I'm pretty much in the same position. 42 years old, no wife/kids, though I do have a house (thank goodness for housesitters!). I will be tendering the notice on a good paying job in November and plan to spend the next 18 months (or as long as $55k will last) hiking the Appalachian Trail and vagabonding around the world.

Just be sure to leave yourself a 3-6 month cushion for your return. No sense in digging into the IRAs, if you can help it.

Middle age? Naaaaa! Middle age is what happens to you when you sit back in the recliner at the end of the day and say, "This is as good as it will ever get."

Skyediver, I had to swallow real hard when you said middle aged. Nay, I gulped. I turned 36, 37 and 38 on the road, and even at my scruffiest, with that pack on my back, people go, "So...did you just graduate from college or something?" Mwahahaha. See, we've found the fountain of youth!

There is absolutely no reason on earth why you shouldn't do this. Your instincts and choices have gotten you to where you are; now your instincts are telling you that career, house and money can take a backseat for now for the freedom of the road.

What finally clinched it for me was realizing what the alternative was — to change nothing. THAT was scarier than all my trepidations combined. Personally, I've been happiest and, ironically, most at home on the road.