I have some american friends and discussed the traveling issue that americans have.

Im from belgium and on top of that im lucky with what work i do. i get 40 paid vacation days a year (22 is standard in belgium i believe) , so when i travel i get paid by my company. I dont believe that is something you will get when your in america.

On top of that you get "vacation money" in belgium, a little bit extra for the travels or whatever you want to spend on.

That is why i can travel for 6 weeks in a row and dont have to worry about expences when i travel (aslong as i do normal and ceep it cheap)

But how good or bad your situation regarding to traveling is, its never enough, i dream of trips that take over 3 months, but i dont believe my boss would like that idea

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NordKapp Rally 2011
Iceland 2012

I feel almost guilty to say that I get 10-12 weeks paid holiday per year.
I will take them all together and with 3 months long service leave and some other leave can probably take around 7 months at full pay and still have my job when I return.

Shadowraven,
Hi,
Wow!! Travel around the world at your age I think is possibly one of the greatest things that could happen to you, it would magnificantly broaden your horizons to employment and future opportunities.

A comparison of your situation and mine is light years apart. Your youth versus my experience your financial position versus mine and so we go on and there is much that you have not yet experienced, sounds cryptic but where you are I have been . It all seems hard, kind’a catch 22 situation, to sell the house to keep it to have my cake and eat it too.

Well it’s all about knowledge and how to make things work and how hard you are prepared to work to achieve your goals.

Trying to replace a home (investment) when you return wont be easy, looking at this from a mortgage brokers view, do you have any equity in your property and if so how much, also how it the property financed is it principal and interest, interest only variable or fixed term, if you were to make your loan interest only and if there is enough equity in your property to consolidate your student loan into the property then the results of this should be considered,

The next step is to consider renting the property and can the rental payments meet the mortgage…...break even or be a little positively geared, once positively geared this introduces passive income into your equation, money that you don’t work for.

Always when renting your property take into account land lord insurance to cover loss of income and any damage to your property by the tenants as well as all other insurance, fire flood etc.

I am a mortgage broker and have what is called a passive income from trail this is money paid to me to keep in touch with my clients and service accounts and provide a service to my clients, remember their birthdays, send a greeting card at Christmas; Passive income can be gained from all sorts of industries… worth considering.

Then there is the future and the investment cycle I believe that shortly we will see a massive upswing of residential property all around the globe this will increase the value of property and rental income will increase, consider what you will be able to do with more passive income.

Me I was like you wanting to do everything now and being impatient to get started I was always trying to make that elusive dollar so I could do all, recently my friend introduced me to HU and I was thrilled to read of people traveling all over the world . Thrilled but challenged, so challenged I went and got my licence and bought a DRZ 250 (licencing restrictions) now have bought a 1977 Suzuki GS 750 which is a classic and will use for a weekend rides to cafes and wherever lots of bike riders go> I will meet interesting people and enjoy my self while I learn to ride. I am planning my first trip which will be done with my passive income; BTW I’m 64yo and looking forward to it.

If I can help anyone with a plan please contact me I have gained personal experience in property and am willing to pass on my knowledge so that you can gain your own personal freedom and adventure, hope to meet some of you along the track , or if you are in Australia please take up my offer to visit me.
Kind Regards
Champ

Well,
Just listed the house to be a bit more free!!!

58 New Ireland Rd, Montville, ME, 04941 - MLS #951117 - Single Family Home real estate - REALTOR.com®

Hi again
.....Freedom!.. Freedom!!... Freedom!!.... Good luck keep,us informed of your travels....

Regards
Champ

I managed to do a 12 month UK to Oz trip when I was "only" 33 and like others have said it involves a great deal of work and sacrifice. It took me four years to save up during which time I rented out my spare room, worked 50-55 hour per week, I was allowed to work holidays and get paid at the end of the year for what I hadn't taken and only bought genuine essentals. Before leaving I sold my flat which just paid off the mortgage and sold just about everything else I wasn't taking with me.
Was it worth it and would I recommend it, emphatically yes but if in a relationship you obviously have to both be committed to it. I have met a few Americans who have done similar although they are not as common as Europeans, Aussies, Kiwis or Canadians but it shows it can be done.
Incidentally I have never met anybody who has done similar, packed in the job, sold everything and gone off travelling who regretted it.

