We’ve all had that moment, when you’ve just completed the same daily routine for the thousandth time. I’m also guessing that you’ve already tried to spice things up by changing your normal route or eating spiced avocado for your breakfast? But for some reason it’s still just not cutting it for you. Which brings you back to that question: “Why can’t I just escape and leave this all behind?”. You’ve probably sat there for a few minutes trying to work it all out in your head, in fact I bet you’re doing it right now as your reading this, but soon after your thoughts begin you quickly brush them under the carpet and decide that the whole thought was stupid until again in 6 months time after swapping the avocado for seaweed you begin the whole process again.
It’s actually not that hard as you think, to pick up everything and to simply well, just leave. As long as you haven’t got a whole bunch of unavoidable commitments like caring for a loved one or ensuring the international security of your country then I’m pleading with you to simply hear me out on this one…
Now I’m not telling you to pack your bags this very instance and leave on the next flight tomorrow morning, what I’m trying to get you to do is to think about the very aspect of planning an escape that will give you all the satisfaction you could possibly want. You’ll need a year at least to pull this off comfortably and you’re gonna have to commit to your job quite a bit in that year, but don’t commit too much, we don’t want anything derailing your escape now, do we? Now that we got your mind ticking over about this escape, it’s time to look at where you would want to go. Europe? North America? Asia? There’s so many places to go that it might put you off if you just dive straight into it all, so I guess we best decide whether you want to do this completely solo or with a little bit of help. If you do want some help then that will make your choice far easier as you can team up with a travel company that will stick by you. Even if you aren’t serious about going yet it’s still worth looking at these companies, what they do will certainly help inspire you. I highly recommend the following:
BUNAC Offer worldwide working adventures with all the in country help and support you could possibly need.
STA travel Offer hundreds of opportunities for you to work and volunteer abroad on your Gap Year, career break or sabbatical whilst also being right by your side in country as you experience it all.
The British council Offer a whole heap of opportunities while also promoting the best of British culture around the world.
Hopefully by now you have the bug slowly eating away at you, I bet you’re wondering just how you can pull this off? Well, it’s certainly nothing to be afraid of, but as I said earlier its time to commit to a few things.
Your Job – It’s time to put in some extra hours, unless you have a few thousand pounds stashed away somewhere you aren’t escaping easily. Working a few extra hours a week will help you save more money for when it’s time to leave, you’ve given yourself at least a year to save which is easily doable in that time.
Luxuries- By cutting out a few simple luxuries you will be surprised by how much you can save, grab an old jar and every time you would buy a luxury, simply put the money in this jar!
Romeo & Juliette- Unless you’re loved one is coming with you or they are prepared to stick with you throughout your solo adventure I’m afraid it’s time to cut the rope on this one.
Yeah, moving away for a while can be hard and impactful but it’s well worth it, just think of the sights you’ll see, the nature you will experience and the words of people that will brush into your life! Now you have a rough time scale and a rough idea of where you want to go, aswell as understanding that the road to this is not going to be completely smooth sailing, the next stage can begin. Before you even think about booking flights you need to do these very little but ever so important steps-
Passport- Check that it will be in date for the whole duration of your travels. It’s much more than just a document, it’s a key to near instant safety in the case of an emergency.
Visas- Check that you can actually travel to your chosen destination and the duration process for obtaining the correct documents. You don’t want any shock delays along the way.
Safety- Check any travel warnings that are issued for any part of your travel. You don’t want to be caught up in any political unrest or adventure through a terrorist hot spot.
It all sounds a bit daunting but it really is rewarding to spread your wings and adventure outside of your comfort zone. If you stick with your plan and really put the effort in you can seriously get a lot out of an experience like this. On paper it may seem like a lot of work and effort but it’s really not, the year will fly by and you will be off on your own life changing experience in no time! Even if your escape is just a short holiday I would still highly recommend that you follow these steps, by teaming up with a travel company to work or volunteer abroad will not only bring you heaps of self rewards, it will also look amazing on your resume upon returning back to the daily grind.
“Aside from love, few activities seem to promise us as much happiness as going traveling: taking off for somewhere else, somewhere far from home, a place with more interesting weather, customs, and landscapes. But although we are inundated with advice on where to travel, few people seem to talk about why we should go and how we can become more fulfilled by doing so.” – The Art of Travel – Free with your Audible.com trial!
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