Thru hike or buy a house ?

[tenlots]

I would imagine you will be much more likely to get employed after your hike with your credentials. I would hire someone like yourself who can say they completed a thru hike in any job field.

[ChinMusic]

Said perfectly because divorce ruins a lot of peoples credit and you won't have a house no more perfect marriage test too if you can put up with a smelly, cranky, person 24/7 for 6 months you have a good shot at married bliss

I gotta say, there is a lot of wisdom in that post.
Very Matty like........

[Sassafras Lass]

Are you sure you don't qualify under any of those criteria?

What does that mean?

[prain4u]

I don't necessarily see this as an "either/or" proposition. I would like to hope that it could possibly be a "both/and" opportunity. Perhaps you can BOTH thru hike AND buy a home--all within the next 3-5 years. You simply have to weigh all the options and ask yourself many questions.

You are age 24 and were already able to save $10,000. How long would it take you to save $10,000 again? There is a good possibility that 3 years from now the housing market MIGHT still be somewhat low (but not as low as right now). Are you willing to risk paying more in interest and fees? (Paying just a 1% higher interest rate can amount to a very large additional financial cost over the term of a 20-30 year mortgage). That is a BIG consideration. On the other hand, ultimately, it is not a "crime" to be age 30 and still renting a residence. Numerous people do it. For many people, renting is actually financially BETTER than buying. You will have to do some soul-searching (and some careful math) and then decide what is best for you. (It might really boil down to flipping a coin--just like one poster suggested).

How great are your current jobs? Are the jobs fairly good and "stable"--with a promising future? Would it be a BIG mistake to leave them? Would your jobs still be there when you get back? (or will you get back from a thru hike with no money, no place to live and no viable employment prospects? Then what will you do?). How employable are you?

Do you have family members who you can count on to WILLINGLY be your "safety net" if all goes wrong and you end up broke, unemployed, homeless, and not readily employable? Your answer to that question might be one of the biggest factors to consider.

Frankly, if you were my kids, and if I had a spare $10,000 and/or if I had the ability for you live with me (if all of your post-hike plans fell apart)--I would probably beg you to take the hike now. Conversely, if you had good jobs and a promising future in your current situation--and if there was no family "safety net"--I would probably kick your butts if you dared to quit your promising jobs to go on a thru hike.

In the end, I would look really hard for ways to make this a "both/and"--not an "either/or" situation. I personally believe that you can probably have your cake and it it too.

[4shot]

You get one life, and....

Step out of the door where you now live and start walking in any direction. You will pass by many houses sooner or later no matter which way you walk. as you will see, it's not really a significant thing to buy a house..or a car...or a boat. Ask the homeowner how they feel about buying/paying for a house.See if they are 100% happy with that decision.


Now, step out of your door and keep walking until you meet someone who has walked from Maine to Georgia (or vice versa). ask this person how they felt about thru-hiking. Chances are you won't find any thru-hikers who regret walking the trail. And for many Americans, by the time they walk far enough to locate one they will have walked a significant part of the trail.

Life really isn't about the things you buy, it's about the things you do. I own my house and have thru-hiked so I feel qualified to speak to both. BTW, I was glad to hear these people are busy already planning their hike. Best wishes to them.

[Jbolton]

From the husband - Thank you all for your thoughts on this topic!!! We have looked at everything and we have decided to hike the trail in 2013.

A lot of our decision came down to this. We are still young, we figured that it will take us roughly three years to re-save the money for a house. The bigger issue is that we don't have great careers right now, and we don't even really know where we want to live. Instead of the money sitting in a bank untill we figure all this out, we are going for a long walk. My goal is to work in a national/state park, so this will be a HUGE boost to the resume as an added bonus!

This has been a dream of mine since I was 14 and did 14 days on the trail with a youth group. The timing has never been right untill now. Well Thank you for all your great input, and thank you all for supporting my wife and I's goal. We look forward to getting to know you and pick you brains for knowledge.

[TOMP]

I totally forgot you said you were married. In that case, just do what your wife says. Its a no brainer.

[kennybrae]

Buy your house and pay your mortgage down as fast as you can. You'll enjoy your hikes more when you have your home to come back to.

[ChinMusic]

From the husband - Thank you all for your thoughts on this topic!!! We have looked at everything and we have decided to hike the trail in 2013.

Hope to see you folks out there in 2013. That is my year too. I'm in that "other" dominant AT age group.

[Lilred]

go hike before global warming ruins this place - I ran today shirtless - mid January - it's just too weird - I hope this summer is not one where the water sources on the AT are gallon jugs left at the road full of water from the ColoradoOgallala Aquifer since there is NO SNOW there to re-charge it!! -- Sorry for the rant.

Just FYI, The Ogallala Aquifer is considered fossil water. It will not 're-charge'. It does not 'refill' with rain or snow melt. Once it's gone, it's gone, just like the oil. And the Ogallala Aguifer is emptying at the rate of 3 meters per year.

Here's what you do to find out if you really want to hike or not. Take a coin and flip it. Say heads to hike, tails to buy. Then, when you get your answer, do a gut check on how you first felt when the coin told you what to do. If you are happy about the outcome, you'll feel it. If you're not happy about the outcome, you'll feel it. Then you know what to do. Works for me every time.

[garlic08]

Buy your house and pay your mortgage down as fast as you can. You'll enjoy your hikes more when you have your home to come back to.

I second this. After you own your home free and clear, all sorts of possibilities open up. Just imagine it.

[English Stu]

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things
that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the
bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds
in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
--Mark Twain

[BlackCloud]

I've typed this three times. I have yet to keep it civil.

There is the adult thing to do, which is to buy a house at unbelievable market lows and fantastically low loan rates.

There is the child thing to do and go walking for 10,000 dollars, because it makes you feel good about yourself.

I think we spend far too much time feeling good about ourselves now and forgetting that there are far greater awards for being responsible. All good things? Listen, do it right and when you're retired at 55 and able to go all over the world to hike you won't regret not buying that wave runner and pissing 10 grand away to go walk and camp out.

The dumbest, and I mean really dumb, thing you did was come to THIS board and ask if it was a good idea. Might as well go down to skid row and ask the derelict drunks if it was a good idea to go buy a bottle.

Post of the year.

[Del Q]

My vote, with limited information about the two of you, if you are REALLY committed to thru hiking together and think that you and your relationship can handle it...............take the hike.

You are young, no kids, free to make a decision like this............if you don't do it and buy a house, then get jobs, 2 weeks off per year..........you might very well regret this for a long time.

Real estate is not the "investment" it once was, to me your house is your home, its not meant to be a mutual fund. Money can be made and saved, homes and other assets can a will be acquired in your lives together, go hike, have a blast, agree that the relationship is more important than anything else...........go for it.

I have met several couples on their thru hikes................wish my wife were into backpacking.

At 52 we are de-cluttering and cutting back, crafting a simpler life...........hiking has become more important to me than acquiring more stuff.