Updated// Single 26yr Old Male Seeks Life/Travel Advice and Regrets before Travelling The Globe

J6 on 28/06/2016 - 15:54
Last edited 29/06/2016 - 19:59

Im a single 26yr old male with 50k. I wish to travel the world for an undetermined amount of time. Please give me advice.

I currently work fulltime as a high school teacher and live with my parents. My life has become extremely comfortable and routine.

At the end of this year, ive decided I will leave aus with an open ticket, probably in the direction of south east asia as a starting point and then onto India.

My goal is to become bilingual (unsure on language) and start making some travel related videos.

My parents dont want me to do this. They want to me keep saving money so I can put a deposit on a house in my capital city. There argument is that ill be able to live comfortable when im 40 and then I can travel and do what i want. This isnt happening. My parents have never been overseas before so their views are different from mine.

If you have any advice, can you pass it on to me? it doesnt have to be travel related but would love some from some of the older wiser people on here who have been in my position or wanted to be in my position before. Do you have any regrets or something that you think i should do?

Ideally id love to travel for a while then land a job somewhere. Then just live off my earnings. My goal isnt to spend 50k in a year.

TL:DR
Single Young Male Seeks life/travel Advice before Travelling The Globe
*Has 50k
*No kids
*Will take a good camera and pack very lightly
Please give me life advice.

Update: I have been overseas numerous times and backpacked around Asia/Europe/north America already on shorter trips (a few months at most).

Many older people on here are saying "yes do it, plenty of time to buy a house and settle down later. While many people who are closer to my ages are saying "go for a few months but invest/save your money for your financial future". I can see both sides as its statistically harder to buy a house now in many capital cities than it was 20 years ago.

The dilemma that is constantly playing over and over in my head is that if i go overseas and come back after X amount of months/years with $XXk gone, i wont be able to live my parents and save that amount of money again so affording a house will be difficult. As for those who say to invest, Id love to invest some money in a property but i wouldnt be able to cover the repayments even with someone renting.

I will be going overseas for an extended period of time. I think about it everyday. I just want to do it wisely.

Travel

Comments

  • UltimateWarrior on 03/07/2016 - 18:49
    +1

    Just do it and you won't regret it. I am now 30 and working in London, have been here since I was 28. Initially i was worried about coming over with nothing. Back in Aus I had a good job in finance on a good salary and I was leaving all of that to move overseas where I had no job, no house and still mortgage repayments back home.

    The past two year have been the best of my life. Working in such a busy place as London has been amazing. The people I have met, the places I have seen and the overall experience is one I will forever be greatfull of. I am fortunate enough to work in fianace which allows me to make good £ so that I can travel to a different country each month while send money back home but I have many friends over here who are also teachers who are having the time of their lives. While they may not be able to send a lot of money home due to London living being expensive they make the most of their time here and are still traveling to different countries every month and seeing the world.

    For me what got me over the line was every time I spoke to someone who had made the move before they said it was the best thing they had done. I thought so many people couldn't be wrong and I was right, it truly is the best esxperiance I have ever had.

  • webtonmoy on 03/07/2016 - 19:34
    +1

    Definitely do it mate. :)

  • arbok on 03/07/2016 - 19:35
    +4

    Hope you are still reading these comments.

    Context - I'm 34, travelled lots, over 4 continents etc, have property.

    My advice is to do both and here's how.

    You need a job/steady income to get a mortgage. You have one. It is very hard to get these days so before you pack your bags and go travelling, put your 50k down on a property, maybe even a small apartment in the city which will turn an income. Once you have your mortgage setup, the bank won't bother you again unless you can't make the payments. Make sure you can make your payments though, with rental going from your property, you can cover a lot of it, you'll need to make up the rest from your job.

    When travelling you can definitely get a job as an english teacher seeing as you're a high school teacher already, so look into places like Japan, South Korea which pay first world rates. It's not the same as going to South East Asia where the income is probably a lot less because they are not first world countries.

    So you can still go travelling to SEA, but not for an indefinite amount of time, and then head somewhere like Japan, Korea, China and work there.

    That's what Id do anyway. Don't just spend your days on the beach if you're just travelling, trying to 'find yourself'. You can balance both, that's what life is all about.

    Good Luck!

  • AlisonP on 03/07/2016 - 19:39

    Bye!

