Paying off that bastard loan is tough. I hate debt too ... but I do fully get your longing to get gone. But settle down and think it through ...

Is £5000 enough for your proposed UK to Magadan trip?
Why not take a month or two and ride out there? Maybe sell off the bike at trips end if you can get a good price? Fly or Bus it home. Just a thought.

I have no idea how you could walk away from your job and then expect to be re-hired after a year ... by anyone. Time gaps in your resume don't look good to potential employers.

34 years of age? Oh my God! The End Is Near!
All washed up eh! That is funny!

Seriously, I'd guess you've got maybe 30 years of work in you yet? .. and hopefully even more years of bike travel as well. Stay healthy and fit ... you just might make it! (remember that old grumdgeon Gandolphi?)

Like others have said ... the travel bug you've got now probably won't go away. Can be a life long affliction for some. For now, I'd focus on career and getting very good at what you do, become established to the point where your boss figures the operation can't go on without you. Until that time ... you're expendable and you could be ... here today ... gone tomorrow.

It would be nice to be able to get a month or more off and do some shorter trips ... but some jobs don't allow that. A shorter trip is better than none and may not require "cashing in all your chips".

Best keep your nose to the grindstone until a "natural" break comes along and gives you the time to travel ... and hopefully you'll have saved enough money as well, so no debilitating loans and no walking away from a decent job.

I wouldn't do a RTW now. I've seem most of the world and have strong feelings about places that are worth re-visiting and places I'm not fond of. Don't waste time traveling in places you'll not enjoy. Focus on areas you do enjoy and go there. You can see and do a lot in a month. Well planned month or two rides can be great and you may not have to "cut all ties" in order to do them.

Been there done that. Don't do it .. the boss won't let you go .. even for 4 weeks .. no you cannot go ... In the end you quit. Leaves bad blood behind. You want to be replaceable, or at least seasonal .. so there is the possibility of 'disappearing' for a while and not leaving them missing you too much. Or be in a high demand job .. but anyone with the experience can do it. Accountant, nurse, bricklayer, plumber etc.

I would not do a credit based extended trip. Save more bucks :-) Credits are expensive - you burn a lot of money with it, who will shorten other trips/travels/rtw`s or other plans in your life later.

The life in not over with 40-50.

I dream of an RTW by car since i`m 16 years old. Did several short trips with rentals in Laos, Thailand, Cuba, Europe.

With 38 i was able to buy that car i dreamed about, was able to test the setup through africa.

Now i`m 40, still saving bucks each month. Still looking for the right timeframe to start for such an trip. The car is there, equipped - now i just top up by budget.

Each month i`m able to save bucks, to extend my trip

Surfy

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About Overlanding, Travelogues, Equipment
Trans-Africa over the west coast

There has to be some university somewhere in the UK doing a course in eco travelling or overland sustainable tourism or something. Sign up and get yourself a student loan. That'll fix the finances as you'll never have to pay it back.

Back in the real world it's hard to give advice as it's a problem I've kicked around for decades without coming to a definitive conclusion. The only thing I would say is that, although I've never met you, (although I did see you once in the bar at a rally surrounded by fawning female acolytes kneeling at your feet!) I get the feeling that it's a serious issue for you.

Something like that is only going to get worse as the years pass. Not because you're going to be too old and too knackered by 35 but because it becomes increasingly difficult to dump everything you've achieved in other areas of your life. Weighing up doing the trip vs having to start virtually from scratch when you come back has the scales tipping more and more towards the stay side as the years pass. Even at the age you are now many men have wives, children, houses, lifestyle and "career progression" to consider. Dumping some or all of those to travel may be beyond what is possible.

Even if you don't tick many of those boxes atm you may wonder how vanishing for a year or two will impact on them in the future. I don't think it's an coincidence that a lot of long term travelling is done by people in their 20's with nothing to lose and people in their 60's (post retirement) with everything to gain.

On a more philosophical bent have you wondered why you want to do this? I don't want to start spouting psychobabble but there's usually some underlying motivation for people wanting to do anything unusual that goes beyond the obvious. This forum probably isn't the right place to bare your soul but you ought to be aware of your own motivations. Back in 2008 I cancelled a trip to Africa - something I'd spent a year planning - about a week before departure for a reason I've never told anyone but which goes right to the core of my life experience.

So, bottom line, do it or don't do it, but weigh up the consequenses of each option and decide which takes you further in the direction you want to go. Heart may be saying go now and sort the mess out when I get back but head, looking at the world of finance, employment and long term prospects, may have different ideas. If you're hoping people on here may come up with an angle you haven't considered, well, don't hold your breath, we all look to you for answers.

My own philosophy: NEVER EVER travel on debt.

Here is a thought: You have £5000. Just leave. Now. Get jobs along the way. Work in bars. Work on a cruise ship. Work on farms. And Volunteer a lot in return for food and a place to sleep. Hitchhike from place to place. Cook your own food. Couchsurf. I've met people who left with $1000 USD in the bank and traveled for years. End result compared to saving money ahead of time? I couldn't tell a difference talking to them....

