gonzi90

so I met somebody last year while travelling in Europe. we hit it off and have stayed in touch, for almost a year now. the time has come for me to go and meet up with him again. the only problem is, there's not a chance of me getting time off work to go away again. I need to go back as soon as possible because I don't want to leave it too late. I've been saving to go travelling again ever since I got back last year and have enough money to go back to Europe for a few months at least. it looks like I'm going to have to resign- there's not too many other options really. I'm so nervous about quitting but! I don't really know why, I need to live my own life and enjoy the things I like doing best. has anybody else resigned to go travelling?

gh21

Is it possible to take an un-paid leave for a few months? If you're not sure, then ask. If not, then resign as cordially as possible. Don't burn any bridges, as you may decide you want to come back or need a recommendation for future jobs.

Are you sure this guy is still interested and open to a possible relationship? Can he get time off to come and visit you-- if so this might be an alternate first step.

Resigning from a job to be able to "enjoy the things you like doing best" is an option only if you have the funds to do so. What is your plan for when you run out of money in a few months and if the situation with the guy doesn't work out?

gonzi90

I should add I've been working in the same job for the last five years. It's never been a career of choice, it's just the way it all panned out. Any advice or similar stories would be much appreciated.

nukesafe

Also, Gonzi, you don't say where you are from, but I hope you realize that unless you are a citizen of the EU, your stay in Europe will be limited to 90 days. You will have to come back then, anyway, so cross that bridge carefully.

gonzi90

We've looked into him coming to visit me. It's definitely a lot easier for me to go to Europe than it is for him to come to Australia as far as visas are concerned. I suppose if it didn't work out with him I'd just have to deal with that situation. Although we're both very interested in each other, he's made that very clear.
Thank you for your insight, I'll definitely leave on good terms. Now for me to just grow a pair and make this decision...

gonzi90

Sorry I'm from Australia. I'm aware of the visa restrictions, I've been looking into possibly applying for a working holiday visa.

Bokhara2

I wouldn't resign a job to meet up & travel with someone with whom I wasn't already in a committed relationship.
Too much pressure on both parties IMO.

I would take unpaid leave or part of my long-service leave if that were an option.

I did once postpone starting a new job to allow me 2 months travelling in Europe & that worked out well.

Bokhara2

Gonzi, this guy may very well be interested in you, and you in him. It also may be more difficult (why? What's the problem?) for him to get a visa to come here than for you to go there.

BUT: He's not throwing in his job and risking being unemployed on his return, is he?

Even the most talented & skilled people can have a tough time finding good employment at the moment.

One of my friends whose contract was completed with a major international firm in a specialised field, took 9 months to find a comparable job when she came back to Australia. Fortunately, her old firm paid her an extraordinarily generous severance package and nearly all her expenses until she was re-employed.

Unless you have that sort of funding, private means or guaranteed alternative employment, there is no way on gods green earth that I'd be chucking in even a mediocre job so someone I'd met on a trip didn't have to get a Visa to come here. Not even for George Clooney!

centraleurope

Resign to go travel, absolutely (I watched a video yesterday from the woman behind legal nomad. It could make me consider that path).

Resign to go with a guy I hardly know, probably not.

Just be sure when the relationship falls apart, you are still happy with your decision... And consider the real reason behind you being the one who has to quit.

If he is working, are you really leaving to travel?

gonzi90

Thanks everybody. I really appreciate other people's opinions.
Without trying to sound like I'm just convincing myself this is a good idea, I DETEST my job, for lack of a better word. I've been considering leaving for over a year now, I'm definitely ready for a change. My industry has a very high turn over, to get a job when I come home in the same industry wouldn't be a problem although I'd much rather do something completely different, whatever that may be?
We both consider this a long distance relationship, I probably should have made that clearer in earlier posts. The sooner we see each other, the better, if not just to see what comes of it . I wouldn't just pack up and leave for someone if we both didn't feel the same way about each other.
Thanks once again. I've got a lot of thinking to do...

BigAleinstein

There is a line from a Joseph Heller play "We Bombed In New Heaven" that I think no one saw but myself and a few empty chairs. In it a character says, "The reason they draft you at 18 is, that if you die, it doesn't interfere with your life as much."

Now is the time to make mistakes before you have a career, a mortgage, and kids. My wife and I went to Europe for 6 months after we married, although that was 40 years ago.

Whether you get a job when you return or it works out with this guy is something no one knows. You need not be practical as long as you understand the good and bad consequences of your actions.

centraleurope

Great advice, big al... My son quit his job in Denver to move to Phillie. I told him, if you can 't mess up when your life fits in the trunk of you car, when can you?

My husband and I eloped when I was 21 and I dropped out of medical school to do this....35 years later, I am laying on the couch typing this while the big lug is snoring his lungs out (and I have a fantastic non doctor job which has us living in Europe)...

Cathinjoetown

After graduating from university I worked for an insurance company for two years. It was considered a good job (for women, this being the early 70s). I had no compunctions about saving up, selling my graduation gift car and heading to Europe for what was a great year. Go for it.

hetismij2

I say go for it. Do make sure you have the right visas for Europe, insurance (health care!) and a return ticket that you can change in case it doesn't work out.
You only live once and it is too easy to stick with the safe and known. Don't look back and think what if.

sarge56

I have first-hand experience at this.

I, too, say that living with regrets is an ugly business. Go ahead and make your plans.. but that is what they should be.

Plan A and Plan B.

A) If this works out with X, then what? How long do I give it before I decide it is or is not working? 3 months? 6 months?
B) If this does not work out, then what? Do I want to go back to Australia and find a job? Do I want to try to find work in Europe and stay?

As long as you have the money and the plans.. I say move forward!(But with your eyes wide open.)

Good luck! And I hope it does work out with this X. Love is grand when it works!

bilboburgler

It took me 30 years to work out that I didn't love working everyday of my life, if you've worked it our earlier, well done. Still, I wouldn't do it for another person in case I ended up blaming them, I'd do it for me.

skatedancer

I say go for it, too, and echo the others who say make sure you aren't doing it only for the sake of this relationship, but for making a change in your life and seeing the world.

I quit my job in my 20s to travel and never regretted it.