  • worldwidehappiness on 03/07/2016 - 19:56
    +1

    Go to Spain and learn Spanish. It is the second biggest language in the world apart from Mandarin, I think. It's also a romantic language that helps to understand French and Italian and Portuguese. And from Spain you can do weekend trips to anywhere in Europe and North Africa.

    If some touristy thing seems like a rip-off, do it anyway - you only live once.

    Get good travel insurance/health insurance.

    Don't eat street food in unhealthy locations.

    If you're still with your parents at 26, then travel could be a good way to break out of that.

    Don't go to a dangerous area. Don't trust people on the street.

    A small amount invested in a few good penny stocks is a much more profitable than real estate - you can take risks when you're young. See Hot Copper Short-term traders thread for leads, but many of the tips are bad. Go for simple tech stocks with huge potential markets that are ready to commercialise.

  • xtreme2k on 03/07/2016 - 21:12
    +3

    All I can say is good luck with the Travel.
    However be mindful that you ARE making a choice between Travelling and Property.
    When you come back and straggling for a deposit please don't blame anyone else.

  • Cheap as chips on 03/07/2016 - 22:16
    +1

    Good time to be travelling Europe what with the Brexit shambles weakening the pound/euro.

  • icejester on 04/07/2016 - 01:35
    +1

    Generally anything for a long time becomes less meaningful including travelling.
    For me, I've found I wanted to return home after 1 month of travel for the stability, relaxation of living in my own place and to reconnect with my friends

    I say definitely go travelling whilst you're young but spread it out over many years because it's something to look forward to.

    Also I think you have to ask yourself, what do intend to achieve whilst travelling? Gain cultural awareness, see nature, meet different girls :P?

    If you do travel for a year, probably the best thing is to find a job in each of the countries you're travelling. I hear teaching english is quite a good option. Otherwise being a waiter/waitress is quite common among travellers.

  • cyrax83 on 04/07/2016 - 09:28
    +1

    I'm going to go the other way and say don't do what you are planning. Something like a 1 to 3 month trip may suffice, and set yourself up for the future with an investment

  • [Deactivated] on 04/07/2016 - 14:07
    -1

    Why haven't you gone already ???

  • GreyRabbit on 04/07/2016 - 15:22
    +4

    Ive been reading this thread for a while now and am surprised at how much people support the idea of going overseas (not to say I don't but to hear people that hunt for bargains are advocating spending money on travelling is funny).

    Similar life circumstances, 25, money saved up, loved travelling whilst doing it and is now in a stable work environment.

    Personally, I would say that going for anything longer than 6 months is bit much? Like what is the ultimate point? "finding yourself", "seeing the world", "meeting new people", "getting out of a rut"? Personally, and i might be in the minority and definitely unfavorable by saying this, i find that travelling can (and i stress can) be something that someone uses to delay bigger life issues, or something that someone does for the sake of breaking from routine.

    Before committing to going on an open ended trip, just ask yourself the hard questions as to why your going. Make sure you are going to get something meaningful from your (what could have been investments) travels.

    I fully expect down votes for this bummer of a post. Im not saying dont go, just make sure its for the right reasons.

    • J6 on 04/07/2016 - 21:53

      i want to become bilingual and make travel videos too. Its in my initial post.

  • lonix on 04/07/2016 - 20:56

    I think your parents are right, and they want you to move out, asap!

    • J6 on 04/07/2016 - 21:13

      they actually want me to stay longer and keep on saving. They want me to buy somewhere and remain at home if i need too.

  • rgr on 04/07/2016 - 21:35
    +1

    cmon dude, you have like 5 pages of detailed and fruitful responses. make up your mind, unless you need another 5 pages to do so LMAO

    • J6 on 04/07/2016 - 21:52
      +1

      sorry is this thread bothering you?

      Ive already said that i'm definitely going overseas. My post is "seeking advice before i travel the world". I cant stop people from commenting on it either.

