12 ms·

I guess we have different social circles, but I know many people who have done this and none of them are "trust fund crowd". Have done it myself for multiple ha

I guess we have different social circles, but I know many people who have done this and none of them are "trust fund crowd". Have done it myself for multiple half-year-or-so periods as well. Maybe it's more of a European thing to do. I spent 3 months as a research assistant in Australia and used savings from that period to travel in South-East Asia and South America for 6 months or so. Shortly after graduating, having saved a bit as a student (again - Europe, I managed without student debt, having done web development next to my studies), I went to a conference in Taiwan with my MSc thesis and traveled back home over land. Then after working a little bit on my first job again I traveled, hitchhiking to/through the Middle East and Russia. It's all very doable if you don't spend a lot - during many of these trips I spent $400-$1000/month. Highly recommend it, traveling in Turkey/Iran/Oman/Georgia/Russia/Ukraine definitely shaped my perspective on the world.

benjaminwootton 5y ago
It is a very popular thing to do in the UK before or after university. Around 20% of people at my university did the whole travel around Europe or Australia thing. Edit - Sorry, see all the peer comments made the same point.
- jason0597 5y ago
  I'm studying at a UK university too, and I always scratch my head as to how on earth people get the money to travel around Europe or Australia before they go to uni. Who funds it?
  - jlokier 5y ago
    > Who funds it? Generally, I think family does. Some families have more money than others. It also depends how much the parents are willing and able to sacrifice, of course. The same way you might scratch your head wondering how some fellow students pay for rentals you can't imagine affording, and alcohol binges you can't imagine affording. Students from poorer families rarely go on gap years. But even some poorer parents will sacrifice a lot, if they can find a way, to pay for their children to travel. That said, the costs aren't outrageous. Travelling around Europe or Australia is fairly cheap for a young person (or at least used to be). There are schemes to allow travelling costs to be lower for young people, visas tend to be cheaper and easier to get, and people do local, temporary work e.g. in bars in kitchens to supplement the money they brought with them, to make it last longer. I went to university in the UK a long time ago. And I struggled to understand how people afforded gap years (or rent) then, too. I never had a gap year, and it makes me a little sad. But as I couldn't even afford to eat regular meals, and certainly couldn't join people for socialising when they went out to places like Pizza Hut (too expensive), it was the right decision not to take a gap year :/
  - UweSchmidt 5y ago
    There is a wide distribution of wealth in capitalist societies, and a lot of it is hidden from sight. Financing a relatively low-budget formative and educational gap year is something thrifty and financially conservative people would do for their kids. I had my moments, worrying about a friend's finances and professional decisions, only to learn later that, well, there was clearly nothing to worry about.
gota 5y ago
The exchange rate is what makes it possible. Any $1000USD goes a long way in many places. If you save $24.000USD you can live like an itinerant mid-to-upper-middle-class for a full year in most or all of Latin America, for example.
- nkingsy 5y ago
  Yup. When I played online poker for a living for a bit after college, coming home for a few months and staying with my parents was more expensive than traveling.
- creamynebula 5y ago
  Here in Brazil minimum wage is currently in USD a bit less than $200/month. In my city, which is one of the biggest, you can live confortably with $400/month in my lifestyle, which admitedly is quite frugal. $2k month is quite high-class imo.
throwaway894345 5y ago
> Maybe it's more of a European thing to do. Yeah, for Americans it means buying health insurance which is quite a lot more expensive than what you get from your employer.
- Orou 5y ago
  You can get travel insurance for extended trips. I'm American and I've taken multiple 6-month trips abroad (usually after quitting a job). Backpacking just isn't part of the American culture.
  - ghaff 5y ago
    Regular travel insurance != health insurance. It will basically cover you getting stabilized and shipped back home but then you're on your own. (And lost travel deposits.)
    - tellmelies 5y ago
      Don't even bother with the travel insurance, pay for health care out of pocket in another country. Travel insurance is only needed for traveling in America for the reason you stated.
      - ghaff 5y ago
        IMO travel insurance sometimes makes sense. Circumstances like high altitude trekking that may require expensive evacuation. Expensive non-refundable trips, especially those that a broken ankle before or during the trip could put a rapid stop to. That said, I've only purchased travel insurance maybe a half-dozen times out of probably hundreds of trips.
        rexarex 5y ago
        You need to make sure it covers that altitude. They top out around a certain altitude in the fine print you usually need to pay a little extra for altitudes like Kilimanjaro. Make sure it has helo evacuation covered for all altitudes.
emptyfile 5y ago
Maybe a western/northern european thing to do. In eastern Europe it's normal for your degree to take anywhere from 1-3 year longer than it should have for various reasons including "taking a year off to chill", but actual, planned gap years where you're not in education are basically unheard of. Let alone gap years where you travel around and spend money. I know a few people who signed up for master degrees in say Germany and found that almost everyone in the program is a few years older then them.
- jdmichal 5y ago
  > I know a few people who signed up for master degrees in say Germany and found that almost everyone in the program is a few years older then them. Is that because of gap years, or an interest in actually getting industry experience before continuing academic education? I think I was about 6 years into my career before I thought I could really squeeze a lot of value out of a graduate program. (I didn't ever go back for one, though.)
  - morelisp 5y ago
    The Bologna alignment in Germany created a lot of weird situations. The old Diplom degree varied a lot and could be counted as a bachelors or masters (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplom#International_comparison_(Germany) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplom#International_compariso...) leading to some Germans to go back to get a firm masters. Also if it was more than 10 years ago, some Germans I know did their first degree, then their conscripted service, then their second, which caused a 1-2 year gap.

