So I just quit my demanding job to go backpacking for 6-12 months in Asia by myself.

So I just quit my demanding job to go backpacking for 6-12 months in Asia by myself.

I have never done anything like this before.

Has anyone done something similar? Is this a bad idea? Does it get old after a few weeks?

I'm a fairly independent guy and can go a few days without talking to anyone but after that I become depressed and crave social interaction, I guess this limits me to hostels?

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  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    ngmi

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I’m about to do the exact same thing but in south east Asia.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      6 entire months in SEA? I plan to do SEA as well but I expect I'll get bored so I'm planning Japan and India as well

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Same here

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I'm gonna assume you have the money to do this, so whatever.

    The real issue I guess would be finding a new job after you're done. Instead of trying to explain an awkward gap on your resume/CV, just make up a job. Say that you were the Assistant Manager at Danda-Mifurin in Tokyo or whatever, just make the whole thing up.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      why would a 1 year gap look bad on your CV? if they ask just tell them you went traveling. People living their best life is shunned upon in work culture?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >People living their best life is shunned upon in work culture?
        I would say it depends on the country and even the industry. As sad as this sounds, there are employers that prefer to hire mindless NPCs. I think this mindset is toxic, so if push comes to shove, I will encourage lying about it. Look for a job, larp as an npc if you have to, work for as long as you need to, then move on to the highest bidder, or quit & go on an adventure.

        nta but I have a 10year gap in my resume and counting. don't live your life just to impress someone with a number on a piece of paper

        >don't live your life just to impress someone with a number on a piece of paper
        To expand on this, don't be truthful about it. Nothing's more sad than living a genuine NPC life. Just lie enough about it to get your foot through the door, then leave when you need to.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      nta but I have a 10year gap in my resume and counting. don't live your life just to impress someone with a number on a piece of paper

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >The real issue I guess would be finding a new job after you're done. Instead of trying to explain an awkward gap on your resume/CV, just make up a job. Say that you were the Assistant Manager at Danda-Mifurin in Tokyo or whatever, just make the whole thing up.
      Terrible advice. This isn't 1950, people take sabbaticals all the time. If he's been a good corporate goy thus far he has nothing to worry about.

      The only people who will give you shit for it are embittered losers hiring at Wendy's, who are just bullying you because they can. Even then, he would probably end up taking you. Unemployment is below 4%, he can easily get another job.

      I'd be more worried about a bullshit job not standing up to the heat of a background check.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >I'd be more worried about a bullshit job not standing up to the heat of a background check.
        Just say that it's a small business or it was in a different country. Those are much harder to check.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          Even still, a few months' sabbatical is nothing to be ashamed of. Even if an employer were inclined to hold it against you, in many industries they just can't. There are professional jobs that go MONTHS without being filled, for lack of qualified applicants. Non-professional jobs like line cook or Amazon delivery driver usually take anyone with a pulse, since they treat people like animals and they don't stay if they can help it. Times are tough, but they can be a lot worse. I assume we're talking about the American job market, of course.

          Again, unemployment is below 4%. The only people who aren't working are people who don't want to work. In times like this, I'd be more inclined to see someone turning their nose up at a sabbatical as a red flag to filter out unpleasant shitholes I wouldn't want to work for, especially if we're talking about professional jobs.

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >Has anyone done something similar? Is this a bad idea? Does it get old after a few weeks?
    It's not a bad idea, but it does get old. You start to tire of single-serving friends and boozing every night you can. There's something to be said for being around people you have long-term, stable relationships with. It wears you out moving up the ladder of intimacy with randos until it either crashes and burns, or they grow on you until your inevitable separation.

    And I feel like at a certain point, you meet every kind of person there is to meet. The homo, the sketchy local, the Israeli druggie. The group of Anglos on holiday, the lowkey rich kid.

    You get especially tired of it if you work while traveling. There's definitely some psychological overhead for being in an unfamiliar place, having to constantly change lodgings, and living out of a suitcase. Just the feeling of not being settled. And that's even if you actually like the place you're in. If you commit to a shithole for a month and hate it there, it'll definitely affect your performance at work.

    But if you're used to having a demanding career, it's definitely worth it for you to have this experience, so that you can return to ordinary life without regrets. So that you don't have this "American Beauty" esque feeling of ennui, of wondering what it would be like to be able to go wherever you wanted fricking random girls.

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Did exactly that, just sad I came back. But necessary, I need a family. I'm having 1 more month before I have a kid, if my job doesn't give it to me, I'm quitting and heading out again.

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