Travelling vs long term relationship
Discussion
Glad it's going well mate.
I'm middle aged and live near my ex wife so I can help with my troublesome teens.
I left my girlfriend back in the countryside to come back to London due to trouble with my boys.
We still see each other maybe 1 or 2 times a week yet with old age on the horizon but still reasonably fit, plus not much work, I do feel that I am wasting my life and should at least head round Europe on a road trip.
Responsibilities eh!
Enjoy, it sounds that you are having a great time.
I'm middle aged and live near my ex wife so I can help with my troublesome teens.
I left my girlfriend back in the countryside to come back to London due to trouble with my boys.
We still see each other maybe 1 or 2 times a week yet with old age on the horizon but still reasonably fit, plus not much work, I do feel that I am wasting my life and should at least head round Europe on a road trip.
Responsibilities eh!
Enjoy, it sounds that you are having a great time.
OP, travel will enrich your life but please sort out your mental health before you go. Search for free online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy sessions. The sessions will give you the tools to resolve your anxieties and an emotional anchor to be confident and comfortable in your own company during your travels
Good luck.
Good luck.
N-TY4C said:
OP, travel will enrich your life but please sort out your mental health before you go. Search for free online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy sessions. The sessions will give you the tools to resolve your anxieties and an emotional anchor to be confident and comfortable in your own company during your travels
Good luck.
Too late mate, I’m already out here Good luck.
Mr. Nice Guy said:
N-TY4C said:
OP, travel will enrich your life but please sort out your mental health before you go. Search for free online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy sessions. The sessions will give you the tools to resolve your anxieties and an emotional anchor to be confident and comfortable in your own company during your travels
Good luck.
Too late mate, I’m already out here Good luck.
Good for you op!
I also went traveling in my early 20s to SE Asia and Australia. Ended up staying for four years in all, mostly in Oz. Went back home as I guess I was homesick but realised nothing had changed in that time and regretted leaving Oz.
Now I am back in SE Asia as an expat and have been here for five years. May go back home on the 10 year anniversary!
If you ever come over to Cambodia send me a PM.
I also went traveling in my early 20s to SE Asia and Australia. Ended up staying for four years in all, mostly in Oz. Went back home as I guess I was homesick but realised nothing had changed in that time and regretted leaving Oz.
Now I am back in SE Asia as an expat and have been here for five years. May go back home on the 10 year anniversary!
If you ever come over to Cambodia send me a PM.
Well done OP, really pleased for you. 
And wet season storms are truly epic.
Darwin's a very transient population (for the reasons above) so you should be able to find work because people are moving on all the time. I worked for Britz there, and also on a farm on the border of Kakadu for a few months which was a proper outback adventure.
fttm said:
Good news on your trip but why Darwin ? Have family there and it's unbearably humid during the summer months , plus all the typhoons and crap during the rainy season .
Nah, Darwin's awesome because it's so insane there. Every day up that way can be an adventure And wet season storms are truly epic.
Darwin's a very transient population (for the reasons above) so you should be able to find work because people are moving on all the time. I worked for Britz there, and also on a farm on the border of Kakadu for a few months which was a proper outback adventure.
durbster said:
Well done OP, really pleased for you.
And wet season storms are truly epic.
Darwin's a very transient population (for the reasons above) so you should be able to find work because people are moving on all the time. I worked for Britz there, and also on a farm on the border of Kakadu for a few months which was a proper outback adventure.
I heading for Darwin for a few reasons, the Wild West nature of the place appeals to me and I’ve heard some good things about it. It’s also the next logical step from Cairns and because most backpackers stay on the east coast I’ve heard there are more jobs, better pay and in NT there are a lot of jobs that will get you a 2nd working holiday visa. I’ve also heard it’s “real Australia” rather than a warmer Britain fttm said:
Good news on your trip but why Darwin ? Have family there and it's unbearably humid during the summer months , plus all the typhoons and crap during the rainy season .
Nah, Darwin's awesome because it's so insane there. Every day up that way can be an adventure And wet season storms are truly epic.
Darwin's a very transient population (for the reasons above) so you should be able to find work because people are moving on all the time. I worked for Britz there, and also on a farm on the border of Kakadu for a few months which was a proper outback adventure.
Mr. Nice Guy said:
I heading for Darwin for a few reasons, the Wild West nature of the place appeals to me and I’ve heard some good things about it. It’s also the next logical step from Cairns and because most backpackers stay on the east coast I’ve heard there are more jobs, better pay and in NT there are a lot of jobs that will get you a 2nd working holiday visa. I’ve also heard it’s “real Australia” rather than a warmer Britain
There is a lot of truth in that. Is it still the case where the entire Northern Territory is classed as "rural" so pretty much any farm work out there counts towards the second year?Darwin is quite an extreme place so I think it'll vary from person to person whether they like it. I got the sense there were a lot of drug problems and the weather drives people nuts so you meet a lot of people who are a bit messed up, so I imagine you could easily get into trouble there if you don't keep your wits about you.
It is a long way from the relative familiarity of Sydney and Melbourne but I think some people want to get out of their comfort zone on a trip like that. I really enjoyed the east coast but only really started to feel like we were experiencing something truly unique to Australia when we headed inland from Townsville.
Aside from the pay, the other good thing about farm work is that if you are willing to work hard you can save up a chunk of money. Where we worked there was simply nothing to spend money on as it was over an hour's drive to the nearest shop, and after working outside in 35 degree heat all you want to do in the evening is have a cold shower and a beer. We worked 13 days of every 14 with the day off for the five hour round trip to fetch supplies from Darwin. After doing that for a few months we'd saved up enough to sell our van and buy an old Land Cruiser
We quickly realised we weren't on the east coast when we arrived at the farm to be told the manager couldn't come and say hello because he was out dealing with a bush fire:
He arrived later in his home made buggy:
Showed us to our accommodation before warning us not to go near the billabong because was full of crocodiles:
And introduced us to one of the modes of transport:
The work was mostly tedious and I thought I was going to die a couple of times, but I loved just about every minute of it.
Agreed with the general advice of heading inland. The coast is brilliant, but its only once you get into the outback that it really hits you how insane Australia really is.
Spent a few months in the outback mending fences and chasing cattle. I'm not sure I'll ever do anything that compares to driving for 13 straight hours out of Perth, through tiny mining towns until eventually arriving at a 3,000,000 acre cattle station, then 'commuting' for an hour each morning to a far side of the station to chase cattle on a motorbike with a helicopter chasing up!
Spent a few months in the outback mending fences and chasing cattle. I'm not sure I'll ever do anything that compares to driving for 13 straight hours out of Perth, through tiny mining towns until eventually arriving at a 3,000,000 acre cattle station, then 'commuting' for an hour each morning to a far side of the station to chase cattle on a motorbike with a helicopter chasing up!
I spent six months backpacking/4wd'ing from Cairns -> Cape York -> Darwin -> Gibb River road -> Kalumburu -> Broome -> Perth.
Best part of the trip was Cape range/Ningaloo park. Reef is 100m from the shore unlike on the East coast,spotting reef sharks,big fish and turtles never gets old. Could have whiled away months,if you can do it as a side trip or on your way back home I'd recommend it.
Best part of the trip was Cape range/Ningaloo park. Reef is 100m from the shore unlike on the East coast,spotting reef sharks,big fish and turtles never gets old. Could have whiled away months,if you can do it as a side trip or on your way back home I'd recommend it.
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