If you’ve come to this page, I imagine you’re either getting ready to take an adult gap year at 30+ or are considering it but perhaps your fears are getting the best of you. Don’t worry, that’s completely normal! You’re about to take the trip of a lifetime that most people only dream of but never muster up the courage to actually do.

While taking a year off work to travel isn’t unusual or uncommon, it’s still not seen as the traditional path and that scares people. But take it from me someone who’s done it before, you are not crazy nor are you the first or the last to do something like this.

In this post we’re going to dive into the most common fears and misconceptions people have (and even I had) about taking an adult gap year over 30.

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Why should someone take an Adult Gap Year

Maybe you’re at a crossroads in life and you’ve decided that traveling for a year is the perfect next step. Perhaps you’re burnt out from work or life and just need a change of pace, or maybe you’ve realised you’ve become complacent in life and are ready for a new adventure.

There are two thoughts I tend to live by. Number one,

You are more likely to regret the things you didn’t do than the things you did.

Whenever I ask someone, what is one thing you regret, the answer is never usually “I regret doing XYZ.” It’s usually, “I regret not doing XYZ.” If you try something and you hate it, guess what, now you know. There is no failure in that, it’s just a part of life. We figure it out as we go along. 

Number two,

You can always make the money back, but you can never get the time back. Once time is gone it’s gone.

You don’t want to be sitting there when it’s too late, wishing you’d just followed your dreams. Now I’m not encouraging you to be financially irresponsible; I am an accountant, after all. But what I’m saying is that if you are financially sound and able to afford the year off or work along the way to support your travels, then go for it. Time is finite; money is not. I know it sounds cheesy but it’s true, you only get one life to live so live it to the fullest.

My experience of taking an Adult Gap Year over 30

Back in 2017, I was at a crossroads in my life. After relocating to London from Chicago and building a life I loved over 5 years, my visa expired, and I was forced to leave the country for a year. I considered moving back home, doing a rotation in another country, or even pursuing a new career path altogether. Luckily, a few of my friends recommended I take the forced time away to travel, which I now refer to as my “Grownup Gap Year.”

My first reaction to this suggestion was doubt. Do people over 30 really do this? Would taking a gap year over 30 be career suicide? What would it do to my finances or my life back home? Surely, I can’t just pack it all in and pause life like that, can I? All very valid fears and questions one might have about quitting your comfortable career to go backpacking over 30.

In the end, I took the chance and bought a one-way ticket to Southeast Asia, and let me tell you, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. There were times I was homesick or thought about the different path my life could’ve taken. However, I can wholeheartedly say I don’t regret my decision for a single second, and I would encourage anyone to do the same.

Common Fears and Misconceptions of Taking an Adult Gap Year

I’m too old to take a adult gap year over

In this day and age, we are living longer than ever and the choices and opportunities available to us in life are greater than ever before. So why does society still make us feel like 30 is some kind of expiration date? Not everyone wants to be climbing the corporate ladder, married with 2 kids and living in the suburbs by 30. Some do though, and props to them for going leading the life they want. But we don’t all have to take the same path. Nor do we have to let society and what other people think we should be doing dictate what we do with our lives.

Let’s take a moment of silence to remember all the perks that came with being in our 20s we didn’t even realise were perks until it was too late. Endless energy, fast metabolism, little to no hangovers, no mysterious injuries from simply sleeping wrong. Hindsight, eh?

But let’s also talk about the perks of hitting the big 3-0 and the years that come after. More wisdom, confidence, perhaps more money, a deeper understanding of yourself and what you want out of life, a smaller but more meaningful core group of friends. These are all the perks that will help you along the way in your travels.  

There’s a random fact I love about the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, which is the area responsible for skills like planning, prioritizing, and making good decisions. It doesn’t finish fully developing until mid-to-late 20s. So, by the time I went on my gap year at 31, my brain had only fully developed about 6 years prior. When I think back to all of the absolute crazy dumb shit I did in my 20s while studying abroad, I honestly wonder how I made it out alive. Now that I’m in my 30s, I’m much more aware of situations and my surroundings and I find that I have a greater appreciation for travel and seeing the world.