  • mshoarder on 04/07/2016 - 23:11

    I'm 29YO with a husband, son, house & mortgage, have ticked the boxes that a girl dreamed of at 25 years of age. I don't regret my life at all, but 26 is the perfect age for you to go and enjoy your travels! At this age, I'm now trying to get out there and "see & experience life" with my family but it's much harder when you have other commitments. My advice is to enjoy yourself while you're still young, there are plenty of opportunities once you get back to "reality", you might even meet someone special along the way ;) i have friends who were accountants & lawyers who have gone overseas to teach in Korea & UK, they maintained teaching jobs whilst overseas but also took the opportunity to travel as it was cheaper to get to other destinations, so you could still do both if you are worried about income and savings. In saying that, my friend is paying super high rents in the UK and living on two minutes noodles with her partner whom she met along the way but they are not looking back! I hope this helps you and good on you for making the decision to travel freely! You will gain so much life experience and still so very young!

    • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2016 - 09:38

      accountants that became teachers?

      • [Deactivated] on 08/07/2016 - 15:45

        In other countries, they sometimes accept English teachers with any bachelors degree - or maybe they got TESOL qualled before they went.

  • anime001 on 05/07/2016 - 06:43
    +2

    Tdlr; i am in a similar boat. JUST DO IT!! Shia isnt half wrong even if he's a douche. Put some aside for when u get back and travel until u run out of money or u call it. Who knows. U might even get a Daytona time extension while you're travelling….

    Hi,
    Long time lurker who decided to create an account just to post this….

    I'm a 32 year old asian male. I have no partner, dependants, liabilities or mortgage. I rent with friends, and have about $30k in investments but that's about it.

    After working for 7.5 years at a company (started FT at the age of 25) i've hit the jackpot and been told i'm getting a package ($60k after tax)…..

    I've always wanted the classic aussie dream (2 gfs, 2 houses, 2 of everything) but somehow always found other ways to spend my money :P by the time i hit 30 i realised that i was running in my own rat race where i choose the destination and im the only participant. Instead of feeling depressed at what i hadn't achieved i started to look forward and embrace my freedom. You only have one life right?

    Up until this point i had travelled only a few times. Twice to japan. Once to Thailand/malaysia/singapore with a group of friends in my uni days. And once to greater china (china, taiwan and HK) Nothing crazy. I had always regretted that i never tried backpacking Europe…especially when i spoke to all my work friends who had done so during uni.

    So what do i plan to do with said package money?

    Instead of travelling for a week or two before finding another job and putting my package money towards a mortgage or investment I've decided to go around the world..

    I'm planning on putting 30-50% ($20k to $30k) of the package aside in an online saver to return to (peace of mind that i won't have queue up at centrelink when i get back), and have decided to embark on a 3-5 month trip with no fixed end date and/or Itinerary. I say 3-5 month because im an introvert and won't know if I'll get sensory overload and get home sick. If it happens ill call it and head home.

    I'm sh#t scared and have never done anything this crazy or illogical before. I havent told my mum yet either who will probably chew my ear out. Especially because she's been nagging me about getting a house for the last 7.5 years hehe. But reading everyone's post i got courage. You'll never regret travelling too much. I've decided to adopt that same motto.

    Use that money and invest it in yourself.

    Have you seen that Blackjack movie called 21? Remember the final scene when he's at the interview and says at the end "did i dazzle you?"

    Or in LoTR when Bilbo Baggins is mad bragging about his side quests to Frodo.

    You only have one life. Live it the way you want. From now on, I've decided to do whatever i feel is more right/better for me. No retreat No surrender…

  • lam on 05/07/2016 - 09:24
    +3

    travelling around Europe, 50k can go a lot quicker than you think so be frugal.

  • slugsandsnails on 05/07/2016 - 21:16
    +1

    I read the opening request but have not read the comments and so here is my 2 cents worth without being influenced by others opinions :)

    I say go for it, you can't put a price on the freedom and experience of a long trip away (I left for 2.5 years before returning, and I don't regret a single moment). Yes I may have been a few years 'behind' other people when I returned in terms of buying a house or a new car or whatever material possessions you feel like might be a milestone in life, but there is plenty of time for that later. IF you are worried about blowing all your savings (and I can totally understand that) why don't you look into doing a working holiday and get the best of both worlds?

    Once you're in the travel zone, you will realise there are plenty of ways to have a great time without spending a lot of money and you will be amazed how far your dollars can stretch.

    Last thing, whilst typically everyone heads for Europe, spend more time in South America - it is far more exciting to travel there and will cost you a lot less. I would also recommend the Middle East…. but not right now.

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