Some of the hosts together in Vancouver at the 2011 Travel blogger conference

Long-term and career break travel is still a concept that eludes a lot of people. ¨Who are these crazy people?¨ As the concept gains acceptance and more people break away to travel, it’s becoming harder and harder to identify the sterotypical career breaker. From singles to couples to families to single parents to 20-somethings to 40-somethings to, egad, 50-somethings, people of all stripes are giving themselves permission to break from their career and pursue their personal passions.

Before Meet Plan Go 2010, I highlighted the hosts from around North America as a way of showcasing a cross-section of these travelers. Now, we’re gearing up for Meet Plan Go 2011. The event has grown and so too has the cross-section of travelers who make up this well-traveled crew.

As with last year’s post, this is my non-scientific, but not completely random categorization of travelers represented by the Meet Plan Go hosts. Many of the folks listed below could fall into multiple categories. And, for every type of traveler represented here, there are many more archetypes that are not.

The Faces of Career Break Travel

The educators and volunteers

Jane in Africa

Lillie in Thailand

Boston public school teacher, Lillie, took a break early in her career. Using her experience in Asia, Europe and a 3 month volunteer stint in Ghana, she brings her global outlook to her students. Jane from Denver, spent a year traveling around the world volunteering along the way. Volunteering is one of the most popular career break travel activities and these ladies have a lot of expertise on the matter.

The couples

Bert and Patty in the Cook Islands

Adam and Megan on the Lake of the Ozarks

Lisa and George in Tonga

Ah, young love. Whether on a honeymoon or recently after marrying, many couples hit the road to write the first chapter of their lives together. Sometimes, it’s just a good way to restart and reenergize their lives to transition to the next phase. Bert and Patty from Seattle, Lisa and George from Los Angeles and Adam and Megan from St. Louis, know the good and the bad of traveling with your best firend and spouse.

The soloists

Janice in Patagonia

Olivia in Iceland

JoAnna in Vietnam

Lisa in Australia

Don’t have anyone to go with? Not a problem as these 4 strong women show. If solo travel were a fashion trend, we’d probably say that ¨solo is the new black.¨ Janice from Toronto, Olivia from Portland, JoAnna from Las Vegas and Lisa from Chicago, all took the plunge. And, here’s a career break secret: there are lots of women who decide to go solo. Gentlemen, it’s still OK for you to go solo too.

The families

Rainer and his family in Kyoto, Japan

Sarah, Morgan and the kids in Barcelona, Spain

Mike and Catrell in Brazil. Not pictured are their 3 sons they traveled with. Copyright CooneyFamilyAdventures.com

Have kids and think you can’t travel? These Meet Plan Go hosts would beg to differ. Every year, I see more and more families taking the plunge, using the experience to give their kids another dimension to their education. Rainer from New York, Sarah and Mike and Catrell have led their families around the world raising the next generation of global citizens.

Multiple Breakers

Kirk with his son

Yen in Indonesia

Sometimes, one break just isn’t enough. It certainly wasn’t for Yen from Honolulu or Kirk from Minneapolis. Be careful, career breaks can be addictive.

The Digital Nomads

Alyson and John in Colombia

For some, travel becomes a llifestyle. So, to keep an income stream, travelers like Alyson and John from New Orleans, set up a virtual shingle. Have access to internet, can work while traveling!

The Former Corporatists

Sherry in Vietnam

Jeff in Colombia

Leaving our corporate jobs behind to see the world, Sherry, Meet Plan Go co-founder, and myself, the Austin host, represent the most stereotypical career breaker. While many businesses are starting to adopt paid and unpaid leave policies, sometimes you just never go back…and advocate for the cause.

The Back-To-Work Breakers

Sonia in her Burning Man costume

Michael and Michaela in New Zealand

Here’s another career break secret: Most career breakers actually go back to their same career, sometimes even their same employer! Sonia from Washington DC and Micheala and Michael, co-founders of Meet Plan Go, represent this bulk of 70% of career breakers.

Tags: Meet Plan Go

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 at 7:00 am and is filed under deciding, Home Page Show Updates, Jeff's blog, Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.