Taking a Year off to Travel

[quickpic007]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Has anyone taken a year off to travel and just vacation? I've been thinking about doing this lately before I get too old (35).
Just step down to PRN to maintain resume and work like once a month.
There is so much stuff I'd like to do outside of work.
Does anyone feel like working for 130K plus full time just isn't enough anymore? Especially when ya have enough to cover mortgage, bills, unborn child's college fund etc...

 

[wagrxm2000]

You may never get a job upon returning. The risk is yours.

Four vacations a year is good enough for me.

 

[sakigt]

Taking a year off and then having to go back to life as usual sounds terrible to me.

I just turned 35 and I think my 21st birthday was far worse. Spending it with a bunch of people I didn't like without appreciation of the now.

 

[Modest_anteater]

Has anyone taken a year off to travel and just vacation? I've been thinking about doing this lately before I get too old (35).
Just step down to PRN to maintain resume and work like once a month.
There is so much stuff I'd like to do outside of work.
Does anyone feel like working for 130K plus full time just isn't enough anymore? Especially when ya have enough to cover mortgage, bills, unborn child's college fund etc...

Just work double time the next 3 years pulling in 200k after tax then invest well (into a franchise such as Subway) and retire. You either have Money or Time rarely both. At 35 time is getting short. You need to do what makes you happy. You will be 55 in the blink of an eye.

Time goes fast, all you can do is try to make the good times last.

I knew a 42 investment banker who was saving up his whole life to retire at 45 and travel the world then build his dream house. Almost never took vacations, worked overtime ect. Over 7MM USD saved up. Died of a heart attack last year. All his money went to his much complained about step sister.

 

[Pharmacy Kid]

Has anyone taken a year off to travel and just vacation? I've been thinking about doing this lately before I get too old (35).
Just step down to PRN to maintain resume and work like once a month.
There is so much stuff I'd like to do outside of work.
Does anyone feel like working for 130K plus full time just isn't enough anymore? Especially when ya have enough to cover mortgage, bills, unborn child's college fund etc...

I've never taken off a year, but have taken off 30 days at a time to travel to various continents. How do your finances look, have you paid all your student loans off yet? I say if you have your loans paid off and have at least one of living expenses, then go for it.

My goal is to work part time (24-30 hours a week) once I turn 35. So far, I'm on track for FIRE.

 

[lord999]

I actually did, but through the sabbatical program, so I did not lose out on my salary. However, I also had a spouse that could financially support me (and would prefer me as the house husband). It does not make financial sense usually. However, there are certain things you can't do at certain ages. You can't enjoy food in your 60s the way you can right now. But, I would probably wait until you are presented with an opportunity. Considering how the market is going, that might come before too long. You can wait a couple of years unless part of the year off is to take care of some major life goal like finding a spouse or your first child.

I know quite a number of the wily civil service who transitioned into cushy sinecure jobs where they check in every week and have little to no time-sensitive responsibilities (VA OIIG and OPP among others). That's the way I am going to retire myself even though I can financially not work at all anymore. I need work to define myself. Until then, I'll keep reading.

 

[johnpharm01]

Back when the RPh market was better people would do this all the time although maybe not a whole year. I echo the sentiments of others that your job might be gone when you return. It may also be difficult to find a replacement. I would suggest finding a way to enjoy your free time better (mindfulness, etc) and start changing your lifestyle so you are less dependent on all $130,000. Save don't spend.

And since I am much older than 35 I have cancelled all my travel plans.

 

[Momus]

Nothing prevents you from taking a personal leave of absence or FMLA. I think you can do it for 3 months at a time.

 

[pezdispenser]

I took a month and a half off last year to go on a national park grand tour and wrote about it here: Sabbatical

Had the time of my life and would definitely recommend it to anyone. However, everyone's employment situation is going to be different so take that into careful consideration. My work is not busy during the Summer so they wanted people to take time off, and I did not have to quit my job. My job is not stressful but can be boring, so taking time off allowed me to come back refreshed and more focused and motivated on what I want to do in life. 1.5 months was enough for me. I don't need a whole year off and to be honest I was getting a bit homesick towards the end. Plus the accommodation costs were adding up.

