for extended travel
This is the un-fun yet necessary step that fueled it all. Since we didn’t have a well of money to tap into, and renting our house wouldn’t cover all the expenses, we decided to sell our house.
Concerning our expenses, my husband doesn’t do anything without a detailed Excel spreadsheet. So yes, we had a budget. This was a great learning experience for the kids, too, as we gave them spending money to get them into the mindset of ‘Is this a nice to have or a must-have?’.
Other considerations:
Paid off debts and began minimizing expenses
Worked on building up savings for travel costs
Arranged income sources and accounts while traveling
Sold our house and some possessions
LOTS of decluttering and donating
Worked with a real estate agent to sell the house
Rented a storage unit for belongings
3. Plan the logistics of full-time travel
I’m more of a go-with-the-flow type of person, so the planning damn near killed me. Nevertheless, it’s the most crucial part and had to be done.
Here’s a brief list of what we took care of in advance:
Obtaining visas and passports for destinations
There are SO many visas to choose from when visiting Australia. I watched many YouTube videos and read other blogs to determine what was right for us. I finally figured out that getting the app iVisa was pretty straightforward, and it was helpful to see what documents are processed.
Researching schooling options and curriculum for kids
Ultimately, we decided on a semester of homeschooling. I polled my home-schooling friends for the best online options, had to write a letter of intent to the school system to withdraw them from the district, and developed a detailed plan of how they would be meeting their grade level guidelines.
Mapping out a tentative travel route and schedule
This was the fun part! We have a mix of hostels, VRBO rentals, cruising, and hotels.
Researching best options for travel insurance
Going to AAA to find out currency rates and have international money ahead of time to avoid bank fees, etc.
4. Make work and life arrangements
Once the significant details were out of the way, it was time for the nitty-gritty.
Giving notice at jobs and transitioning clients
I left my job as an Occupational Therapist and gave ample notice. I also have a part-time Reiki Practice. This was harder for me to transition as it was challenging to say goodbye to my clients and refer them to other practitioners in the interim.
My husband’s job graciously let him take a leave of absence, a sabbatical if you will, which shortened our travel time but gave us peace of mind to return to some steady income.
Enrolling kids in online school programs
Finding a trusted family member to watch our dogs
Automating bill payments and getting a P.O. Box address for mail forwarding
5. Embark on round-the-world journey
Buckle up, ready to go! After clearing out the house, saying our final goodbyes, and celebrating Christmas with our loved ones, we packed our car to the brim and gassed up.
Final tasks:
Packed bags and double-checked that we had all necessary vaccine cards, documentation, etc.
Loaded up the car (realizing there is not enough room in the car and adding a trailer hitch)
Began by driving to Florida
Our plans included one night in Virginia, a night in Georgia, and then on to Orlando, Florida.
We had an impromptu trip to Urgent Care in GA (fun fact: they did not accept our insurance). It's probably the first of many unplanned events!
We made it to Florida! This was our first full day in Orlando. We spent the day walking around Disney Springs.
In a nutshell, that’s how we got here! I firmly believe in putting your hopes and desires into the Universe and then taking inspired action to make it happen!
From the moment we decided to take the leap, things have been pretty smooth sailing. We got an offer on our house the same day we put it on the market, and aside from saying goodbye to our friends and family, the transition has been painless. 2024 will be a year of adventure for us!