Bad news brings an opportunity

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-Switch-

Settler
Jan 16, 2006
845
4
43
Still stuck in Nothingtown...
This is a long post but please don't be put off reading as i need as many suggestions and opinions as i can get from the good members of BcUK.



Right, where do i start?

A few weeks ago i came back from a relaxing weeks holiday from work only to be summoned into the board room for a meeting. To cut a long story short, my company is falling apart and redundancies are being made in my department, and it would appear that I am to be one of the first to lose his job.

At first, as you can imagine, I started to panic.
''What on earth will I do?'' I thought, and sleepless nights followed as i my mind raced thinking of companies i would go crawling to in search of work, and how long i could last out of work until i lost my flat.

I have been thinking however, and this unfortunate situation may have presented an opportunity for me to do something that I otherwise may never have done.
You see, aside from my flat I have no real commitments - no wife or girlfriend, no children, no mortgage (I rent), no strong family ties etc etc. So I have been given the blessing, if you will, of freedom from responsibilty.
The idea I have come up with, and considered deeply and at great length, is as follows...

Give my landlord my months notice, then settle and cancel all standing orders/bills etc. In the month that follows before i am due to vacate the flat I will sell absolutley everything i own: my car, DvD's, computer, furniture - all the unnecessary trappings of modern life that i have accumulated and pointlessly collected over the years.

The money i make from this shall go into my pocket and shall fund a walking/camping trip around the UK - a 'walkabout' so to speak, that will take me around the countryside of Great Britain for however long it takes until i decide to return - 4 months, 6 months, 2 years... who knows?

My rather good redundancy package will go into the bank alongside my savings which will stay there earning interest until i return. This will give me enough money to set myself back up into the modern world should i decide that is the best thing for me.

This opportunity will probably never arise again in my life and I wish to seize it while I can. I don't want to reach old age, look back at my life and think ''If only I had taken the chance when I had it...''


I am not taking this idea lightly, and there is a hell of a lot more to it than i have shared with you here, which I shall expand on if people wish to know.
What I am asking of you is perhaps some thoughts on this idea. Am I stupid? Is this a great chance to sieze an opportunity? Have you any similar experiances you can share with me? What advice can you offer? Etc etc..


Many thanks if you read this far, and your replies will be greatfully recieved :)
 

stooboy

Settler
Apr 30, 2008
635
1
Fife, Scotland
I like the idea of not being a corporate slave, wasteing hours of our lifes to further the wallets of fat cats and crooks.

The idea is appealing, my only concern is that savers are being royally shafted by the government and the base rate remains at 0.5% means your saving will be a pittance unless you lock them away, as id imagine you would want instant access in case anything should occur. is my only comments at the moment.
 

Kerne

Maker
Dec 16, 2007
1,766
21
Gloucestershire
Anyone with such a naturally optimistic outlook as you seem to have should be on to a winner! Why not use some of the money to get "skilled up" in such a way that you might make a living (of sorts) doing things you enjoy?

Whatever you decide: good luck!
 

Crafty

Forager
Apr 7, 2009
203
1
...Location.... Location....
Grasp the opportunity tightly, you might also find that you could take a group of people on the trip instead of being solo so you can share your passion with other people of similar interests - I find company always magnify experiences for me. Perhaps also use your new founded skills to set up a unique business?
 

Mesquite

It is what it is.
Mar 5, 2008
27,773
2,881
62
~Hemel Hempstead~
This opportunity will probably never arise again in my life and I wish to seize it while I can. I don't want to reach old age, look back at my life and think ''If only I had taken the chance when I had it...''

I trhink you summed it up there Switch.... Go for it and enjoy doing something that means something to you.

I wish you luck with it.
 

xylaria

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Good luck to you.

You are a bit mad, then stopping at home on the dole watching daytime telly is the road to complete insanity, so being a bit mad make you saner that most. I packed a rucksack and walked out of a life in 1996, best thing I ever did, very liberating. Just don't fall down the pitfall of vagrancy, keep focused so you don't become lost.
 

SimonM

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 7, 2007
4,015
6
East Lancashire
www.wood-sage.co.uk
Good luck! I was made redundant from a management positiona and took the opportunity to re train - as a teacher.

