Need some insight/advice.

I'd take a long sober look at this, especially if you plan to come back to Calgary when you are done.

I bought my house here 10 years ago and have watched it increase in value while hearing horror stories about the housing situation many newcomers are facing. I have relatives who are in specially rigged mortgages because paying them off in 25 years is no longer realistic for the average family to do.

I have a neighbor two houses down from me who got an equity loan on his house, I don't know the specifics but from the sounds of it he got a lot. They bought a new truck, a new minivan, a big camping trailer and consolidated the rest of their debt. They will now being paying off that mortgage until they are 65 and these vehicles will probably wear out in 5 - 7 years. My mortgage will likely be paid by the time I am 41.

I am at a stressful time in my life right now, my wife stopped her business as we are expecting our second son on July 24. Right now, I am the only one bringing an income in and work has been more challenging than usual. My wife is having a c-section which will take her out of commission for at least two months after July 24. Lots more expenses with a lot less cash for the next 3 - 4 months.

So I've been doing a lot of lying awake at night thinking about life, the universe and everything, and how this whole enterprise is riding on my shoulders and one failure on my part will bring the whole thing down on my wife and kids.

It is at that point that I realize the worst possible scenario I could face...moving to Saskatchewan or Manitoba.

Because while I lie awake wondering if I am going to make it in this life, it dawns on me, because my house is worth so much more than what I still owe on it, if this city spits me out, I would land in a bigger house with no mortgage and fewer worries in another province.

That is the freeing power of having a lot of unused equity in your house. The Calgary housing market underwent a necessary adjustment over the last two years, things have levelled off since then and I don't expect our houses will jump up like that again.

If you sell your house now and spend a good chunk of the money you make from it on something temporary, you won't have that option again and you will have it tougher when you get back.

Flying the coop is overrated, but time off is not. Whether by unpaid leave of absence or just quitting and traveling for some months, I'm not sure what would work best for you.

If you stand to net $150k out of your house (if you choose to sell), don't blow $75k finding yourself. You'll just find out that you were being silly. Pay off debts, put a bunch in an RRSP and, if that's maxed out, some other savings vehicle. $25k should be plenty to travel around and think things through; maybe $40k if you like nicer hotels and plan on thinking slowly. At some point, however, it's just avoiding life and not particularly fruitful.

Do a little planning where the payoff is large (e.g. booking international airline tickets) but, other than that, you may find that it's not where you go that matters. Maybe a couple weeks on the Rock, gazing at nature's stark beauty is all you need. Who knows, but don't assume that the stereotypical world traveller approach means a thing.

What do you feel like doing and seeing that is different than you would just do for a vacation?

I'm 27 and I would give the world to be debt free.

Personally, I would sell, take a small vacation and look at all of the prospects from there. Take a good hard look at what you want to do and where you want to be when you get back.

I've moved to another province in search for a better income/lifestyle. So far, it's working out okay.. but I'm not that far ahead (yet). The bright side is that I absolutely love the place I picked to move. Ottawa was a wonderful choice for my girlfriend and I, we absolutely love it. Staying here for a while isn't going to be hard.

That said.. the cost of living is much higher here than it is where we're from. (Sydney, Nova Scotia) And, getting situated here cost a lot of money. This is where the accumulation of our debt has come from. We're okay with it however and we're on track to getting out of it pretty easily.

Only you can decide for yourself what the right thing for you to do is. If you need that time to travel, go for it. It may likely be the only chance in your lifetime to do it.. if that's the case, it's worth the money many times over.

Anyway, I'm going to stop now.

Good Luck!

Hey MacDaddy!

Yep, you are definitely going through your Saturn return = big change!

When I was 27 / 28, I quit my job (not before getting major dental work done), opting not to buy that 2 bedroom condo for $145,000 in central Calgary, paid off my debts and went traveling for 4 months, then moved to Montreal! I wasn't happy in my job and was having problems with harassment from my landlord, so was going to quit my job and move, and thought : "The hell with it! I'm outta here!"

So, with a thousand bucks in my pocket, I busked my way through western Europe and then spent my 28th birthday climbing Mount Sinai after a scuba dive in the Red Sea, experiences I wouldn't change for the world.

My only regret? Not buying the condo. I realised if I had only hung on another month and then rented out the condo while I was gone... Well, it just would have been better for me in the long run.

My suggestion would be to hang on to your place while your gone and rent it. You don't know where your head is going to be after an experience like the one you're wanting to take on. Only then will you know if you will want to stay in Calgary or not, and frankly, I wouldn't want to pay for a new place what people are paying for now. Besides, it could be a way to make money while your away, as the value of your property will only stand to increase.