Dreaming Of Taking A Year Off?
Essentials|December 2018

Two women share the story of how they packed up their routine-centred lives and set out to explore what the world has to offer.

Julia Bain
Dreaming Of Taking A Year Off?

Chanel cartell, 33, and fiancé Stevo Dirnberger, 32, are authors of the travel blog How far from Home and have spent almost four years travelling the world together. I met Stevo on a blind date back in 2010. A mutual friend set it up and we hit it off straight away, spending that whole first weekend together. We’d both grown up in Johannesburg and had careers in the same industry; Stevo was an art director at an ad agency, and I was a creative director at a social media agency.

We lived a very normal life – we loved our jobs, shared a small apartment in Bryanston, and had friends and family living nearby. We went to gym during the week, had dinner with friends on weekends, and when we could, we would go to places like the Drakensberg, Clarens, Mozambique or Knysna. It was a comfortable, routine-led kind of life.

THE DECISION

Giving it all up to see the world is obviously not something you decide to do overnight. like many people, taking time off to go travelling was always a dream of ours, and it was something we spoke about doing ‘one day’. Then in early 2014, we attended the creative conference design Indaba in Cape Town. There, we watched graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister give a talk about how he closed his New York-based firm every seven years to pursue his own experiences and find inspiration during this creative sabbatical. After the talk, Stevo and I immediately said to each other, ‘We need to do this. What have we got to lose?’

For the next year we saved every last cent in preparation for our trip and, a year after that talk, we were house-, car- and belongings-free, flying to Salzburg, Austria, to start what we thought was going to be a year-long adventure with nothing but four bags in our possession.

THE ADVENTURE

Esta historia es de la edición December 2018 de Essentials.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición December 2018 de Essentials.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE ESSENTIALSVer todo
Find Balance In A Wired World
Essentials

Find Balance In A Wired World

Tech was supposed to make life easier, but have our days got more, not less, pressured? Here’s how to reclaim your time and your sanity by managing your online habits

time-read
4 minutos  |
June 2020
Essentials

Food To Boost Your Mood

Are you feeling stressed out or lacking energy? Turns out can eat your way to happiness

time-read
1 min  |
June 2020
Are You Eating Your Emotions?
Essentials

Are You Eating Your Emotions?

Lots of us reach for food when we’re down, stressed or tired. Here’s why we do it – and how to break the cycle, fast!

time-read
5 minutos  |
June 2020
‘I dream of having A VINEYARD'
Essentials

‘I dream of having A VINEYARD'

AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS SCARLETT JOHANSSON ON PLAYING COMPLEX FEMALE CHARACTERS, RAISING HER DAUGHTER AND CO-PARENTING AFTER A DIVORCE

time-read
4 minutos  |
June 2020
MEAL MAKEOVER 'FRIED' CHICKEN
Essentials

MEAL MAKEOVER 'FRIED' CHICKEN

MEAL MAKEOVER 'FRIED' CHICKEN

time-read
2 minutos  |
June 2020
FOCUS ON AVOIDING GERMS
Essentials

FOCUS ON AVOIDING GERMS

Staying well has become our biggest priority. Fight the nasties with this expert insight

time-read
4 minutos  |
June 2020
HOW DO YOU FIND LOVE IN THE MIDDLE OF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC?
Essentials

HOW DO YOU FIND LOVE IN THE MIDDLE OF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC?

Life as we know it has changed – with social distancing and curfews putting nights out on hold, we find out if romance is off the table, too

time-read
4 minutos  |
June 2020
DITCH THE GUILT FOR GOOD
Essentials

DITCH THE GUILT FOR GOOD

Are you carrying remorse, regret and guilt around with you? You’re not alone...

time-read
3 minutos  |
June 2020
DON'T TELL ME I CAN'T LAUNCH MY OWN BUSINESS AGED 40
Essentials

DON'T TELL ME I CAN'T LAUNCH MY OWN BUSINESS AGED 40

BUSY MOM LUCY PARLEY WANTED TO EMBRACE HER CREATIVITY

time-read
3 minutos  |
June 2020
Don't Tell Me I Can't: Rediscover My Childhood Hobby
Essentials

Don't Tell Me I Can't: Rediscover My Childhood Hobby

Esther Wane realised it was a shame to leave her talents in the past

time-read
3 minutos  |
April 2020