DS has quit his job to go travelling with a girl he just met

How is he paying for it? And, incidentally, at that age, why aren't they planning their own itinerary? They're not teenagers....

Perhaps he will want to move from Australia after visiting so travelling could broaden his horizons.

I don't think we should be encouraging child free 22 year olds to consider their job as a reason to say no to other opportunities. Its plenty young enough to dust themselves down and start over.

@ilosttheracoonjack You have to remember this is m Mumsnet an alternative universe where the most dramatic outcome is always reached within seconds.
Where every attractive girl has to be a drugs mule honey trapping a young man where he will spend the rest of his life in a Singapore jail , and every stubbed toe is ''A&E. NOW''.

My son and his girlfriend did a year out travelling and working and both were safe {apart from a broken ankle in Whistler, Canada 'luckily' done on the last few days of their trip..we met him hobbling at Heathrow...it would have been a pain to have had that happen at the beginning of their trip.

It would have been thousands of dollars had he not been covered by insurance.

Just ensure he has enough health insurance..as Aussies you probably are used to having to pay for healthcare..

Son limped into the beautiful Whistler Hospital, {a world away to the NHS as zero waiting } and the first thing they ask is for a credit card or insurance documents...without those with you, you aren't seen..son had to go back to their rented house to get the documents before being treated.

That sounds like it will be an amazing experience for him. You need to do these things when you are young. He will get another job but will never get his youth and time back.

Drug gangs are using children and women more and more as they are less likely to be suspected. So it wouldn’t surprise me if the figures show that they are using women as the lure more and more.

with all due respect you need to let him go and find his own way - if he needs you to pick him up I am sure you will, but in the scheme of things for confidence building and resilience this is a good thing

I would say this is great news, travel feeds the soul. He has a lifetime of working the daily grind to look forward to, maybe he will discover a passion on his travels that leads him to another path in work which would also be fab. He will make connections meet people and expand his horizons.

I would have mixed feelings. On the one hand as long as he was funding this trip himself & he had enough money to support himself until he found another job when he returned I would be happy for him.

On the other hand I would worry about them being a target for undesirables such as muggers or drug mules who tend to sniff out young people constantly travelling with no fixed abode. I would definitely want to have met the travelling companion & find out her home address etc so if anything happened I'd be in full knowledge of her circumstances & personality. I would also question whether she could potentially be after someone to help fund the trip given he has only known her for a matter of weeks & doesnt know her well. My final concern would be how easy will it be to get a job when he returns. Do employers embrace young people who haven't worked for a year? I don't have the answer to that although it would cross my mind.

Regardless of your feelings OP your son will do as he pleases. I still feel he should respect you enough to make you as comfortable as possible with his decision. Finally I'd ask him to contact me regularly with his whereabouts. The more people who know exactly where he is the better.

My dc are late 20s early 30s. I still have scans of their passports and their travel insurance details. They have mine and we put each other's contact details in our passports.
It is really important that someone close to you knows your insurance details. It is just common sense.

I agree with others, early 20s is the time to do this before you have all the anchors of adulthood tying you down, ie established career, mortgage, kids, caring for aging parents. Let him spread his wings and make some fantastic memories before he gets engulfed in the rat race with the rest of us. _

As others have said there is never anything unreasonable about being a concerned parent, but if he can afford it, this is probably the only time in his life he has the freedom to do something like this. Xx

He can get back on the career ladder later.

Absolutely this.

It sounds like a great opportunity at 24. He’s got a degree and work experience. If he doesn’t like it or it sours he can come back and reapply for jobs. Cv wise it’s probably a positive.
As for drug thing. One take is she has latched on to him as he’s naive and is planning to use him - he’s only known her a couple of months.

It’s natural to worry, he’s your son.

But it is exactly what a 24 year old should be doing, broadening his horizons, falling in love, experiencing the world. He has plenty of time to get stuck into a sensible job and responsibilities. This is the prime time for him to be doing exciting things like this.

yes it’s scary as his parent but also wonderful for him.

When they are over 18 they can do as they want, as long as they don't come after you for money, where if it was DS he would get short shrift, it doesn't really matter

She could be getting him to carry drugs.

This sounds great but as a mum I totally understand your worry

the only thing I’ll suggest is that he research the countries he’s visiting.

So many naïve tourists end up getting into serious trouble because they haven’t done basic research into the places they visit!!

1. A wonderful opportunity to see the world whilst still young and unfettered.

1. NEVER, EVER, EVER carry anything for someone else whilst travelling , even if they are your best friend! That includes packets to put in luggage, seemingly innocuous bottles of things like shampoo or packets of foodstuffs, shoes, etc,.etc. and the actual case or backpack. It is all too easy for a travelling companion to innocently say their luggage is too heavy or too bulky. It sounds like overkill or being too cautious, but too many young people have been caught unwittingly carrying drugs.

The infantilising of a grown man in his mid-20s on this thread is unreal.

His career and relationship choices are entirely up him and it doesn't matter in the slightest whether you approve of them. You can worry all you want, but it's absolutely none of your business and I don't think it's your place to be offering advice and warnings to him. I wouldn't have needed or wanted my parents' input on my career plans or travel or relationships when I was in my mid-20s any more than I'd want it now in my late 40s.

if she ends up pregnant

Anyone the OP's son decides to fuck could theoretically 'end up pregnant' whether they're travelling or not, but as they're two independent adults and not two 15-year-olds going at it behind the bike sheds, it's bloody weird for the parents to be fretting and issuing warnings about it.

He's know her since November, hardly long term.

OP, this is a fab opportunity for him, he will have the time of his life. As with any other travel situation, he just needs to keep his wits about him.

@ilosttheracoonjack it’s normal to worry, but be happy that he can enjoy these care free years before he gets bogged down with day to day life xx

I agree but isn’t that all part of life and growing up? I admire the son for taking a risk, that’s how we learn. I totally get the instinct to want your children to take the less risky path in life, but I also get that this is miserable. Working from 20-65(70?) and missing out on making (sometimes bad) decisions and learning from them is not the life I’d want for my kids. Having said that, it’s about the type of risk, I think the scenario OP is describing is unlikely to end in tragedy, the likely worst case is he has his heart broken, which happens to most of us and we get over it and are pleased we learned from the experience.

What a wonderful opportunity for him. He can settle into another job when he gets home. I hope he enjoys this stage of his life

My only problem with this is how insanely envious I’d be. Good for him.

OP he is young and has no ties, let him live a little. Travelling is great while you're young and is a great way to build confidence. He has lots of time to settle down with a mortgage and longterm job.

I broke up with my ex of six years at the age of 29, took a 6 month sabbatical from work, and was about to go travelling to SE Asia when I met my (now) DH 2 months before i left.

We were inseparable, and he ended up joining me for 3 weeks at the start and used all his annual leave, then I cut my trip short and moved back with him. i'm sure everyone thought we were crazy, but we're now married, bought a house, settled and expecting our first (miracle) baby next month.

Sometimes taking a chance in life is a good thing.

Correct, it demonstrates he spent the year having a jolly good time, holidaying.