There are plenty of great posts and articles discussing all of the wonderful things travel has to offer. But like most good things, there is also a downside to traveling – it’s just that no one ever talks about that. Christine Talianis of “Bert & Patty” shares with us the frustrations she’s faced on the road during her year-long career break. Many people will be able to relate!

What are some of the unexpected frustrations you’ve encountered on the road?
I think the biggest thing is we didn’t know it was going to be so much work. Seems like we spend an awful lot of time planning our next move, figuring out where we are and how to get around (get a guesthouse, find somewhere to eat, laundry, find out what to do in that town/city, public transport, local scams, etc.). By the time we do all of that, we barely have time to journal, write in blogs and upload photos. So, we opt for a beer and get another day behind. I also thought there would be free wifi everywhere, and there definitely isn’t—guess we were spoiled in Seattle.

Is there anything you wish you knew in advance to help prepare yourself for them?

I wish I had a heads up that it wasn’t always going to be fun and exciting. Seems like nobody talks about the downside to long term travel and it’s even worse when we read other blogs and it sounds like others are having the time of their lives while we are struggling (I guess who’s going to write about it or take photos when they are struggling anyways, right!). Then we just feel crazy and felt bad because we were supposed to be having fun!

We also never expected we would argue so much because at home we got along so well; agreeing most of the time on what we were doing. Maybe it’s the fact that you are together 24/7 and making tons of new decisions every day. It wasn’t until we met other couples (who seemed to be having a great time and well adjusted) and they also reported experiencing the exact same stresses and arguments. Then we started to give ourselves a break and reminded ourselves that this is an unusually stressful situation. I think a lot of the bickering in the early days had to do with the stress of not knowing what the heck we were doing, traveling way too fast (we never stayed anywhere for more than 2 nights) and we were spending so much money in Australia and New Zealand. Now we feel like old pros, we stay in places 4 and 5 nights at a time and our money goes so much further in SE Asia.

Did you ever expect to miss your job and a structured schedule so much?
No, I never thought I would miss my job or structure, but we both do. We’ve even contemplated ending the trip so we can get back into a routine again. Glad we didn’t because we are having a great time. I think the biggest thing about work that I miss is my work friends (and my other friends for that matter). Oh what I would give to have a coffee or lunch with one of my girls and catch up on all the gossip or life issues. Plus, I miss the feedback of friends. On the other hand, I do love being with my Paul everyday creating so many meaningful experiences.

How have you been coping?
The biggest thing was talking about it with other long term traveling couples. Asking them if they experience the same things we do (and we were surprised to hear that they did). When we found that out, we didn’t stress about it so much anymore. We gave ourselves a break. Literally. Now, if we are feeling frustrated with each other, we agree to take an hour or two apart and meet back afterwards. It works out pretty nicely to have some ‘me’ time. We also split up at times so Paul can take some more photos while I get a massage—talk about a good break!!!

What would you tell others who are just preparing for their travels?
I would tell them it’s going to be the most amazing time of their lives. We feel so privileged to be able to travel for 13 months and experience so many cultures and beautiful places. I would also tell them it’s going to be a lot of work at times just trying to get everything together, so don’t travel too fast, enjoy the place you are in, talk to locals, experience the food, and by all means, don’t try to do it all. There are so many things we have set aside for another trip back to SE Asia. It’s amazing to think we have so much time but still we have to miss stuff but it is true.

Lately, we are having some great adventures because we have been more spontaneous. For instance, we got accosted by a couple of guys on a motorcycle the other day who offered to take us around Hue and we did it. It turned out to be much better than the city tour we took the day before and so much more fun. Or another time, a tout jumped into our taxi and took us to his hotel, which turned out to be a great deal and quite lovely and led into another hotel in the next town. Also, have a plan about bickering because it is definitely going to happen and it’s different than when you are at home because you lack a support system and you can’t just hop in the car and take a drive to cool off. And most importantly, make sure to be very good to each other and do the little things even though you are together 24/7.

Adam Seper and his wife Megan have embraced travel throughout their decade long relationship. And after getting married, they decided that instead of pursuing the “American Dream” of buying a house and starting a family, they wanted to travel the world instead. So in October of 2008 they set off on a 358-day adventure, visiting 4 continents, 11 countries, and nearly 90 cities. Since they’ve returned, Megan is back being an attorney and Adam has switched careers – from a high school English teacher prior to the trip to editor of BootsnAll.

For other couples preparing for an adventure of their own, here are some important insights and tips they learned.

If you’ve never taken an extended trip before, you’re bound to have tons of questions. How do we begin planning for something like this? Do we just up and quit our jobs? Is a sabbatical possible? How do we choose where to go? What do we pack? What about visas? Certainly all important questions. But what some fail to think about is what it will actually be like out on the road, especially in regards to traveling with your partner.

THE JUDGEMENT AND QUESTIONS

“Are you sure you know what you’re getting yourselves into?”

“Aren’t you afraid you’re going to hate one another after an entire year together?”

“Oh my God! We could never do that! We’d literally kill each other!”

We heard all the above statements when telling people our plan to take a year-long trip around the world together. We initially dismissed those questions as ludicrous, having confidence in our relationship and previous travels that this whole venture would be a walk in the park.

