Time to embark on a Midlife adventure
Do you still feel as youthful inside now as you did in your twenties, but with so much more knowledge and confidence that you crave new excitement? Have you got a bucket list, or wish to try new adventurous things? Do you dream of selling up and travelling the world forever? Read about the novice travelling adventures of a Midlifer and feel inspired to embark on your own adventures, so you can live your life to the full now, rather than waiting until you retire.
The problem with missing the gap year
Most people enjoy travelling after College/University, before starting their career and adult life.
I think this helps to get the travel bug out of people’s system. Although some enjoy it so much, they want to continue travelling and find careers that allow them to do this.
Most people are content with their annual holiday/vacation, going to places they wish to visit for a couple of weeks each year and have no further urge to keep travelling.
However, I fell into the camp of not travelling after I qualified, as I already had a job and thought I had to be sensible and stay career-focused. This has meant I am a Midlifer who has spent their entire adult life dreaming of travelling.
Watching far too much YouTube doesn’t help! Lately, I've been drawn to the idea of embarking on an overland journey across Africa in a 4x4 with a tent on the roof. You will have to read my separate blog on this if you are interested.
Do you Dream of Travelling the World
Although you may have been on lovely family holidays, have you ever truly ‘travelled’?
Does it sound perfect to travel slowly around the globe, see the real world, and meet other cultures and people? I have always dreamt of booking a flight somewhere with no return date, and just see what happens.
I'm fully aware life is not ‘greener’ just because you start living a new lifestyle. You still have to wash your underwear and take the rubbish out. You still need money, and you will still worry about things, just different things. Most TV programs featuring people who have relocated to start a new life, end up working harder and longer than they did in their old life!
For anyone younger than 25, I don’t think this is such a difficult decision to make if you want to travel, as life is usually a bit simpler! For Midlifers, practical concerns immediately come to mind, such as earning money, keeping family ties, keeping safe, and protecting everything that you have worked so hard for.
Also, being a Midlifer means that as soon as you mention something a little unconventional, everyone looks at you and asks if you have started your Midlife crisis. Can you imagine what your friends would say if you told them you were planning an overlanding adventure with gorillas and elephants in Africa, like Tarzan!
You don’t have to quit your job and sell everything
So many YouTubers speak of giving up their jobs and selling everything to go on their travels. However, it doesn’t really have to be like this.
I decided in 2023 to go on my first solo travelling experience – To Morocco.
Now before you think ‘Wow that’s amazing’, I only went away for one week. Please don't laugh, but that's all the time I could take off work and negotiate with the family, who don't share the same urge to travel. However, to feel like a ‘real’ traveller I only booked the first 3 nights at a hostel. My reasoning was this would give me the flexibility to meet other travellers and ‘go with the flow’ for the remaining 4 days. You will have to read my separate blog to see how successful this turned out to be.
But I did it. It was amazing and it just made me eager to do more travelling.
So, if you have a passion for travel, you don’t need to give up your job and sell everything, just go for one or two weeks. Most importantly, don’t tell your family and friends you're going on holiday, tell them you're going travelling! Yes, they will give you that ‘look’, but assure them all is fine.
In my mind, ‘going travelling’ just means you are going to stay in more than one place. Enjoy every moment and trust me your feel great.
Then, when you return, you can see how you feel about future travels and whether you wish to travel the world forever.
Please see my blog page for more travelling adventures.
What Midlife Crisis
The home for Midlifers
Email: hello@whatmidlifecrisis.com