what to do this year?

want2bmortgage3

the situation: single male age 30, full time job (postie), owns a property (rented out), currently living cheap at parents house

finances: no debts except 100k mortgage (£500 a month), rent provides over £200 a month profit. i'm also owed £5k from friends, one is paying me £300/month. so £500 a month extra on top of wages.

wanting to go travelling, haven't seen much of the world. would like to start with europe. would consider train/motorbike for transport.

considering leaving job and travelling for several months, as cheaply as possible, staying in tent or hostels. leave my property rented out and possibly move in later in the year or just rent a room somewhere else then find a job again later in the year. should be able to survive on part time hours.

so just looking here for advice, how cheap can travel be done? what's cheaper, bike/train? where would you recommend going/seeing? should i jack the job in? i look forward to your replies!

Incapuppy

Okay, playing devil's advocate here..

Do you have much in the way of savings?

Aside from the fact that I think anyone would be mad to give up a job in the current economic climate, peoples' situations can reverse in an instant.

What would you do if your tenants were no longer able to rent your property and you found it hard/impossible to find new tenants for any length of time; would you risk losing your property?

What if your friend is suddenly unable to continue with his debt repayments?

What if you are unable to get another job on your return?

Why don't you consider taking as much time off work as possible in one go (three or four weeks?) and have a longish holiday instead for now?

Of course, life really is too short so perhaps just go for it!

Ponkle22

You might find more people with similar situation to yourself in the following online places:

Tripadvisor forums (select by each country you want to visit)
SlowTrav
Lonely Planet
Rough Guide

Couchsurfing - would be the cheapest way to do it as you can stay for free - check it out. So long as you only choose those with photos and references and reviews and use common sense and instinct you should be okay. Equally your page must have as much of the above as possible that you can find, to get those with beds and couches to accept you. The older ones tend to have spare rooms and not couches.

Then there is WWoofing. Stay all around the world helping out on small holding and farms etc, accommodation and food in return. http://www.wwoof.org.uk/

All above you should meet some like minded people or at least get to join their forums and get the info you need.

Good luck. I say go for it, you might regret it.

want2bmortgage3

thanks for the links, i will definitely check out lonely planet and rough guide forums.

couchsurfing and wwoof are very interesting and might consider that if money gets tight.

>Do you have much in the way of savings?
by the time i want to go (about 2 months) i should have the best part of 5k.

>What would you do if your tenants were no longer able to rent your property and you found it hard/impossible to find new tenants for any length of time; would you risk losing your property?

this is unlikely as tenants are on benefits and council is paying rent to me, think they want to stay as long as they can. if they did go, council has a long waiting list of tenants needing housing.

>What if your friend is suddenly unable to continue with his debt repayments?

possible but he has paid me every month for around 6 months now and is increasing the monthly payment.

>What if you are unable to get another job on your return?

this is a possibility, at worst i'd have to live at parents rent free for a while

>Why don't you consider taking as much time off work as possible in one go (three or four weeks?) and have a longish holiday instead for now?

could do, but am fed up with the job and it doesn't feel like it's me. i want to see new places, learn to be on my own, meet new people, be free for a while!

i definitely want to get out of the country, europe is the obvious starting point.

i have to decide how i will travel and where i will stay. i could travel by foot, bike, motorbike or train.

i could stay in a tent, hostels, or couchsurf/wwoof!

those 2 decisions will affect how much i spend each day and how much i have to carry around. carrying a tent/mat/bag could be bulky but would mean cheaper nights.

as well as these 2 things i need to plan a route, or do i? plenty of travellers just go where they feel like don't they? taking peoples advice along the way as to where to go next. probably more exciting that way!

Incapuppy

Aw, bless you! You didn't need to answer my questions, after all, nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! I was just wanting to point out possible pitfalls that you might not have considered

The Lonely Planet website has already been mentioned I thought I'd add a link to the country specific forums as should find lots of info from like minded souls there

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa

totallybored

I say go for it! Instead of Europe though (which can be expensive) how about paying more for a flight to somewhere in Asia and then it'll be much cheaper to travel around, stay and eat in places?

Errata

i need to plan a route, or do i? plenty of travellers just go where they feel like don't they? taking peoples advice along the way as to where to go next. probably more exciting that way!

When I was younger I did island hopping in Greece for six weeks with a mad Kiwi. We just went where and when the spirit moved us and I'm sure it was more enjoyable than having a planned route and not deviating from it.

gibson123

Just go for it, when I was single I would do short term contracts, save my wages and then go travelling for months. Train and airplane travel is cheap on places like Turkey, Bulgaria etc. to get the best train journeys go on to the man on street 61. You can work in EU countries if you can get a job or go woofing as suggested above. If you can travel overnight in couchons and sleepers or even on coaches you can save on accommodation costs. Pick the easiest routes and try to avoid tourist traps in high season. If you play a musical instrument that is easy to carry with you take it, if you can play or sing you will generally be welcome in more places. When travelling keep your wardrobe and yourself fresh and clean, people trust you more if you are smartly turned out. Jeans are hopeless for travelling wear smart shorts or combats. Black stretchy t-shirts are easy to wash through keep their shape and smartness. invest in a decent pair of walking boots. A bike is ok but it can be a burden if it goes wrong and solo riders get lonely as they don't meet as many fellow travellers.

Doshwaster

Errata wrote: »

When I was younger I did island hopping in Greece for six weeks with a mad Kiwi. We just went where and when the spirit moved us and I'm sure it was more enjoyable than having a planned route and not deviating from it.

Absolutely. If you only have a week or two then a planned route (or at an least intended one) is a good idea but on a long trip then it's definitely better to just go with the flow and follow your nose. The only thing to bear in mind is that for some countries you need to arrange visas in advance.

DCFC79

A friend of mine suggested doing this and asked me if would be interested in doing it but i have to say i think i was more concerned about how long it would be before i found another job when i came back plus its spending alot of time with the same people. Im more interested in spending a week here, a week there etc.

want2bmortgage3

Thanks for all the replies!! Some great advice there. I have come to the point with working where I feel depressed being at work, partly due to the job not challenging me mentally but also just because it's work and I've worked now for over 10 years (30 now) and am just fed up! I don't think I could forgive myself if I just carried on working another 10 years, ending up aged 40.

I am on the property ladder and the mortgage is paid for by long term tenants who I could easily replace if they moved out. I need an escape, independence and freedom. I don't want to stay at the parents house (feels like a kid) and I also don't want to move back into my place and be faced with paying the mortgage and bills and be stuck in the job.

As for a job, when I come back, say start of autumn, I would be happy to take the risk. I could probably survive on part time work, and a lodger if I move back to my flat, or I could live as a lodger.

So as you can see travelling is very appealing to me and I haven't seen much of the world yet! I would definitely like to start with europe but I am aware it might cost more so I probably wouldn't stay in expensive countries for too long.

Still trying to decide on how I'll get about. Bicycle would be cheap, but slow progress. Motorbike more expensive and could get lonely, but I have read about an online community called Horizons unlimited for travelling bikers. Train appeals but again could be expensive.

Also can't decide on where to stay, camping, more gear but cheaper and should find some scenic sites. Hostels more expensive but meet people, carry less gear, have facilities there etc. Also considering couch surfing and wwoof. Don't intend to work unless money got tight and wanted to travel longer.

Ahhh so many decisions but I will look forward to any more replies and thanks again for all the tips.