For millennials, quitting their job to travel the world has become a sort of a trend. We have heard of travelers giving up their careers so they can travel. They give up their comfortable life to backpack in some ass place to get that tattoo they’ve been wanting to have, to eat that delicious Pad Thai in the street of Bangkok or to climb that remote mountain in the middle of the Andes.

However, most of these people who quit their jobs are the “lucky ones”. The privileged of the flock. The people who were born in first world countries. And I’m not saying this in a condescending tone. And I’m also not disregarding the hard work of these people.

I am aware that most travelers work hard in order to follow what they want and do what they want. I know because I’m one of those privileged people who can afford to travel but at the same time work hard in order to achieve that.

And speaking of privilege, unfortunately, most Filipinos can’t just quit their job to travel the world. And I’m not saying this because I don’t believe in “if there’s a will, there’s a way” motivational speeches. Trust me I do.

But if you will compare Filipino travelers to Western travelers, there’s more to it than “you just have to work harder and know your priorities”. There are lots of reasons why we can’t just quit our job to travel. I am not saying it is impossible. But it is a hard and tough decision. And here are some doses of reality.

  1. Visa Restriction

Being a Philippine passport holder, we know a lot about visa struggles. Unfortunately, we can only enter 63 countries visa free. And most of them are too far away for us to even afford it.

Without a job in the Philippines, it will be hard for us to get a visa. It is doable, yes. But it will be harder to prove that we’re going to go back home after our visa limitation. And even if we don’t need to apply for a visa, we will be questioned thoroughly by our own immigration officers and will be accused of planning to “TNT” (Tago ng Tago- which refers to Filipinos hiding because of overstaying in one country to work).

2. The breadwinner of the family

Most of us are breadwinners or helping the family with bills and daily expenses. We have a very family-oriented tradition. It is our duty to help our family, especially the parents once we get our own work.

So if you quit your job, that means it will affect your family as well. And it’s not the easiest decision. I know a lot about this because I am the breadwinner of my family.

Although I quit my senior management job to pursue the life of travel after years of contemplating, it was by far one of the hardest decisions I had to make. I just got too lucky I was offered a location independent job even before I could finish my 30-days notice from my previous company (which is another story).

And this is one of the biggest reasons why we can’t just hop on the plane to attend Moon Party or do that 3-month backpacking in Europe. No one could enjoy that expensive margarita or that selfie in Eiffel tower while your family is struggling at home.

3. No support from the government

Once we quit our job, we basically on our own. We can’t rely on the government to feed us. There are programs such as 4Ps to help alleviate extreme poverty in some places but it’s only applicable to the poorest of the poor. This does not apply to someone who quit their job to travel.

Unlike some of my friends from Europe who get a decent amount of money from their government-funded unemployment welfare, this makes things easier for them to quit their job as they have a back up (or sometimes their able parents can still help them).

I surely know a couple of people who applied for welfare and then used the money to travel and party in Thailand. So knowing that you won’t have anyone or something to back you up, it is not easy to decision to make.

4. Most Filipinos don’t have credit cards

For a cashless society such as the USA, having a credit card is a necessity. Americans use credit cards to pay for everything. In fact, a lot of my American friends rarely bring cash. So why a credit card matters you say?

It is a good back up to borrow money from when you’re unemployed. Or even borrow money to pay for your travels. And you can pay them later. A shield from the rainy days as they say.

A lot of news popping up lately show millennials quitting their job or traveling the world by racking up credit card debts. For Filipinos, getting a credit card from the banks is as hard as getting visas and for the most part, our credit limit here is so low compared to other countries.

In fact, only around 7% of the population in the country have credit cards as of 2015. So if we quit our job to travel and run out of savings, we are most likely to rely on ourselves.

5. Weak local currency and a meager salary

As much as we want to travel the world, especially if you’re quitting your job, one of the facts that we always have to face is the low value of our local currency compared to other countries.

So even if you have “enough” savings to quit your job, this doesn’t guarantee you to have enough to last on your trip. There are lots of ways to save money when traveling, yes. But also a lot of losses due to currency conversion.

Case in point, my one night in a hostel in New York City is already equivalent of one week stay in Bangkok. One dinner with a friend in San Francisco cost us 2-week budget in food in Manila.

