Am I mad? Want to sell up and travel

[Fluffinghell75]

So I'm 44, single and no children. I was in LTR for 10 years that ended nearly 3 years ago, we had an investment that was eventually sorted and split and I managed to come out with just enough for a deposit for a small place for myself. I bought a 1 bed flat late 2024.

Since then I just can't seem to find happiness within myself, I can just about afford my place but with bills, maintenance fees and the price of everything going up I'm struggling to have enough money left to actually do anything. I like my flat but it isn't a place I really want either, it's in a less than desirable area, I'd love a little garden and a shed to potter in, but affording to buy a house where I live is nigh on impossible. I'm about £50k off if I'm lucky enough to get a bargain.

I'm also very unhappy in my job but because of my mortgage and bills I can't afford to try just anything, I'm on a good wage where I am for my skills and going elsewhere will likely mean a pay cut.

I just feel stuck

So I'm thinking of selling my flat (had it valued and it's increased, I wouldn't sell if I was going to be behind) quitting my job and going travelling for a while. I may even end up moving somewhere different entirely.

I know this is up to me ultimately and having no dependents helps, but I've told a couple of people my thoughts and they think I'm mad and I should be staying on the property ladder. But I just can't help thinking there must be more than just work, pay bills, sleep, repeat? I can tell my mum will be disappointed, I've never been the stable one...

So the great minds of MN, am I mad or should I go for it?

Go for it. Life’s too short.

Love the idea. Rent out your place and go? You could be priced out otherwise. Or are you happy to rent/ buy somewhere else?

Do it. Like pp says, rent your place out to start with then if you hate it you can come home and haven’t sold up shop completely. Property prices have flatlined / dropped a bit over the past year round us, maybe it’s the same for you, so if you hold onto your flat while they recover it might be worthwhile

I would consider if your job could be done abroad maybe working abroad and travelling when there.

I'd just sell up and go for it!

I would definitely think about renting it for the first 12 months at least so that you have a base to come back to if you want/need to but yes I would 100% in your circumstances be off travelling and/or trying to find work abroad.

I would also rent your place out and go. Don’t sell now as you might price yourself out of coming back.

I’d rent it out so you have something to come back to, but otherwise go for it. I’m a similar age and circumstances.

I did it…. I rented my place out for six months to pay for the travel. Unpaid sabbatical from work but eventually returned for a year before resigning and selling up to move abroad. It would have been more sensible to downsize and rent the place out as I would never be able to afford to move back to the same area, but that’s my only regret.

Sorry to say but I wouldn’t. You’ll be a lot more depressed when your travels are over and you have to rent somewhere and you have no job. The job market is dreadful at the moment.

My friend did similar. Sold her house and went travelling. Now she’s in her 50s, renting, and not earning much. There’s a panic every time the rent goes up. I’ve no idea what she’ll do when she retires.

Thanks for the replies.

I don't want to rent, what I could get wouldn't cover the mortgage payments nevermind the maintenance fees, rates, insurance and all on top. The value has gone up and I'm sure I'll get quite a bit more than I paid even taking into account fees.

I have a base back here really, my mum will let me stay with her.

I'm not planning on spending every penny I get out of the sale to travel, it'll be a set budget then see where I am when it runs out.

I didn't say I was depressed I said I felt stuck. I'm in a job I'm not enjoying, but I can't leave because can't afford a pay cut. It just feels like a wheel I want to get off

Also to add I'm nowhere near owning this property, the mortgage is costly cos I'm not young and could only borrow over 27 years and I could only put a 10% deposit down

On the one hand - life is short and tomorrow isn’t a given. Go and enjoy your life whilst you can.
on the other - old age is expensive and a paid for roof over your head is (imo) priceless.

having said that you never know why the future may hold and what doors will open for you if you try something, anything new.

fwiw we sold up and moved onto a boat initially only for a year, but stayed for 25 years and thought we were priced out of the market. An unexpected inheritance and DH being lucky in work meant we could buy a house late in life. Unluckily DH passed away soon after - but by pure fluke left me well enough ( at one point I though I was going to end up living in my car) off to comfortably retire early. He didn’t get to enjoy the fruits of his long hours at work, something I deeply regret. The future may surprise you if you do something different to the socially accepted norms.

It’s ultimately up to you but really, what will you do when you come back? You’ll be in an even worse position financially having spent some of your only asset you have. Instagram makes it look like you can travel indefinitely forever but it’s so expensive, even going to the cheaper places and you won’t be able to get working holiday visas.

Go for it! What an adventure it would be.

Sorry OP, maybe I was projecting given my friend’s experience. I would be very cautious given the job market, unless you are confident about picking up a job when you get back or getting a job abroad.

It’s a miserable time of year. I wonder if you can make some small changes which might make you feel less stuck (even a fun new hobby can be a distraction) while you ponder your options. Good luck.

I'm the same age as you and I think you're mad. I quit my job to travel in my late 20s, I would not do it now. Can you take a sabbatical instead? Then you could take a long trip and still have the security of your job and home to come back to. And breathing space and a financial buffer to help put in place any new life plans you dreamed up while away!

Do it! I would if I were in your position x

What about looking for a job you like better? It colours your whole life if you’re unhappy at work.

Id sell it and move somewhere you like more and can afford, even if it's a big move. But I wouldn't personally spend the money on travel, you might end up worse off with no home (wouldn't want to move in with my mum at that age, even with getting on well)

Does your mum own her house and you get on? So long as you've got security there and somewhere to stay when you come back I'd say go for it. You only get one life and its short/goes so fast , wish I'd done more in my youth! One of my sons did exactly this and is back with me now.

When you say traveling, what do you have in mind? Have you gone off traveling before? What did you like/not like? Did you have somewhere in mind to settle and any idea if you could work there?

I ask because I have traveled a lot, backpacked, lived abroad. It is not a nonstop happiness funfest. It can be dull, monotonous, confusing, unsettling, physically uncomfortable and frankly it can bring on existential angst (what am I doing here?). You are surrounded by people living lives not unlike what you just fled (job, rent, bills, etc). You can feel lonely, or like an observer.

Obviously it can also be brilliant and deeply interesting, lots to learn and take in and experience.

So while I want you to live your best life, just consider whether longish term rootlessness is your personal happy place.

Moving somewhere new and foreign is of course quite different, though equally challenging.

Do you have to sell your property and leave?

Can you save money for a while, and then go travelling for a month or two?
Travel to your dream destination!

Thanks again for the replies, lots of differing views.

So the point of selling is that curently I can't afford to really do anything, I can't afford to save to even get a holiday let alone travel for a bit. I am literally working to pay for a one bed flat to live in. I'd actually be better off if I didn't own it and was renting it off someone.

Job wise I'm hopeful I'd get something when I come back, I'd do anything just to get cash coming in and keep looking for something better as I went. I've never been job shy

My mum has her own 3 bed house, she'd happily have me stay. She's in her 80s and widowed and this is also part of why I maybe want to do this now, mum is healthy at the moment but I think at some point I may need to be very much there for her in the next few years

As for the actual travel I have a small campervan and would like to travel the UK and Europe in it, be a bit of a nomad. I love walking and mountain biking and would like to do a lot of it somewhere else. I've done the overseas travel in my 20s, went to Australia and didn't come back for 12 years, backpacking through Asia with all the influenstars is not my thing