BootsnAll Travel Community

Well, now as in I'd be leaving in Summer or Winter 2008, depending on when I finish up my bachelor's degree.

I have the option of being able to spend about a month on the road this summer and next summer, and then spending a few years working before embarking on a round the world trip. My other option, the one that's really sticking in my head more and more these days, is to not take any long trips until I've finished school, but to turn my after school trip into a year-long, around the world, trip.

The biggest concerns I have about the second option are that I would have to spend the next two or two and a half years not making any long trips (yes I could handle it, but I'm sure at times it would be painful), and that I would be going into a year or longer trip with my only long term travel experience being 5 weeks in western Europe.

The positives for the trip are numerous, but the ones most swaying my decision at the moment are that just after graduation would be a good time to take the trip, as I wouldn't be tied to a job that means anything to me, or a job that I least am comfortable and making decent money in. And that the timing of the trip would put me in better position to work on some of my other long term goals (the Peace Corps, law school afterwards) when I return.

So I guess what I'm looking for are opinions, suggestions, criticisms from the BnA folks. Any experience you have on matters like this is more than I have, and more than I have access to without the wonders of the internet. Sorry if I rambled and wandered a bit in my posting, I tend to do that when I post things like this, as it helps me to sort things out in my own head a bit better.

Personally, I would fight the urge to take the month-long trips and wait for the year-long one. It's not as fun in the short term but better in the long term, I'd say.

If you're in a position where you've just come out of college and have enough money to do it, as you said, this would be the ideal time because you would have no attachments. The "spending a few years working before embarking on a round the world trip" idea is nice in theory, but not certain -- by that time you may have found a job you don't want to leave, or a girl you don't want to leave, or a baby you can't leave.

This presumes all else is equal - if you were to have much more money to spend on your trip by delaying it a few years, then it's a different story.

That's a tough one...

Each option has its ups and downs. If you go immediately after getting your degree, you won't have to worry about being tied to a job that could have opportunities that would make it hard to leave for a long period of time. But, if you could do that, work for a few years and then break away from the job, then you would probably have a lot more money to pursue one fantastic trip.

Brian and I have decided to leave immediately after he's done with his Master's degree so we don't have to deal with tearing him away from a potentially great job. ALSO, taking off right after getting your degree will give you time to decide where you should go next in your life (peace corps, etc) instead of busying yourself with a job that may hold you back from those options.

Good luck with your decision!

hi there. i came out of lurking to say one thing: go today! there is no tomorrow. xo

for what it's worth, I was wrestling with a similar decision and came to the following conclusion: work and save money until I finish school and my savings is healthy, which will be ~2 years if I knuckle down, then quit the job and head out on some extended travel.

It is difficult in the sense that I'd *really* been looking fwd to some weeks in SE Asia next year, but when I realized I could take one 3-6 week long vacation every year for the rest of my life--forever stressing on itineraries, reservations, return dates, yadda yadda--OR could hold back, focus on my nearby goals and give extended travel a go... the choice was clear.

One plus I'm discovering: I now spend my vacation days more liberally since I'm not saving up for one go round, which allows me to add "cushion" to my life including time for more short trips exploring my own backyard. So I'm not exactly quitting travel cold turkey, but trying to keep my excursions in the $300-and-under range.

My biggest concern now, besides saving money and school, is NOT GETTING PREGNANT. My dad told me that us kids were what prevented him from doing extended solo travel. Maybe I'll invite him along for a leg or two to make it up to him heh.

quote:

Originally posted by Chrissy_number1:
hi there. i came out of lurking to say one thing: go today! there is no tomorrow. xo

Glad I could pull you out of lurking for and double your post count. Thanks for the input.

Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate the helpful responses to my less than succinct post.

I'm really leaning towards sucking it up and saving my money up for a big trip after graduation, the only real worry I have left (besides the normal worries of leaving home and family and friends for a year long excursion) is that I'll be so unexperienced when I go into the trip. Five weeks in the backpacking haven that is western Europe really doesn't seem like it will have prepared me to set off In South America, Asia, and Africa. But, I'm a big boy, and I learn quickly, so I'm sure it won't be anything that I can't handle.