Our trip did indeed include many walks in many parks, but it was hardly the same as the metaphorical meaning of that statement. Something so many people fail to realize about extended travel is that it is really hard work at times. It’s not all puppies, rainbows, and unicorns.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TRIP AND A VACATION

We all love vacations. They’re great. Whether it’s lounging on the beach, taking a road trip, or renting a cabin in the woods, vacations give us a chance to get away from the daily grind of life, to forget about our worries for a while, and just relax and unwind. When on vacation, we feel as though we could stay forever.

Let’s set the record straight before we delve any further. A career break, RTW (round the world) trip, or taking off on an open-ended adventure is NOT the same as a vacation. We learned quickly that there is a HUGE discrepancy between a vacation and a trip. There are so many things to know, learn, and consider, particularly if you are traveling with your significant other.

PERCEPTION VS. REALITY

I envisioned sitting on beaches all day, sipping cocktails and eating great food. I saw ourselves hiking to famous sites we had always read about but now got to see in person. I pictured a year of not working, not having any stress, and simply not worrying about much of anything.

While our trip did include all of those fantastic and memorable experiences, there’s another side of long-term travel that doesn’t get talked about enough. Our trip was actually much more difficult than I ever thought it was going to be. I’m not trying to scare you here. Don’t worry – a trip around the world is everything it’s cracked up to be, and more. It’s a dream come true, a life-changing experience that will absolutely change you and your significant other forever. It will help your relationship grow and get to a place you never imagined, but to get the most out of your experience, there are so many things to consider.

ANALYZE YOURSELF AND YOUR RELATIONSHIP

Take a good, long, hard, honest look at yourself. What are you good at? What are your significant others strengths? What about your weaknesses? Think about both in regards to situations you’ll be in while traveling.

Do you enjoy haggling over everything you purchase, from a scarf to a taxi ride to a massage to a room in a hostel? Do you think the idea of having to spend an afternoon in an internet café researching flights and hostels and buses and trains doesn’t sound like a big deal? Do you yearn for that next famous piece of artwork in that next famous museum?

All seem like easy-to-answer questions about yourself and your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, or best friend. But really think about it. Remember, this is not the same as a vacation. You’ll be doing these things every single day for however long your trip is, whether it’s 6 months, 9 months, a year, or more.

Sure, while on a week trip you may be able to compromise on an afternoon visit to the museum. But what about five museums? Ten? A new one in each new city? Of course you don’t mind haggling over the cost of some souvenirs to bring home, right? What about having to agree on a price for nearly every dollar you spend (hello, India!)? Have you really thought about sitting in an internet café for three hours (that you have to pay for, remember?) with a painfully slow connection researching the best way to get from point A to point B, while the guy next to you smells like he’s trying to re-create the smell at Woodstock?

FOCUS ON WHAT DRIVES YOU CRAZY ABOUT YOUR PARTNER

It’s absolutely crucial to be honest with ourselves about our relationship. We all have pet peeves. No matter how well you get along and how perfect your relationship is, there is at the very least one thing that drives you absolutely bonkers. While at home these pet peeves annoy you, but you learn to deal with them. Besides, between work and other obligations, you may only see each other for a few hours a day during the week.

24/7. Every hour. Every day. Take a minute to ponder that. If you decide to take an extended break and travel with your significant other, you will be spending nearly every minute together. Sure, taking breaks here and there to do your own thing happens, but you’ll be together the vast majority of the time. That means every pet peeve you have is amplified. It may be cute at home, and you may be able to let it roll off your back easier when you only have to deal with it every so often. But when you’re coming face to face with something that annoys you on a near-daily basis, it gets to you a whole lot easier.

My wife is terrible about picking up after herself. Seriously, it’s like having a teenager around (sorry, honey, you know it’s true). It annoys me at home. But we have a house with many rooms, so it’s easy to overlook some clutter here and there. But when we’re staying at a hostel and have a room the size of a closet, something like clutter isn’t easily overlooked. It would drive me insane sometimes to see her haphazardly take stuff out of her pack and toss it around the room.

On the flip side, I know I’m not without my faults. I tend to complain, sometimes a lot. For her, it’s much easier to accept my little personality flaw when she only has to hear 50% of the complaints. When I’m at a bar back home with my buddies waxing poetic about some wrongdoing, she’s not there. But guess what? She is there while on the road. For all of it. Every annoyance I express my displeasure about, she hears it.

HOW TO HANDLE IT

So how do you deal with these little irritations while together all day, every day? As simplistic as it sounds, you communicate. Now I’m no Dr. Phil, but even I can advise that communication is key to any relationship. So before you ever hop on that first flight, talk about each other’s pet peeves. Sure, it may be difficult to hear, but if you can find methods and strategies for dealing with these situations before they pop up during a stressful situation, it will much be easier to deal with when they do.

Having a plan in place will limit so many arguments and unpleasant situations. Will it eliminate every fight? Of course not. But addressing possible situations before they pop up will drastically reduce those petty disagreements about each other’s quirks.

HOW OUR TRIP CHANGED OUR RELATIONSHIP (FOR THE BETTER)

While traveling around the world and spending nearly every waking moment with my wife was challenging at times, overall, it was the best thing that ever happened to us and our relationship. We were forced to deal with every obstacle we came across together. We were truly a team, and while we met some great people along the way, most of the time we only had each other to lean on.

