I just watched an online video about a woman who dropped out from a career track and spent a year as a goat herder in France. She avoided family because she wanted "freedom." She wasn't married, didn't have a house payment, she didn't have children, and she was young. This change in environment seemed to alter this woman's life, and her experience was billed as "inspirational."

What did she gain from this experience? She stated that she wouldn't be "married to the man" she's now married to if she had stayed in her 'rut.' I was disappointed with that answer, as I'm a bit weary of women who focus on marriage as a goal. She might have said that she learned more about another culture, another social strata, and another way of life - and, I'm sure that she meant to say all this, as it seemed inherent in the interview process. But her film was obviously edited, so the editors may have eliminated the common sense portions of the interview to make her experience seem more 'romantic.'

Despite this bias toward romance, I'll wager you've often thought what you might do if you took a year of from work or college. What would you gain from that experience?

Before you drop everything to pick up a shepherd's crook, you might think about what you would lose, rather than gain, if you went on a yearlong walk-about. If you happened to catch the Yahoo article that exposed the Top Five Secrets of Long-Term Travelers, you might think that you wouldn't lose a lot if you followed five simple steps. But that article glossed over some important issues. I'll correct those secrets so you'll know how much a year off from career or college might really cost.

• Yahoo states that "the hardest part [about leaving for a year] is deciding to go," and I'll agree. Routines can easily become habits that are difficult to break. It may be hard to leave that hometown, state, or country behind. And, if you don't feel you can afford to take a year off work or college, then you probably can't, despite Yahoo's suggestions. It will cost as much if not more to live in a foreign country as it does at home. Add the plane tickets, health and travel insurance, and a few other incidentals like currency exchanges, and you might end up stuck somewhere where you can't escape if you haven't saved sufficiently.
  
  
• Yahoo explains that the way to save for that year off is to avoid lattes and cable TV. That idea is a bit simplistic, as it would take forever to save at that rate (think retirement, perhaps, rather than a year off). But, the deposit into a savings account is a brilliant idea. Pretend you can't touch that money once you deposit it, and you'll have some liquid cash to accumulate more stocks in your portfolio within a few months.
  
  
• Yahoo suggests that you sell all your belongings so you can make money and cut down on storage costs while you're out of the country. That plan won't work if you don't have possessions to sell (am I right, college students?). If you do have possessions, hopefully you won't regret selling them for a whim.
  
  
• I'll agree with one other statement Yahoo makes - they claim that staying in hotels while traveling abroad is out of the question because of the cost. If you pay $1,000 per month for rent, then you're paying about $33.33 per day for your rental. Face it - it would be difficult to find a hotel room for under $35 US per night in any country. While you could spend less money in a youth hostel, you need to conduct plenty of preplanning to land a spot for the night. Look around at your apartment. Now think about a room where you need to sleep with your money in your pocket and where twenty other people share an unheated dirty bathroom. Which situation looks better?
  
  
• The Yahoo article does admit that taking a year off has its trade-offs. For instance, what makes you think that you can get right back on that career track when you return from your trip? And, if you're a college student, do you really believe you can return to that education after traveling for a year? There's something to be said for momentum, and a year off will break that focus.

Finally, the article does mention that a year living in another country can be rough. I don't think they emphasized the "rough" part enough, as they only point to living conditions. Take it from a person who has lived in another country for a year - you'll be a different person when you return.

Other cultures, perspectives, and lifestyles may alter the way you think about life forever, and it may not be in ways you expect. While you will return with memories, there's a good chance that you might choose to never return "home." You may become an expatriate. Or, you may find that you can't stay overseas, as you don't meet certain travel visa and/or work related standards for a given country. Depending upon the country you choose, those standards may change while you're abroad, aborting your hopes for a continuous experience.

But, you can try living abroad without taking these risks. You can work for a company who sends employees abroad, for instance. According to Expatica, the stereotypical expatriate has changed from "typically male, and transferring from corporate headquarters to a location outside of their country for one to five years," to "female, are transferring to and from locations other than corporate headquarters, and taking on assignments often measured in months not year."

That work options sounds downright luscious. And, if you're a student, you can sign up for a student exchange program or a study abroad option. Both student experiences can provide months in a country with supervised housing and often a more enriching and rewarding experience than one that you might undertake on your own.

Plus, you don't need to sell your furniture, skimp on the lattes, or cut the cable if you plan to live overseas with viable options that require less risk. Unless, of course, you're going without those things anyway to beef up that portfolio...in which case I'm probably preaching to the choir about taking that year off in the first place. While a year spent living in another country could be your best year ever, it also could be the hugest mistake you'll ever make.

Until Next Week,
Linda Goin