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Time off from all work, without a long-term plan. Ever do it?

My wife and I, now around 30 each, have contemplated going away for a month. I'd be leaving a well-paying contract job (that sucks the soul out of you) and I have no plan on what I'll do when we return. I make a little money from my Web sites through advertising, at least enough to pay the mortgage.

The plan is to take in some theme parks, concentrate on writing my book and just get away from the world for a bit, in another state. I'll likely acquire some debt, but nothing crushing, and if I can't really make a go of it on my own, there are a lot of jobs in my area.

Have you ever done something like this? How'd it go for you?

Posted: Apr 28 2004, 08:33 AM by Jeff | with 7 comment(s)
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Comments

Scott Sargent said:

Here's what i would do, If you're on a contract that's paying fairly well put half - 2/3rds of your $$ away in an account that you can't get to via check cards/debit cards etc.. do this for about a year or so, if you're successful after about a year you'll have about six months pay if not more in there. With that kind of money to play with you can take a month off and not worry about work. I did this (the saving part) over the last two years, I plan to take a month off this summer and i can't wait.
# April 28, 2004 9:00 AM

Jeff said:

Actually... I was thinking about going by the end of May. No way in hell am I going to waste six more months of my life on this job. No money is worth being bored out of your mind and not challenged.
# April 28, 2004 9:14 AM

uber said:

I've thought about it. In fact, I'm moving to Korea for the summer, starting in June. I'll be leaving a good job in New York City for this, but it's something that I've wanted to do for a while.

It's your life, and if you want some time off, then I think you should take it.
# April 28, 2004 9:48 AM

G. Andrew Duthie said:

My wife and I both stopped working almost entirely for around 2-3 months after our son was born. It was great, and we were very fortunate to have been in a position to do that. My only regret was that I did not start looking for additional work as early as I should have, so experienced a little anxiety towards the end of that period. If you plan to take the time off, it's probably a good idea to either have a plan in place for finding work when you want it, or having enough socked away to cover an additional month or two of expenses while you look for work.

# April 28, 2004 9:57 AM

Fabrice said:

Is leaving work for a month that extraordinary in the US? This is something that can be done here in France without quitting your job.
# April 29, 2004 5:16 AM

moose said:

For someone supposedly used to contract work, you don't half moan about job security on this blog. Get a salary and get benefits like paid holidays. Sheesh, why not discuss it with your wife, instead of on a technical blog?
# April 29, 2004 6:56 AM

Jeff said:

I'm sorry, "Moose," was someone forcing you to read this? That's what I thought.

Fabrice: Yes, taking a month off is unusual here in the states. Our culture is weird here, where people are expected to work 2000+ hours a year. I have a feeling that a lot of people will get to their golden years and wonder, "What the hell did I do with my life?"

Obviously I don't want to be one of those people!
# April 29, 2004 7:58 AM
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