It taught us patience (especially me – another one of my character “flaws”). We could feed off one another, help one another, and have each other’s backs. Sometimes one person just has to step into a situation and take charge. Sometimes one person has to take a step back. After a while, it just becomes instinct. You get to the point where you anticipate the other’s moves, the other’s thoughts, what the other will say and do next.

When in a completely foreign place, with unusual and unique customs, dealing with people who don’t speak the same language, it can be intimidating and challenging. That is when the strength of your relationship truly shines through. During those tough times is when I truly realized how lucky I was to be taking this life-changing journey with the only person I could, my best friend and partner for life.

You gain an appreciation for the others talents. The flaws and pet-peeves discussed earlier start to seem insignificant after a while. You get into a flow. You don’t always have to make every decision together, and you realize that you can put 100% of your trust in your travel companion to make the best decision for both of you – whether it’s bargaining the price of a cab ride or researching and purchasing a bus ticket to your next destination.

Honestly, I don’t think I reflected on the true strength of our relationship and changes in it until after we came home. After being together all day, every day for an entire year, it was very weird to come home and be apart. During the work day, I missed her. And it was never the big things I missed. Sure, I missed walking through the Sun Gate with her and seeing Machu Picchu in person for the first time. Of course I missed getting up with her and seeing the sun rise at Angkor Wat.

More than those amazing experiences, I simply missed spending so much time with her. I realized that I like to share everything with my wife. When she’s not with me, I miss her. When I experience something without her, I wonder what it would be like to have her there.

Many questions and concerns pop up over the course of planning a trip of this magnitude. If traveling with your significant other, it’s crucial to analyze the true state of your relationship, your strengths, and your weaknesses. You don’t have to be two peas in a pod to work. The fact that we have so many differences was a good thing. One person’s weakness is another’s strength.

The pictures, blog posts, and memories of all the amazing places we went, people we met, and experiences we had are all fantastic. All are things I remember every day and will reminisce about forever. But more than anything, I am grateful that I created all these memories with the woman I love most in this world.

To read more about traveling as a couple and planning a career break trip, check out the following articles and resources:

• How Traveling as a Couple Can Enrich Your Trip (and Your Relationship)
• How Two Totally Different Travel Styles Come Together
• Learn the practicalities of planning a RTW trip by signing up for BootsnAll’s free program – Plan Your RTW Trip in 30 Days

Adam Seper and his wife Megan have embraced travel throughout their decade long relationship. And after getting married, they decided that instead of pursuing the “American Dream” of buying a house and starting a family, they wanted to travel the world instead. So in October of 2008 they set off on a 358-day adventure, visiting 4 continents, 11 countries, and nearly 90 cities. Since they’ve returned, Megan is back being an attorney and Adam has switched careers – from a high school English teacher prior to the trip to editor of BootsnAll.

For other couples preparing for an adventure of their own, here are some important insights and tips they learned.

If you’ve never taken an extended trip before, you’re bound to have tons of questions. How do we begin planning for something like this? Do we just up and quit our jobs? Is a sabbatical possible? How do we choose where to go? What do we pack? What about visas? Certainly all important questions. But what some fail to think about is what it will actually be like out on the road, especially in regards to traveling with your partner.

THE JUDGEMENT AND QUESTIONS

“Are you sure you know what you’re getting yourselves into?”

“Aren’t you afraid you’re going to hate one another after an entire year together?”

“Oh my God! We could never do that! We’d literally kill each other!”

We heard all the above statements when telling people our plan to take a year-long trip around the world together. We initially dismissed those questions as ludicrous, having confidence in our relationship and previous travels that this whole venture would be a walk in the park.

Our trip did indeed include many walks in many parks, but it was hardly the same as the metaphorical meaning of that statement. Something so many people fail to realize about extended travel is that it is really hard work at times. It’s not all puppies, rainbows, and unicorns.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TRIP AND A VACATION

We all love vacations. They’re great. Whether it’s lounging on the beach, taking a road trip, or renting a cabin in the woods, vacations give us a chance to get away from the daily grind of life, to forget about our worries for a while, and just relax and unwind. When on vacation, we feel as though we could stay forever.

Let’s set the record straight before we delve any further. A career break, RTW (round the world) trip, or taking off on an open-ended adventure is NOT the same as a vacation. We learned quickly that there is a HUGE discrepancy between a vacation and a trip. There are so many things to know, learn, and consider, particularly if you are traveling with your significant other.

PERCEPTION VS. REALITY

I envisioned sitting on beaches all day, sipping cocktails and eating great food. I saw ourselves hiking to famous sites we had always read about but now got to see in person. I pictured a year of not working, not having any stress, and simply not worrying about much of anything.

While our trip did include all of those fantastic and memorable experiences, there’s another side of long-term travel that doesn’t get talked about enough. Our trip was actually much more difficult than I ever thought it was going to be. I’m not trying to scare you here. Don’t worry – a trip around the world is everything it’s cracked up to be, and more. It’s a dream come true, a life-changing experience that will absolutely change you and your significant other forever. It will help your relationship grow and get to a place you never imagined, but to get the most out of your experience, there are so many things to consider.

ANALYZE YOURSELF AND YOUR RELATIONSHIP

Take a good, long, hard, honest look at yourself. What are you good at? What are your significant others strengths? What about your weaknesses? Think about both in regards to situations you’ll be in while traveling.

