Additional Coverage:
- My husband and I left our jobs to travel full-time in our 30s. Transitioning back into the workforce has been hard. (businessinsider.com)
From School Counselor to Global Traveler: One Woman’s Leap of Faith
A local woman’s bold decision to quit her job and embark on a five-year global adventure with her husband and later, their son, highlights the growing trend of “adult gap years” and the challenges of re-entering the traditional workforce.
For Toccara Best, a former high school counselor, the wake-up call came unexpectedly with the passing of a beloved graduate school professor shortly after her retirement. “I didn’t want to spend my life working toward a future I might never get to experience,” Best reflected. This realization ignited a desire for immediate adventure, a stark contrast to the deferred gratification many associate with retirement.
Best, whose husband Sam worked remotely as a self-published author, had already been leveraging school holidays and summer breaks for travel, chronicling their journeys on their blog, ForgetSomeday. Yet, these brief escapes only fueled a deeper yearning for extended exploration. The idea of a year-long sabbatical to travel full-time began to take root.
With no home ownership or children tying them down, the timing seemed ideal. Best submitted a request for a year of leave, but it was denied due to anticipated budget cuts. Undeterred, the couple decided to press forward with their dream, unwilling to postpone it until an uncertain future.
Over the next year, they meticulously saved over $30,000 by drastically cutting nonessential expenses. They sold their car for $5,000 and other belongings, storing the rest in a modest 10×10 unit, anticipating a one-year absence. By June 2015, with approximately $40,000 saved, they terminated their lease and boarded a one-way flight to Prague.
Their initial “gap year” transformed into a whirlwind of global exploration. They savored the culinary delights of Central and Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, celebrated Oktoberfest in Munich and St.
Patrick’s Day in Dublin, and explored over a dozen countries. Their adventures ranged from island-hopping in Croatia, Thailand, and Portugal to traversing Scotland in a campervan and swimming with seals in Sweden.
What began as a one-year plan extended into five. Strategic housesitting opportunities and blog partnerships helped stretch their budget, making continued travel feasible. However, their biggest adventure was yet to come: six months into their extended journey, they discovered they were expecting.
The couple returned to the US for the birth of their son. Yet, within months, their wanderlust resurfaced, and they embarked on a new chapter of full-time travel, this time exploring the diverse landscapes of America.
By his third birthday, their son had already visited 27 states. The global pandemic eventually prompted them to settle down, bringing them back to California five years after their journey began.
Re-entering the traditional workforce after such an extensive break presented its own set of challenges. “We didn’t realize that our global adventure would end with such a hurdle-a career pivot after five years away, right in the middle of a global pandemic,” Best shared. Both she and her husband found themselves navigating a competitive job market and reevaluating their career paths.
Once their son started preschool, Best transitioned back into the workforce as an executive personal assistant, utilizing her organizational skills. Following that, she secured a part-time role as an operations manager at a nonprofit, where she has worked for nearly four years. Despite her experience, Best admits that finding meaningful full-time employment in today’s competitive landscape has been a significant challenge over the past year and a half.
Reflecting on their audacious journey, Best acknowledges the inherent risks. “Was our gap year impulsive?
Not exactly. We spent a year saving and planning.
Was it risky? Definitely.
More so than we imagined. Would we do it all over again?
Absolutely.” However, she humorously adds a caveat: “That said, if we were to do it again, we’d probably just stick to a year.”
Best’s story offers a compelling look into the growing trend of adult gap years, demonstrating the profound impact such breaks can have on personal growth and perspective, even amidst the complexities of career transitions and an ever-changing world.