On the financial aspect, I would recommend completely paying off your mortgage. It's a game-changer because your expenses will drop dramatically, and you'll realize that you don't need to save and invest as much to generate enough passive income to sustain yourself.

 

[quickpic007]

I've never taken off a year, but have taken off 30 days at a time to travel to various continents. How do your finances look, have you paid all your student loans off yet? I say if you have your loans paid off and have at least one of living expenses, then go for it.

My goal is to work part time (24-30 hours a week) once I turn 35. So far, I'm on track for FIRE.

I'm at 24 hours some weeks and it is super awesome, but lots of time I work 40hrs +. What travels did you do for your 30 days?

I graduated no loans and have networth above 750K, but hate the idea of giving up hours at 65$/hr +, when the work isn't even that bad (I am not at cvs).

Thanks for the encouragement!

I actually did, but through the sabbatical program, so I did not lose out on my salary. However, I also had a spouse that could financially support me (and would prefer me as the house husband). It does not make financial sense usually. However, there are certain things you can't do at certain ages. You can't enjoy food in your 60s the way you can right now. But, I would probably wait until you are presented with an opportunity. Considering how the market is going, that might come before too long. You can wait a couple of years unless part of the year off is to take care of some major life goal like finding a spouse or your first child.

I know quite a number of the wily civil service who transitioned into cushy sinecure jobs where they check in every week and have little to no time-sensitive responsibilities (VA OIIG and OPP among others). That's the way I am going to retire myself even though I can financially not work at all anymore. I need work to define myself. Until then, I'll keep reading.

Food is a big thing I do enjoy. I assume in a month in LA or NYC I could eat and learn so much. Coming from middle America here...

Spouse wise where should I look move to find a rich wife?? Teach me lord999!! I have been thinking about leaving my rural area--wages and job market is excellent but women wages here are too low! I am thinking DFW/Houston/Phoenix??

Back when the RPh market was better people would do this all the time although maybe not a whole year. I echo the sentiments of others that your job might be gone when you return. It may also be difficult to find a replacement. I would suggest finding a way to enjoy your free time better (mindfulness, etc) and start changing your lifestyle so you are less dependent on all $130,000. Save don't spend.

And since I am much older than 35 I have cancelled all my travel plans.

Whats the story with cancelling travel plans?

I took a month and a half off last year to go on a national park grand tour and wrote about it here: Sabbatical

Had the time of my life and would definitely recommend it to anyone. However, everyone's employment situation is going to be different so take that into careful consideration. My work is not busy during the Summer so they wanted people to take time off, and I did not have to quit my job. My job is not stressful but can be boring, so taking time off allowed me to come back refreshed and more focused and motivated on what I want to do in life. 1.5 months was enough for me. I don't need a whole year off and to be honest I was getting a bit homesick towards the end. Plus the accommodation costs were adding up.

On the financial aspect, I would recommend completely paying off your mortgage. It's a game-changer because your expenses will drop dramatically, and you'll realize that you don't need to save and invest as much to generate enough passive income to sustain yourself.

I dont have mortgage yet only renting due to unsure if going to stay here long term. If I were to stay I'd get into a duplex or triplex at 100$ psf and rent the other side to pay tax and bills...
I can only imagine not paying landlord monthly sounds nice!

 

[johnpharm01]

Whats the story with cancelling travel plans?

Its humor. Since you would be too old at 35 to vacation and I am much older I canceled my travel plans

 

[charmacist]

I did this. I worked in retail 6.5 years but got laid off in late 2016. My wife and I left to travel around the world for over a year. Each of us had a carry-on-size backpack, and that was all we took.

It cost us about $49,000 total, which is about as cheap as you're gonna get (for two people) unless you're willing to make substantial cuts to your itinerary (We visited about 45 countries. It's generally cheaper the fewer countries you go to.), accommodations (We stayed in hostels, cheap hotels, and occasionally camped.), food, etc.

