The “adult gap year” – benefits (and drawbacks) to uprooting your life

It’s happening.

The wheels are turning in your mind.

For the first time, or perhaps the hundredth, you are envisioning your life as it could be – a transformative journey with few regrets, full of novel adventures, rewarding challenges and beautiful locales. You used to think a “gap year” – taking a year off from your career to travel – was a pipe dream reserved for Europeans and recent graduates, and you’re neither of those. But why should it be?

The idea our career needs to be a perfectly unbroken chain of productivity is something I first began to question in 2020, when the COVID pandemic forced me (and many others) to rethink work-life-balance. I wasn’t miserable in my job, but I wasn’t happy either. I was just ok. But thinking about the future, it always seemed pretty depressing if the next 40 years of my life were devoted to “just ok.” Fast forward two years and many decisions later and I’m nine months into my gap year at age 29.

If you’re considering embarking on such a trip, or really any long-term travel as an adult, this article is for you. I’ll share some first-hand accounts and tips from my own excursion and ultimately plead the case that for some, taking a year to travel could be the most important decision you’ll ever make.

What is an adult gap year?

Simply put, a gap year is a year spent pursuing anything other than your career. Popular in many European countries, it traditionally involves a high school or college graduate taking a year post-graduation to travel recreationally before entering the workforce – thereby having a “gap” in employment.

An adult gap year is the idea of taking a gap year while in the middle of your career, essentially putting a “pause” on things to travel, pursue personal projects and/or reevaluate your priorities. While less common, adult gap years have become especially attractive prospects for millennials and even older folks who, due to the pandemic, dissatisfaction with their job, or any number of reasons are looking to make big changes in their lives.

In American culture (where I grew up), such long-term travel is something generally saved for retirement. From our early 20s until age 65 (or later), most working Americans get precious few holidays and don’t travel far to enjoy them. For many, a week spent partying or relaxing at a nearby locale is as far as they are willing (or able) to go. And that’s absolutely ok. I don’t believe you need to travel the world to be happy, and I have friends and family who are living proof of that – folks who are able to find fulfillment at home, or simply prefer their creature comforts to the headaches of travel and are perfectly content with their lifestyle.

But for the wanderers, the overly curious, the restless dreamers itching for something new, it’s not enough to dip our toes in the ocean, nor is it sufficient to only learn about the vastness and variety of Earth from a screen. We need to live it, to breathe it, to go all-in and absorb it with our own senses. If that sounds like you, a gap year may be the change you are looking for.

This rodeo ain’t just for the young bucks

Firstly, let’s address the “age” question. If you search the internet for “gap year,” you’ll see mostly youthful, fresh-faced 20-somethings documenting their personal journeys – the implication being you have to be young to take on a gap year. However, I can tell you from first-hand experience that’s a complete myth. I know, because I’ve met tons of people actually doing it!

Aside from the usual cohort of 18-23 yr-old Brits and Germans, the long-term travelers I’ve met on my gap year could not be more diverse age-wise. At a hostel in Miami, my roommates were a pair of energetic 40-yr old Latinas who had met in a hostel and subsequently spent months together traveling Latin America searching for the best parties. In Hawaii I befriended a mid-30s deutscherap-loving Berliner who was long-term traveling the U.S. in between jobs. In Charleston, I spent time with a jolly, Santa Claus-bearded 60-yr old Aussie who had just been divorced and was hitchhiking across America because he needed change. And everywhere I went, there were dozens of full-time digital nomads in their late-20s and 30s who ditched their homes and offices to live completely on the road and travel full-time.

Depending on your age and your life circumstances, you may be worried traveling alone as an adult is somehow “sad” or “depressing” or that you’ll be judged for “attempting to hold onto your youth” or something along those lines. This notion couldn’t be further from the truth. If you are seeking change, adventure, excitement, friendship, cultural exchange or personal growth of any kind, you deserve the opportunity to find it through travel. And contrary to how you may feel, most young people you meet aren’t likely to judge you on your age. In my experience, they are more likely to be incredibly supportive and excited for you, and will likely inspire you in ways you didn’t expect. In the end, you’ll find yourself in good company. So don’t let something as arbitrary as your age prevent you from acting.