benjaminwootton 5y ago

It is a very popular thing to do in the UK before or after university. Around 20% of people at my university did the whole travel around Europe or Australia thing. Edit - Sorry, see all the peer comments made the same point.

jason0597 5y ago
I'm studying at a UK university too, and I always scratch my head as to how on earth people get the money to travel around Europe or Australia before they go to uni. Who funds it?
- jlokier 5y ago
  > Who funds it? Generally, I think family does. Some families have more money than others. It also depends how much the parents are willing and able to sacrifice, of course. The same way you might scratch your head wondering how some fellow students pay for rentals you can't imagine affording, and alcohol binges you can't imagine affording. Students from poorer families rarely go on gap years. But even some poorer parents will sacrifice a lot, if they can find a way, to pay for their children to travel. That said, the costs aren't outrageous. Travelling around Europe or Australia is fairly cheap for a young person (or at least used to be). There are schemes to allow travelling costs to be lower for young people, visas tend to be cheaper and easier to get, and people do local, temporary work e.g. in bars in kitchens to supplement the money they brought with them, to make it last longer. I went to university in the UK a long time ago. And I struggled to understand how people afforded gap years (or rent) then, too. I never had a gap year, and it makes me a little sad. But as I couldn't even afford to eat regular meals, and certainly couldn't join people for socialising when they went out to places like Pizza Hut (too expensive), it was the right decision not to take a gap year :/
- UweSchmidt 5y ago
  There is a wide distribution of wealth in capitalist societies, and a lot of it is hidden from sight. Financing a relatively low-budget formative and educational gap year is something thrifty and financially conservative people would do for their kids. I had my moments, worrying about a friend's finances and professional decisions, only to learn later that, well, there was clearly nothing to worry about.

gota 5y ago

The exchange rate is what makes it possible. Any $1000USD goes a long way in many places. If you save $24.000USD you can live like an itinerant mid-to-upper-middle-class for a full year in most or all of Latin America, for example.

nkingsy 5y ago
Yup. When I played online poker for a living for a bit after college, coming home for a few months and staying with my parents was more expensive than traveling.
creamynebula 5y ago
Here in Brazil minimum wage is currently in USD a bit less than $200/month. In my city, which is one of the biggest, you can live confortably with $400/month in my lifestyle, which admitedly is quite frugal. $2k month is quite high-class imo.

throwaway894345 5y ago

> Maybe it's more of a European thing to do. Yeah, for Americans it means buying health insurance which is quite a lot more expensive than what you get from your employer.

Orou 5y ago
You can get travel insurance for extended trips. I'm American and I've taken multiple 6-month trips abroad (usually after quitting a job). Backpacking just isn't part of the American culture.
- ghaff 5y ago
  Regular travel insurance != health insurance. It will basically cover you getting stabilized and shipped back home but then you're on your own. (And lost travel deposits.)
  - tellmelies 5y ago
    Don't even bother with the travel insurance, pay for health care out of pocket in another country. Travel insurance is only needed for traveling in America for the reason you stated.
    - ghaff 5y ago
      IMO travel insurance sometimes makes sense. Circumstances like high altitude trekking that may require expensive evacuation. Expensive non-refundable trips, especially those that a broken ankle before or during the trip could put a rapid stop to. That said, I've only purchased travel insurance maybe a half-dozen times out of probably hundreds of trips.
      - rexarex 5y ago
        You need to make sure it covers that altitude. They top out around a certain altitude in the fine print you usually need to pay a little extra for altitudes like Kilimanjaro. Make sure it has helo evacuation covered for all altitudes.

emptyfile 5y ago

Maybe a western/northern european thing to do. In eastern Europe it's normal for your degree to take anywhere from 1-3 year longer than it should have for various reasons including "taking a year off to chill", but actual, planned gap years where you're not in education are basically unheard of. Let alone gap years where you travel around and spend money. I know a few people who signed up for master degrees in say Germany and found that almost everyone in the program is a few years older then them.

jdmichal 5y ago
> I know a few people who signed up for master degrees in say Germany and found that almost everyone in the program is a few years older then them. Is that because of gap years, or an interest in actually getting industry experience before continuing academic education? I think I was about 6 years into my career before I thought I could really squeeze a lot of value out of a graduate program. (I didn't ever go back for one, though.)
- morelisp 5y ago
  The Bologna alignment in Germany created a lot of weird situations. The old Diplom degree varied a lot and could be counted as a bachelors or masters (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplom#International_comparison_(Germany) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplom#International_compariso...) leading to some Germans to go back to get a firm masters. Also if it was more than 10 years ago, some Germans I know did their first degree, then their conscripted service, then their second, which caused a 1-2 year gap.