This is why Western travelers are more likely to get more value on their money compared to us. Which leads to another problem – the meager salary. It’s true that all countries are suffering from low pay and a lot live in paycheck to paycheck way.

But if someone from first world country can save $300 from their low -income salary every month, that’s already equivalent of a decent paying job in the Philippines. Which almost leaves nothing for savings, much less for travel.

 

Ever lost in a place like this? โค@thelifeofzndr

A post shared by The Travelling Pinoys (@thetravellingpinoys) on

I am not trying to discourage anyone to quit their job to travel the world. What I’m trying to point out is it’s not easy. So before telling everyone that they can do it (and judge them for not being brave enough), let’s also try to see things from their perspective. And this is from someone who took the courage to leave a great job to pursue the life of adventure.

germany
In Munich, Germany after they rejected me initially on my visa application and 2 years after quitting my last office job.

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30 COMMENTS

  1. Good article. I come from Finland and you probably categorize me as Westener.

    I pay 35 percent of my salary to the government every month. Because the money goes to the government, not directly to any my family members, it is indeed easy to quit a job and stop paying it. Our system makes it quite easy to make the big decision.

    And I know some people here take government benefits and travel. In our system there are huge money flows from middle class to poorer. But your analysis was great and correct.

    • Thanks for dropping by Niko! Yeah I have lots of friends in Finland and they get to travel often (good vacation paid leaves and govt welfares). Also as a Filipino, I’m already paying 32% of my salary to the govt. Needless to say the separate taxes for properties and 12% value added tax in all products and services. And we dont have half of your benefits in Finland.

      P.S. I love Finland. It’s my number two favorite country next to Croatia. ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. True. Kahit gusto ko magtravel, yan ang mga reasons kaya di ko magawa. Kung hindi pa sponsored ng company ko before di ako makakarating sa ibang bansa. Thanks for this nice article.

    • Thanks for dropping by Mechelle! It’s still great though that your company is sponsoring you. I actually started that way. My old company sent me abroad yearly as part of my benefits with them. Keep dreaming, for sure makakatravel ka din on your own someday, when the time and circumstances are right ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Hi Christine, As a Pinoy, I agree with what you’ve said, very true! As a Filipino-Canadian, I consider myself lucky to be able to travel the world with a Canadian Passport. And also being treated royally in Commonwealth countries that I’ve visited like England and Australia. But I’m still a true Pinoy at heart. I’ve traveled the world and live in Canada now, someday I will visit our homeland again and hope to meet you. Keep up the good work. Regards, Oly

    • Thanks for the kind words and for taking your time to read my article Oly! And yes Canadian passport is strong, lucky you! ๐Ÿ™‚ Be safe in Canada and hope to meet you too!

  4. I agree with these points. That’s why Sheila and I did not decide to be digital nomads/full-time travelers. We love/need our jobs, and we have familial responsibilities.

    However, we still manage to travel and go adventuring; it’s just a matter of strategically planning schedules and finances.

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  6. I totally get it, I also have a passport that makes it challenging to travel. Its the discrimination when applying for visas and then interrogating at immigration that really bothers me. When they see my passport, they always do a double take because I speak American, ethnically mostly Chinese with a bit of mix, many visas and stamps as well as not living in my passport country since I was 7 years old nor was I born there ?

  7. Great post. However, why would you quit your job just to travel? Are you super rich? Have you ever heard of paid vacations? I agree with Adrenaline, strategic planning is the key. Save your money and your vacations and plan your trip.Don’t envy the Americans, I read an article few years back that “America is the No vacation nation”. Europeans have more vacation (paid) time than Americans. When it comes to passport and visa (and $$) well, it is like comparing apples and oranges, 3rd world country (Philippines) and the US or UK. Happy trails Christine, life is short let’s all travel more.

  8. I truly agree with all what you have posted here. Personally, I really want to quit my Job and just travel the world, but I’ve been weighing this since then and truly, there are hundreds of reasons why I canโ€™t just quit my job to travel. It is a hard and a tough decision to make. I’m a breadwinner of the family and this is one of the reasons why i can’t just quit my job, hopefully soon when everything is in good place, I can pursue it. Anyway, the reasons you’ve listed here are all true, especially for Filipinos like us who has limited resources. This is actually the reality and a lot of us has been tied to these reasons.

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