Finding a new pharmacist job after we came home definitely wasn't easy, but it wasn't as bad as you might think. By choice, I took a pay cut, moved to a small town a few hours away from where we'd lived before, and I'm working late-shift... but in exchange, I like my job a lot, I'm doing well at it, and the stress level is pretty low most days. I skipped over some other opportunities, including a job offer at an independent pharmacy in my hometown.

Looking back, I have no regrets. The experiences my wife and I had together, I wouldn't trade for anything... but it wasn't always easy or fun. Trust me, after you've been gone for about 6 months, you miss work. You miss your favorite foods, your family, and sleeping with your wife in the same bed every night. You miss being able to speak and have people understand you. In short, you miss normalcy and knowing what to expect.

If you're gonna do it, go all-in. It takes commitment. But you'll walk away with a ton of knowledge and great memories.

 

[Momus]

Whats the story with cancelling travel plans?

Its humor. Since you would be too old at 35 to vacation and I am much older I canceled my travel plans

Never too old to take vacations...

 

[BMBiology]

If you love to eat then LA is it. You get to eat and hangout on the weekdays while everyone is at work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Modest_anteater]

Nothing prevents you from taking a personal leave of absence or FMLA. I think you can do it for 3 months at a time.

I think it would be better if she got preggo first. That way better job security

 

[quickpic007]

If you love to eat then LA is it. You get to eat and hangout on the weekdays while everyone is at work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I actually have a place to stay in LA, college buddy has extra room!! Is living there for 3 months enough to see everything?

 

[headortail]

Not pharmacy related but since that's the direction of this thread...

I actually have a place to stay in LA, college buddy has extra room!! Is living there for 3 months enough to see everything?

What would you like to see?
Being from the area, I'm one in the camp that there's not much to "see". There are a lot to enjoy on a daily basis (minus the horrible traffic and the expensive COL) - the beach is right there, a few museums worth checking out, driving down the 1 towards Orange County is heaven. But IMO LA is not a place where there are necessarily a lot of "sights" to "see".
Personally I'd probably be bored in 2 weeks, but I get bored easily. You could probably spend a month in LA without getting bored. I'm not sure about 3 months. If you have 3 months, I'd go abroad. In many parts of the world it's much cheaper and IMO you feel like you're getting more of a "break"; completely different scenery, language, culture, etc. And as to cost, it costs more to fly West to East Coast than to fly to Europe (RT to many parts of Europe is $400 (and I'm flying from West Coast), to Japan can be had for $500 if going outside of June - August). Lodging/food/sightseeing cost would be similar to US in these locations where flights to get there are cheap. There are places where flights can be expensive (relatively, we're talking $800 - $1k) to get to like Southeast Asia but then COL is nothing.

 

[BMBiology]

I actually have a place to stay in LA, college buddy has extra room!! Is living there for 3 months enough to see everything?

Yeah three months is more than enough. Don’t just hang out in LA tho, check out SD, SB, SF, Yosemite too.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Lnsean]

Has anyone taken a year off to travel and just vacation? I've been thinking about doing this lately before I get too old (35).
Just step down to PRN to maintain resume and work like once a month.
There is so much stuff I'd like to do outside of work.
Does anyone feel like working for 130K plus full time just isn't enough anymore? Especially when ya have enough to cover mortgage, bills, unborn child's college fund etc...

If you have no personal obligation to stay in any particular geographical area once you get back...I say go for it and live your dream or satisfy your desire. Life is short and before you know it..you'll be 60 and all you have to look back on are miserable years working. Who knows if you'll even make it to 60.

I think once you get back...just go wherever there is a job. I know pharmacy is saturated...but I don't know any pharmacist friend who is unemployed. They all looked hard and found a job.

 

[quickpic007]

If you have no personal obligation to stay in any particular geographical area once you get back...I say go for it and live your dream or satisfy your desire. Life is short and before you know it..you'll be 60 and all you have to look back on are miserable years working. Who knows if you'll even make it to 60.

I think once you get back...just go wherever there is a job. I know pharmacy is saturated...but I don't know any pharmacist friend who is unemployed. They all looked hard and found a job.

this is very true. I am close to pulling the trigger on it.
Enjoy life, study for CPJE on my break and ponder life. Make the move to the RPH promise land of California. Lemoore/Tulare is calling. Lol