1) unemployed
2) laid off
3) ready to quit a job that you hate
4) independently wealthy

Well, there is another group that would love to take a career break but which is unserved by these blogs. These are professionals, like myself, who love their job, love their home, and love their life, but would also love to take a short-term sabbatical just to get away for a short time to have a cultural immersion experience and try something different. However, we want to return to our life and job when we are done.

This is exactly what I have done 14 separate time, from Australia to Zimbabwe, Mauritius to Mongolia, never once reaching into my wallet and never once quitting my day job.

I invite you to check out my blog “On The Other Guys Dime” at otherguysdime.wordpress.com to read about how any professional with a useful, marketable skill can do the same thing that I have done. I also invite you to take a look at my new book, On The Other Guy’s Dime: A Professional’s Guide To Traveling Without Paying (Itasca Books, ISBN 978-1-934690-40-6) for some how-to advice on doing exactly the same thing yourself.

Letting go of the mortgage and lawn mowing was so freeing! And the whole process allowed us to consider what careers we wanted at this point in our lives and make them happen once we returned.

Check us out at http://www.travelandtravails.com.

I too can’t wait for the day when more Americans realize the hurry sickness has a cure and simplicity is life-changing.

Technomadia – what you are doing sounds like a great lifestyle! Will definitely follow along on your adventures.

Travel-x-4 – I love that more and more families are doing extended travel together. I used to think I would have to travel as much as possible before potentially starting a family, but hearing about families like yours has opened up my eyes to a whole new world of opportunities.

In fact, we just highlighted a family of four who just returned from 9 months of travel: http://briefcasetobackpack.com/2009/07/4suitcases-one-family-on-a-world-adventur/

And be sure to visit their site as they have highlighted several other families as well.

we’re renting out our house, pulling the kids (13 and 10) out of school and hitting the road for a year. we may never get an opportunity to take an extended break with our children again, so we’re going to make proverbial lemonade with the coming year.

so, Reason #11 for a career break is to re-connect with (y)our children, and to give (y)our kids the opportunity to learn and grow in a way that a year in school would never offer.

For some of us however, we’ve found ways to have it all by combining travel with our careers via location independent professions. For instance, my partner and I travel full time throughout the US (for now) in a small solar powered travel trailer that serves as both our home and office. Using wireless broadband we have some amazing office views on a regular changing basis. We do various tech consulting. And because our expenses are so much lower than they were before we were traveling full time, we actually work less (maybe 10 hrs a week?) and can concentrate on work projects that are fun.

A technomadic location independent lifestyle is just another way of incorporating career and wanderlust.. one that doesn’t require putting your career on hold or on the line.

– Cherie / http://www.technomadia.com