There are so many preachy articles out there that tout quitting your job to travel as the only way to live. Like I’ve stated many times before, it’s certainly not the right choice for everyone.

This post is part of the ‘quit your job to travel’ series, which highlights the who, what, where, why, and when of packing it all in to explore the world so you can arm yourself with the knowledge and tools you need to make the right decision.

Previous posts in the series:

• Quit Your Job to Travel: Is it the Right Thing For You?
• Quit Your Job to Travel: How to Save Money Fast With These Secret Tips
• How and When to Quit Your Job to Travel
• Live the Dream: How You Can Get Paid to Travel

Today’s post delves into the pros and cons of quitting your job to travel so you can weigh up the sacrifices you’ll have to make and the benefits you might reap.

I remember when I was younger and I had a big decision to make, my mum would tell me to write up a list of pros and cons to visualise what I’d lose and gain from each option. To some extent I still do this, though not so much for school crushes and tiffs with friends.

Getting something down on paper – the good and the bad – can be a great way to take the doubts out of your mind and make them tangible. A.k.a. less worrying and more educated decision making!

Let’s start with the pros (so you can get your hopes up just in time for me to kick them back down again with the cons…).

The Pros of Quitting Your Job to Travel

Every individual will gain something different when they quit their job to travel. There’s no hard and fast rules, it all depends on what you want to get out of the experience and why you’re doing it in the first place.

These pros are pretty universal, though, and can be applied to most situations. That being said, it’s by no means an exhaustive list.

More Freedom

For most people, travel equals freedom. You have the time and ability to slowly peruse one place before meandering onto another. Without the ties of being employed in a location-dependent job, you have the freedom to pretty much do as you like. You can travel for as long as you want, with who you want, and where you want. You don’t have to stick to your two weeks’ vacation time.

For those of you who are considering quitting your job to teach abroad or take on other jobs as you travel, freedom can mean being somewhere new and exposing yourself to new ways of living and thinking.

Exploring different cultures

The world is a big old place with so many different kinds of people, different lifestyles, and different philosophies. One of the main reasons people up sticks to travel is to learn more about the world around them. When you’re tied down to one place it’s easy to grow blinders on the rest of the world, but when you’re out there exploring – well, that’s the good bit! Getting to know new people, learning about new ways of thinking, and generally opening your mind to the world around you.

Learning about yourself

Which leads me on to this point. Whilst you’re learning about the world around you, you’re also subconsciously learning about yourself and how you slot into this magnificent planet. It is human nature to constantly question our existence and to find our place in the world, and travelling is one of the best ways to do this.

As well as learning about your life in regards to the bigger picture, you might also discover the things you love and what you want from life. Sure, you probably won’t find it getting drunk at the full moon party in Thailand, but you might find it volunteering at an animal shelter or whilst you’re learning about the tragic history of Bosnia.

Oodles of Life Experience

Life experience is one of those well-used buzzwords that very few people know the meaning of. In fact, I’m not really sure what it means. Surely everyone who is alive and living has life experience?

Anyway, travelling will broaden your life experience and provide you with awesome opportunities to adorn your CV with. Just make sure you make the most of them so you don’t come back (if you do come back) with nothing to show for it.

It might be the answer to… everything

I’ve heard so many people say that those who travel are trying to escape something. I disagree. I think each person is travelling for their own reasons and only they know why they’ve chosen to take that route in life.

Of course, there probably are travellers out there who are doing it to escape something back home, but who are we to judge? Who knows, you might find the answer to all your pensive, late-night thoughts at the basecamp of Mount Everest!

The Cons of Quitting Your Job to Travel

Now let’s flipside this whole shebang and take a look at some of the cons of quitting your job to travel. Like I said, it’s certainly not for everyone, so really consider these points and whether you could live with them before you go running to your boss with your notice.

Lack of stability

Although things have upended a bit in recent years what with the “economic crises”, for the most part being employed by someone is a stable way of living. You get a regular pay-check, you don’t have to hustle for work, and you have regular working hours.

Whilst a lot of people claim they hate the monotony of this kind of life, the truth is there are millions and millions of people who love it. It’s safe and secure, and that’s one of the biggest things we seek out as humans.

Less money

Are you one of those people who loves buying the latest gadgets and splashing out on new clothes every week? Whilst I’m not one to judge what you spend your money on, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to carry on this lifestyle whilst travelling.

For starters, you only have a limited amount of space to carry things around in and, secondly, you’ll probably need to spend your money on transport, hotels, and activities to really get to know a place.

When I quit my job to move to Spain I initially thought I’d be taking a huge pay-cut (turns out I didn’t, but still), so ask yourself if you’d feel comfortable with that or, more to the point, whether you could live like that.

Less time with family

I’m a huge family person and the hardest thing for me when I moved abroad was not seeing as much of my family as I would have liked. Often, you take for granted your rellies being there for you, but whilst you’re travelling you’ll have to fend for yourself for the most part (well, there’s always Skype, but trying to hug someone through a computer screen is… well, impossible).

Could you go for months without seeing your family and friends? This is one of the things a lot of people don’t actually consider when they go travelling, but it’s one of the main reasons people come home early from a trip.

No Homebase

Do you like coming home to the same bed every day? Making your living space look nice? Having friends over for dinner? These are simple things but it’s always the little things in life that make us happy.

Travelling often means living out of a suitcase, hopping from one accommodation to another without really settling in, and having to get to know a new place every few weeks or so. Of course, there are different ways of travelling, but whether you plan on doing it slowly or quickly, you will still have to adjust to having ‘no fixed abode’ at some point.

It might not be the answer to… everything

If you are trying to escape something, the chances are it will follow you to wherever you go. If your main reason for travelling is something that can’t be cured by hopping from new place to new place, then you’ll likely find yourself very disappointed somewhere along the line.

Assume that you’ll have the same problems just set against a different backdrop – still want to go?

So there you have a brief overview of some of the pros and cons of quitting your job to travel. It’s a huge decision to make, so I’d advise you to sit down and really hash out the specifics of why you want to do it, what you’ll have to sacrifice, and whether it will really make you happy.

Your turn! Are you considering quitting your job to travel? What do you think you’ll find the hardest part? Or the easiest part?