How we left work and went traveling the world
FROM EDITION:For reasons beyond the editorial board, a similar text with the participation of the same characters was published on The Village website on December 5, 2016.
STABILITY IS ONE OF THE VALUES inspired by all who grew up in an era of change. Our parents, tired of the uncertainty of the nineties, sharp jumps in currencies, the inability to buy food and clothing, brought us the desire to live a good, measured and full life. However, where there is stability, there is not always room for development. My husband Pasha and I decided not to follow these precepts and chose the movement, one day we started a new, interesting and uncertain life.
Prior to the dismissal, our life went on a track: admission to the university for a demanded specialty, stable office work, a car and career growth. But we wanted what is now only beginning to fit into the picture of the happiness of a generation of twenty, not money, a job for wear and a dizzying career, and not even children and a house full of cups, but freedom of choice. In such a coordinate system, money is needed not to buy an apartment and go shopping, but to be able to do what you love.
I entered the economics department of Moscow State University only because I didn’t know where else to go: it is difficult for a person at fifteen to consciously decide what he wants to become. I learned not without pleasure, but without special joy - it should be so necessary. During my studies I started working in a large pharmaceutical company. The first escape from the office happened six years ago, when I was so fed up with the boring work that I decided to write the art director of the club and ask for a job as a tour manager. It was fantastic: communication with foreign musicians, a sense of belonging to something big, new and interesting acquaintances. The joy did not last long: after the events in “The Lame Horse” the club was tortured with checks and soon it closed.
To make ends meet, I went back to the office until May 2016. First, in PR-agencies, where it was quite interesting, but very much nervous, and the last two years - in a large IT-company. The work there was perfect among office ones, and I still think that I was very lucky to get there.
In spite of everything, we decided. The inspiration came when in the fall of 2014 we rested in sunny Georgia. Vacation, as always, flew too fast, and for the first time we thought about traveling without borders. Having estimated our expenses, we realized that we can easily reduce them by half, and save the surplus and premiums for our dream: after all, someone is saving up for a car, someone for new smartphones, and we are no worse. Then we decided to get married, and this great journey was supposed to be a wedding.
We decided not to bump into serious things, but to go on separate journeys and return home after them each time - we have a cat, which we miss a lot
It was not that difficult to save: it was enough to stop mindlessly buying clothes and cosmetics, start looking at prices in bars and cafes, and in general count money. Surprisingly, before that I could not put aside a ruble, and the money flowed through my fingers, but I suspect that they mostly went for impulsive purchases: lipstick bought at the run, takeaway coffee costing lunch and so on. At first there were "phantom pains", but they passed after reminding myself for what it was all about. During the accumulation, we still continued to travel - even if only on weekends and inexpensively. They began to spend the night in budget hotels, dined in cheap cafes, chose more modest entertainment.
The amount needed for travel was accumulated in about a year and a half - a few months before day X began to save even more. We had time to think and realize what adventure we are subscribing to: there is a crisis in the country, many cannot find a new job. But confidence gave us a financial plan and the feeling that we will not lose anything, but we can gain a lot. What can happen if we spend all the accumulated money on a trip, but we still don’t find sponsors or learn how to earn money in the process? At best, we will start working on freelancing, at worst - back to the office. In addition, we have accumulated not only for the travels themselves, but also for food if we have to look for work. Only our relatives knew about our plan in advance, including our parents. They surprisingly well treated our adventure and supported us, for which many thanks to them. I told colleagues about my dismissal for a month, we broke up on a positive note and still communicate - it's a pity that it is rare.
On the first trip, to Polar Norway and the Russian North, we set off on the evening of our last working day, April 29. The sensations were unusual: the last five years, the biggest break that I did during a job change, lasted a day, and now months of trips awaited me. It is worth making a small digression. When we thought about traveling, the thought of an Around the World immediately came to mind. But over time, we decided not to bump into all serious things, but to go on separate journeys and return home after them each time. In addition, we have a cat, which we miss very much and who lives in our absence at Pasha's parents.
At first you are surprised and rejoice at every deer who has jumped on the road, then you begin to swear softly when it rushes again under the wheels
For seven months we went on five trips: across Polar Norway and Russian North, across Eastern Europe, across steppe regions of Russia and Kazakhstan, around the Komi Republic and the Perm Territory, as well as on a two-month trip across the Caucasus, Transcaucasia and Iran. In the ragged mode, there is another plus - in a couple of weeks, the impressions are dulled.
The first trip taught us a lot. It is strange, of course, to go to one of the most expensive countries in the world, Norway, immediately after the dismissal. Prices there are such that you go to the store and you understand that for that kind of money you do not want anything. For example, a hot dog at a gas station can cost 700 rubles, since it is collected by a person, and any work in Norway is well paid. We brought all the products with us from Russia, slept in the car, and almost the only item of our expenses was gasoline. For this trip, we realized that not all interesting impressions cost money: amazing Norwegian nature is free, and the beauty there is so breathtaking. It is interesting how the perception of unusual things changes: at first you are surprised and rejoice at every deer jumping onto the road, then you start to swear softly when it rushes under the wheels again.