I try to save say 10% of my salary. No set figure, just a mindset. Used to scrounge together 3000 quid to roam on (no bike) and went whenever I raised it. About once a year I think. Longest I made that last was about 9 months, although that included some credit card debt for the end of it. But not to much though. Now I set a target amount of funds, give it a few years to suit the job and divide it by the years I've got to raise it. I reckon if people can survive on the minimum wage, it has to be possible to save a reasonable percentage whilst still having a life. With or without mortgage.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

That's me, a poor Bloody Yank. Got that a lot in travels over the years, especially living in Ireland a year - the bloody Yank - can I buy you a pint?

And I aplogise for all my loud-mouth, arrogant and aggressive countrymen....they embarrassed me as well.

I did South America and parts of Central America in a 1 1/2 year meander, missed Brazil, and spent a total of 8,400USD which included buying a 4000 dollar moto in Costa Rica and 1 return flight to US....yep I camped a lot. Brought a pressure cooker with me on moto. Lived cheap, no bars...no hookers.

That was 2 years ago, now I take off (I hope if my Dr says I can) this January for around the world. Have $800 a month budgeted which is my social security, and about $10K USD in bank. I'm planning to go 3-5 years, hope to work black in OZ, and a few other places to supplement.

One can travel cheap, just can't party it up.

the bloody Yank.....Zig

Folks, I'm an American, and I have NOTHING to apologize for

A mate of mine who was in India recently, choose to say he was from New Zealand rather than Australian due to some problems happening back in Aus at the time. I think our countries of birth will always do things we or others disagree with. I think the important thing is not wear your citizenship as a badge of honour that must be defended to any person that has a different point of view. You are representative of that land but not a crusader for national truth.

Anyway back to the RTW trip, I find my self in a similar position at 33yo and having done a few trips which I thought would be enough. I look at this forum almost daily and dream of where I could go. Sell everything and go ? I don't know if I could. Maybe that means I never will ? Doesn't stop me dreaming about it.

The only comment I would make is hunker down and buy a piece of real estate that you can rent out that locks you in the market.

While now you say you don’t want a nest egg or a house etc, life goes by in an instant. You wake up and your 55!!!!!!!

That unit you bought pays for your travel later on.

The house I own cost $80’000 in 1992. To buy it now would be $850’000

We will rent that at $3000 pm. We can travel anywhere. But if you told me that in 1992 I would have spat my coffee.

So just get something is my advice.

Good luck to you!

BTW I don’t think it’s a USA thing. It’s a western thing.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Just spent 6/7 weeks riding down through the US so not a great deal of data but we did stay with a few North Americans so here’s a thought for what it’s worth.

Looks in general that consumerism is a lot greater in the US than the UK. The amount of new and nearly new big pick up trucks is staggering. Then there’s the other toys: motorcycles, boats, quads etc….
In the UK these things are expensive and attributed to wealthy people but it looks like everyone has them in the States - well everyone we met anyway.
Also in the UK people are used to going abroad for holidays so it’s something to save up for and, if they enjoy travel they will save for an extended trip.

Our friends and relatives in the States don’t seem to have 2 or 3 week holiday periods and if they do they certainly don’t need to go far to enjoy them so maybe travelling or trips or whatever are just not on their radar.

No offence just a thought.

I added a post earlier, and today thought about things and ended up writing the following, which I hope adds a little to the discussion. Others have given similar comments so there's some repitition.

1) re cost, it's all pretty flexible - how you travel affects cost massively. People spend USD 50K for 10 days in a luxury lodge in Namibia, others spend USD 1000 for 3 months in Cambodia. Anyway - think of costs in terms of the costs associated with travel (fuel, ship/ferry fares, museums, galleries, national park entry fees, insurance, medical expenses, visas, vehicle maintenance), and those which you will be paying whether you travel or not (food, drink, accommodation, insurance, medical expenses…

Now, consider the comparison, between travelling and staying at home.

