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Poll: Have you ever taken a vacation lasting longer than a month?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
Andrea Riffo
Andrea Riffo  Identity Verified
Chile
Local time: 12:22
English to Spanish
+ ...
Am I the only yes? :/ Dec 2, 2019

Every two or three years, I grab my backpack and take off for 3 months straight. NO work during that time.

I let my clients know of my plan 2 months in advance; so far, the longest I've gone without regular work after such a holiday has been a month (fingers crossed), which is something I plan for.



[Edited at 2019-12-02 04:45 GMT]


DZiW (X)
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
 
Robert Rietvelt
Robert Rietvelt  Identity Verified
Local time: 16:22
Member (2006)
Spanish to Dutch
+ ...
Yes Dec 4, 2019

Andrea Riffo wrote:

Every two or three years, I grab my backpack and take off for 3 months straight. NO work during that time.



[Edited at 2019-12-02 04:45 GMT]


Same here, I love travelling.

By the way, my longest vacation (if you can call it as such) was 2 years.

You only live once!


 
Elizabeth Tamblin
Elizabeth Tamblin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:22
French to English
. Dec 4, 2019

Sheila Wilson wrote:

Sheila Wilson wrote:
a holiday away from home means the cat has to go to a cattery. She'd be devastated if she was left there for over a month .

One devastated cat coming up early next year . We've now booked to see Panama, including the Panama Canal in action (one of the few remaining items on my bucket list), and to visit the "ABC" Dutch Antilles islands. What with stops in Madrid at each end it will be the best part of a month. For the first time ever I'll be formally closing my business for the calendar month. Rules here say I must do that or pay the entire monthly €300 social charges for whatever tiny amount of work I do in the few days I'll be at home.

I have lost clients in the past due to taking holidays, but not "best" ones. And I'm confident that my current three best clients will still be around when I get back. If I lose any of the others then I'll make whatever effort is needed to replace them. I'm a firm believer of "one door closes and another opens". You just have to give that door a bit of an opening shove sometimes.


Can't you arrange for someone to visit your cat at home instead?


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 16:22
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
I don't lose clients, but I do lose out on jobs Dec 4, 2019

ProZ.com Staff wrote:
Have you ever taken a vacation lasting longer than a month?


Yes, when my children were still in primary school, we took 8-week holidays (not technically legal, due to silly local laws, but with the blessing of the school principal). That said, I usually kept on working throughout those holidays anyway (e.g. work in the morning, then have fun in the afternoon, or vice versa). But this caused a lot of stress, so one year we decided that I was not going to do *any* work for 6 weeks, and it was blissful, but I lost a huge chunk of income.

We currently take mostly shorter holidays (e.g. 2 weeks), but since we're usually out camping, or seek out destinations with little internet access, I can't really work during that time. Even a two-week break impacts me. Every holiday is a loss of income for me. Why do all the large, easy, high-paying jobs come in when you're not there?!

I can't think of any client that I had "lost" (e.g. them switching to a different translator permanently) because of a long holiday.

Elizabeth Tamblin wrote:
Can't you arrange for someone to visit your cat at home instead?


That's what we do. Birds, rats, rabbits, dogs and fish can be looked after by anyone anywhere, but cats need to be taken care of at their usual place of residence, otherwise it confuses them. So, we just ask the neighbours and some friends to visit the house daily to feed the animals. A few times we've had house-sitters (we use free ones, i.e. folks who want to use our house as free holiday accommodation), and simply ask the neighbours to check in regularly.


[Edited at 2019-12-04 12:12 GMT]


 
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Poll: Have you ever taken a vacation lasting longer than a month?






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