Do you enjoy haggling over everything you purchase, from a scarf to a taxi ride to a massage to a room in a hostel? Do you think the idea of having to spend an afternoon in an internet café researching flights and hostels and buses and trains doesn’t sound like a big deal? Do you yearn for that next famous piece of artwork in that next famous museum?

All seem like easy-to-answer questions about yourself and your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, or best friend. But really think about it. Remember, this is not the same as a vacation. You’ll be doing these things every single day for however long your trip is, whether it’s 6 months, 9 months, a year, or more.

Sure, while on a week trip you may be able to compromise on an afternoon visit to the museum. But what about five museums? Ten? A new one in each new city? Of course you don’t mind haggling over the cost of some souvenirs to bring home, right? What about having to agree on a price for nearly every dollar you spend (hello, India!)? Have you really thought about sitting in an internet café for three hours (that you have to pay for, remember?) with a painfully slow connection researching the best way to get from point A to point B, while the guy next to you smells like he’s trying to re-create the smell at Woodstock?

FOCUS ON WHAT DRIVES YOU CRAZY ABOUT YOUR PARTNER

It’s absolutely crucial to be honest with ourselves about our relationship. We all have pet peeves. No matter how well you get along and how perfect your relationship is, there is at the very least one thing that drives you absolutely bonkers. While at home these pet peeves annoy you, but you learn to deal with them. Besides, between work and other obligations, you may only see each other for a few hours a day during the week.

24/7. Every hour. Every day. Take a minute to ponder that. If you decide to take an extended break and travel with your significant other, you will be spending nearly every minute together. Sure, taking breaks here and there to do your own thing happens, but you’ll be together the vast majority of the time. That means every pet peeve you have is amplified. It may be cute at home, and you may be able to let it roll off your back easier when you only have to deal with it every so often. But when you’re coming face to face with something that annoys you on a near-daily basis, it gets to you a whole lot easier.

My wife is terrible about picking up after herself. Seriously, it’s like having a teenager around (sorry, honey, you know it’s true). It annoys me at home. But we have a house with many rooms, so it’s easy to overlook some clutter here and there. But when we’re staying at a hostel and have a room the size of a closet, something like clutter isn’t easily overlooked. It would drive me insane sometimes to see her haphazardly take stuff out of her pack and toss it around the room.

On the flip side, I know I’m not without my faults. I tend to complain, sometimes a lot. For her, it’s much easier to accept my little personality flaw when she only has to hear 50% of the complaints. When I’m at a bar back home with my buddies waxing poetic about some wrongdoing, she’s not there. But guess what? She is there while on the road. For all of it. Every annoyance I express my displeasure about, she hears it.

HOW TO HANDLE IT

So how do you deal with these little irritations while together all day, every day? As simplistic as it sounds, you communicate. Now I’m no Dr. Phil, but even I can advise that communication is key to any relationship. So before you ever hop on that first flight, talk about each other’s pet peeves. Sure, it may be difficult to hear, but if you can find methods and strategies for dealing with these situations before they pop up during a stressful situation, it will much be easier to deal with when they do.

Having a plan in place will limit so many arguments and unpleasant situations. Will it eliminate every fight? Of course not. But addressing possible situations before they pop up will drastically reduce those petty disagreements about each other’s quirks.

HOW OUR TRIP CHANGED OUR RELATIONSHIP (FOR THE BETTER)

While traveling around the world and spending nearly every waking moment with my wife was challenging at times, overall, it was the best thing that ever happened to us and our relationship. We were forced to deal with every obstacle we came across together. We were truly a team, and while we met some great people along the way, most of the time we only had each other to lean on.

It taught us patience (especially me – another one of my character “flaws”). We could feed off one another, help one another, and have each other’s backs. Sometimes one person just has to step into a situation and take charge. Sometimes one person has to take a step back. After a while, it just becomes instinct. You get to the point where you anticipate the other’s moves, the other’s thoughts, what the other will say and do next.

When in a completely foreign place, with unusual and unique customs, dealing with people who don’t speak the same language, it can be intimidating and challenging. That is when the strength of your relationship truly shines through. During those tough times is when I truly realized how lucky I was to be taking this life-changing journey with the only person I could, my best friend and partner for life.

You gain an appreciation for the others talents. The flaws and pet-peeves discussed earlier start to seem insignificant after a while. You get into a flow. You don’t always have to make every decision together, and you realize that you can put 100% of your trust in your travel companion to make the best decision for both of you – whether it’s bargaining the price of a cab ride or researching and purchasing a bus ticket to your next destination.

Honestly, I don’t think I reflected on the true strength of our relationship and changes in it until after we came home. After being together all day, every day for an entire year, it was very weird to come home and be apart. During the work day, I missed her. And it was never the big things I missed. Sure, I missed walking through the Sun Gate with her and seeing Machu Picchu in person for the first time. Of course I missed getting up with her and seeing the sun rise at Angkor Wat.

More than those amazing experiences, I simply missed spending so much time with her. I realized that I like to share everything with my wife. When she’s not with me, I miss her. When I experience something without her, I wonder what it would be like to have her there.

Many questions and concerns pop up over the course of planning a trip of this magnitude. If traveling with your significant other, it’s crucial to analyze the true state of your relationship, your strengths, and your weaknesses. You don’t have to be two peas in a pod to work. The fact that we have so many differences was a good thing. One person’s weakness is another’s strength.

