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Going through analysis paralysis and need to hear from someone who’s been on the other side
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I wasn’t sure if this is the best place to ask my question, but I’d appreciate any input. I’m a married 36 year old guy with a 2.5 year old toddler. We live in the US where I work for a large corporation and have been fortunate enough to provide for my family so my wife can stay home and take care of our child. The reason I’ve been browsing thru this subreddit is because I’m having a midlife crisis / a burnout (I think).

I came to the US as a first generation immigrant when I was 14, and due to my family’s financial situation I began working at 15 years old to help out with our household bills. Looking back, I’ve never not had a job since then. It went from working part time throughout middle/high school and university to then jumping into the corporate world as a full timer which has been brutal given the work culture in the US. The silver lining has been that both my partner and I have lived within our means and don’t spend lavishly, so we’ve been able to accumulate decent savings.

I’m having this impulse/feeling that I’ve worked very hard over the last 20 years and have been very disciplined with my finances, so I should take a year (or two) off to travel abroad and recalibrate my mental, physical, and spiritual health. I’m stuck in chasing a career that’s bringing me no real fulfillment, but I’ve also been indoctrinated into this lifestyle where I feel that my best earning years are a head of me, so why walk away now after all the work I’ve already put into this pursuit.

Here are a few factors that I’ve been weighing through which make the idea of living abroad somewhat reasonable:

  • I’m currently renting and don’t have a house tying me down here. It would be smart to get the experience abroad before I buy a permanent home, so I won’t have any regrets/remorse of never trying it.
  • I have passive income stream ($3000), so I won’t be eating into my savings/reserves if I choose not to work for a short while. Especially if I choose to live in countries with favorable currency conversion.
  • My kid is 2.5 years old, so he’s not supposed to be enrolled into school for another 1.5-2 years. If I miss the opportunity now while he’s little, a better time may not come in future.
  • Exploring new cultures and ways of life will be refreshing and bring my wife and I closer from sharing an experience like that.
  • I’ve already migrated to a new country before (USA), so maybe I shouldn’t be as intimidated of making the move.
  • If I’m not working, I can use this time and energy to enroll into a language course. Right now my Spanish is a little above elementary level, so I was thinking maybe I can try someplace in South America.

My questions for anyone who can relate to this situation are:

  • How did you decide to walk away from your status quo life and take the plunge into living/traveling abroad? My wife knows that I’m extremely burnt out and is very supportive of whatever I decide, but I’m reluctant because I don’t want to let my family down by making a rash decision.
  • Is there any advice that you wish you had received when you were going thru something like this?
  • If you did end up taking the plunge into living/traveling abroad, how did everything workout looking back at your decision?
  • Any places in South America or elsewhere you’d recommend for a family of 3 given our budget, and places that might be more accommodating for a toddler?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and guidance!

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6 months ago