Wibu to quit my job and go travelling?

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

I'm having a bit of a wobble.

Ex and I broke up very recently but are still living together for practical reasons.

I am heartbroken and sick of being sad. I've always wanted to travel and I have a few grand in savings sitting in the bank. I want to just quit my job and take off on the first flight out to backpack around Europe or something. I am a (mature) student with no dependent DC's or anything and my job is a part time minimum wage job.

My worry is, what do I do when/if I get back? If I spend all my savings travelling I'll have no money to move out when I get back. Plus then I'll have to get another job and finding another job that is a) compatible with my uni hours and b) not a seasonal job (as most jobs in this area are) will be very difficult.

Should I be sensible and use some of my savings to move out, while keeping my current job?

Or WIBU to just fuck it all, quit my job, leave and travel with my money?

[VioletBam]

How old are you? What are you qualified in? I think travel is an excellent healer and sometimes it can result in a better job....I don't blame you for wanting change.

Australia's bloody good fun. :)

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

I'm early 30's. Qualified in catering and not much else at the moment, I don't really like it because the work/life balance is not really there. Trying to retrain but it's a slow process so I'm stuck in catering for the time being.

On a moral level, at my job I know, as much as I have to put myself first, they would be really really pissed if I left as we are just about to enter the very busy summer period.

I would love Oz but I don't have quite enough to go that far afield!

[Isitactuallyjustme]

Do it!
I worked abroad til I met my husband and whilst we gave it up to be together, we'd both jump at the chance to do it again if we didn't have commitments.

Bar work/club promoters often recruit before summer season (but still worth asking)
Why not book a week or two ad a holiday and start looking for work once out there.

Worst case is you don't find anything /decide it's not for you but you still have had a holiday/break/breathing space out of it

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

What do I do about the work situation though? I really don't want to leave them completely in the shit (which I will if I leave now) and they will never have me back when I get back. It'll be really hard to get another job as good as the one I have now, hours wise. I kind of feel like the travelling might be worth it though?

On the plus side, at least I can sell my wedding dress to help further fund my trip

[NoncommittalToSparkleMotion]

Sorry to hear about your split, OP.

But yes, do it. 1000%. What's your educational background? Any specific place you're interested in?

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

Well a few years ago my Dsis went travelling around Europe - Paris, Rome, Venice, Prague, etc. It sounded amazing. So maybe something like that.

I have A levels, level 3 catering qualifications, access course with distinction and am studying a science degree (just finished first year).

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

Thank you by the way

[CheshireDing]

Go travelling.

I hated my job and was scared to leave (I had a house, new car, good income) but the job was hideous. Eventually after 10 years I plucked up the courage to leave.

I travelled for a year, met my now DH, came back eventually and got a low paid job as a trainee in a completely different area (which I am now still in 14 years later). Really like my job and have a good salary now. Some of my friends are still at the old company and I cannot imagine that still being me, it would be so depressing.

Eventually we want to take time off to travel again once the children are old enough.

I can't imagine there is ever a good work/life balance in catering but at least you have it as back up when you return, could you not use the opportunity when you get back to become a student again and re-train in something else? Yes you would have to live frugally but it's the perfect opportunity.

I know someone who just did 2 months inter railing around Europe, that might be an option for you if limited funds ?

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

That's just the sort of thing I'd be after Cheshire

[TopiaryBun]

Do it. On your deathbed, you won't be thanking your stars you stuck with the catering job.

[user1468312125]

Do it. I've run away abroad when things have gone wrong, and it's really helped. At the very least, it will take your mind off your problems at home and hopefully will be a rewarding experience and help to give you a fresh outlook and some energy to move on.
I understand feeling the need to go away right now, but have you considered waiting till after the summer? That way you could work over the summer, save some cash and make some plans for moving out etc. At the beginning of September most European tourists go home, so travel will be cheaper, calmer and easier, and less hot (southern cities can be hellish in July/August). You could keep yourself going over the summer with the knowledge you're going away, and doing some trip-planning. If this doesn't work with your studies, another compromise could be to go for a shorter trip, say a week or a fortnight, now, and work for the rest of the summer. You can get a lot of good travel experiences in a surprisingly short time.
If compromises don't appeal, I agree with other posters, just go. It sounds like the right time in your life to take a break.

[iloveberries]

Do it.
Europe will be cheap to get to but expensive when you're there.
Asia, Indonesia, South Africa much cheaper places to be - even if more expensive to get to.
Sell the dress and buy a ticket with the proceeds.

I'm so sorry for your split but you really won't regret this.

[abigamarone]

I wouldn't hesitate to pack the job in, but how long do you have left at uni? Leaving that would concern me more.

[iloveberries]

Good point.

[Bottomchops]

Just do it! It is the single thing in life you will never regret. Ask for a career break by all means but don't be tied to the job. There's always agency work etc etc.

You sort out the details when you get back. IT WILL BE FINE!

Now go!

[Bottomchops]

And yes, can you make it to SE Asia? Your money will last a very long time there. Europe will be more expensive. She's not quitting uni is she? She won't go back til Oct

[bibliomania]

Good suggestion from a pp - work July and August and travel in Sept (assuming your studies start in Oct). If you can negotiate this with your employers, it may be possible to come back to the same job.

I love travelling, but I find a month long enough.

[AlMinzerAndHisPyramidOfDogs]

they're crying out for chefs in australia, chefs are like hen's teeth over there.
would you consider going there on a WHM visa or a skills visa?
the WHM visa is cheap and then you could extend that visa to a sponsorship.

[Bottomchops]

She won't get a whv at her age. She has her course to come back to so can't stay. You can eat for a pound in Thailand and get a hostel for under a fiver a night; you wouldn't need to work.

[AlMinzerAndHisPyramidOfDogs]

if she is 31 she is eligible.

[Sceptimum]

Go travelling. Nothing like a fresh location and people to get you over a heartbreak and give you perspective on what you actually want from life. I'd suggest working abroad, if you could, for a change of scene. It is good of you to think of your employer but your own mental health and happiness has to come first occasionally.

Just be warned, I decided to head away to another country for 6 months - to recover from a terrible job and relationship - and ten years on I am still there and married with kids to someone I met there!

Good luck whatever you get up to.

[BadLad]

www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/417-

According to this, you have to be "not yet 31" to get a WHV in Australia.

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

I can't get a WHV unfortunately as I've already had one when I was 18

I really want to go. I know it sounds really stupid to say but I think after everything that happened with my ExH I lost myself bit by bit. I feel like a hollow shell of the person I used to be sometimes, even more so now. Maybe getting away will help me get back to that?

I can't stay away for too long though. I don't want to give up on my course, it took me 14 years or so to finally commit to going to uni and I don't want to waste all the work I've put in so far, especially not just because of a man. I think I'm due to start again in Oct so I have until then really. In a way, even though all this has epically ruined my birthday, it's kind of a good thing that it's happened now and I have the option to get away, rather than in the middle of the academic year. Almost like the timing is right.