How long should you vagabond for?

As I’ve said many times before on this blog: my initial plan on the road was in a time-frame of 6-months. It’s been almost two-years now and the thought of packing up and going back to a job or “settling down” gives me a headache, not to mention severe pangs of aversion.

I’ve been in Western Europe for a while now, and although not traveled as much as I would have liked to, I’m ready to try something new. In my books, that means move to South America, Asia or South Africa; maybe even Eastern Europe. Continue to teach English or start a new activity to allow me to be there for a while, and go with the flow.

Having some sort of work here in Europe — be it teaching English, blogging or the odd bar-tending job, has allowed me to pay bills and buy beer. Any travel comes from my savings but if I go on with this for longer, I’m going to be scraping the barrel pretty soon. Then what would I do? Should I even put myself in the position where I won’t be sure where my rent money comes from? 2-years is a good time to have lived abroad on your terms and traveled, do I now need to be realistic and go back to school, or get a “proper” job?

If it wasn’t for money issues, I could live the way I am for the rest of my life. Right now, I earn little money, but enough; and I enjoy immersing myself in different cultures. But what about when I’m older? The main worry is the “future”. What sort of life will I have when I’ve had enough of wandering? Will I regret not having a typical “career” when I am, say, 40?

I’ve been telling myself that if I earn enough money to live off freelancing (in something!) to avoid going severely into debt, technically I can continue living the way I am right now, forever! But it’s easier said than done.

I think all these thoughts put pressure on you when you are on the road for a long time. They force you to make something of your life while you choose to live unconventionally, so that you can continue to live life on your own terms indefinitely! In the process, you tend to miss out on the reasons you chose this life in the first place.

All this leaves me with a final thought: to enjoy the time you take out to travel long-term, you will probably make the most of it if you put a deadline on the plans, and have alternatives thought of for later. Question is, how long of a plan is a good plan? How do you decide?

Posted by | Comments (13)  | March 15, 2008
Category: General

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