The confidence and surety in oneself that comes with being in your 30s is truly a game changer, especially for solo travel. I would be lying if I said I think anyone can just go out and solo travel; it’s not for everyone. But what I can say is that it takes a bit of confidence. I remember the sheer dread I used to feel of simply being left alone at the lunch table in high school. Now you can find me happily dining out solo, showing up to walking tours on my own, or grabbing a stool at a random bar in Mexico excited for the new friends I’m about to meet.

The older I get, the less I care about what others around me think and the more I’ve started just living for myself.

Confidence will come with practice and experience. Believe it or not, I had never actually travelled solo until my gap year. However, I knew there was only one way to learn and that was to try. There’s nothing like jumping into the deep end to really figure things out. Like most things, I got better at it as I went along.

In summary, you may not have the endless energy or the hangover resilience of a god you once had in your 20s, but everything you’ve gained from turning 30 will more than make up for it and help you along the way.

It will be impossible to meet people if I’m over 30

I can honestly say from first-hand experience, you absolutely will not have this problem. I remember thinking before I left I’d be one of the oldest people out there and quickly realised I was actually on the young side! When I went traveling, I was meeting people of all ages in their thirties, forties, fifties, and beyond (I actually have an entire blog post on How to Make Friends While Traveling Solo if you want to check it out). That’s the beauty of meeting other travellers, everybody has the same mindset and is on the same wavelength. We’re all out there to travel, see the world, and meet new people.

It will be especially easy to meet other travellers if you’re going somewhere as popular as South East Asia. However, I appreciate places like this make people nervous because it’s so popular for 20-somethings right out of college. Sure, sometimes I’d come across a kid that just got out of college and only wanted to party, but that was out of the ordinary. This was because I made a conscious effort to research places to stay and activities to do that I loved. If you do the same, chances are your going to end up with like minded people and age won’t really be an issue.

There’s a story that I love telling people about my very first day of traveling. I was so nervous about making friends and the first stop on my trip was Bali. Before arriving the only thing I’d booked was a few nights in a private room in a villa in Canggu. Within 2 minutes of getting to the villa and putting my stuff down in my room, an American girl who was 33 popped her head around the corner and was like “Did you just get here!? Want to go get some dinner?” From that point on all the fears melted away.

I don’t want you to have this misconception that it’s only young 20 year olds that are having this experience. When you actually get out there, you will find your people, I promise.

Taking an adult gap year over will ruin my career

I’m going to give you a very quick and personal example of why this is simply not true. When I quit my job to take a year off work to travel I was 31 and a manager at a financial service firm in London. When I came back to work, 5 years later I made Director and am now at the top of my career (it would’ve been 4 had I not switched companies).

Say it with me, one year off will not kill your career. If an accountant in one of the stuffiest industries in the world can do it, so can you.

But what about the gap in your resume?

When I came back, let me tell you the number one question that I kept getting asked in all of my interviews, “Oh wow, you took a year off to travel. That must have been amazing. Where did you go? What did you do? Oh my gosh, I wish I would’ve done that. That’s so cool.”

Trust me, people do not care and if they do, you probably don’t want to work at a place like that anyway. Now if someone does question it in an interview, turn it into a positive and talk about all of the amazing skills you learned like how to network, project manage, be independent, take initiative, the list goes on.

Taking an adult gap year over30 will ruin me financially

While we’re on the topic of work, let’s dive into the topic of finances. This topic is one I hear time and time again and its the fear that taking a year off work to travel will completely ruin your finances.

You may have people tell you this is a huge waste of money that could be better spent on a mortgage or put towards retirement. Sure, it could be, but it could also be spent on of the of most epic experiences of your entire life using what little time you have on this earth. My rebuttal to this was that I didn’t even know where or if I even wanted to own a home. As for retirement, if you’ve been paying into your pension since you started working, one year off isn’t going to completely derail things. You could even factor continued monthly investment contributions into your budget if you’re worried about it.