What are the advantages to taking an adult gap year?

The biggest advantage to taking a gap year is the gift of time. To illustrate this, imagine your ideal week-long getaway. Maybe it’s sun-tanning with a mimosa on a Hawaiian beach, or climbing a mountain in the Swiss Alps, or eating amazing street food on a busy Bangkok street. Your week is full of amazing experiences, novelties and people that etch the experience into your mind as a beautiful memory. Then, as always, you have to go home. But this time, you actually don’t have to go home. You can continue on to the next beach, the next mountain, the next busy street food stall, or you can do all three and continue doing so for an entire year. Long story short? You’re going to need a bigger bucket list.

The myriad positive ways you could spend that time are up to you, but for the sake of this article I’ll list a few common ones here:

You can experience the world for yourself. There is no substitute for first-hand experience. Rather than gleaning a surface-level idea of a place or culture by watching a YouTube video or TV program, why not go there and get the full picture? Actually being somewhere allows you a much deeper experience and appreciation of that place, and the people in it. You will be all the wiser for it.
You can reevaluate your life. Maybe you aren’t happy with certain aspects, or even all aspects of who you are right now. Taking a gap year allows you the time to focus on figuring out who you are and experiment with what changes you should make. That way, when you return, you’re a changed person and don’t just go back to square one.
You can pursue goals that require a large time commitment. There are some things we’d love to do, but that just take too much time. This is your chance to actually achieve those big goals. Think backpacking all of Europe or committing to learning a new language. Or even retreating to nature to explore your moral philosophy or spirituality, if that’s your thing.
You can exercise your courage. As our elders tell us time and time again, the worst regrets are the things we didn’t do, often for lack of courage. A rewarding, challenging trip like this is an opportunity to get out of your comfort zone, find your courage and reap the rewards of living without regret.
You can gain perspective on our shared humanity. It is easy to judge those we have never met. You will likely discover that meeting and talking to people in a culture you’ve only seen in movies is a far more varied and rich experience than their stereotypes would suggest. And you may find more in common with them than you expected.

The benefits of traveling as an adult

There are also certain benefits to specifically taking an adult gap year, as opposed to a traditional gap year at the age of 18 or 22. Having reflected on my own trip thus far, here are a few benefits I have noticed:

You are less stupid. I did a lot of dumb and/or cringe-y things as a youth, and I’m sure I’m not alone. As an adult, you’re much less likely to be swindled or put yourself in dangerous situations, which is easy to do when you’re in a foreign land and don’t know the rules.
You can better appreciate the opportunity. As a starry-eyed 18-year-old, the only thing I cared about was acting cool, finding the next party and attempting (unsuccessfully) to get a girlfriend. If I had taken my trip then, much of the opportunity would have been wasted on my ignorant youth. As an adult who has been in the working world for years of even decades, you can better appreciate the opportunity a gap year presents and seize it with a fervor.
You know yourself better. Most teens and early 20-something are still figuring out who they are and what they care about. As an adult, you know these things more clearly and can plan your trip to better suit your interests and needs.
You are probably in better shape financially. Most high school students are broke, and most college graduates (in America) are broke AND have a mountain of student loan debt. These realities can be crushing. If, instead, you take a gap year as an adult in the middle of your career, you are likely to have more savings and less debt, making your trip more feasible and less stressful. I spent the two years before my trip aggressively paying off my debt, and by the time I left I had almost none remaining. It was a huge burden off my shoulders.

What are the disadvantages to taking an adult gap year?

I’m going to be real with you. A gap year isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It can be challenging mentally, financially, and even physically. While I believe it is ultimately worth it, here are a few things to keep in mind:

