This site started with a stubborn question: if not now, when?

After years in strategy roles, my husband and I left Germany for six months and travelled slowly across eight countries, from Southeast Asia to Australia. We weren’t burned out or running from anything. We were doing well — and we still wanted more time, more distance, and the chance to see what life looked like outside the usual routine.

What surprised us wasn’t the travelling. It was how much of the planning nobody talks about: the money, the conversation with your employer, subletting, insurance, and the quiet admin that decides whether a sabbatical is possible at all. We worked it out the hard way, tracked every number in real time, and kept the scripts and spreadsheets that actually worked.

This site is where I write that down — honestly and in detail — so you can plan your own break with real numbers and a real date instead of a someday. No vague inspiration, no sponsored gloss. Just what we learned, and what we’d do differently.

Where to start

If you’re just beginning to think about a sabbatical, the homepage points you to the right place depending on what you need — the money, the employer conversation, planning the route, or coming home.

And if you’d rather have everything in one place, there’s The Sabbatical Blueprint — the full guide, with the Trip Budget Calculator and checklists we used ourselves.