Realizing an around the world trip was something probably not in my future was an acceptance that gradually came upon me, as if my mind knew I needed time to absorb this fact ever so slowly or I might go into shock.
Backpacking Around the World
I’ve dreamed of packing my backpack and heading out into the world for a long chunk of time since I was nineteen and had my first taste of traveling internationally. And while I’ve been lucky to take many multi-week trips, a true around-the-world trip never panned out. But I hung onto hope that it would someday.
Somewhere, though, between my 29th and 30th birthday, I came to the conclusion that my dream simply might not happen – and that maybe (maybe) I could handle that without going into a deep depression as long as I still always had time to travel every year.
This realization dawned on me after figuring out that this is what would have to happen for me to go on an around the world trip:
- Car Payment. I would have to sell my car to get rid of the payment. Ok, this is an easy one to do, except…I really love my car! It makes my unbearable commute slightly tolerable and despite the near panic attack I had while buying it (a whole other story basically consisting of “But a car payment, that’s like a plane ticket every month!”) I am thankful every day for the bells and whistles I added to it upon purchase. Although, I suppose if I got a work sabbatical that would eliminate the commute.
- Work Sabbatical. I like my career, therefore I wouldn’t want to just quit it for an around the world trip, in which case I would need a year-long work sabbatical to be approved by my boss. The likelihood of such a request being approved is very low. And even if it were approved, I probably would not come home to the same role and responsibility with the company that I currently have. And that might be hard to stomach. Let’s say I do get the sabbatical though and despite misgivings about what will await for me on my return, I decide to go for it and sell my car (I will miss you, Car!); now what do I do with two very important furry creatures in my life?
- Pets. It might sound like my car is my baby, but it is a far, far, far third to my two ragdoll cats. They are like my children and I worry about leaving them in someone else’s care while I’m away. What if they’re let outside? What if they’re forgotten to be fed? What if they choke on a piece of plastic accidentally left on the floor? (My cats are obsessed with chewing on plastic.) And those worries only exist if I actually have a responsible friend or family member who is willing to take in the cats in while I’m traveling around the world. If no one is willing, then I have a whole other problem because I’d have to get a pet sitter. My current pet sitter is $18 for 30 minutes for both cats per day. So, let’s see, 365×18 would be $6,570. And I’d probably want her to come at least twice a day so the cats don’t get lonely and depressed. So that would be…Yikes.
- Money. As if finding proper pet care wouldn’t already put me over any type of around the world travel budget, there is the actual trip itself I’d need to save for. Even if I was miraculously able to get by on $30/day (miraculous because I really like to eat) then I would need to save a minimum of $10,950. Having a few grand as a cushion for when I’m sucked into delicious looking restaurants over my budget allowance also probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. However, before I can even start saving for an around the world trip, I need to first pay for a wedding so I can marry my wonderful fiancé.
- Fiancé. Oh yeah…can’t forget about him. Once upon a time in the beginning of our relationship Tom and I would talk for hours over wine about how someday, before kids and big mortgages came along, we’d pack it all in and travel the world and live happily ever after. He even had me convinced some sweet family member would happily take in the cats. Then Tom, with my support, enrolled in business school to get his MBA with ambitious goals once he completes it. I suppose I could go travel the world without him, but (sigh) I realized I wouldn’t want to be apart from him for that long. Guess true love does conquer all.
- Biological Clock. Now let’s suppose I am able to get a work sabbatical, sell my car, find someone to watch my pets, convince my fiancé to temporarily ditch his career aspirations to go with me, and save up enough money for both of us to embark around the world for a year. By the time all those things actually align my delayed biological clock may have finally kicked in and the around the world trip will all be a lost cause, anyway. Can’t put those little bundles of joy off forever. So I’m told, anyway.
And that is why I’m now realistic that an around the world trip may just not be in the cards for me. But if I do ever go on an around the world trip, I already know exactly where I will travel and what I must see; after all – though I might accept it not happening, that doesn’t mean I need to stop dreaming about it. Just in case.
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I'm a travel marketer and travel writer. My husband, Tom, is getting his MBA and never stops studying. We have two cats. We have a mortgage. We have a passion for traveling. We have limited vacation time and funds.
Our friends and family wonder how we travel so much.
Here's how I balance it all and maximize travel time and getting the most out of a destination when time is short.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for writing this article. I totally agree and am realising the same thing myself. Just replace ‘two ragdoll cats’ with ‘two Siamese cats’, and ‘fiance’ for ‘husband’ and I could have written it myself!
