Taking an adult gap year

Why and how you can take a gap year as an adult and discover your true desires

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on happiful

A gap year is no longer just for school leavers or recent graduates – a ‘grown-up’ gap year can help you work out what you want at any time of life.

There are no official figures for how many of us are now taking adult gap years; however, a quick Google search will show you several travel companies aimed at older ‘gappers’. Social media is also filled with photos and updates from older generations taking time off work. Some people reach a natural break in their lives – maybe when turning 30, 40, or 50 – while others are discovering there’s more to life than the standard nine-to-five.

Why take an adult gap year?

“You might get ‘itchy feet’, or start wondering if there’s something else out there,” explains Gemma Nixon, a life coach from Durham, who’s taken three grown-up gap years. “You could be getting married and decide to take a longer honeymoon before you have children, or plan to take the children travelling while they’re still little.”

The desire to take a different path is growing, post-pandemic. “As people have gone back into shops and offices, they realise their ‘old’ life is no longer enough,” Gemma says. “Many people loved spending so much time with their families, and want to enjoy more experiences together, or they’ve decided there’s more to life and now’s the time to enjoy it.”

A grown-up gap year could also be taken after retirement, after an illness scare, or to celebrate a milestone event such as a significant birthday.

What to do?

A gap year isn’t limited to full moon parties in Thailand, or fruit-picking in Australia! You could use the opportunity to explore a new career or put more time into a hobby. “You might want to do a year-long cookery course in Italy, or follow a passion for wildlife photography in Costa Rica,” Gemma suggests.

Taking a gap year doesn’t mean you have to go away – there are no rules. For example, if a relative becomes ill, you could use the time off work to spend quality time with them. You may need the time to relax and want life to feel like one long bank holiday – lie-ins, DIY and chilled-out brunches all sound like good ideas. 

Planning

“Think very carefully about what you want to do, rather than what you think you should do,” advises Gemma. Volunteering can offer some amazing opportunities; the key is to find what’s motivating you, and what you hope to gain from a gap year. It’s less about the specifics of where you go, and more about how you need to feed your soul. 

When you know where to go, and what to do, next you have to pay for it. This is when being an older gapper helps. “If you own your home, you could take a mortgage break, or rent out your property. Work may be more understanding, too; they’ll value your years of experience and might offer you a sabbatical or unpaid leave,” suggests Gemma. 

Whatever you choose to do, commit to it!  “There’s never a right time or a wrong time to take a gap year, but if you do it, you need to jump in with both feet!”