An Australian woman quit her finance job to embark on a six-month solo trip across Europe, hoping to explore the world before taking on more responsibilities. However, just two weeks into her journey, she began regretting her decision and wanted to return home.
Quitting a job to travel the world may sound like a dream, but one Australian woman’s experience has highlighted how a long-awaited adventure can turn out differently from expectations. The 28-year-old, who left her finance job to embark on a six-month solo trip across Europe, began regretting her decision just two weeks into the journey.
In a Reddit post shared on the r/solotravel community, the woman explained that she had five years of experience in finance and had decided to leave her job partly because she was experiencing burnout. She also feared missing the opportunity to travel while she had relatively few responsibilities.
However, the reality of travelling alone did not match what she had imagined. During her first week in Vienna, Austria, she found people less friendly and more reserved than Australians. She then travelled to Rome, Italy, where she felt the city was unsafe and dirty compared with Australian cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
By the second week, she admitted that she was already longing for home. Reflecting on the experience, she realised that she had taken several aspects of life in Australia for granted, including safety, friendly interactions, good coffee and pleasant weather.
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Her post prompted a lively discussion among fellow travellers, with responses ranging from sympathy to criticism. Some commenters described her feelings as “buyer’s remorse” and encouraged her to give herself more time to adjust. Others suggested that she should reconsider her expectations and explore destinations that might suit her interests better.
One commenter pointed out that two cities were not enough to judge an entire continent, while another encouraged her to remain open to new experiences rather than compare every destination with home.
The discussion also highlighted the challenges of solo travel, including loneliness, culture shock and the gap between expectations and reality. While some travellers find independence liberating, others discover that being away from familiar surroundings can be emotionally difficult.
The woman’s experience serves as a reminder that taking a career break and travelling abroad does not automatically guarantee happiness. Sometimes, the freedom to explore comes with unexpected discomfort, and adjusting to a new environment can take longer than anticipated.