Fuel: depends on your travel pattern on the road or at home - if at home you commute in heavy traffic for an hour each way every day you consume enough fuel to travel 200 km a day on average on the road. So, no extra cost.
Vehicle/bike maintenance: If you travel 15,000 km a year at home, and travel 45,000 km in a year on the road then your vehicle maintenance will obviously triple. However… if you're doing the maintenance in Colombia or Cambodia labour costs are a lot less than in the USA or Canada and you will end up with overall costs which are similar.
Shipping/ferry costs: clearly these are going to add expense to your life when travelling. Ferry expenses are not high unless taking a ferry from Bellingham to Whittier, Nova Scotia to Newfoundland, or Melbourne to Tasmania. Shipping your vehicle across an ocean is expensive. This is a significant additional expense, however obviously if you don’t travel where you need to ship your vehicle it will not add much cost.
Museums and galleries: You'll probably not spend much on these unles you routinely visit museums and art galleries at home, in which case the cost difference will be the difference in entry fees. In some countries it’s free, in others not, so you need to compare fees between those at home and those where you plan to go.
National park entry fees: Similar to the previous aspect, although when on a long trip you may visit more national/state/provincial/territorial parks than at home. Some parks (Serengeti leaps to the fore) are expensive, others are free or inexpensive. If you plan to visit many parks on a trip look into park passes (e.g., the Wildpark Pass in RSA) which reduces the price per park.
Insurance: Travel insurance may not be any more expensive than the insurance you pay to stay at home - it depends on where and what you plan to do. Comprehensive vehicle/bike insurance for travel in much of the world is prohibitively expensive so most travellers in South America and Africa (for example) take out the legal requirement in each country and no more.
Medical expenses: Medical insurance and “out of pocket” expenses in the USA are ridiculously high (I assume that by “American” The Raven means “USAian”). Leaving and travelling elsewhere is likely to mean a reduction in insurance cost, and medical costs’ being a lot less, if there is any cost at all.
Visas: This is obviously a cost which is not required if you stay at home. Costs range from inexpensive to medium, however USA passport holders have reasonable “passport power” and costs are not that high when visas are required (compared for example with the cost of a UK visa for a Colombian passport holder (last time we obtained a UK visa it cost USD 1137.00! Now travel to the UK for Colombians is visa-free).
Food and drink: you eat and drink at home anyway so the “travel cost” is just the difference. Food and drink costs when travelling in Africa, South America, and Asia are typically less or a lot less than costs in the USA.
Accommodation: Very much dependent on where you go. Campsite costs (unless wild camping) are high in the USA, Canada, and Australia, as well as in some parts of Europe, however a lot less in other areas - you can stay in posadas/BnBs in South America, for example, for less than the price of a campsite in Australia. In cities we usually stay in hotels or BnBs, and when outside cities it depends on the area.

So, overall, taking into account the difference in costs at home versus travelling, it’s not that big a difference. When people say that “budgeting for a south american trip is about 20k USD” you need to decide how you'll travel and compare this with the cost of not going at all.

2) "Americans" vs non-"Americans". I think it depends on the "where". We have met far fewer "Americans" travelling in Africa, Asia, and Australia, whereas in Latin America we've met more "Americans" than Australians and Europeans. The number of Africans we've met outside Africa is very small indeed.

3) Don't overthink it - get out there and travel!

I think the flaw in your argument appears in the 'fuel' section: ...if at home you commute in heavy traffic for an hour each way every day you consume enough fuel to travel 200 km a day on average on the road. So, no extra cost.

While that statement is accurate in itself, it identifies the reality for most people, insofar as that 'commute' is to a place of work, where they earn the $/£/€s necessary to meet all those 'at home' costs. So if you're getting a monthly allowance from Mum & Dad... fine, but for most folk,once they take to the road, in your example South America at a cost of 20k, there's a high liklihood that they'll find those salary cheques are going to stop arriving each month.

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BobnLes