By James Gallagher - 16/03/2023
(My last day in Ireland and the Office - Aguascalientes in Peru - On the building site working…)
For anyone quickly checking this out, thanks! You might stay to read, you might not, it's all good either way. Maybe the headline grabbed your attention or maybe you're just wondering what mad stuff I’m on about now. Pretty much this is a quick piece on my decision to quit my job, travel through South/Central America and move halfway across the world to Australia.
The aim of this piece is to give you an understanding of why I made the decisions I did and how it all went. Hopefully, it might give even one person the inspiration to take the leap and fly the nest in some shape or capacity. I know there might be a good few people that are quite similar to me, who are undecided about going travelling or moving abroad. They are big ass decisions to make and I just want to help others see what's involved in all of it. I know it’s not a one size fits all situation. Other people have different preferences and desires than me and that’s all good. I also know many others have done what I have done too. So again, it's just my own experience of it all and hopefully, you can get even a small bit of helpful information from it. With that, I’ll give my opinion on why I think it has been one of the best if not the best decisions I have taken in my life so far. (I think you should too!)
Yea so by the looks of it, it wasn't the best time to be quitting my job. I officially quit in September 2022. I was based in Dublin, working in the tech industry. The job market when I quit and right up until this very day was and is not in a great place. There's been many cutbacks and layoffs that continue to this day.
I was working for Google and they recently announced they are laying off 12,000 employees globally. So with job security and making sure there's a steady income coming in, it probably didn't seem like the best idea in a way.
Article from Forbes 2023
Personally, I had a lot of great things set up for me in Dublin. A good-paying job, great circles of friends, I could have nestled up and created a pretty comfortable life for myself. The problem was that there was this feeling in my gut that there's more out there in the world, more experiences and places to be discovered. During covid, it felt like time was just going by and I was getting older. Soon it would be time to get married, build a house and have children. While I honestly cannot wait for this to happen, it does feel like for me anyway there's a window that is slowly closing. I know I can travel and move abroad at any time in my life, nothing is stopping me from doing so. It’s just that I feel there will come a time when you or I will want to settle down, raise a family and make them your world. That time is probably not as far away as we might think it is sometimes.
So with all those thoughts flying through the auld membrane, I knew deep down it was time to bite the bullet and just quit my job. While there were options to possibly transfer within my company, it never really aligned with my travel plans and what I wanted to do. So after exploring a few options I decided to leave it all behind and go on this new mini journey. As I’ll explain later on, I regret absolutely nothing despite being close to broke and working on construction sites for a living. I wouldn't change a thing!
I gave my managers at work a few months' notice of my plans and I think they appreciated that. It helps them plan for the future and not be taken completely by surprise. While I was nervous to tell my managers and colleagues, I half knew they would understand (I was hoping they would at least). When I did tell them it went even better than expected. While they were sad to see me go (or at least it seemed like they did haha) their faces lit up when I told them of my plans. Where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. Lots of them were older than me in work and had been abroad for parts of their lives too. They immediately just began to share their stories of moving away and what was out there to explore. As they told their stories I could see their faces reminiscing on those times, smiles with small bursts of laughter emerging from within. It really put me at ease and made the whole situation much more comfortable.
The people who care for you and want what's best for you will understand that you want to leave your job for a new experience. They might suggest hanging around a bit longer or agree with you when you discuss the pros of staying. My guess is it's just because you're a fun, enjoyable, comforting person to be around and they probably like having you around in their lives. They will understand in the end though that this could be a great experience for you so don’t be afraid to bring it up and discuss how it could look for you personally. Companies are much more understanding these days and career breaks could also easily be on the cards for you. Don’t be afraid to quit just because you have a good thing going for you right now. There’s a reason you are where you are right now. Wherever you go in life you'll have that same work ethic and attitude that led you to where you are now. You’ll be more than ok!
I want to finish on this point about quitting your job. It's really the main point I want to get across.
<aside> <img src="/icons/profile_purple.svg" alt="/icons/profile_purple.svg" width="40px" /> Until you actually decide that you do want to travel or you do want to move abroad for a while. You’ll be stuck in the trap of “wanting” to travel or “wanting” to move but keep putting it off for other reasons.
</aside>
You’ll make up new reasons as time goes on. Until you actually say “right this is it” let's just do it and see what the hell happens, it won’t happen. I know that sounds obvious and simple but I think there is more to it. If you, you and your partner, or your friends just keep talking about it and let it just be a cool idea it won't ever turn into a reality. You’ll get stuck in the trap of just letting it be a thought and not a reality. If you keep waiting for the right time or right moment it may never come. You’ll simply just keep waiting. Sometimes you have to make the most of the little time we have on this planet. If you’re on the fence about it just go for it! I really do not think it will be a regret you’ll have. I think it could be one of the best decisions you have ever made! Which brings me on to the next point about going travelling.