The pictures, blog posts, and memories of all the amazing places we went, people we met, and experiences we had are all fantastic. All are things I remember every day and will reminisce about forever. But more than anything, I am grateful that I created all these memories with the woman I love most in this world.

To read more about traveling as a couple and planning a career break trip, check out the following articles and resources:

• How Traveling as a Couple Can Enrich Your Trip (and Your Relationship)
• How Two Totally Different Travel Styles Come Together
• Learn the practicalities of planning a RTW trip by signing up for BootsnAll’s free program – Plan Your RTW Trip in 30 Days

I walk through the arrivals gate at the airport late one evening, a practice I have completed time and again over the past year, but this time it’s entirely different.  This time there isn’t another destination close in my future or a hostel to find in the middle of the night.  This time the airport is entirely familiar:  the art installations, the signage, the advertisements showing off familiar products with new labels and updated logos…  After 15 months, there should be some elation that comes with my re-entry. I should feel excited to be home.  I feel jittery and nervous… oddly lost.  Everything feels comfortably familiar and alarmingly foreign at once.  Welcome back.  This is home.  I live here.

Fifteen months ago I left on an extended trip with my husband.   We had a rough idea of the direction we were going to travel and an even rougher timeline. We had estimated our trip solely on the size of our savings account, with the help of an online travel calculator.  We’d been planning to give this a go for years, never knowing if we’d be able to save enough or be willing to take the plunge and actually go for it.  But against all the adversity that arises in a monolithic adventure like this, we were able to pull it together.  The easiest part was jumping on that first plane.

Perhaps the hardest part was coming home.

Nevertheless, our trip was the single best thing I could have done. Now that we’re home, things are a bit confusing and we haven’t quite pulled our lives back together.  It takes more time than I anticipated.  We’re living with family, working side jobs while seeking more permanent employment, and catching up with old friends.  We laugh, we adjust, and we worry sometimes.  But nothing can take away what we’ve accomplished.  You won’t find us regretting a thing about our decision to travel.

Our travels through 22 countries, including a boat ride over the Atlantic, were extraordinary.  People at home thought we were crazy.  The feelings of freedom, self-discovery and empowerment were astounding.  We discovered new foods in Cambodia, dove the barrier reefs in Australia and Belize, stayed in tiny thatched huts in Malaysia, and learned native dance in Guatemala.  We worked at an Italian cooking school in New Zealand, surfed the infamous waves in Bali, and tasted prosciutto in Spain.

Every day was about new experiences, brilliant colors, and laughable moments. Now that I’m back, sometimes life just feels like everything went to beige after a year in a rainbow. My experiences abroad broke down both personal and cultural barriers for me.  I learned how to communicate without using language, how to let go of my need to control things, how to quickly adapt, and how to thrive in unfamiliar territory.  In many ways it was the perfect preparation for coming home; I am stronger, more willing to adapt, and seem to take things as they come.  I worry, but not all that much.  We know ourselves well enough now to know that we’ll land on our feet.  More than anything, I just miss being out in the world.  I miss the adventure, the confusion, the uncertainty, the mind-boggling views and the tiny villages… In a way I feel more at home out in the midst of it than when sitting in a familiar living room.  That realization is weird to me.

My initial re-entry was so much less shocking than I had thought it would be.  That first night at home didn’t bring on the stress of reverse culture shock in the way many had warned me about.  Things felt almost normal, oddly normal.  It started out with general observations more than anything else. We scooped up magazines we hadn’t seen in a year, ate citrus from the farmer’s market, and drank coffee from the little place on a corner we use to frequent.  The sidewalks seemed impeccably clean, a 6-lane freeway looked enormous, drinking water from the tap was a luxury, and finding that every house and business had plumbing came as a shock.  Grocery stores were a maze of new products and old standbys.  We were thrilled at seeing our favorite local cheese, and we devoured tacos from the best cart in downtown. Throughout our first few weeks back, it was the little things that got us the most: no food was spicy enough; public transportation ran on an actual schedule, ice cream flavors were so ‘normal’… These insights are comedy; they offer little smiles throughout the day, they are mementos from our travels that sneak up on us daily.

The knowledge I come away from this trip with personifies everything I wish for humanity—everything I wish we understood about each other and everything I strive to understand myself.  Lately I feel like I have been mourning the loss of my journey.  Many people will say that to travel long term is to become desensitized to what you see or what you experience, but for me this couldn’t be farther from the truth.  I was aware of the sanctity of every hour of my trip—the long bus rides, the frustrating travel days, the language confusion and the angered border crossings—even in the most aggressive of situations I was still elated to be in that moment. I now harbor experiences that few can completely comprehend and fewer make effort to understand.  It is something I strain to find the words for, but my soul has grown wiser because of it.

Seeing the world has become my muse, and the brilliance is that no matter how much I try, I will never run out of it.  The world is too big, to dense, and too varied to ever be fully discovered.  For us, there is peace-of-mind in that, because no matter how life changes here, there will always be an adventure out there waiting.

To learn more about re-entry, check out the following articles:

• Reverse Culture Shock: Dealing With It Without Spreading It
• How to Deal With Reverse Culture Shock
• How to Make Processing Part of the Re-Entry Process
• The Ultimate Guide to Coming Home

Stacey Rapp and Dave Roberts love hiking, scuba diving, cooking, and of course, traveling.  They decided to take a career break after years of planning imaginary trips on a world map taped up on their living room wall. Now back in the US, they have relocated to San Jose, California from Portland, Oregon for work.  They are busy unpacking boxes and getting reacquainted with their cat, Baja.  The couple documented their travels on their blog, Breakfast on Earth, and they look forward to adding more posts whenever the next adventure comes around.

