The ‘Millennial’ Culture Of Quitting Day Jobs to Travel

What a wonderful life it would be to stroll the streets in Paris, and wind up at a French Patisserie savouring a croissant washing it down with a cup of authentic French Hot chocolate, lounge on pristine blue Italian beaches, or trek up the snow-clad mountains of North India – it’s the stuff dreams are made of! Now imagine spending your life doing just that. Quite luring isn’t it? “To travel is to live” is what they say and that’s exactly what millennials have been upto.

The tradition of a corporate desk job seems to have been done away with, as flexible work timings are now a preference – freedom to decide how each day goes instead of being bound to a daily routine. While there are many creative ways to do so, ‘travel’ is the one most opted for.

To travel for a living is the millennial dream, but not an easy one. It takes a solid bank balance, and a readiness to be away from home for long periods of time. Initially, this way of living arose when people were burned out from their corporate jobs that they used travel as a means of escape. This meant that they had made enough savings to travel to far off places and live within those means. You essentially have to leave behind a fixed monthly income for a ‘live each day as it comes’ kind of lifestyle.

As times changed, travel became more of a necessity than a mode of recreation, and this paved the way for a new breed of travelers called ‘travel influencers’. ‘Travel influencers’ are people who make an income out of traveling, staying at hotels (via brand collaborations), and indulging in all the fun activities the particular cities will have to offer. For this you will need to have your very own blog and an excellent knack for photography. However, it takes a lot of time to establish yourself enough to make a living out of it. Initially, you will need to foot your own expenses till you establish your brand well enough for others to approach you.

If you don’t have a blog, you can make do with a strong following on social media, which is why you see most fashion and beauty bloggers adding ‘travel blogger’ to their expertise.

The many benefits of finding a career in travel include being your own boss, waking up in a new place almost every week, and the best of all – ‘work’ won’t seem like work anymore. And this notion of ‘being your own boss’ is what attracts most millennials to abandon their jobs for a more vagabond life.

As attractive as this seems, there are some harsh realities attached to it. It’s expensive, and once you dive into it, there’s no turning back. You will have to rough it out to match the significant expenses you incur. Some even walk into a job with the intention of working there for a certain period and then accumulating enough resources to give it all up. But if you’re not passionate, you will find yourself wanting to leave sooner than planned.

One of the reasons why millennials are attracted towards the prospect of quitting a stable job to travel is because of how glorified social media makes it seem. They’re completely oblivious to how tough it may have been for that particular person to set up this kind of lifestyle and adjust to it. Walking up to your boss and telling them that your days with them are over may seem like the easiest thing to do, but it takes months of contemplation to take the leap. Some even walk into a job with the intention of working there for a certain period and then accumulating enough resources to give it all up.

If you’re someone who has it all figured out, there really is no stopping you. The freedom to live life on your own terms is a luxury everyone deserves, but if you’re someone also who likes having a place to call home, you must think wisely.