You are sacrificing earning potential. Not working for a year means, obviously, you’re not earning income for a year. While you may be able to work part-time along the way, you are likely sacrificing your savings as well as potentially an entire year of income that would otherwise be going towards building your nest egg. Especially if you are low-income, this might be a tough pill to swallow (although budgeting and making a long-term plan can help!).
You are putting your career on hold. Depending on your career ambitions, this could potentially be an issue. If you have the proper skills and expertise, you will likely be able to get that same job or a similar one when you return. But if you are still worried about the gap in your resume, consider actually putting it on your resume. Include your gap year and list the valuable lessons and skills you learn along the way. Chances are, you’ll be a more interesting and memorable candidate for it. Also…don’t be surprised if your travels have you considering a career change by the time your return!
You are missing out on time with loved ones. Taking a gap year means spending that year away from home. While that’s exciting for you, it’s also a year spent physically away from your family and friends. Especially if you have elderly relatives, that notion may seem daunting or even impossible to fathom. I am lucky enough to have some amazing friends and healthy parents (knock on wood), all of whom supported my decision to leave (as long as I promised my mom I’d be home for Christmas). Even so, it is difficult. Fortunately with modern technology, they are only a video call away. And if yours are like mine, they will even join you on some of your adventures!

Why not wait until retirement to travel the world?

Even if you love the idea of traveling, you might think taking a gap year in the middle of your career seems impossible, or downright irresponsible, or simply unnecessary. After all, many people save their big travel plans for retirement, when they are in their 60s and 70s. Why not just do that?

I can understand those arguments, and I think traveling in retirement is great. But there are a few reasons why you may not want to put it off:

Your health! If you’re older than 25, your body is likely more healthy and resilient now than it will be at any time in the future. That’s not to say you can’t improve your fitness and strength later in life (and you should!), but as a general rule, things get harder. Injuries, disease, chronic health conditions… as you age, these factors will add up to reduce your ability to function. In 10 or 20 years, that mountain you’re dreaming of hiking may be too difficult for you to summit. Or you may simply not have the energy for long-term travel that you do now.
Your mindset! One of the greatest benefits to traveling for an extended period of time is the opportunity to “reset” yourself – i.e. reevaluate your priorities and open yourself up to new ways of thinking and living. The older you get, the more “stuck in your ways” you generally become – and the less likely you are to engage in this kind of introspection.
Life is short! To be frank, you just might not make it to 65. Life is unpredictable, and even the healthiest and most cautious among us can succumb to the inherent risk of being alive. Classic phrases like “You could get hit by a bus tomorrow!” are cliche, but true. Death can be uncomfortable to talk about, but it is inevitable – and something to consider.

How to prepare for your adult gap year

There are thousands of guides on how to travel, and depending on your comfort level, interests and desired location(s), your preparation may look completely different from the next person. Since this isn’t a full-blown guide, I’ll cover a few basic things to think about:

Money ($$$)

The most essential, undeniable, impossible-to-avoid requirement for travel of any kind is money. The number one thing you can do to prepare for an adult gap year is to get your finances in order and start saving. If you haven’t already, consider starting a budget to see where your money is going every month. I have one, and it is a lifesaver. If that’s too daunting, consider simply setting aside a certain amount of money every week in a “Gap Year Fund.” If you have student loans or other high-interest debt, consider attacking that first – you don’t want high payments and snowballing interest weighing you down.

The good news is, saving is easy to start NOW, no matter where you are on your journey to taking a gap year. If you’re like me and have a fairly low income, consider cutting back on certain unnecessary luxuries like Starbucks coffee or ordering takeout and instead make your own at home. Try picking up a gig job like Uber or Doordash for a few hours per week or selling your rarely-used belongings on websites like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. Nerdwallet has great articles for both maximizing your savings and earning extra I recommend skimming through.

Although we are understandably attached to many of society’s modern conveniences, this is YOUR LIFE we’re talking about! Don’t let excessive comfort and convenience be the barrier to you living your best life. And on those days when things inevitably feel tough, just remember why you are doing it.

Planning your (rough) itinerary

Depending on your interests, planning the details of where you’ll go and what you’ll do could be your favorite or least-favorite part of this whole thing. I personally enjoy trip planning, but even if you don’t it’s worth it to sit down and figure a few things out. Namely:

Where you would like to go
How much time you want to spend there
The cost of traveling in that region

This is where you break out your bucket list and let your imagination roam free. I recommend making a list of places that pique your interest and then doing some further research to see what they have to offer.