I walk through the arrivals gate at the airport late one evening, a practice I have completed time and again over the past year, but this time it’s entirely different.  This time there isn’t another destination close in my future or a hostel to find in the middle of the night.  This time the airport is entirely familiar:  the art installations, the signage, the advertisements showing off familiar products with new labels and updated logos…  After 15 months, there should be some elation that comes with my re-entry. I should feel excited to be home.  I feel jittery and nervous… oddly lost.  Everything feels comfortably familiar and alarmingly foreign at once.  Welcome back.  This is home.  I live here.

Fifteen months ago I left on an extended trip with my husband.   We had a rough idea of the direction we were going to travel and an even rougher timeline. We had estimated our trip solely on the size of our savings account, with the help of an online travel calculator.  We’d been planning to give this a go for years, never knowing if we’d be able to save enough or be willing to take the plunge and actually go for it.  But against all the adversity that arises in a monolithic adventure like this, we were able to pull it together.  The easiest part was jumping on that first plane.

Perhaps the hardest part was coming home.

Nevertheless, our trip was the single best thing I could have done. Now that we’re home, things are a bit confusing and we haven’t quite pulled our lives back together.  It takes more time than I anticipated.  We’re living with family, working side jobs while seeking more permanent employment, and catching up with old friends.  We laugh, we adjust, and we worry sometimes.  But nothing can take away what we’ve accomplished.  You won’t find us regretting a thing about our decision to travel.

Our travels through 22 countries, including a boat ride over the Atlantic, were extraordinary.  People at home thought we were crazy.  The feelings of freedom, self-discovery and empowerment were astounding.  We discovered new foods in Cambodia, dove the barrier reefs in Australia and Belize, stayed in tiny thatched huts in Malaysia, and learned native dance in Guatemala.  We worked at an Italian cooking school in New Zealand, surfed the infamous waves in Bali, and tasted prosciutto in Spain.

Every day was about new experiences, brilliant colors, and laughable moments. Now that I’m back, sometimes life just feels like everything went to beige after a year in a rainbow. My experiences abroad broke down both personal and cultural barriers for me.  I learned how to communicate without using language, how to let go of my need to control things, how to quickly adapt, and how to thrive in unfamiliar territory.  In many ways it was the perfect preparation for coming home; I am stronger, more willing to adapt, and seem to take things as they come.  I worry, but not all that much.  We know ourselves well enough now to know that we’ll land on our feet.  More than anything, I just miss being out in the world.  I miss the adventure, the confusion, the uncertainty, the mind-boggling views and the tiny villages… In a way I feel more at home out in the midst of it than when sitting in a familiar living room.  That realization is weird to me.

My initial re-entry was so much less shocking than I had thought it would be.  That first night at home didn’t bring on the stress of reverse culture shock in the way many had warned me about.  Things felt almost normal, oddly normal.  It started out with general observations more than anything else. We scooped up magazines we hadn’t seen in a year, ate citrus from the farmer’s market, and drank coffee from the little place on a corner we use to frequent.  The sidewalks seemed impeccably clean, a 6-lane freeway looked enormous, drinking water from the tap was a luxury, and finding that every house and business had plumbing came as a shock.  Grocery stores were a maze of new products and old standbys.  We were thrilled at seeing our favorite local cheese, and we devoured tacos from the best cart in downtown. Throughout our first few weeks back, it was the little things that got us the most: no food was spicy enough; public transportation ran on an actual schedule, ice cream flavors were so ‘normal’… These insights are comedy; they offer little smiles throughout the day, they are mementos from our travels that sneak up on us daily.

The knowledge I come away from this trip with personifies everything I wish for humanity—everything I wish we understood about each other and everything I strive to understand myself.  Lately I feel like I have been mourning the loss of my journey.  Many people will say that to travel long term is to become desensitized to what you see or what you experience, but for me this couldn’t be farther from the truth.  I was aware of the sanctity of every hour of my trip—the long bus rides, the frustrating travel days, the language confusion and the angered border crossings—even in the most aggressive of situations I was still elated to be in that moment. I now harbor experiences that few can completely comprehend and fewer make effort to understand.  It is something I strain to find the words for, but my soul has grown wiser because of it.

Seeing the world has become my muse, and the brilliance is that no matter how much I try, I will never run out of it.  The world is too big, to dense, and too varied to ever be fully discovered.  For us, there is peace-of-mind in that, because no matter how life changes here, there will always be an adventure out there waiting.

To learn more about re-entry, check out the following articles:

• Reverse Culture Shock: Dealing With It Without Spreading It
• How to Deal With Reverse Culture Shock
• How to Make Processing Part of the Re-Entry Process
• The Ultimate Guide to Coming Home

Stacey Rapp and Dave Roberts love hiking, scuba diving, cooking, and of course, traveling.  They decided to take a career break after years of planning imaginary trips on a world map taped up on their living room wall. Now back in the US, they have relocated to San Jose, California from Portland, Oregon for work.  They are busy unpacking boxes and getting reacquainted with their cat, Baja.  The couple documented their travels on their blog, Breakfast on Earth, and they look forward to adding more posts whenever the next adventure comes around.

