Originally Posted by
injera
I am assuming the travel will get old very quickly. Even if i'm visiting a new, exciting city i'd expect to be working all day, staying in a generic hotel and maybe only having a couple of hours of free time in the evening for dinner and i'd think a Sheraton is a Sheraton in Chicago, Chennai or Colombo and the same goes for an office.
Obviously this is my choice to make and nobody out there can make this decision for me, but i'd love to hear from some other people out there with similar levels of work travel. Does it take a toll? Does it strain your marriage or relationship with children? Any/all insight is welcome
Thanks.
It really depends on the person and the family. I know people who travel a ton and love it. One of them is writing this post right now.
While I don't travel as much as I used to, that's only because I'm (sort of) retired. There have been times in my life where I was home less than 2 months a year. Total.
When I met my wife I was travelling a lot. I'd see her once every other month and then only for a couple of weeks. That lasted for the first 10 years of our marriage. It wasn't an issue until I was assigned to work in her country at which point we got to live together full time. *THAT* was when it was rough.
You're likely going to make more money. And you'll get some benefits from travel (being in new places). Make sure you share that with your wife. If you're in a cool place for a couple of weeks, use your points to fly your wife to join you. I had a friend who commuted with me to Africa via Paris every other month. Twice a year he would buy his wife a first class ticket to meet him in Paris or London or somewhere.
Like any job, it is what you make of it. Make it fun and you'll enjoy it. Otherwise, yes, the travel will wear on you. A lot.
Originally Posted by
obscure2k
You have a 1 year old who will not see you for weeks at a time. That will make you an absentee father. Is this what you want for you and your baby? It really is about priorities. Big decision. I hope you do what is best for your family.
2 sides to that coin. One side is Harry Chapin Cat's in the Cradle (there were planes to catch and bills to pay, he learned to walk while I was away).
The other side of that my friend expressed to me. In his time home where he got extra time off because of the travel he would walk his 1st and 2nd grader to school in the mornings. How many dads get to do that? (2nd grader was a boy and he would make dad let him walk alone the last block so his friends wouldn't see them.)