When I was planning my trip, I dropped Google Maps pins on each of the main destinations I wanted to go and formed a rough route from there. Then, I determined roughly how much time I’d need to spend at each in order to experience everything I wanted (i.e. 1 day, a week, 2 months??). For average daily cost, Nomadic Matt has a great cost estimator for many countries around the world that can help you plan (just click on a country and scroll to the “Suggested Budget” section). You can also find plenty of other “cost of living” guides online. But no matter what number someone else suggests, always plan to have a bit more for life’s unexpected turns. This saved me when I got COVID in Hawaii, the most expensive place ever…but that’s a story for another time!

Other things to keep in mind when choosing where you want to travel include:

VISA and vaccination requirements
Weather and time of year you’d like to visit
Insurance
Cultural norms
Necessary safety precautions
Available transportation (car, bus, train, plane, scooter, tuktuk, walking, etc!).

Note: If you’re used to taking short, 3-5 day trips like many Americans, it get be easy to try cramming way too much into your itinerary. This is your opportunity to take things slow. Instead of flying from city to city, consider renting a car or taking the bus and stopping at little towns and sights along the way. Instead of planning out every day to the letter, try just planning where you’ll be and letting yourself decide what to do when you wake up that morning. You’ve got a whole year ahead of you – and while that’s not forever, it’s long enough to take a deep breath and smell the roses. You’ll also be less stressed, which is a good thing!

Identifying your comfort zone & risk tolerance

No matter where you live, you are undoubtedly accustomed to the particular culture, norms and rules of your region of the world. When you visit somewhere new, especially a place that is significantly far from your home, things can be (shocker) VERY different. Sometimes for the better, but sometimes for the worse. Your personal risk tolerance – which places and things you should seek out, and which you should avoid – is something you should think about while planning, and be constantly reevaluating wherever you go during your trip.

It’s important to get out of your “comfort zone” and try new things; but don’t be reckless, and don’t ignore your gut feeling about something. A good balance of the two is what I strive for. Here are a couple DOs and DON’Ts for your gap year:

DO:

Be social! It’s easy to make friends on vacation. Talk to strangers, especially other travelers at your hostel or hotel. If you’re lucky, they will be your new best friends and companions to join you in your daily adventures.
Try new activities! Surfing, karaoke, dance classes, spontaneous road trips, eating the local delicacies (friend insects, anyone?)… these are the memories you will take home with you. Don’t be afraid to try something new!

DON’T:

Don’t put yourself in danger. Unless you are engaged in humanitarian aid or other noble cause, traveling to war torn or otherwise dangerous parts of the world is probably something you want to avoid on your fun year-away-from-home.
Don’t sacrifice safety for money. During your travels, you’ll likely be tempted to save money whenever possible in order to extend your time away. While budget options like hostels and street food are excellent – and sometimes the best – options, it is rarely a good idea to pick the absolute cheapest choice. You don’t want to find yourself in a dangerous part of town, or spending your weekend sitting on the toilet because you chose the sketchy street food vendor.

Always do your research before visiting any particular location. Learn the local customs, find out what amenities and experiences are considered normal there, what the risks are, and compare those with your own expectations and comfort levels. When it comes to general safety, the US Department of State has a list of travel advisories and recommended precautions to take when traveling to each country. It’s a great resource to reference when planning your trip.

Should you consider an adult gap year?

If it wasn’t obvious from the tone of this article, my answer to whether or not you should consider an adult gap year is, unequivocally… YES!

You will make sacrifices, true, and there will be some hardship along the way. But the experiences you will gain and the person you will become are absolutely, 100% worth it.

A gap year is a selfish act – a year devoted entirely to you. To your hopes, your dreams and your future. When executed with intention, it can be a transformative personal journey that shapes you in ways you didn’t know you needed. Along the way you will be rewarded for your strength and courage and also confronted painfully with your flaws.

But ultimately, you will gain a better understanding of yourself and in doing so build a stronger foundation for your future.

Note: As of this writing, I’m currently 9 months into my gap year traveling North America and, soon, Asia! If you have any questions about my trip – planning, financial, mental health or otherwise – that you think may help you with yours, please leave a comment below and I will answer it to the best of my ability. Cheers!

The “adult gap year” – benefits (and drawbacks) to uprooting your life

What is an adult gap year?

This rodeo ain’t just for the young bucks