Recently, we went from discussing some abstract idea to promising each other it would really happen, no like really happen, sometime before 2019 or at least before we have kids.

Because of my career it feels more natural to desire to head out in 2018 or 2019 — since I will have more years under my belt in my new career. My husband is lucky in that he has an option of a 6 or 3 month sabbatical from work. So his considerations are a lot different than mine.

Nevertheless, we were able to move from an abstract idea to a more concrete promise by thinking through a few key questions:

• How much can we save?
• What should we do about our living arrangements?
• How will this affect our careers?
• Is this something we actually really want to do?

Here are some of the answers and further deliberations to the questions we are asking ourselves to determine timing and if this is even possible.

• How much money do we have in our savings?

It’s really important to just not have the money to travel but also the money to cover any expenses while away for an extended period of time. If you can, selling off your items and loaning items you’d like when you return is one way to ensure that you make money but also not cause yourself unnecessary expenses when you return. The first time I left the country for seven months I sold my car. That’s a decision I regret and I wish I would have asked a family member to take care of my car while I was away. I also had student loans so I had to make sure I had enough in my savings to pay a few months before I could get an odd job here or there to make payments. For us, it was about saving money. We saved up some money before going and are working on setting up a budget for our travels. We are asking ourselves what is the maximum we want to spend on this extended vacation and what does that mean for our experience.

• What should we do with our living arrangement?

If you live in a city like ours, where rent is high and a good apartment is hard to come by — you’ll need to factor that into your costs. For us, it’s important to decided how we want to ensure the safety of our place while away and if we’d like to rent our place out short term. It’s only 6-7 months so we’ll likely be returning to our home. It makes the most sense to me to rent our a room in our place while we are away. However, my husband wants to just ask a friend to look after it.

• How will this affect my career?

There are many reasons why I have my current job and one of them is to gain experience. Do I feel like I have enough experience in this line of work so that a break of 6 months does not compromise my ability to return to the field? Will I burn bridges if I leave sooner than later? In the big picture what is most important to me? Should I have a discussion with a trusted mentor to get some good advice on what to do? At my job a person quit to travel for 3 months. They returned to the office as a consultant and started their own business. Point is, this person clearly had a plan and that plan allowed for them to confidently take the plunge. For me, I’m still formulating my plan but I do feel it’s important to have a vague idea of what the next step looks like. Of course – one should always be open to the prospect of being fundamentally changed when one returns.

• Am I really ready for this?

My short answer is maybe. Truthfully all of this is an exciting and scary prospect. It’s a dream I’ve had for many years and one in which I can achieve. I’m also a worrier and planner by nature so I spend a lot of time down on myself when I don’t have all the answers I think I should. But the long story short is that if you can do it you should do it. There are many things that will be there for you when you return and there are many things that will be missed because you are away. That’s life and you only get one, as far as we know, so it’s important to live the life you desire and be ok if that desire changes from time to time and over the years. Part of what makes this decision slightly easier for me is that I will be walking away from a wonderful job with wonderful people but the job culture is supportive of following one’s passions. For my husband, he’s in his dream job so leaving is not an option. We have checked in with each other and he plans on talking with his boss about timing for this vacation and what that means for him and his career. We will work around what we can. But for me – this is a dream and it’s looking closer than ever before.