Mid-40s -- Taking a Gap Year

thats funny i will be 44 in may and after i get done working in alaska this summer i plan on taking off for 3-4 months. im goiing to s africa and then thru egypt and on to se asia. gonna to do this all by myself, everybody i know cant go or are to affaird to just pick up and go. then one day when they are 50 -55 they will be sitting in their recliner and saying to them selves damn i knew i should of went with him, i havent done crap ever. but they can still go at any age

We are planning to leave in 2012 for our RTW trip. At that time my wife and I will be turning 40. Seems like the perfect time to go. The only reason we are waiting is our daughter is only 5 years old right now and we feel it will be better to wait until she is 8. We really want to go now, but we know it is best to wait.

Hye - I'm going to take a year out too!! I'm on a 33 month count down - i know thats quite a while but i've been promising this for years!!!! I would like to ask those that have been - how did you feel when it was time to come back? I'm taking a career break and wonder if I will feel like I don't want to come back. Anyone got tips on places they wish they had not been to or places they wished they had stayed longer? Many thanks!

I am right now on a 9 month backpacking trip--typing this as I sit in my hostel in Dubrovnik--and I am in my late 40s and think this trip is going to be a major catalyst for a more fulfilling future... I have been on the road since May and plan to return home in January... I spent 4 months in Africa, a month or so in Europe including the Balkans, and Asia... I intend to return to a cubicle/office life after I return home but if my life takes me elsewhere that is okay too... The truth is my dad passed away when he was only 49 so I know I cannot afford to put off my dreams any longer...

Renee

rubyshoes wrote:Hye - Anyone got tips on places they wish they had not been to or places they wished they had stayed longer? Many thanks!

During my 11 month trip I never found a place I wished I hadn't gone. Sure some didn't live up to expectations overall but there was always a gem or two that would have been a shame to miss.

Most places I would have liked to stay longer, especially Mongolia, all of SE Asia, Tasmania & believe it or not Portland Oregon.