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Traveling The World Since: 2011
Blog: The Seductive Life (General Travel)

Nearly 34 eh.
I didn't know people as young as that were allowed to join this forum.

I think you have to put to one side the elderly parents potential problem as your parents could easily be around for many many years so that is always, hopefully, going to be a factor.

I don't know how much you expect to need in total for this trip but you will effectively lose £2,280 of your £10,000 loan as that is how much you need to pay back while you are away.
So that leaves £7,720 to add to your £5,000 but you'll probably need a little more from the loan as you'll need funds when you get back to find a job, and digs, and you won't get paid in your new job for a month.
But you know all of that.
So probably need to assume you'll only have £7,000 of your loan as "available" money.
I'm making the assumption here that you won't be earning while you're travelling.

I wouldn't go for the loan myself, but good luck in whatever you decide although my 50P says you'll take the money and run.

Lot of good answers here.

I do not comment if you should take the money and run or not.
But, when you get stuck to a career, you will suddenly wake up one morning and wonder where all those years have gone.
I have noticed that older I get, faster the time is running…

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Great replies.... Nice one

I know that 34 is not the end of my life haha.

And I know that one big trip is not going to quench the lust for adventure. It will probably just make it worse.

There are a few reasons why I can't wait another two years.

1) I can't settle in my job..... It pays the bills and allows me to save but I'm losing my will to live and spirit to travel. All I do is think about where I'd rather be. I haven't been away since 2012 and that was cut short by a moaning girlfriend.

2) Elderly parent... In another 2-3 years, my mum could be an invalid. It's like the reverse of some people waiting for their kids to grow up... I might not be able to disappear on a long trip with a clear conscience if I wait.

3) Business/Career opportunity. I have an exciting new self-employed venture on the horizon. Not something I would want to just drop for 12 months. It's not feasible. You can't save for travelling when you're starting up a business.


I have no delusion that another long trip will be my last but I think as there are a lot of places I have really wanted to visit that will 'checked off' after a RTW, I will much happier... After that I will be happy with just 2 months a year over the winter. I've just always always wanted to do a long , long trip...


I am no stranger to debt. I have had plenty of loans and credit cards and I ALWAYS pay.

The loan I am looking at is £10,000 with a payment of £190 a month for five years. A lot if you're not working but nothing I can't manage.

Like I say, I'm not one of those who blindly borrows money without really thinking it through.

So... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

That's a good deal

For what it's worth; I wouldn't have done it.

Start looking for a job offshore as previously discussed ;-)

Don't borrow money it's like a noose around your neck!

Ted,

Plenty of good comments about whether one should borrow from the future to pay for one's dreams now so not much to add there. Have fun with whatever you finally decide.

Having said that, there is a pretty big gap when you mention what you are planning to do when you come back.

If you are serious about starting a new business, unless you are one in a hundred, most new businesses require start up capital, take a while to be profitable, take even longer to be cash flow positive, and take even longer than that to be profitable enough to match the wages you would earn working in a regular job.

The first stage of your plan doesn't mesh with the next stage I am afraid. If you are serious about it, you will need every bit of capital to start and succeed at your new business. If it isn't required to pay for getting things going, then it will be needed to pay for you living expenses while you wait for things to take off, or it will be needed for the never ending list of things required to grow your business to the next level.

There is an opportunity cost of taking on debt now. You are using it for short term consumption as opposed to investment in a longer term income generating asset down the road. Certainly not the end of the world to do so, but be very aware of the pros and cons and include those in your calculation.

Ride safe.

This is the only reason I haven't got the loan already.. I don't want to be broke and in debt whilst trying to start fresh after a trip....

Hard to weigh up the now and the later isn't it... !!

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I started my own company after I had been on the road for 12 months. I even had a small loan (for my apartment).
Luckily I didn't need a lot of money to start the company but it was still hard. It was impossible to get credit/loan for the company when I started because I couldn't document an income. Cashflow the first months was a problem and I had a dip after a year.
This is more then 10 years ago, and the company is still running strong!

Of course it's up to you but for thought provocation. It's impossible to calculate an interest rate or consider value until you know for certain the date you will begin earning money to pay the loan payments. Because in the interm you are paying your payments with borrowed money so that would be added to your cost of borrowing. Do a rough calculation and I'll bet it'll make your hair stand in end the true cost of that loan in the end.
Cheers!

Dude I have seen the state of you when you have been back a couple of weeks from your previous trips. Depressed as hell that you are no longer somewhere nicer than the UK and suicidal when the bills start coming in. You will want to go somewhere else not long after you have come back and the wait of five years to pay off your existing debts before you can set off again will have you in a looney bin with rubber walls and a straight jacket.

It's bad enough coming back to nothing, it must be even worse knowing you will be paying for your last jolly for the next five years. I know there will be some who will say do it now don't wait because you could get run over by a bus just waiting around. Every time I have EVER got into debt the feckin bus was late and the bills still came through the door! The fact you are still walking around and have not had to be scraped off the tire treads of the No 42 New Brighton to Liverpool bus is testament to that logic.

That's just my opinion of course but you did ask for thoughts, in the meantime go and chop some trees down you will feel better

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