How did your life turn out after you bought a one-way ticket and started everything from scratch?

I did this when I was 16. I took one backpack worth of clothes, said goodbye to my family, and flew off to the other side of Australia.

Just before I left, I found a place to stay via Gum Tree, which was a similar website to Craigslist.

Being young and naive, I didn't realize the full extent of what I was doing, and soon realized that without a job, I just couldn't afford my rent. I ended up in the hospital, then in youth shelters for a few months, and at one stage during that, I had to stay on the streets for about two weeks. So, that was fun. Long story short, though, this was over 10 years ago, and now I live in a different state altogether and work in the financial industry doing quite well for myself. I have no regrets.

I met some amazing people and had some crazy journeys. From rural Mississippi to southern California.

I was bartending and I saved up a couple of thousand, which I used to prepay for two months in a

hotel. I packed what I could into my car, including my dog, and drove here. I kind of had the attitude that I would even work at McDonald's if I had to, but I found a decent job after about a month and a half, and things worked out. Best decision I ever made. I've done something similar several times. When I was young, I used to work two full-time jobs at a time, save up as much money as I could in a couple of years, and then quit my jobs, sell everything that didn't fit on my bicycle, buy a one-way ticket somewhere else, and then see how far I could get on the money that I had. I did that three times and all, but I'd come home in between to make money.

I could get roughly one-to-one time exchange and travel for just as long as I worked.

I highly recommend it, but it is a game for the young.

For trip one, I started in London, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, before the Wall fell,

and the Middle East.

Trip two started in Amsterdam, Western Europe, North Africa, across the Sahara, West Africa,

Central and East Africa.

Trip 3 started in Athens, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, six years of pedaling altogether.

My ex-wife ended our marriage totally out of the blue.

I was devastated.

I bought a one-way plane ticket to the other side of the

world with a thousand pounds sterling in my back pocket. No job, nowhere to live. That was around

four years ago. I now have a great job, a gorgeous girlfriend, and a house overlooking the beach.

Thanks, ex-wife. I had a one-way gas pedal. I sold all of my stuff, got in my little civic and drove across

Canada to Vancouver, sight unseen. Been here for 15 years now, new friends, married, kid,

owner business, everything's good. Now we're thinking of doing the same thing as a family,

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