Anymore feedback, especially on taking off on a long trip with minimal travel to foreign countries is more than welcome, as well as anything else anyone would want to add, would be more than welcome.

quote:

Originally posted by mina olen:
for what it's worth, I was wrestling with a similar decision and came to the following conclusion: work and save money until I finish school and my savings is healthy, which will be ~2 years if I knuckle down, then quit the job and head out on some extended travel.

It is difficult in the sense that I'd *really* been looking fwd to some weeks in SE Asia next year, but when I realized I could take one 3-6 week long vacation every year for the rest of my life--forever stressing on itineraries, reservations, return dates, yadda yadda--OR could hold back, focus on my nearby goals and give extended travel a go... the choice was clear.

One plus I'm discovering: I now spend my vacation days more liberally since I'm not saving up for one go round, which allows me to add "cushion" to my life including time for more short trips exploring my own backyard. So I'm not exactly quitting travel cold turkey, but trying to keep my excursions in the $300-and-under range.

My biggest concern now, besides saving money and school, is NOT GETTING PREGNANT. My dad told me that us kids were what prevented him from doing extended solo travel. Maybe I'll invite him along for a leg or two to make it up to him heh.

Great to hear of someone else in the same boat as me making that decision. My dad is almost certainly going to have a heartattack when I mention to him my plans to spend a year in the dangerous wilderness that is the rest of the world. I really agree with you on the 3-6 week thing. That was the only part of my trip I didn't like... it's just no fun to get settled into the travel routine and then all of a sudden you're flying back home. I like to immerse myself in things, not just wave at them as I go past.

Good luck on your trip, I'm sure I'll see you around the boards as both of our plans move forward.

For what it's worth:

I worked my ass off in college (always two or three jobs at a time) so I could graduate without debt and run away on a one-year RTW.

I have no regrets, and I'm glad I waited for the big trip.

If you feel the need to travel before graduation, consider getting a travel/adventure related summer job. Be a raft guide or something similar for the summer to get your mini-fix while you save up for the big time.

(Wow ... I can't believe I am acutally preaching the merits of delayed gratification! )

well said Skimaxpower!

Unhinged youre in Texas? Have you considered some "pratice travel" to Mexico perhaps? Dunno if you have all your luggage etc figured out, but I personally am not above spending the next long while looking for the perfect pack, the perfect shoe, and the perfect travel pant! but, I'm a nerd like that.... at the same time, you wanna see how your gear works in the field right? I consider that an essential step.

Best of luck to you too~

Your choice really doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can find less expensive places to vacation for a month or so each summer and still save up for your big trip. Go on a road trip for a week, find a cheap ticket somewhere for a week or two, there is a middle ground.

quote:

Originally posted by Keppie:
Your choice really doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can find less expensive places to vacation for a month or so each summer and still save up for your big trip. Go on a road trip for a week, find a cheap ticket somewhere for a week or two, there is a middle ground.

But of course, what I meant when I said "spending a month on the road this summer," was a 4 - 8 week (OK, longer than a month) trip to Australia, South East Asia, or Eastern Europe. That's not something I afford to do without being forced to take on another job, and pulling time away from my studies, which I would really like to avoid, since I'm getting into upper level courses with hundreds of pages of reading a week.

As it stands now, I should be able to save 15 - 20 thousand, depending on how many emergencies pop up in the next few years. Taking a couple longish trips would knock 5 thousand or so off that amount (plus lost wages), which would leave me much shorter than I'd like to be.

At the moment, I'm just going to content myself with exploring the amazing new city I've moved to (Austin), and when that grows stale, I'll branch out for longer road trips or bus travels, probably down to Mexico, and for sure over to New Orleans.

Is it strange that I'm already looking forward to the day I board an airplane, leaving my own country behind for a year or more?

quote:

Originally posted by Unhinged:
Is it strange that I'm already looking forward to the day I board an airplane, leaving my own country behind for a year or more?

Haha - then everyone at bootsnall would be strange

I look forward to my trip every single passing day.