I Daydream About Traveling All the Time. Should I Go Now or Wait Until I Retire in 14 Years?

Ask Rolf: Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel

06.26.06 | 8:11 PM ET

Dear Rolf,

I’m in the U.S. Coast Guard, and I constantly daydream about traveling throughout Southeast Asia and Australia and too many other places to name. My problem is that I cannot decide whether to go now, or retire from the Coast Guard (I have 14 more years to retire) and then go. Retiring would allow me to travel forever. However, I fret over the political future of the world and whether it will be safe or even possible in the future. Which prods me to go now. What are your thoughts on this? I’ve asked friends and family, but they all think I’m either crazy, or not really serious about doing this.

—Mike

Dear Mike,

Thanks for your question. I always like taking questions from people in the military, because the military offers a taste of travel to so many people who otherwise might not leave their hometown. Of course, it’s much safer and more rewarding to travel out of uniform, so I’m glad you bring up this issue.

For starters, don’t take too much stock in the negative feedback from your friends and family. Most everyone who’s ever set off on a long-term journey away from the workaday world, including me, has had to put up with skeptics among our closest friends and family members. In the end, ignoring these folks is easier than arguing with them. Just quietly persevere with your travel plans, and send a few polite postcards home when you’re having the time of your life on the other side of the world.

Secondly, don’t fret too much the political future of the world. There always have been (and always will be) areas of international conflict, but they are easy to avoid. The secret, whether you travel tomorrow or in 14 years, is just to keep yourself informed on world events and conflicts. Most of the time, such conflicts will sound worse than they are. When I was in Lebanon in 2000, for example, there were reports of unrest on the border with Israel, but life in Beirut went on as normal, and the Lebanese were their usual, super-hospitable selves the whole time. So, as you plan for your travels (and planning your travels is always good fun, regardless of whether or not you have a specific time-frame in mind), just keep abreast of global conflict regions. Not only will this prepare you for travel, but it will also give you a lot of useful general knowledge about international issues.

Finally, as to the issue of whether you should wait for USCG retirement or leave now, I always assert that—if you have the travel itch—you should try and make it a reality as soon as possible, within reason. It’s hard to predict what will be going on in your life 14 years from now, and there are many ways of making independent travel a regular part of your life.

That said, full USCG retirement in your early forties sounds pretty sweet, so I sent your question along to my old pal and Coast Guard vet Al Ribera, who was a big encouragement to me in my early days of vagabonding. This is his advice for you:

“As they teach in Journalism 101, don’t bury the lead, so, here is the punch line right up front: Pack a light bag sparely with essentials, put on good walking shoes, and get out the door immediately, if not sooner. Unleash yourself upon the world and GO!

Of course, the Coast Guard is a GREAT military branch to do service for our country. If you do an outstanding job while on active duty and make it your business to network as much as possible, I can promise you that your Honorable Discharge and DD-214 will open doors for you for the remainder of your professional career, regardless of which field you enter. Without knowing how much time you have remaining in your current enlistment, I would unequivocally advise you to make the most of whatever time you have left, advance in rank as quickly as possible, attend as many training schools/seminars as you can, etc. In other words, make maximum use of the service benefits offered to you now. Since you are undecided about what to do, have you considered the possibility of getting out of the USCG, and traveling for one year to see how you like it? If it is a good fit, keep going. If not, you can (should) be able to re-enter the USCG, especially as an ET with a good service record.

As for waiting fourteen more years to travel, I agree with Rolf—that is quite a long time to wait. A lot can happen in the next fourteen days, let alone 14 years. Among my favorite sailing/voyaging authors are Lynn and Larry Pardey, who circumnavigated the world in a home-built 24-foot cutter. One of their seminal pieces of advice to new voyagers was, “Go simple, go small, but GO!” You can continue to plan and to think and to have all the pieces in place and spend lots of time in evaluating the perfect 3,000 cubic inch REI backpack versus the 2,790 cubic inch model from Campmor, and you will never get out the door. Like the Pardeys advocate, you know you can go now. If you wait until “later”—or fourteen years later—a lot of things can happen, which may not be compatible with a travel lifestyle. Go simple (pack light), go small (a small backpack)—just be sure to go!”