But my thoughts - why give up your flat? Fill in a few forms and your local council wlll pay the rent. Afterall, you have worked all your adult life...

Whatever you decide - enjoy!

Simon
 
Jan 22, 2006
478
0
51
uk
I've never been afraid to make fairly dramatic changes in my life - and each one of them has worked out well...so far...and i'm pretty settled now with a reasonable lifestyle and a job i love.

do it, you have a good safety net should you need it...

I'd definitely walk around scotland though - much more so that the rest of the UK
 

Sisyphus

Tenderfoot
Feb 17, 2009
74
0
north east scotland
Sounds like a positive attitude to me, I'd bring a decent camcorder and keep an extensive diary though - could be great documentary material to edit up and flog to a tv channel when you decide to return from your journey!
 

Wilderbeast

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Dec 9, 2008
2,036
9
31
Essex-Cardiff
I can only offer you the best piece of advice I was ever given,

"When looking back, people very rarely regret things that they did, but almost always regret things they didn't do........."

If you want this, I mean REALLY want this...........then you can buy me a pint in Essex on one of your walks ;)
 
Nov 29, 2004
7,808
22
Scotland
Advice...

Royal Mail 'Post Pack' boxes are cheap, stackable and perfect for wrapping up anything you want friends or family to look after while your away :)

Don't obsess too much over what gear your going to take with you or where your going to go. Carry as little as you think you can get away with and try to walk as much as you can, avoid catching buses and trains between places or you'll miss all the good bits.

I sold my flat and gave away most of my possessions almost exactly ten years ago, the following years were some of the best I've known.

If I could jump back in time and give myself advice I'd book myself on something like the Woodsmoke Nomad course before I left, I'd only take clothes and equipment that I'd be happy to lose and I'd walk the French Grande Randonnée long distance footpath GR65 first.

I was two years into my travels before I walked that route and remember thinking that "I should have done this first" it teaches you a great deal about yourself, your limits, how useful or useless gear can be and how to get along with different peoples and cultures.

Have fun and good luck :D
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,915
4,548
S. Lanarkshire
Wow, what an opportunity :D

Three things come to mind.
I have friends who cleared everything to go walkabout, and then tried to pick up the pieces afterwards, even if they did have a very different outlook on life.
Major items such as the car apart, don't sell everything.
Clear out but package up stuff too. Find a long term storage site and direct debit it from a bank account if you don't have family or friends who'll keep some boxes for you in a dry loft.
It's surprising the things they regret selling/ donating. Especially books, photos, music and tools as well as family bits and pieces.
I kept the bits and pieces a friend gave me, boxed them up and when she settled down again I gave her the boxful; she was in tears, said it was like being given a birthday present of her things. A favourite velvet jacket, 'her' mug, etc., just little things, but they were 'hers' again.

Secondly, keep in touch; arrange to visit as many people and places they know well, as possible :D This is a big site with folks from one end of the country to the other, go say hello. :cool: Keep in touch with family and friends too; home is still 'home'.

Lastly, your profile says that your not doing what you wanted to be doing when you grew up :(
Well, you have time to think, plot and plan.........what do you really want to do ? :D

The very best of luck with it all; you are ages with my sons, I'd be worried sick if they did this but so proud of them too.
I suppose it's like a gap year in a way. Enjoy it to the fullest :approve:

atb,
Toddy
 

Shewie

Mod
Mod
Dec 15, 2005
24,259
23
48
Yorkshire
It must be quite a shock to the system hearing that your days in a job are numbered. Very sobering to even think about it nevermind deal with it.
It does sound like a blessing in disguise especially if you've had something brewing in your head for a while anyway. I for one would be thinking along the same lines as you, maybe Canada first though.

Hope you get some thing sorted Switch
 

Iona

Nomad
Mar 11, 2009
387
0
Ashdown Forest
Wowowowow! Sounds utterly amazing! You can visit us all on your travels, like sofa surfing but with tents! ;)

I've upped and left before, in a previous life when I was a teen with no responsibilities... and loved it. a hammock in the amazon or a little hollow somewhere here in the UK, it's all freedom, although I'd recommend France if you get bored and fancy going a bit further afield. the mountains are beautiful.

Good luck! I look forward to seeing the pictures :D
 

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