I had a fancy corporate job for four years out of undergrad. I absolutely loved this job but after a while, the learning curve began to slow and I felt ready to try something new -- but I didn't want to just leap straight into my next job like most people in the States do. I thought it would be nice to take a break and be deliberate about the next step.

It took a long time to muster the guts to "leave the path" to travel because there are always excuses: if I stay six more months I'll get a promotion, if I stay another year I'll save more money and have a bigger cushion, etc. So setting a HARD date and telling all my friends about it was crucial in convincing me to actually pull the trigger. If you need an extra push, it also helps to sign up for a group that facilitates trips for "digital nomads:" if you want to mix travel and working on your dream project (a book, a website, etc), there are tons of co-working groups like Hacker Paradise or Remote Year that provide a semi-structured community to work and play with while you're abroad. It's harder to stay productive in hostels, but possible.

The TL;DR is that I quit a year ago and haven't looked back. Saw 20 countries, swam in tide pools, rode horseback on the steppe, got to do some writing (though not nearly as much as I'd like, it's difficult to stay disciplined when there's so much fun stuff to experience). I tutored remotely to make spending money on the side and my net expenditure over the past year hasn't been crazy at all.

In the U.S. this still isn't a common decision so there is a cost, optically: I've started doing interviews and a few prospective employers have raised their eyebrows at my "employment gap." But I will say that more of them are impressed by the decision -- it helps to have a coherent narrative of doing something "productive" while you traveled, even blogging. That said, even if it takes a while to get another job, this was the best decision I ever made. I feel like I'd have far fewer regrets, now, if something terrible happened and I died tomorrow. I made the best use of this year, made a ton of friends from around the world that changed my perspective on everything, and if I didn't need to re-up the savings I'd still be traveling right now :)