Thanks Helen! And love that you’re another cat person.
They are definitely the two things I miss most when I’m traveling – and my fiance, of course, if he’s not with me. 
Gina, I love the blog post. There will be a lot of women who can relate to your situation. As you pointed out, it all comes down to priorities and what is most important to you at the time. Obviously being with your partner, getting married, and starting a family are your top priorities. You have already done a lot of travelling and I am sure you will continue to do so. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming but, one thing I have learned in life is, never say never!
Hi Teresa, thank you! And I need to remind myself to “never say never”. I’ve been reading some family blogs lately about traveling longterm with kids so it could happen!
Hi Gina! We just “met” via Twitter so I thought I’d come check out your blog, and this was one of the first posts I happened upon – fascinating. I actually took off on my round-the-world-trip right after my 29th birthday, so I can relate to a lot of what you say here.
I truly believe that nearly everything can be figured out, if you really want to find a way to do something, but of course it *is* all about priorities. And if you happen to have a car you love, a job you love, pets you love, and a fiancé in business school, I understand how hard it is to leave all those things behind! (And count yourself lucky – a lot of people don’t have those things!)
And circumstances can change – something might change at work and you might suddenly not love it so much, and your fiancé won’t be in business school forever (and who knows? maybe he can apply for exciting internship and job opps abroad!).
As another commenter said, never say never! There are absolutely people doing it with kids, and there are lots of creative ways people have found to do their jobs from anywhere. The beauty, of course, of continuing to work while you travel is that you don’t have to save nearly as much money beforehand!
DO keep dreaming. If you let the dream die completely, then you’re probably right that it will never happen. And you might suddenly wake up one day when it really is too late, wondering “what if…”
If there’s anything I can do to help keep the dream alive, let me know!
Thanks for the encouragement, Amy! I’m going to definitely keep dreaming.
Gina, thought I’d check out your blog and stumbled on this post. I can clearly remember the day Micki and I decided to take our first year long adventure together. We had a nice car, thriving careers that we enjoyed, a cat who we loved and a mountain of furniture and possessions to deal with. The thought of leaving it all behind seemed impossible.
How would we fund it, would we have a career to come back to, when would we start a family, get married and buy that nice house with a picket fence for the rugrats to enjoy??? Most importantly, who wou take care of our cat!
One of the hardest things I ever did was walk into my boss’s office (who I considered a mentor and friend) and gave him my notice. I had decided that I would deal with employment when I got back. He told me the door was always open and I could come back if I wanted to.
On our trip we got engaged in Thailand and then got married in New Zealand. I have a huge family and after seeing the 350 and 400 person weddings my brother and sister had we decided to go small. For us, the money a wedding that size would have cost was better spent lounging on beaches and climbing mountains for months on end.
The cat had a glorious year at my wife’s parents, the car got sold to a friend, our mountain of stuff got reduced and then stored in the garage of the place we were renting at the time. We had an amazing year long journey that changed us and our views on life.
When we got back we started contracting and loved it. We quickly started a family, bought a house, a new car and everything that goes with it. After a few years we decided that wasn’t what we wanted anymore and then sold everything and started on a new journey.
The point of this, the longest comment I ever wrote, is that it’s all possible if you believe in yourself and your partner. A year seems long to some but when we got back all our friends were in the same job, driving the same car, doing the same thing they were before we left. We had seen and been through so much on our trip that the memories of our fears of leaving seemed absolutely ridiculous at that point.
The world will continue to spin regardless of what you do. The biggest question you have to ask yourself is do you want to crawl along at your current pace or jump up and run.
Hi Charles, thank you so much for taking the time to write. I think it’s so inspiring that you continue to travel with your kids. That’s one thing I’m quite certain of: having kids will not stop Tom and me from traveling. We’ll be sending off for their passports the second they’re born.
You’ve definitely made me think again that traveling RTW is still possible. Although, unfortunately, I know my mom’s not willing to take my cats. 
After reading your blog entry Gina I thought..Wow, this is exactly how I feel except I have a ‘dog’ that I love beyond words. I then read your comments and when Charles stated:
“A year seems long to some but when we got back all our friends were in the same job, driving the same car, doing the same thing they were before we left.”
It really made me think, He is totally right! If I were to actually just leave everything behind and then come back a year later that only big changes would be my view-point on life and wonderful stories to share with those I left behind.
Very true! Coming back would probably find everything mostly the same. Tying up all the loose ends in order to leave is the daunting part.
Great to hear from you. Cheers to you and your doggy!