Adventures that Make Times of Transition... EPIC!

When you read a lot of travel blogs about other peoples exotic international exploits, you read stories about people that sell off all their worldly possessions to travel the world, earning money to fund their adventures with remote online work.  We all read those blogs and dream about what that life might be like.  It’s attractive and alluring, but not necessarily feasible for the everyday working American.  However, if you properly plan and prepare for the natural transition periods in life, you may build in seasons of exotic adventures intermittently between the seasons of normality.

When it comes to planning an epic international adventure there are always two major obstacles, time and money.  Sadly, opportunities to take large periods of time off from work and having the financial resources to do so are few and far between.  Many hard-working Americans delay extended periods of international travel to when they retire.  When it comes time to retire additional life obstacles present themselves in the forms of healthcare issues, either their own or those of close family members.  Simply put, life just seems to get in the way.     

The average American worker earns 15 days of paid vacation each year, and once they achieve 15 years of seniority the average number of paid vacation days increases to 20 paid vacation days per year. However, the average American worker only spends 5 years with a company before changing employers.  About half of Americans don’t even possess a passport. The accrual of fewer paid vacation days and more frequent transitions between employers presents challenges and opportunities for extended international travel. 

I am not the average American worker.  I’ve been in the military for 23 years and while my chosen profession has its challenges, changing employers every 5 years is not one of them.  One of the many benefits of a military career is 30 days of paid leave each year.  That benefit doesn’t come with the ability to choose when and where to use that leave.  Exercises, deployments, and the needs of the organization always come first, but with a few exceptions.  Block leave before or after a deployment, permanent change of station (moving from one assignment location to another), and separation from service. 

Over the course of my military career I have been able to take advantage of some of those transitions and take some epic international adventures.  After a deployment, my sister and I took a vacation to Peru to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.  It was a fantastic hiking adventure, with a guide and porters that brought to life, lessons learned in high school world history.  Between assignments I booked another hiking adventure through the French, Italian, and Swiss Alps around Mont Blanc.  I was also able to incorporate an exotic overland truck journey from Capetown, South Africa to Nairobi, Kenya (a 6,500 mile camping journey) into my summer semester during grad school.  All three of these international adventures were “trips of a lifetime” having a lasting impact on my life.

Transitions before and after a deployment, moving from one assignment to another, or the natural transition between civilian employers provide a unique opportunity.  Time. Time to take an extended international adventure, but there is another obstacle.  Money.  Most financial professionals recommend that you have three to six months of emergency savings built up.  If you’re looking to build in international adventures into natural transition periods in life, I’d recommend having more set aside.  Over the course of my adult life I have always tried to have a year’s salary set aside.  Periods of transition between jobs, both planned and unplanned, can be incredibly stressful and financially draining.  If you properly prepare financially and can overcome the accompanying stress of uncertainty you might be able to set yourself up for an adventure of a lifetime.

Then comes the question as to whether a slightly larger than normal gap between employers will hurt you in a job interview. Imagine an interviewer addressing a six month gap in your resume and you are able to share an exciting story about sleeping under the stars in the jungles of Peru on your journey to Machu Picchu, or encounters with Barbary Apes and Snake Charmers as you made your way from Gibraltar to Marrakesh, or accidentally starting a zebra stampede on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater.  The interviewer couldn’t help, but be impressed.    

I’m approaching the biggest and perhaps most stressful transition of my adult life, transitioning from military service to the civilian sector.  In just over a year, I’ll retire from the Army and will transition into the civilian sector.  In conjunction with this transition, my wife and I are also planning the most epic international adventure of our lives.  Stay tuned for details… 

by Jason Kahne