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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

A One-Way Trip Around the World | Why Steve Quit His Job

My friend Steve right now is about half way (geographically) through his trip around the world.  I have to share this because it is such a great story and I am really, really jealous.


Steve quit his job and bought a one-way ticket around the world.  Steve is a friend of mine from college.  He always had plans to graduate and get a job in New York City to pursue a career in finance, makes tons of money, enjoy his life and ride off into the sunset.  But after a few years working for JP Morgan in the Big Apple, the awesome life and the sunset weren't there, so Steve decided to check out and planned his trip around the world.

The trip he planned is awesome: Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand over the course of a year plus.  Full details and story are at his blog Operation Backpack the World Tour.  The pictures he has are unreal and, like I said, I get very jealous.  The least I can do is post some of them to social media pages for other people to check out too.





Some highlights of Steve's trip so far:
  • Bungee Jumping in Interlaken, Switzerland.  Words don't do it justice.
  • Roadtrip to Sarajevo, Bosnia.  More to Bosnia than bad "war" stories.  
  • Hockey Game: Zagreb v Salzburg.  Not exactly the NHL.
  • Caving in Laos. Try to do that in the US.    
  • Cambodian Temples.  Needed a map to find Cambodia.
  • Full Moon Party, Thailand.  Like a midnight beachfront rave.  
And there are tons of other things Steve has done and still has to do, including the continent of Australia.  But Steve's trip has been awesome, in addition to all the places he has been, because he took a few leaps of faith:
  • Traveling by Himself.  Steve had some people visit him at his stops along his journey, but he is traveling by himself.  This means he has to go out of his way and ensure that he is meeting new people and making new friends all the time. 
  • Plane Ticket Around the World.  I didn't know these really existed.  I'm sketchy on the restrictions: you can only fly in one direction each flight (east or west), get multiple flights but have to change countries, etc., but it makes it way more realistic and affordable to travel to Europe, Asia and Australia, for example.
  • Quit His Job.  There is no time table for Steve's return.  He's not on a short vacation.  He gets to take his time to experience new places, new people and their cultures.  You can't beat that.
  • Surf!.  Steve will be paddling out in Australia.  For me, a trip around the world wouldn't be complete without getting on waves at world-class destinations.    

It sounds crazy to quit your job, change your life and travel around the world.  But if you're looking for some inspiration, Steve is your guy.