Are you sitting in a cubicle reading this blog?
We’ve been there.
Traveling 9 to 5 is for everyone looking for a break from the 9 – 5 drag. We remember the days of endlessly browsing the Internet, living off of other people’s adventures and drooling over daily travel photos online.
You don’t have to hate your job to take a career break or gap year, you only need to be driven to revive your creativity and jumpstart your energy to be a better employee, husband, wife or friend. We encourage you to stop slamming the door on opportunities and begin writing an interesting story for your life.
What is a Career Break?
Take 1 month or 1 year to focus on you! A career break allows you to revisit your priorities, learn new things and focus on what you want to get out of your life. Reignite your creativity by adding adventure and novelty back into your day-to-day.
You Will Never Regret Taking A Year to Travel
Josh worked for a large consulting firm where he was on the road 80% of the time. He worked 90 hour weeks and let his guitar collect dust in the corner of our apartment, but had great benefits with a paycheck he liked. His passions were pushed aside as he focused on working and climbing the ladder.
I looked at him one day in the car and said “lets quit and travel the world”.
In the end, he couldn’t shake the fact that there is nothing he could ever regret by taking a year to travel. For one year we got the best education we could imagine, lessons in negotiating, logistic planning, decision making, international communications, dealing with constantly changing situations…(I could go on!).
Random Facts About Us
- Caroline was born in Georgia, grew up in Hawaii and now resides in the Midwest
- Caroline asked Josh to Homecoming when they were 17 and he turned her down
- Josh does the designing and programming, while Caroline manages the social media stuff
- Josh loves mountains and Caroline could sit on a beach every day
- We both are obsessed with Thai food, the spicier the better
- Josh’s dream? To go to Space Camp. Hopefully they still allow adults…
We Love to Eat
- Thai Food: The Most Mind-blowing Foods you Will Ever Put in Your Mouth
- How to Eat an Argentine Steak for 1/2 Price
- Hawaiian Food You Can’t Leave Without Tasting
- Food Scavenger Hunt in Vietnam
- How to Order Food in a Foreign Language
We Exercise as Much as Possible
- Hotel Gym Workout
- Running in Kilometers
- Quick Sweaty Workout
- Travel Workout: The Final Countdown
- The Best Form of Transportation
- Exercise Philosophy While Traveling
We Want to Help you Travel Better, Smarter, and More Often
- How to Travel the World for $346
- The Single Best Insurance for Long Term Travelers
- The Best Credit Cards for Travel
- How to Tell Your Employers About Your Career Break
- Our RTW Packing List
- Travel with Only a Carry On
- Travel Budget Basics
- How To Pick Destinations for Your RTW Trip
- How To Downsize Your Life to Fit in a Carry On Bag
And We Love to Share Our Crazy Stories From the Road
- Why I Fainted on a Bus in Ecuador
- The First Night on Our Self Drive Safari
- The Time I Was a Semi-Vegetarian For The Day
- The Sounds of Rio de Janiero
- The Dumbest Tour I Have Ever Been On
- Welcome to Buenos Aires, Watch Your Pockets
- The People You Meet on Safari
- The Time a Thai Lady Bent Me Into A Pretzel
Where you can find us on the Web
Connect with us online!
Guest Posts:
- Y Travel Blog: How to Travel Like a Child
- The Planet D: Abandoning The Status Quo
- 2 Backpackers:
- African Safari - Spotting the Big 5
- Brazil Travel – Conquering Copacabana Beach
- Brazil Travel – How to Spend a Weekend in Rio de Janiero
- Brazil Travel – Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janiero
- Ecuador Travel – Biking Ruta de las Cascadas
- Ecuador Travel – How to Visit the Galapagos Islands Independently
- Chile Travel – A Day Hike in the Andes Mountains
- Peru Travel – What to Expect on the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu
Interviews
- Vagabonding: Case Study: The Eatons
- 1,000 Fights: 7 Questions with Traveling 9 to 5
- A Dangerous Business: Thursday Traveler: Traveling 9 to 5
- A Couple Travelers: Interview series: Traveling 9 to 5
- Backpacks and Bunkbeds: A Travel Blogger Interview with Caroline (@Traveling 9 to 5)
You guys are amazing. and inspring. and beautiful. and i love you both. can’t wait to follow your amazing year:)
Love reading your story. Looks like we’re all doing big things Jan2012
Where you guys starting?
