The Benefits of Taking a Gap Year

Have you heard of the expression ‘gap year’? It is the year when a student takes a break from study to travel, work, or volunteer. Typically most students take their gap year around the age of 18 when they finish high school and before starting university, but what do you think of the idea of taking a mid-life gap year? Perhaps the most famous person to step out of her life for a year is Elizabeth Gilbert who wrote a book about her experience, Eat, Love, Pray. She travelled to Italy, India and then Indonesia over the course of a year. Ms Gilbert decided to take a year out to travel after a bad divorce. She thought travelling would help her heal and figure out who she was, what she wanted and what to do with her future.

Have you considered a Gap Year?

Have you ever thought of leaving your life for a year of travelling? Many middle-aged adults are doing it. After years of working nine to five in the rat race, raising teenagers, caring for aged parents and doing community work, people get to a point where they just need a break! Once their children are grown up and their parents are in a retirement village, many people in their forties and fifties buy a backpack and hit the road. They head to Asia, South America and Europe to live out their dreams. They travel and live modestly. Some people have long-service leave of six months. They are able to take on half pay and go travelling for a year. Others fund their own gap year.

According to one Gap Year Study conducted by Hostelworld.com, more than one-third of people now take gap years are 30 years or older. The study also found that the age of gap year participants is rising. The study found that older people taking Gap Years are motivated by the same goals as young people. Their goals are to see the world, get inspired creatively, and learn about themselves. Let’s look more closely at the reasons you should take a Gap Year.

1. You learn your own worth

You have spent your whole life investing. You invested in a university degree, you invested in property, you have invested in your children’s education, but how have you invested in yourself? What money have you spent on your own happiness? You have worked hard your whole life, now it’s time to give yourself permission to spend some money on YOU. By investing in yourself you are recognising your own self-worth. It is an important form of validation. It is not reckless.

2. You’ll learn that you don’t need a lot of money to be happy

Do you remember when you were young and cash poor? Remember how much fun you used to have just hanging out with your friends on the beach or going on road trips? You didn’t have a lot of money and yet you were happy. You don’t need a lot of money to travel, especially not to places in Asia, Africa and South America. There are lots of ways to travel cheaply and have a ball.

You learn so much travelling

You may think that you’re old (or at least middle-aged) and you’ve been there and done that, but there is still so much to see in the world, and so much to learn. If you spend some time in any one country you will be able to learn the language. In Spain, you can live in Almere or Cartagena quite cheaply and learn Spanish. If you live abroad you can also learn about the history and culture of the place.

3. You can work out your future

If your kids have moved out and your elderly parents are cared for, you may want to start thinking seriously about your future life. Do you still need to work full-time? A gap year will give you a taste of life post-work and freedom. You may find that you really miss your career. If you do, that’s fine. You can prepare to spend a few more years or decades working. You should communicate that to your partner! You might decide you want to go part-time after your gap year.

Your boss may ultimately appreciate your year of travelling. You might have learned new skills or returned with new insights. After returning from a Gap Year, you may even decide you want to look for a job overseas. As they say, the ball is in your court.

4. You will rediscover your partner

If you have been with the same partner for years, it is easy to get in a rut. When you have children to raise and bills to pay, you can get stuck in a boring routine. However on a gap year you will rediscover your partner. You will have new experiences together – new adventures. You will laugh together; get lost together and overcome challenges in a new land. You will rediscover your youth and I hope you will fall in love all over again.

To conclude …

In the past I’ve written blogs about the connection between money and happiness. I’ve looked at research which found that money buys happiness, but only if you spend your money on either helping others or ‘buying new experiences’ like holidays. Spending money on possessions is unlikely to bring lasting happiness yet when you spend your money creating new memories it’s been proven to make you happy. A gap year is the ultimate experience for making memories. It will be a year you will remember for the rest of your life.