Post cruise life reintegration

[scottorious]

So I think I'm approaching a point where I can take a few years off and enjoy some sailing. I'm 32 with a Cal 34 with nobody dependant on me. My struggle is that I absolutely love my job and while it is a blessing, it's also a trap. I'll be comfortable my whole life if I stay but obviously many of us have a longing for what's just over the horizon. So my question to those who have gone before me is this. When you came back and got back into normal life did you next employer think what you accomplished was interesting or worrisome that you might bail again? Did you meet people while "out there" that later became your employer? Did you learn a skill or how to create something where you just became your own boss? If I knew I could come back to my job (class A water treatment plant operator) I could leave a lot sooner but since that seems unlikely (I am about to approach my boss with a 2 to 3 year notice) I would need to save a bit extra for reintegration. Any hints, tips, tricks or stories would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Cheechako]

Well, everyone is different, job markets change etc. If your expertise is in demand you should have no trouble getting back to work. In some ways going when you are not too old can be an advantage that way.
I went on my first 1.5 year cruise when I was 37. My old work place paid to help get my boat back home in order to rehire me. Your job sound a bit specialized, not sure how often they need new people in that line of work. Don't hurry too much, think about it and cruise your boat and get it ready for a longer cruise. Have a good kitty also.

[a64pilot]

If you love your job, stay, pack money back for one day you when you decide it's not as good as it used to be, then go

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by scottorious

...My struggle is that I absolutely love my job and while it is a blessing, it's also a trap. I'll be comfortable my whole life if I stay but obviously many of us have a longing for what's just over the horizon. So my question ...

I doubt anyone is better qualified to answer your specific question than you Scott. Experiences will be all over the map. You may be able to walk back into your job. Sounds like you can expect to be able to find another one. But to me, the most important insight are the lines above.

You recognize the trap that our societies set for us. The carrot is comfort and security. The trap is that you get to work for the next 33 years, so that you can achieve that nirvana known as retirement. THEN you can then start to explore over the horizon.

Most people do the latter. It is the wisest choice. Nothing wrong with it, especially if you have dependents. But the other option is step into the unknown. To give up certainty, and look over the horizon now.

Without kids or other dependents to support you have the freedom to risk. You may fail — it wouldn’t be a risk if failure wasn’t an option. But what’s the worst that can happen?

[Sea Dreaming]

Waiting until retirement is wise? Heck no! Waiting until retirement is expected, nothing more.
It's been my experience that successful people generally find ways to be successful no matter what.
Waiting is really just fear mitigation, fear of the unknown.
There are so many ways to "do it" that there is seldom "either, or?".
Talk to CF member Kenomac. He works 6 months and cruises 6 months.
I'm rambling but my real point is to rephrase your current life experience. You love your job but that does not mean that is the only job you will ever love. You do love it right now, nothing more.
What else do you love?
Is working until retirement age of 65 or so part of what you actually value?
In my mind it's nuts to trade more money for experiences that open your eyes, challenge you, encourage you. It's just plain silly. It's putting off life until life is almost gone.

[brownoarsman]

I found it surprisingly easy to get off the boat and go right back into logging 70 plus hour weeks. Distressingly so, actually.

I've had mixed experiences with telling people what I did for eight months. I structured it so that there was no gap on my resume (worked till mid-jan at my old job, picked up the new one Nov 1), so as I just say the years and not the month specifics, my resume doesn't look like it has a gap. However, when asked why I was interested in a different job, I had to tell the story. Some hiring managers thought it was awesome and whole interviews became about that and lead to more interest, others kind of shut the process down either because they didn't understand why someone would do it, were kind of scornful/envious, or just couldn't relate for whatever reason (bad experiences were generally middle America, big corporate hiring managers; whereas good experiences were usually coastal and edgier companies with younger recruiters). So it's a mix. I actually now do project based consulting where it's actually a virtue! Clients love the stories

P.s. I'm 31 now, did a quick Bahamas and Florida and east coast US cruise when I was 29/30. Anxiously hoping my current project will finally let me go so I can go to maine on the boat!