It’s too expensive, I’ll never be able to afford it

People have this wildly inaccurate belief that travel has to be expensive. Sure, if you’re only going on one major vacation a year to an overpriced all inclusive resort, then yes it’s expensive. But that’s not the kind of travel we’re doing here. If you’re not used to slow long term travel in parts of the world like South East Asia and South America, you are going to be shocked and how much more affordable life and travel can be coming from the US or UK.

I love being completely transparent with how much it costs me to travel for the entire year. All in all, I saved and spent approximately £20k on my trip (not including the emergency fund or student loans), which equated to approximately £55/day.

Back in 2017, this translated to around $70/day. Living on this in Southeast Asia meant I was VERY comfortable. My maximum budget for acomodation per night was £20 and I was able to stay in a mix of hostels (small dorms and private rooms), Airbnbs, and hotels. In addition, I was able to eat out every meal with a mix of cheap local food or more expensive Western food, travel around via flights, taxis, and local transport, and do every activity I wanted such as diving, hiking, tours, etc. Can you do Southeast Asia cheaper? Absolutely, but that’s what I was comfortable living on according to my own taste and spending habits. If I were to do the trip again now, I would increase my target to around £65/day or approximately £24k in total to adjust for inflation. In USD, that is about $80/day or approximately $29k in total.

If you’re sitting there with your jaw to the floor thinking £24k, is she mad, that’s a lot?! I agree, it’s a lot of money, but I think it’s important to put that into context. I spend around £20k on rent in London for a year. So, what I’m telling you is that for around the price I pay to simply put a roof over my head, I could travel to over 10 countries, while paying for activities, travel, and accommodation for an entire year. That’s a pretty good deal in my opinion.

If you’re looking for a tool to help you budget and save for an entire year of travel, you can grab my FREE travel budget tool here.

If you’re looking for advice on the best cards to use while traveling, check out my list below

It’s too dangerous

This is such an important topic, especially as a solo female traveller but before I get into it, I want to start off by putting your mind at ease. The more I’ve travelled, the more I’ve realised the world isn’t such a big scary place after all. People are usually scared of the unknown. So if you have people in your ear telling you to be fearful of somewhere they’ve never actually been, I wouldn’t necessarily trust them. Also, I’ve found that the fear of something is usually scarier than the thing itself. Once you get out there and start traveling, meet the locals, and experience different cultures, you’ll realise just how much we as humans all have in common. I genuinely think that the majority of people in the world are good, and we all just want to have a happy and healthy life.

While I genuinely think the majority of people are good, unfortunately, you need to protect yourself from those who are not. However, don’t view this as a brand-new concept. Keeping yourself safe is something you do at home and it’s no different when you’re traveling. For example, when you’re at home, are you aware of your surroundings, do you keep an eye on your valuables, are you careful of who you speak to? Of course you are. So do the same abroad.

FAQs about taking an adult gap year over 30

What should I do about health insurance?

One of the most asked questions I get about taking a year off work to travel is what I did for health insurance. The quick answer is travel insurance. Travel insurance not only covers you for travel mishaps such as lost luggage, trip cancelations, etc., but it will also cover you for emergency medical treatment while traveling.

You want to find a company who offers continuous, long-term, multi-trip insurance. Normal annual travel insurance policies will have limitations in the policies which make them unsuitable for continuous, year long travel. For example, a normal policy would most likely only cover you for one trip at a time up to a certain number of days. This is for people who just take shorter holidays throughout the year. Don’t get those.

The insurance you need for an entire year will offer you coverage while you’re traveling continuously for the whole year to multiple destinations chosen in your policy. Usually, they will group destinations by region, so, for example, US, Europe, Asia, etc. Adding the US into your travel plans is what makes a policy more expensive. When I went traveling, I chose an annual worldwide policy including the US because I’m American and knew I’d be visiting my family near the end of my year before I went back to my job in the UK.

I highly recommend Safety Wing for travellers who will be traveling long term. Their essential plan not only covers medical emergencies but also travel emergencies such as lost luggage or trip cancellation.