Peter Lancaster in Argentina.

Courtesy of Peter Lancaster

Overlook the “quarter-life crisis.” As of late, millennials are turning to the “quarter-life sabbatical.”

Amid the waves of mass layoffs, individuals are selecting to repurpose their unemployment into soul-searching, and lots of are extending their time away from the cubicle to journey the world.

Peter Lancaster, 31, was laid off from his know-how job in California in Could final 12 months. Though he was unhappy to go away a job he liked, it was lastly a possibility for him to take an actual break and revel in life a bit.

By the tip of June, he offered most of his belongings, put the remaining in storage, handed his cat to a pal and left for his first vacation spot — Mexico City.

For the following eight months, Peter traveled to eight completely different nations: Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Guatemala, Japan, Ecuador and Brazil. He mentioned he spent about $20,000 throughout that point.

His airplane tickets and transportation ended up being his highest bills.

Whereas Colombia and Guatemala have been essentially the most inexpensive locations, Argentina and the Galapagos Islands have been the costliest, he added.

Listed here are six issues he discovered throughout his journey overseas.

Be versatile

The most important precept Peter caught to whereas touring abroad was staying versatile and understanding that plans can change alongside the best way.

About six months into his travels, Peter met and fell in love together with his girlfriend Alejandra, or as he likes to name, his “pp” (quick for “Peruvian Princess”).

His preliminary plan was to remain in Peru for 4 days, however after assembly Alejandra, he prolonged it to 6 weeks.

“I met her in Peru — in Cusco. I was doing laundry and she saw that I was struggling, so she helped me out and then we decided to get drinks,” he informed CNBC Make It.

Peter and Alejandra taking a stroll in Argentina.

Courtesy of Peter Lancaster

“You think you would want to make an itinerary, but truthfully, your plan changes so much with who you meet,” he mentioned. “Be open minded to change your motive from seeing as much as possible to maybe just spending time with somebody for a bit.”

“It’s a lot easier to be flexible when you have a ‘to be determined’ timeline,” he added.

Pack evenly

“I never had more than a week’s worth of clothes,” he mentioned. “Downside is that I had to find a laundry place, but upside is that you can move around so easily.”

For the primary three weeks, he solely traveled with a small backpack. Alongside the best way, he was capable of buy gadgets he wanted.

Carrying much less allowed him to be extra agile when plans inevitably modified.

Be pleasant

After first touchdown in Mexico Metropolis, Peter started to be homesick. “I wanted to go home because I was like: ‘oh, it’s going to be a long journey,'” he mentioned. “But then then I started making friends and got comfortable real quick.”

Peter Lancaster together with his tour group in Guatemala.

Courtesy of Peter Lancaster

For a lot of the journey, he selected to remain in hostels as a method to economize, in addition to to satisfy fellow vacationers.

“Just start talking to people,” he mentioned. “Everyone’s really approachable and thinking the same thing.”

Journey sensible

When touring round overseas nations, you will need to preserve a stage of warning.

“I think it’s always good to just have a mentality that a lot of people might be trying to rip you off,” Peter mentioned. When making purchases or selections, he suggests: “Take your time.”

If one thing is simply too good to be true, it most likely is simply too good to be true.

“Especially in a foreign country, use the buddy system,” he mentioned.

Locals can often inform in case you are a foreigner, which might put you in a compromised place. So it is necessary to be all the time conscious of your environment and the scenario.

Take pleasure in native delicacies

“I don’t understand people that like go travel and eat burgers and pizza,” he mentioned. “Going to McDonald’s is more expensive than some of these local places.”

Throughout his time overseas, Peter made it some extent to benefit from the native delicacies, which added to his journey expertise.