Oh man, I understand you so freaking much. But I'm much younger compared to you, as I'm only 35 years old, but I'm already tired of working, and I just want to quit and start traveling more and more and never stop. I go camping almost every week with my kids, and that's the escape for me. That's the least I can do right now. I'm willing to go to New Zeeland pretty soon and go camping with them for at least one week. I have already rented a camper from www.justgokiwi.co.uk, and I have some insane expectations.

Absolutely. You only live once.

I want to sell it all and move into a bus conversion and hit the road guided by the stars.

The principal word being "want". Meaning, I haven't.

But I understand.

Since I retired a couple of years ago I have found a happy medium to the camping bug. Every year my wife and I go out camping in the southwest for several months. It's amazing to see our country but it's wonderful to get home after an extended trip. The health benefits are great, I lose an average of two pounds each week we are out and the ability to unplug from the daily news and all the stress that goes with it are a wonder for our mental health. Another fun part is going over the pics from the trip and remembering all the great people you get to meet and amazing place we get to see. Then before that fades it's on to planning the next trip so the camping high never really leaves just shifts from stage to stage

Not ready to "chuck it all", but in May 2018, I had a full week off from work. Nothing planned. On a whim I jumped in the car and drove from Ohio to Texas.

It was awesome. Stopped at a bunch of places (mostly historic) on the way there and back.

Travel is incredibly uplifting.

I think many people fantasize about doing that. I know I have. Most of us have sufficient common sense, and take our responsibilities seriously enough, that we would stay grounded and not act on the impulse.

You might want to join this group "Sun Moon Stars"

Some of these members live that way. They might be able to give you insight.

If you can afford it without working go for it. I had to leave 7 years of retirement due to cancer but I'm back and just started working again to get back on my feet and do some traveling of my own.

I think the idea of security can be a ball and chain in itself. We live to work and then we are worn out and it is harder to enjoy our "golden" years. But that idea of security is tough. There are alternatives though. You can get a traveling home and live on the road, hitting all the parks and wilderness areas that call to you. I have friends who work at national parks in the summer and then head to warmer climes when the park slows down or shuts down, its a good lifestyle and they all seem to enjoy it. (I happen to live close to Mesa Verde National Park so I know some of these folks) So this helps one keep some money flowing. I also have had friends who caretake camper parks and make money while enjoying a place they want to explore. So there are options if you really want to make changes.

In Australia there’s a term for it: grey nomad:

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You see them all over the country with their camper vans. Some write blogs about their travels, some buy winnebagos and don’t like it. Others spend years travelling around sating their wanderlust.

Have you always lived in a small town? Are you going through menopause? I went through some kinda mid-life crisis where I did what you're describing here. It was a huge challenge for me. I wasn't a "happy camper" and I wound up going into nearby towns to get some people connections (mainly online connections; I was never much of a people-person to begin with.) I bring up the menopause question because you might want to "sleep on it" for a while before making such a drastic decision, especially since you readily admit that it "makes no sense."

Yeah, me.