After returning from Norway, it was strange not to immediately run back to the office. We used to come from trips late in the evening on Sunday, and on Monday we went to work. And now it was a weekday, and I didn't have to go anywhere. But over time you get used to it. In addition, Pasha and I conduct a blog on LiveJournal, which we simply called “Pasha and Lena,” and it takes so long for it that the euphoria quickly passed, there was just joy and awareness of the correctness of our path.
In the summer, we first went to Eastern Europe - we lived for a week in Budapest and Prague, we traveled a bit around Slovakia, Poland and Germany. In the summer we spent a lot of time at home. Especially great on a working day, having finished with a blog, to arrange a break and go sunbathing on the beach. Although on hot days all the beaches are clogged, even on weekdays.
Also in the summer we took a couple of two-week trips around Russia. First, to the hot south - in Astrakhan, Volgograd and Rostov regions, Kalmykia and Kazakhstan. We really liked Kalmykia, which is quite unlike Russia - everywhere Buddhist pagodas, stupas, special people and nature. During the second, "northern" trip we were most struck by Vorkuta - a city beyond the Arctic Circle, where in summer the thermometer does not rise above fifteen degrees, as a rule. Despite the fact that the city and mining villages nearby are almost in a state of ruins, there is something to see. Hurry to see: according to rumors, they are planning to make Vorkuta a closed administrative-territorial unit and it will be impossible to get there without a special permit.
This fall we left home for the first two months for the first time, traveled through the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, spent a week in Iran. I thought I was bored at home after three weeks, but no - the people in the Caucasus are so hospitable and open that the longing came only after a month and a half. An important role is played by a similar mentality and communication in Russian. In the Caucasus, we have learned a very important quality for budget travelers and all those who save: to visit or receive guests. It is almost free, and the pleasures of communication are not less, but because of the camouflage of the situation, sometimes it is more than in a restaurant.
The discovery of this trip was Iran - a country inhabited by kind and curious people who smile, greet you and constantly wonder where you came from. But the tar didn’t go without a spoon: according to the laws of the republic, despite the usual thirty-degree heat, all women are obliged to cover their heads and wear closed clothes, and tourists are no exception. This week is pretty tired.
On trips we really miss friends and parents, but nobody canceled Skype and chats. In addition, some friends join us as far as possible. We compensate for the lack of communication by finding friends through couchsurfing. And who better than the local will talk about how they live in their country and what is really worth seeing.
I used to be nervous because of the approaching deadlines at work, and now because of the unsettled living conditions on trips and the inability to rest normally
Since November 16, we are in Moscow: we are engaged in blogging, meeting with friends and family and settling a lot of things before the next trip. Now almost all of our time is occupied by a blog: we set a very high rate and release a long post every weekday. Reports from a trip to the Caucasus and Transcaucasia are already coming to an end; therefore, from time to time we go to the nearest areas, and we will soon go to St. Petersburg.
Two main myths that were dispelled for me after being fired: I will be less nervous and I will have more time for self-study. In fact, it turned out that the character does not change: I used to be nervous because of the approaching deadlines and problems at work, and now mainly because of the unsettled living conditions on trips and the inability to rest properly. We always live cheaply, and we do not travel around well-arranged Western Europe, so forever Wi-Fi falls off, the shower barely works, or the springs in the bed creak so that you wake up when you turn to the other side.
With free time after the dismissal it became only worse: if earlier we worked in the standard mode, now, when we are developing our business, it is very difficult to stop - I want to do even better, even more interesting. As a result, you wake up with a blog and fall asleep with a blog. But this is great, and we do not complain at all.
After the New Year, we will go by train to Mongolia, from there to China, Vietnam, Cambodia and finally Thailand
We decided to take a chance and still test ourselves on a long journey: right after the New Year we go by train to Thailand. Of course, this will not be one flight, but several, but we will spend the first four days in a reserved seat Moscow-Ulan-Ude. If we succeed, we will conduct an online broadcast. Then we will go by train to Mongolia, from there to China, Vietnam, Cambodia and finally Thailand. This will be the first part of our trip. After that, we plan to visit almost all countries of the region, except for those where it is difficult to get visas.
We will go on a trip only with backpacks, so the question is what to do with winter things. It is a pity to throw out good clothes left from office times, and sending jackets and boots from China is expensive at home, so we decided to descend into second-hand and buy something that would not be thrown away on the road as the climatic zones change.
Let us return to Moscow at the end of May, when it will be already warm, and we plan to spend next summer at home. There are no further plans yet, but we are interested in the Balkans, Central Asia and Latin America. Of course, we are very worried, but we hope for the best and do everything in our power to continue to live in that rhythm.
Photo: akoppo1 - stock.adobe.com, PHB.cz - stock.adobe.com