[Paul L]

As the others have said, only you can answer this. I've taken off from the career for a year or more at a time twice and then retired early. After the first time I came back and was sitting in a tech interview with two potential employers telling me about their great benefits including two weeks off a year. Being a young punk, I responded with 'It takes me two weeks to get where I'm going'. Still got the job.

In seriousness, you will loose some career potential advancement and income if you take off now. Only you can decide if you'd rather wait till you are old enough to retire to do what you want. Of course we don't all make it that far. My older brother died of a heart attack at 53. Its your choice.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Sea Dreaming

Waiting until retirement is wise? Heck no! Waiting until retirement is expected, nothing more.
It's been my experience that successful people generally find ways to be successful no matter what.

You’re right. I should have said safest choice, not wisest. But even then, is waiting really any safer? All we know is we have today. Tomorrow is uncertain. Remember, none of us is getting out of here alive.

Originally Posted by Paul L

In seriousness, you will loose some career potential advancement and income if you take off now. Only you can decide if you'd rather wait till you are old enough to retire to do what you want. Of course we don't all make it that far. My older brother died of a heart attack at 53. Its your choice.

Exactly. Nothing is guaranteed. All we have is right now. The rest is uncertain. Finding the right risk balance is a task left to each of us. Our society teaches us to stay at the grindstone till we’re 65 (or older now). Most here have figured out some way to do things differently, but there is no Absolute Right Answer.

[fallingeggs]

Seneca the Younger wrote about 2,000 years ago (plus or minus a few) that life gives us more than enough time to live, if only we were to stop worrying about what has yet to come and may never be. Carpe Diem, my friend.

You sound like a hard worker with a specialty that isn't going away. You'll find a job when you're back.

[brownoarsman]

Originally Posted by fallingeggs

Seneca the Younger wrote about 2,000 years ago (plus or minus a few) that life gives us more than enough time to live, if only we were to stop worrying about what has yet to come and may never be.

Of course, shortly after, Seneca the Elder wrote that Seneca the younger and his whole generation were whiny, entitled snowflakes who didn't know the value of hard work and who expected life to be laid out on a plate before them. Just kidding!

[the_alpine]

The thing to remember is this:
"In life, you're either a pimp, or a ho. Which one do you wanna be?"

Think about it.

[simonthepom]

I'm almost 2 years in, starting in Greece and heading home to Sydney. I was 38 when we left Sydney and am thankful everyday for this amazing lifestyle. I have absolutely no regrets about quitting my job, selling the house and everything else, a hugely liberating experience.
We're currently in Panamá and hoping to start our pacific crossing in the next few weeks. We'll need to be home by the end of the year to look for work. Believe everything they tell you about the costs of boat ownership and the live aboard lifestyle... Hence our need to replenish the kitty. Going back to similar jobs back home is the quickest way for us earn money at the moment. But as others have said, we've thought long and hard about what we want out of life, and going back to full work schedules in the city on a permanent basis is not for us.
In an ideal world we'll work and cruise at the same time, but it's finding the right role or business opportunity.
Good luck, you'll have a blast!

[scottorious]

Thanks for everyone's input. Most people in my life think I'm insane for even considering it. It's really hard for people to grasp why anyone would want to cross an ocean in a small boat.

I would love to cruise for six months and work six months. I already know myself well enough to know that having a home base would benefit me. My mortgage also is only 550 dollars a month, 18 dollars a day so it's reasonably cheap to keep. I also wonder wish I had a better grasp of food costs in other counties and if it makes sense to have a garden and grow and can or dehydrate as much as possible leaving food costs down to just some fresh stuff in different places. Summer in Illinois and winter in the Caribbean. Has anyone met their future employer "out there"?

[Chili Palmer]

Problem solved

Wastewater Plant Operator | City of Marathon Official Website

[Sailmonkey]

We took off for a year when I was 34. We came back and I picked up right where I had left off. Granted my industry was nearing a peak at the time, had I done the same thing now I may have struggled to find work doing what I was doing. However there's always a way to make a living until something better comes along!!