To old to travel?

LegacyUser

I am in my late 20s and nothing going for me, though i am working on changing that. In the past few months, i have realised what i want to do. I am hoping to go back to college next year to do a two year course in animal care. I'll be finished the course when i am 30. I am saving to go back to college. One of the reasons why i am choosing next year is because i can pass the two years in college and by the time i reach 30, i can start a brand new life. Well a life i will be happy with anyway.

I wasted most of my 20s and i did not enjoy any of it. I am in a job i hate, which has sht pay. I have never travelled. The best thing i did so far was learn to drive. Just feel as if life is passing me by and it is.

Anyway, hopefully in 2 and a half years i will be finished college and the next thing on my list to try is travel and see a bit of the world. I would love to get one of those working holidays. And just get away for a bit. But at 30? Are there age restrictions to get visas? Where can i possibly go that involves working with animals? I would love work with animals and get experience with different species. Do countries even accept fetac qualifications?

Am i to old at 30 or am i doomed to stay in this country for the rest of my life? Though, i do quite like this country but just would like to get out and experience different cultures.

Danniboo

Too old?Says who, "society". I hate that BS go do it see the world 30 is not old. I was in college with a woman who was 54 she was an inspiration to me. Why does getting older mean we have to stop living????

mylittlepony

There is no such thing as too old for anything.
Go for it!
Life too short!!
Good luck.
I also always wanted to go away abroad on a working holiday working with animals espically horses. Like a ranch etc.
But im taking one small step at a time.
Try out for one month then maybe a few months and so on.

Overheal

Am i to old at 30 or am i doomed to stay in this country for the rest of my life?

My father was probably 35 or so when he moved to Ireland after a business trip, fell in love, **** happened, came back after 15 years; and now he's in a totally new State and City on a totally new career project.

Quite the ride. Not too old, no

davmol

late 20's too old?????

FAR from it ,i met all sorts and ages when i did a round the world trip and many of those were double your age.
I met an elderly couple in Fiji that were from essex who had raised their kids and went travelling around the world and they had a blast,they were 70+ years.

Just get doing it ,you wont regret it!!
As for visas,there are some age restrictions for the oz work visa,well there was when i travelled

RossFixxxed

You're in your 20s mate, thats YOUNG.

I'm 28 never been outside Europe in my life, went to Nepal and into the Khumbu this year. Amazing trip, actually mind blowing. Met travellers of ALL ages. German girl of 48, Japanese lady of 67, american guy 19. All 5km up in the air marching through the Himalayas on their ways around the globe taking it all in.

Inspiring people tbh some of them, and again: YOU ARE YOUNG!! It's putting it off and off is the problem. My mum always wanted to go to Tibet, now she thinks she's too old. She's fitter than me, and I'd happily go with her. She's the push I needed to make my trip, if you WANT it then go do it. Or not. Either way don't go on about it to yourself, make up your mind and get going!

hyperbaby

Wow sounds too familiar...
except i haven't made any decision to go back to college... yet...

cafecolour

I'm in my 30s and have been traveling. No it's not too old, obviously. I'll assume you have no kids, as that complicates things.

Practically speaking, 30 is the upper limit for most working holiday visas (australia and canada at least), so you'll be fine if you gotten your application to go when you're done with your course. It's too late when you are 31 for those types of visas. However many (less popular) countries have different requirements, and there is also the entire european union which is open to you.

As too the specifics of finding jobs that involve working with animals, well you've got 2 years to start researching. Your school should have resources to point you in the right direction.

