Could I? (Or more importantly, Would I?)

This is where the excuses and or truth happen. If you really want to know if you could take this trip, you need to do two things:

1. Take out a piece of paper. Draw a line down the middle. Write down all the things that are preventing you from leaving tomorrow on the left hand side. Leave space between each item. Your list might look like this, without the bits in parentheses:
1. Job (have one)
2. Money (don't have any)
3. Kids (er, would miss the wee buggers)
2. On the right hand side, write down things that would relieve you of these responsibilities. It doesn't matter if you would/could/should do them, just write them out, and picture, realistically, what would happen with each scenario. For example:
1. Job
• Quit (Could you? What would happen if you did? Would the company fold without you? Would you freak out being unemployed for awhile? Would this mean you could never get a job again? Would the gaps on your resume improve or hurt your future job prospects? Would you miss it? Could you quit now? In a year? In 6 months? 3 months?)
• Take a sabbatical/ask for a leave of absence
• Get a job in a foreign country
• Ask for a transfer
  
2. Money
• Save (Could you save up $3000? $5000? $10,000? How long would it take you? What could you do without in order to save? How much do you need to pay to debts vs. pay to your travel savings?)
• Spend existing savings
• Borrow (Note: this is one thing I strongly discourage. If you can only borrow from a bank or other professional lender I downright prohibit it. Plus, if you have to pay a loan back anyway, why not make payments to yourself before you go, i.e. save? That being said, if you have a loaded Aunt Nelly who is happy to share, and are having trouble prioritizing saving for travel but have always been diligent with paying people back, you could possibly consider this option, especially if all other signs point to 'gotta go right now' - e.g. you have no other hindrances like a job/school/house/family)
3. Kids
• Take them with you (kids make fantastic traveling companions; they are the spoonful of sugar that eases every cultural hiccup. Expect many offers of free accommodation, babysitting and meals. I've seen families of all sizes, from a single mom with a seven year old to a full family of five with a pregnant mom)
• Leave some or all of them at home (okay, this sounds cruel, but write down every option - it will help you decide what you won't do too)
  
• Send them to summer camp
• Move or do a work exchange to another country, and bring them.

What you're going to get out of this exercise is, hopefully, a way (or a few ways) where you could actually make this work. Circle the options you could do. Write them out if you like. And there you go, that is how you could do it. Of course, you may not like what you've put down. Which leads us to...

Would I?

This is really what it comes down to. People who want to travel, travel. They prioritize traveling above all else. This may not be you, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with this! If you completed the exercise above and came out with a way to travel but feel terrible about it (lose my beloved job! leave little Sally at home! Break up with Bob!), then traveling, right now, might not be for you. Or it might, on a toned down level for now. What I want to emphasize is that it's almost never about Could I, but Would I.

If you're having trouble with the Would I bit, go back and really visualize yourself having already completed each of the items in column 2. Do they feel good? Do they feel horrible? It might be time to reevaluate your dream of traveling long term. Or it might be time to just do it.