What would you do if you could do anything in the world right now?
I have until January to basically do whatever the hell I want before I have to start actually working. I'm currently in Florence and getting bored... Here's your chance to dream of the coolest thing in the world and watch me go do it.
Two chicks at the same time
fuckin' A - always wanted to do that.
Did you actually go to DeVry or is that a joke?
So...Thailand?
Probably your mom.
Has no one seen Office Space?
Exactly what I'm doing for 10X the money.
Travel: What would you do if you could do anything? (Originally Posted: 12/19/2016)
Hey Monkeys,
December grad, starting FT in August.
With my free time I had all kinds of great plans to write a dissertation / Take GMAT / Open an online business / Crush my fitness goals / become involved in politics / begin an amateur writing career / otherwise focus on all the self-improvement I could before the dreaded 100 hour work week came and stole my soul.
The good news is I have finally let the advice of literally every person I have asked sink in and decided to do basically none of that.
Instead I am planning a 2-4 month trip on a budget of ~$12,500 between now and then.
If you were in my situation:
Where would you go? Primarily interested in US, but also open to South America / Australia / East Asia (want to stay warm)
What would you do" Bucket list items as well as general goals
How should I do it? I have a pickup-truck and some camping gear, but also considering couch surfing / ride-share, and obviously international travel would change the game a bit; resources welcomed.
Thanks for your input!
either Amsterdam, Mexico, or Thailand. get a fuck load of drugs, do some unspeakable acts, nearly die, take some pics, and then get back to reality sober and ready to redeem myself for the next few years before I do it all again at a bachelor party.
just try to be more like Fear The Bulge every day
...Amateur
I'm legit shocked this got less responses than this thread
With that amount of money I would do Europe -Amsterdam, Prague, Germany, Barcelona, Paris and Italy. That would give you a good taste of partying, culture and food. With the amount of time you have though you could probably see far more. Its a good way for your money to go really far seeing many different countries without much time or effort.
If you are dead set on US travel I would head out to Vegas - party for a while - then visit the hoover dam, grand Canyon, go skiing in Colorado and then end up back in Vegas cause its awesome.
spend a weekend at the bunny ranch
Go to Colombia and reenact the good parts of Escobar's life
With that type of budget I would definitely try and leave the U.S. where your money can got a lot further and you can get further off the (more heavily) beaten path. Maybe I'm a jaded old banker but to those suggesting you go to Vegas I would ask after what do you do after he first weekend. Vegas is insanely expensive and if you want to go really crazy that amount of money is only going to last you a few days and potentially much less than that if you're really into gambling.
I really enjoyed Europe so I'd definitely be very supportive of Amsterdam and Spain and if you're going next summer, it's going to be plenty warm enough in either. Follow that up with some time in SE Asia with some of the more relaxing locales towards the end and I think you would have a great transition from Western Europe to some more second world locations and end up relaxing on a beach and I think you're going to be in a great space to start you finance career.
In terms of particular items, I think Spain and Amsterdam is well documented. Once you get to Asia pivot to some more outdoor stuff with surfing or scuba diving. Not sure if you care for it but you could be a relatively seasoned diver over that time if you wanted to and there is some great stuff to see in SE Asia.
I personally think you're making a great call that I was never in a position to do so (went right to work) so enjoy!
It doesn't matter where you go, just see which places that are warm you can get the best deals at
Put your resources towards maximizing your eating, drinking, and fucking. Those are the bucket list items right there
Assuming you're an American, I'd say spending the whole time in your home country is a mistake - the familiarity and convenience are nice, but it always seems to end up ultimately underwhelming (at least for me). And going to Vegas is terrible advice- the nightclubs and casinos will always be there and you can do that all in 2 days anyway. This may be the only time in your life that you have 2-4 months without much or any responsibilities, and your budget is more than sufficient to live comfortably almost anywhere in the world during that time. If you prefer going to just a few places and spending more time in each, I'd say either SE Asia (can live like a king without blowing your budget) or South/Central America (best women IMO). If you prefer being on the go, Europe's different cultures/cities in close proximity and relative ease of transport make it almost unbeatable for that.
Depends on where you are from / where you live. I guess if you want a six month experience you'd want to leave the continent (country at least).
12k is 3-6k a month, which would take you an insanely long way in Asia, but depending on your spending habits might get a bit tight in the US / Europe / Australia (especially if you're dead set on sleeping in hotels and not hostels).
For Europe I'd recommend the Euro-Rail pass, which allows you to travel all around Europe by train for a fixed fee (some rules apply). Also you should go to Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary, the Baltic States) as well.
I've done Iceland twice and plan on doing it again. Place is just unreal. It can be whatever you want as well. Look into Icelandic Air. More expensive than WOW, but you can use Iceland as a stopover to Europe and basically see two great countries for the price of one flight.
Did two weeks in Costa Rica and was just blown away by the range of natural beauty and people of the country. Plan on going back and seeing the Caribbean side of the island.
Europe is amazing and it is well trodden so you aren't going to be roughing it. I'd fly into London, take the train to Paris, go to Amsterdam and just keep moving every 3-4 days. Two years ago I did Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin, all by train and it was amazing.
Caribbean Island hopping would be fun. I went to St. Maarten this year and loved it. You can hit a bunch of other islands from this one and I would imagine you can work your way down the chain with inter-island flights and ferries.
Trips I really want to do - Cuban during the annual Habano Festival. Guyana - See where my favorite rum is made. Belize/Guatamala - See all the Mayan ruins and bring back even more coffee than I did from CR.
If you go to SE Asia for 2-4mo with $12.5k, you can literally live like a king. Even more so if its 2 months... thats like 5~20x the average month income of a local in Bangkok, Jakarta, Bali, Hanoi, etc.
Also, take out $2.5k for at least economy plus because flying economy in cramped ass seats for 12~16hrs sucks, just flew Doha to Los Angeles on the way back from Bangkok and was a 16.5hr flight and it was singlehandedly the most painful flight ever.
Finish seeing the other 6 of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. The Iceland, Hawaii the stairs to heaven. To start.
Another thread for AndyLouis to answer to.
Personally, I would recommend either Europe or Asia. => Europe is great because you can go to so many different places so easily. Many of which you will not have to spend a fortune for a great time.
I haven't done Asia but have enough friends who have and everyone has raved about how cheap it was. Live like a king for a few weeks, do some stupid shit. Overall, just have fun and don't sit on your ass too much like I did in my 6 months off.
Wherever you go, don't tell people you work in finance.
My go-to is "Waste Management". The garbageman taking the trip of his life gets a lot more free drinks than the punk who's going to be more successful than everyone in the bar.
I'm using this next time someone asks me what I do
I usually go with Waste Management Consultant
Just make sure people understand that you're not going to order a hit on Paulie just because your goomah begged you to. He's a top earner
For these trips, do you guys go solo or go in a group? As it's not as convenient finding someone that has the same (long) period of time free + the cash to blow.
Check out Latin America, Africa for some wild shit that's off the normal beaten path for Americans.
Also, since you have the budget/time, definitely try and catch the opening season in Ibiza/Greek islands in early summer. Being in your early 20s with some cash to blow in those places is a blast...
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