Rainer Jenss was a Vice President and thirteen-year veteran of National Geographic. As the Publisher, he helped transform National Geographic Kids into the most widely read consumer magazine for children throughout the world. In the summer of 2008 he decided to put his professional expertise and personal passion to the ultimate test by traveling around the world for a year with his family.

Rainer continues to report on family travel as a Special Correspondent for National Geographic Traveler’s Intelligent Travel Blog and shares with us why traveling is a great way to build a foundation of learning in your children.

If you’re reading this post, you’ve probably fantasized about quitting your job, packing a suitcase, and leaving town for a while to travel the world. When we first got married, my wife Carol and I often contemplated taking the leap — sometimes seriously, sometimes not. There always seemed to be some excuse why we couldn’t, wouldn’t or shouldn’t. Our careers, responsibilities, and commitments had to be considered, and how about what our friends and family would say? It was always something. Then after the birth of our sons Tyler and Stefan, all this talk about packing our bags seemed to suddenly fade away. After all, you can’t possibly do something like this with kids, right?

If we teach our children to travel, we thought, then they will travel to learn –
a foundation that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

In January 2004, it all came roaring back. I had just returned with the family from Europe after visiting relatives for the holidays when Carol and I started reflecting on how much the boys (then seven and four) seemed to enjoy the experience of being in another country. Couple that with the post-9/11 mood of a country that was getting deeper into a war in Iraq and isolating itself more from the rest of the world, and suddenly it dawned on us that taking a year off to travel the world might actually be more sensible now that we had children. Increasingly, we found ourselves looking at taking a year off to travel not from the perspective of what we had to lose, but from all the benefits we could gain.

It dawned on us that nothing could probably better prepare the kids more for their future than traveling and experiencing what life is like outside the U.S. If we teach our children to travel, we thought, then they will travel to learn – a foundation that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. So after more than four years of saving and planning, we sold our house, put our careers, lives, and possessions in storage, and left for an around-the-world adventure that would cover 28 different countries in just over a year.

If you are a parent who might be contemplating something like this, it pays to consider some of the benefits your children will gain from traveling. Gathered from our experience, I’d like to share some advice that might help make your travels just a little more meaningful.

An Opportunity to Learn and Gather New Experiences

First, I’d like to recommend that you look at your travels not just as a time to relax and get away, but also as an opportunity to learn and gather new experiences. If you consider that the true function of education is to enable children to successfully navigate the world around them, than travel probably does this better than any other single activity because it embraces such a diversity of subjects.

Remember, kids are incredibly curious, so when you expose them to new things, you’ll be amazed at how quickly they forget about their electronic gadgets and watching television. For example, we visited museums in China and Rome, toured monasteries in Bhutan and Thailand, and explored archeological sites in Peru and Greece that offered up history lessons far more engaging than any textbook. For a dose of science, the geysers at Yellowstone and Costa Rica’s Arenal volcano gave them a real-life demonstration no classroom could ever simulate. There was no worrying about missing a year of Spanish class either. Six weeks in Central and South America took care of that.

Learn New Life Skills

Traveling also affords kids a chance to learn new life skills, so don’t be afraid to let them try something different and challenge them with activities they’ve never tried before. Our youngest son learned to surf in Costa Rica, play cricket in Australia, and make sushi in Japan. His older brother rode a horse for the first time on a dude ranch in Wyoming, picked up the art of origami in Japan, and snorkeled on the Great Barrier Reef. But we discovered that photography was what he was most passionate about. While traveling may have opened his eyes to a whole new way of looking at the world, a camera became his outlet for expressing it.

And one other major piece of advice: make sure everyone in the family has their own camera! Not only will this keep your kids thoroughly occupied, but if you share a camera, you risk possibly missing that perfect sunset shot because another member of the family is off somewhere with yours taking pictures of who-knows-what.

Making Personal Connections

Making personal connections is another wonderful side of traveling that we sometimes take for granted. We learned that meeting people and talking to them about their lives was the best way to really understand a place and appreciate its culture. Despite the language barriers, this wasn’t hard to do in countries like Greece, Japan, and Peru, especially if you have a guide.

But even here in the U.S., there are some fascinating regional differences to explore and learn from. In South Dakota and Montana for example, it was refreshing to see how strong its people are connected to the land and the history of its Native American heritage.

So don’t think you can’t take a career break just because you have children. The opposite is really true: the kids are the reason why you should go – if not for your sake, for theirs! Check out the following articles and resources to help plan your family getaway:

• Around the World as a Family
• On the Road: Traveling with Kids
• Homeschooling on the Road
• Sign up for BootsnAll’s free planning resource – Plan Your RTW Trip in 30 Days-Family Edition

“If you knew you wouldn’t make it to your next birthday, how would you change your life right now?”  Would a career break seem more of a priority?  Would it be easier to plan and take a career break?

This is the question Warren and Betsy Talbot asked themselves years ago.  It is what ultimately pushed them over the edge to take the career break leap of faith.  They then spent the next 25 months selling everything they owned, saving money, and revamping their lifestyle to make their dreams a reality.  But before they left, they helped us host the first Seattle Meet Plan Go event in 2010 – this is how I came to meet Warren and Betsy and from that point on I was a fan.  Their energy, enthusiasm, and business sense is tremendous.  In fact – I’m so enthralled by them – I have agreed to travel with them this fall in Turkey as the 3 of us tackle the Lycian Way – a 520 km hiking trail in southern Turkey.