LegacyUser

i was in a similar rut after finishing college, stuck in a decent job but not exactly living my dreams. i left ireland when i was 25, travelled in asia and went to australia. worked there for a year and loved it, made amazing friends along the way and generally widened my horizons. ultimately i met a girl and i can see myself in australia permanently. if you told 25 year old me that my life was going t go this way i would have told you that you're crazy, but things can change massively in a short time.

one piece of advice i would give you is to consider your options for a visa for NZ or australia. you need to APPLY for a 12 month working holiday visa before you turn 31, but then after it is granted you can arrive in australia any time within 12 months of the day of the visa being granted, and from the date you ARRIVE in australia you have 12 months to work and travel. in theory you could apply when you are 30 years and 364 days, and arrive to australia when you are 31 years and 364 days, so you still have a chance to do the working holiday thing up until you are effectively 32. same applies for new zealand.

if i was in your situation i would give consideration to seeing india, southeast asia especially vietnam, or maybe even south america when you have the time and money to do it. the world is a big place, it would be a shame not to see some of it. also, a qualification in animal care would be an excellent thing to have in australia. best of luck with it all!

LegacyUser

travelling is a great experince and you'll meet all sorts of people and lots who are older than you.
but first you need to ask yourself some questions?
what are you travelling for?
if you dont have a good reason and are just running from your life in Ireland yu will come back and it will all be the same.
how comfortable will you be on your own and making friends, it can be tough being on your own for a few days

your not too old to travel, sort your head out before you go and you'll enjoy it more.
good luck

markesmith

OP, you're never too old to go travelling. Never. Loads of people in their mid- to late-30s travelling around South America last year. Go for it.

RossFixxxed

Good point made above: why are you travelling.

The everest climbers were of 2 kinds: I love mountain climbing and it's a challenge, and it's going to change my life, let me discover myself etc.

One group made it up.... guess what one?

The only real 'self discovery' I had was 'I'm cold and sick and I miss my girlfriend, my blanket and my xbox and creme eggs and my cat'

G-Money

Regarding the age thing and getting a visa, it depends on which country you want to go to. I went to Australia for a year on a working holiday visa and at the time (2002-2003) I think the upper age limit was something like 30 or 31. So if you think that is somewhere you'd like to go, I'd recommend checking out the age requirements and stuff now so you know where you stand. From what I remember you have up a year to go there once you actually are issued the visa (which only took a few weeks). I know New Zealand have 2 year working holiday visas and I thought Australia were doing the same thing but I'm not sure.

Canada has something called an Under 35 visa where basically you can go there and live and work for a year. It has various requirements, you need to produce police certificates etc for each country you've lived in for longer than 6 months.

I'll be honest, going travelling is one of the best things I've done in my life. I'm sure my parents were a bit worried about me fecking off to Australia for a year but I came back in one piece with plenty of good stories. I'm glad I did it and got it out of my system although I'd still consider emigrating now (I'm 32) should a good opportunity present itself. However I feel more or less settled here back in Ireland. Just need to find myself a good woman and I'm sorted

All I'd say to you is that if it's something you want to do and you have the opportunity to do it, then go. I was in a permanent job with a very good company and it would probably have been fairly secure too. I packed it all in and went travelling and while it would have been nice to still have had the job, I don't regret spending the year in Australia.

It's important to take these chances when they come up. At the time I had a few friends who were going so it was a perfect opportunity. I recently thought back and realised had I not went when I did, I'd have had to wait several years until I knew someone else who was going. I think it was about 3 or 4 years until I met someone else who was going so I could have easily missed out.

If it's something you want to do and you have the time, money and opportunity to do it, then you should go for it.

Eve_Dublin

Hey OP, I went travelling for a year in South America on my own when I was 28 and delighted I went at that age and not when I was younger. A lot of the young travellers (21, 22) spent their days in the hostel getting drunk. You appreciate the experience when you're older and get more out of it experience-wise and on a personal level. I haven't been the same person since...in a good way, I think.

South America is a great continent to travel in for a mixture of age groups.

You become kind of become ageless when you travel...I was travelling with people of all ages and people rarely asked me how old I was...it isn't an issue, it's only an issue when you're back home among your peers. I can understand why you might feel anxious and need a bit of reassurance...I was the same... but you shouldn't feel this way. 30 is a great age to travel and I promise you you'll have the craic