The DINKS left jobs they loved in Canada to take an adult gap year and loved it

“We really liked our teams, we had a good work-life balance,” he said.

Hynes and Amormino are DINKS: they have two incomes and no children. Hynes said that were comfortable with their finances, with a combined salary of 196,000 Canadian dollars, or around $143,800.

“We really care about stability and we care a lot about feeling like we have very defined careers,” he said.

But in the final months of 2023, Hynes said she and Amormino began to feel severe burnout.

Hynes and Amormino, 33, avid travelers who have always spent their days off exploring new countries, cities and experiences, tried to get sabbaticals from their companies.

When those requests were denied, they took a leap.

In December 2023, they quit their jobs, sublet their apartment and left their cat with Hynes’ parents.

In January they embarked on a six-month adventure.

It was not the first time Hynes had traveled for an extended period.

Hynes and Amormino planned their mini-retreat to last about six months, during which they visited seven different countries: Tanzania, Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Japan, Georgia and Italy.

They went on safari, took cooking classes, hiked and met locals through homestays and tours.

“The main goal was to get away from the sometimes monotonous routine of our daily jobs,” Hynes said.

The last time Hynes embarked on a similar journey, he was 26. He had finished graduate school and decided to fly to Hong Kong, where Amormino was completing part of his MBA program.

After completing the program, the couple spent months traveling around Southeast Asia.

It ended somewhat abruptly when Hynes ran out of money. She owed $1,000 on her credit card and felt compelled return to Canada and call his father to ask for a loan.

“When I got my first paycheck, when I was already employed, I immediately sent them $500,” she said. “I didn’t want them to have to pay for my irresponsibility.”

The incident did not deter Hynes or her husband from planning another big trip. She said they talked for years about doing it again.

“I’m a repeat offender,” he joked.

The couple spent more than 5 years planning their professional break.

Hynes said she and Amormino went to great lengths to avoid falling into financial insecurity this time around.

“For the last five to seven years, we had been actively discussing that we were going to do a trip like this,” he said. “We had kind of put it down to, ‘We’re going to save aggressively and when the time is right, we’ll know it’s time.'”

By that time, they had C$40,000 — about $29,360 — saved up just for the trip, as well as C$20,000 — about $14,680 — as a reserve in case they found it difficult to find new jobs when they returned home.

Hynes said she also started making money from her blog, Pina Travels, through advertising, affiliate marketing and partnerships with brands. They invested the extra income into their reserve fund.

“It was very important for us to have a specific amount of money that we were going to spend without it touching our retirement investments,” he said.

They kept their travel costs down by staying with homestays and booking guesthouses for most of their accommodations, as well as having a flexible itinerary.

“Travelling this way, without having too much planning, is cheaper because we can take advantage of the available flight deals,” he said.

Despite their meticulous planning and the fact that most of their family and friends were supportive, they felt some prejudice.

“A lot of people around us are at the stage of having kids and buying houses. We don’t do that,” he said, adding that they are almost 100% sure they won’t have kids.

The couple relied on their networks to find work after traveling.

When May came, after about five months of touring, the couple began to feel uncomfortable.

“We saw that the money was running out and we thought, ‘Well, now we have to be adults again and think about going home,'” Hynes said.

Although they were concerned about navigating a difficult job market, they felt that… Less stressful that when Hynes returned from his last great trip.

“Being further along in your career, it’s actually easier to come back,” he said. “We had a great network of people to draw on.”

A month after applying while abroad, the couple found work and were able to negotiate start dates for their return in July.

Being honest about her career break during the interview and hiring process worked in her favor, Hynes added.

“I told people, ‘Yeah, we wanted to travel for six months. I feel so rejuvenated and so excited to get back to work,'” she said. “They were blown away.”

While returning to Canada was easy, adjusting to a routine again wasn’t always easy.

“Sometimes it feels like the last six months of our lives have been a fever dream,” Hynes said.

To make things easier, the couple booked a trip to Iceland in September.

“Now we have something to look forward to,” he said.