Right now, as I’m writing this, I am at work. I can’t concentrate and I am constantly looking out of the window. Because I feel trapped. Is this the real meaning of our existence? Getting up, having breakfast, going to work, going back home, making dinner, watching TV, a little bit of scrolling on Facebook in between all of that, and eventually going to sleep. Living in a rat race, day after day, 5 days in a week. And then 2 days of spending almost all your money you’ve earned that week.
Are you also thinking “What the hell am I still doing here?” Do you have this need, the need to discover things that are way beyond your comfortable bubble?
This is exactly how Myrthe and I feel. That’s why we quit our jobs to go traveling, wandering around the world, to see what this life has to offer. We want to make every second count!
If you have this realization once a month, once a week or even once a day. It’s one too many. It’s never too late to quit your nine-to-five job and buy yourself a ticket on Expedia to a random destination.
“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.”
Here are our reasons why we quit our jobs to travel around the world:
1. Getting out of the rat race
I think that a lot of people will think that we just don’t want to grow up and take responsibility to work. But they are wrong. Maybe those are the people that have never traveled before or just don’t want to. That’s completely up to them, every single person has his own image about how he/she wants to spend their lives. And don’t get me wrong. We love our jobs, our colleagues and the opportunities that we’ve already got. But this isn’t just something that we want to do our whole life. And before we are going to search for a lifetime job, we need to clear our minds, get new perspectives and need to know exactly what we want.
2. We are young
This is the perfect time to do it! We are both in our mid-twenties and we feel that this is the right time to take the leap. Before we settle down with an own house, get married and maybe even have children… We are aware that you can still do a big trip with all of these but it’ll make everything much harder to organize and leave your family behind.
Taking the leap. Kjeragbolten, Norway
3. Dealing with our personality
We are both introverts. In groups of more than 5 persons, you’ll most probably find us in the background, to shy to speak to a group. Sometimes we have awkward conversations. Not to each other of course but to people who we barely know. We also have this huge problem with making choices. Most of the time when we’re in a dilemma, we’ll just toss up a coin to decide what we’re going to do. When we go traveling, we need to force ourselves to interact with other people and travelers. When we do, we are sure we’ll be awarded with great experiences. Like our last trip to Norway, where we met an English couple who invited us to sleep in their apartment (we didn’t even ask about it!), cooked for us and learned us to appreciate whiskey! Getting outside our comfort zone will help us to learn about our own personalities and deal with them in a positive way.
4. Learning about new cultures
We love food! We just love to eat and if possible as many different things as possible. Trying new food is one of the best things about traveling abroad. Food is the best way to learn about new cultures and connect with people. People will open their doors for you and invite you in to join for dinner. These are experiences where you’ll learn from and will never forget. Learning about new cultures will make you humble. You’ll see beauty in smaller things and not expensive luxury items.
5. To be inspired
Because we are both practicing a creative job, it’s important to often get new perspectives. So traveling helps a lot to get new ideas and inspiration. By going through different surroundings we will be more focused and actually see everything that is happening around us. The food, the people, the colors, the local art are things that will supercharge our creative energy. All of this because we’ll be encouraged to travel with an open mind.
Just so you know, traveling is not for rich people. We don’t have a lot of money. We have worked hard for 2 years and saved as much as we could. The world is not dangerous or bad. That’s just what they show you on TV. Of course, there are a few places that are hostile to visitors. But remember that you are at least as safe in many places as you are at home. So what is keeping you from it?
Backpacking in Norway
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