Hi Carlo, are you also heading out in January? We are starting in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Singapore, specifically. Check out our round the world itinerary page. We just bought our tickets last week!
Can’t wait to follow your journey. So proud of you both for going outside the normal “comfort zone” of life and living your dream. As much as you will be missed, your upcoming trip will be inspiring to all who follow. Love you.
hey just came across your guys profile on vagablogging.net and thought id check out your website. must say it is fantastic and best of luck to the two of you on your travels. my girlfriend and i are currently abotu 8 months away from starting on our “big” trip, so i will be following (see: creeping) your site closely to see how your adventures are going. safe travels!
Brent, thanks for checking out our site. Good look to you on planning your trip. Let us know if we can help!
The both of you are amazing! I’m a Singaporean and am interested to see how a foreigner really travel and look at my country. It’s my dream to go RTW as well. Hopefully i can start in 2013 after i finish my national service. Good luck and i’ll be looking forward to further updates from you guys!
Thanks Joel, so glad that you are following our trip. We’ll be in Singapore in less than 3 weeks!
If only you guys arrive 1 week earlier you can catch the Chingay parade.
Caroline-
It is so cool, and inspiring, what you and Josh are doing! Some of your pictures have shown up on my newsfeed and I couldnt help myself but figure out what you were up to and why you were traveling around the world. Safe travels and cheers to many amazing experiences of a lifetime!
I vote you two write a book about it once its all over! Im looking forward to following your traveling in the meantime!
Thanks Rachel! Ill write the book if you purchase it
We are only 1 week in – 11 months to go! Keep following along, we love hearing from you. If you’ve been to anywhere we are going send us over hotel/food etc suggestions!
Hey Guys! Hope you are having fun! I saw your guys’ posts on Facebook a while back and decided that my Special Ed. Class at Carmel High School would follow your travels as an ongoing lesson. All the kids love your pictures and have fun looking at the map to see how far away from Carmel you are. Keep us in the know!
I love to know people back home are following us, especially from good ol’ Carmel High! If the kids have any questions, send them our way! I am happy to hear the kids are being introduced to travel at such a young age!
I found your blog tonight because my server at Harry and Izzy’s in Indianapolis recommended I take a look – I love it! I live in Chicago, as well, and have not left the country since graduating from college. This will be a great inspiration to make some trips, and I love the advice on how to do it. I’m a resident physician with very limited time and funds but you all offer great resources on how to approach traveling. LOVE LOVE LOVE it! (The exercise and eat sections are great, too!)
Thanks Anna. I’m glad we can inspire you to travel! The exercise section is all Caroline. She does a great job of keeping us fit on the road.
another quick comment….if you make your way to Africa (specifically Kenya)…there is a large group of Indianapolis natives living in ElDoret affiliated with the IU School of Medicine. There is an IU House there where you can stay for pretty cheap. Let me know if you might want details…
We probably won’t be making it to Kenya on this trip, but will definitely keep this in mind for the future!
holy cow! I have not taken a peek at your site …..for a long time. This is amazing you guys. Caroline – your book is right here. reminds me of the talks on our walks and as I peddled at the beginning of my workouts. the focus, writing giftedness, challenge and inspiration to live a bigger brighter life – for all of us, is AMAZING. As are you both! Love to you. jeanne
Thanks for your support Jeanne! It really means a lot to the both of us.
Josh and Caroline-
Congrats for being able to take such an amazing journey! Beautiful pictures.
Are you learning any new languages? Now I know what I want to be when I grow up…
Thanks!
Besides trying to learn a couple words of Cantonese, Thai, Lao, Khmer, Bahasa Indonesia and Vietnamese (where we weren’t very successful) we are trying to speak Spanish for the next 4 months in South America.
Great blog and layout. I’m not sure if your contact us page is working (or maybe it just wasn’t for me?)
Thanks Andrew, the design is brand new, so glad you like it. I’ve fixed the contact page, thanks for letting us know.
Life is a journey. You are so fantastic, putting almost all the details and giving much informations. Im so happy that i have read your blog because it really help me a lot in preparing my trip to hongkong and i think to my future trips also. I have not yet read all of it but it really helps me a lot….. Anyway, if you will visit Davao City (Philippines), our house is FREE and open for you. Its my way of saying that i salute you. Its my pleasure you two to be my guest.
Thanks Romeo. Enjoy Hong Kong!