They left in 2010 and have been on the move ever since – evolving their career break into a lifestyle change and new career.  After 3 years on the road they are experts (and authors) on many things such as how to prepare for a career break, downsizing, saving money for a career break, getting over your fears, and housesitting.  That’s why we are extremely excited to have authors, veteran career breakers, travelers, and entrepreneurs Warren and Betsy Talbot of Married with Luggage join us for a (free) Meet Plan Go meet-up on Tuesday, June 25, 5:30-8:30PM (PST) at Dear Mom in San Francisco.

One of the biggest hurdles that prevents people from taking a career break is being overwhelmed by the process. “Where do I even start?” is a common question we hear.  If you are in San Francisco – then we’ll help you answer this question.  Come join Warren and Betsy Talbot on Tuesday, June 25 as they discuss starting a business on the road and share their story and the stories of all the people they have met along the way. We’ll also have an open Q&A where people can ask whatever they like about how Warren and Betsy made their travel dreams come true.

If you’re on that ledge but can’t seem to take the leap, maybe this can be the little nudge you need.

The event is free, but please register here as space is limited. Food and drinks will be available for purchase.

And  if you aren’t near San Francisco – then check out our event with Warren, Betsy, and Jannell Howell in NYC on July 2nd!

See all of our local events in our Meet Plan Go! Event Calendar

After his five month career break with his now wife, Matt Goudreau sees how that time helped them set both their life and work priorities.

It all started on New Years Day 2009. After two months of dating, my ladyfriend Shara and I made an impromptu decision to celebrate our upcoming birthdays in London and Paris, which would be my first big international trip.

So, one month later, we went. We ate, drank, saw the sights – loving every second of it. You could say we caught the “travel bug.” At that point we had a similar revelation: we were merely content with our jobs; the word “happy” was never used. She being 29, me 31, and both kid-free, we thought it was the ideal time to take a leap. Like many other dreamers, we wanted to leave our jobs and travel the world. Easy decision, tougher reality.

We spent March and April figuring out how we could actually do this (i.e. budget), where we would potentially go, length of trip, and what would we do when we returned. After much research, we decided with great excitement to make the leap; however, we figured we’d need the next 8 months to work the details out.

First up, we worked somewhat backwards. We determined we’d resign from our jobs at the end of 2009, and travel in early 2010. After 8 successful years of working in sales in NYC, Shara wanted to give it all up to pursue her passion and return for her masters in Psychology. Using that as a guide, we figured 5 months of travel would be ideal. We could return by June, then settle into a location for next Fall. For me, I was thrilled to go along for the ride not knowing where we would wind up. I wanted to use my 10 years of marketing experience and turn it into freelance work wherever we landed. Time would eventually tell if that would pan out.

After riding the high of determining our timeline, the real fun began. Next, we spent the summer mapping out our route. Australia, Vietnam, and Portugal topped my list, while China, Cambodia, and Spain led the way for Shara. So we plotted along our route – starting in Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand, moving our way across China and Southeast Asia, then onto Egypt and Israel, eventually closing the world tour in Europe.

We then started to get other details in order – such as insurance, storage, hotels, visas and travel medications. Taking care of as much as we could prior to our departure allowed us to freely immerse ourselves into every aspect of the trip.

We continued to crank out our to-do list, eventually getting to our departure date. On January 19th, after 17 hours of flying, we landed in Fiji! The feeling was unlike any other. It was a bit unsettling to think we just left our jobs, our apartment, our family, friends, and country, and wouldn’t see it again for five months, but we felt like it was going to be worth every second of it.

It took a few weeks to get use to the lifestyle, but we eventually settled in and experienced a five-month, 17 country stretch that changed our lives. We drove the coast in Australia, hiked the Great Wall in China, went skydiving in New Zealand, biked back roads in Cambodia, prayed in Israel, witnessed protests in Bangkok, and tasted the fine green wine in Portugal. We met a lot of great people along the way and learned a lot on different perspectives that other cultures have on every day life.

While the actual trip was a bit surreal, the best part to us was that we were able to take this time to evaluate our lives and see what we really wanted going forward. Quality of life was priority number one, and enjoying our work was priority number two.

This led to our decision that when we returned, we’d re-locate to South Florida, where Shara would embark on her masters program. We love the sun, and for me, the thought of freelancing from home with the windows open and sun shining couldn’t have been more appealing. Plus, we were still on the same coast as our family and friends, which was the most important factor in our decision.

Since we’ve returned, we’ve settled in smoothly. Shara is rocking and rolling at the University, and after a few months of determination & persistence, I found steady freelance work and have enjoyed it.

Our career break not only provided us with the direction we wanted for our next steps in the working world, but also led us to our next steps in life. There’s no set way to do it, there’s a million ways to make the break. But for anyone who can take that step and make the leap, it may be the best decision you’ll ever make.

Oh, and one more thing for any couples out there, many wondering how spending 5 months together for 24/7 works out. Well, for us, it did, and soon after we returned, we got engaged and are now married!

To read more personal accounts of people taking control of their lives, check out the following stories:

• Travel: Finding a New Future
• A Life-Changing Year Ends Full-Circle
• One Career Break Inspires Another
• Defining Your Own Values and Crafting Your Own Meaning for Life