Some people think that it's necessary to quit job and travel full time to discover the world properly. It's quite common these days to say that one needs to take a gap year to be a proper traveler.
But is it really so?
Do we all need to ditch our jobs (no matter how good they are) and start traveling constantly in order to visit all those amazing places travel bloggers present to us?
Here are a few reasons why I'd rather stick to my job, despite the fact that I love traveling.
Table of contents
1. It’s too trendy.
Getting rid of your job and travel all over the globe seems to be very trendy these days. And I haven’t been particularly fond of trends. Never.
To be honest, it makes me suspicious – why 10 years ago everyone dreamt about well-paid, corporate job and now everyone laughs at such lifestyle? What’s more, I see that some people even despise 9–5 workers – I keep seeing pictures, articles and memes which condemn and mock stable, office job. Especially corporate workers seem to be the most tempting target for critics.
Well, it only makes me wonder what will people criticize in the next 10 years ? Will I keep seeing articles “Travelling The World Makes You Selfish”? Maybe everyone will be writing “Why I got tired of constant travels” and “10 signs you should get yourself a stable job”.
2. I like money. I even need them (to travel for example).
Job gets me money which I can spend on travelling. Simply as that. No further comments needed.
3. My 9-5 routine makes me appreciate travel. A lot.
I always look forward to every weekend and every single day off. And longer 2-week holidays make me jump to sky with happiness.
Even the smallest things like fresh, green grass make me smile and appreciate the fact I’m on the way. In fact, my office job makes me appreciate travel a lot! And planning my trips is extremely exciting to me and keeps me going in my everyday routine.
4. I may not be able to slow travel but I've learnt to efficiently manage my time.
I’ve recently seen a presentation about a journey to Mongolia. It was a young couple describing their adventures in Asia. They had loads of time – it was 9-month journey. At some point, the girl started to complain about a delay they had while trying to get to Altai mountains. In fact, they wasted 3 days on waiting for a cheaper guide because they didn’t want to spend 100$ on a fee which would allow them to go immediately. Rather than pay the fee and be free to go, they preferred to spend 3 days in a small, uninteresting village in the middle of nowhere just sitting around and not doing anything worthwhile.
Of course, their 9-month adventure made me envious and I realized I’d never be able to go on such a long journey being a full-time corporate employee. But I also realized that if I went to Mongolia, my job would allow me to spend those 100$ and go to Altai mountains without any delay.
I simply can't afford to waste my time while travelling.
5. Freelance job isn’t only rainbows and smiles.
We all need money to travel. And working is one of the most common sources of money (looks like I've just discovered America 😉 ). So freelance job seems to be perfect travel-work relationship - successful freelancing allows you to work from every corner of the world (OK, jungles and mountain tops excluded).
I used to think that working for myself would be nice, easy and would allow me to do whatever I like at whichever time of the day. But in fact, freelance job’s more responsible and time-consuming than I thought.
After having been writing this blog for several months I've understood that if I wanted to make a living out of it, I’d need to commit more time and effort than my actual 9-5 schedule requires.
Don’t get me wrong – I think travelling is one of the best things we can do in life. I love it. I really do. And I do respect and admire people who quit their job and travel the world. But I think that people who work hard and are only able to travel part-time also deserve respect and admiration. I’m tired with all those “funny” pictures about “corpo-rats” .
So I decided to write this post to show that stable, corporate 9-5 job gives lots of advantages which aren’t only connected with the everyday, dull stuff. It may seem to be a paradox but my office job gives me lots of travel-related perks and makes me greatly appreciate my travels.
Are you a part or full-time traveller? Why did you choose this lifestyle?
