I left my job to travel the world

Excited or nervous?

Probably the question I have been asked the most over the last couple of months!

Leaving work after 2 years was always the plan. I always said from day one of university that I would get my degree, get some experience and then leave to see the world. The thought of it never scared me or bothered me until it actually came down to it. Handing in my notice was a big step and when I was replaced with another teacher, I felt quite sad but I had no regrets and knew this was the best thing for me. The sadness was quickly replaced with curiosity and excitement yesterday morning when I woke up to the reality that I no longer have a job to go to!

As time is going on and the trip is getting closer, more and more nerves are creeping in: what if I run out of money? What if I buy the wrong travel insurance and something happens? What if I get to a hostel and there isn’t any room for me? What if I miss out on something amazing in a country because I haven’t done enough research? Plans have never been a big thing for me (so I thought) and I have always said I’m an independent person, who can ‘wing it’ but I soon came to realise that a brief outline of a plan with as much research as possible behind it (but not much booked), is my kind of thing.

Am I prepared? Do I have everything I need?

Another popular set of questions.

I know I definitely don’t have as much money saved as originally planned but so many expensive things cropped up along the way and I didn’t account for their cost originally.

The first unexpected surprise – vaccinations! So many vaccinations! I knew I’d need some jabs to keep me protected while I was away but I didn’t realise how many and how expensive they were! Vaccinations that fell in the ‘to be considered’ category I thought I could get away with but when you’re told that certain diseases have a high mortality rate, you don’t want to take the risks!

Next – travel insurance. Not so much a surprise but still a high cost. Now I obviously wasn’t going off around the world for a year without any kind of insurance – my mum would have had something to say about that – but shopping around for the best deal, making sure you are covered for everything and trying not to pay so much money proved to be very difficult!

Not so much a high cost, but difficult to organise for so many countries – visas. Being a UK citizen has been handy for this part of the process, as a lot of the countries I plan on visiting offer a limited time stay for free, on a UK passport. So this has worked in my favour! Because of this, I can easily organise myself to buy the others.

Then there is the case of spending money – do I carry cash? Do I buy a cash card? Do I use a credit card? How much will I need in each place? All of these questions have gone through my mind at some point in the last few months and in the end I opted for a cash card with some cash for the times a card can’t be used. In relation to the last question, I guess no one can answer that for me – everyone will travel and live differently, with different preferences along the way.

Besides the money aspect, there were lots of other things to prepare (some of which, I guess, will save me money). Remembering to cancel direct debits I will no longer need (such as the gym and Netflix), arranging payments on my car while I’m away, sorting out my phone bill, ringing up student finance so that they don’t continue to charge me while I’m not earning. Lots of little things that took me a while to consider.

I know now that traveling will be different for everyone, some people will be able to get on a plane with a one way ticket and a packed bag with no plan for the other side, and others need a set plan with everything booked from start to finish. I definitely fit in the middle of this scale somewhere and I guess only time will tell how well I cope! I’ll keep you updated.

To travel is to live, Katie x