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Poll: Have you ever taken a vacation lasting longer than a month?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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Feb 19, 2018

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever taken a vacation lasting longer than a month?".

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Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:08
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
No Feb 19, 2018

My longest vacation was 2-1/2 weeks, in 2016. And it really messed up my business. I will never do that again.

 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 14:08
French to English
not as a freelancer Feb 19, 2018

but then again, I do still work for my direct clients when on holiday.

once my partner has retired, we intend to do a fair bit of travelling. I don't intend to retire, just adjust my workload. I work less than my partner and can go on for longer, I know how to pace myself so I don't get burn-out.


 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:08
Member
English to French
No Feb 19, 2018

Four weeks in a row is my max.
But I sometimes wish I'd have a fifth one to recover from the first four and get back up to speed.

Philippe


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 14:08
Spanish to English
+ ...
No Feb 19, 2018

When I was much younger, I was once mainly unemployed for roughly 3 years, so nowadays I appreciate being able to work and earn a living while being more or less my own boss. I'm finally taking a couple of weeks off later this year, which will be my longest break in... decades.

[Edited at 2018-02-19 10:20 GMT]


 
Diana Obermeyer
Diana Obermeyer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:08
Member (2013)
German to English
+ ...
Nope Feb 19, 2018

And considering the drama involved with a 2-week break, I don't think I can.

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 13:08
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No Feb 19, 2018

To be honest, having long vacations absolutely bore me, even when I was a young student. I'd rather have a few days off here and there between jobs, rather than very few long vacations. It all adds up probably to more than 4/5 weeks a year, but I’m not counting!

 
Jan Truper
Jan Truper  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 14:08
Member (2016)
English to German
3 weeks max Feb 19, 2018

But counting all my blessings and noting the magnitude of human suffering around the world, I sometimes feel that my whole life is a vacation.

 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 14:08
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
No, Feb 19, 2018

1 week max at one time.

Usually 3-5 days several times a year, sometimes in connection with conferences (that feels like a vacation too).


 
Justin Peterson
Justin Peterson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:08
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
"Do what you love and you'll never work a day" Feb 19, 2018

I take trips. And some time off. But I don´t need a vacation. Because I don't really "work", in the sense of doing something I don´t want to for money. Thank God.

Angie Garbarino
 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 13:08
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Work isn't the only obstacle Feb 19, 2018

A holiday spent at home would be a holiday spent at the office. In other words, not!

On the other hand 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 .


Angie Garbarino
 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 10:08
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Not feasible Feb 19, 2018

I never did, and even one-month vacations were very rare in my life, except when I was in school.
It's not feasible for a freelance professional to take a one-month vacation. You will surely be replaced by someone else by several clients, and you'll have a hard time fixing up your portfolio again when you come back. No way I'd do that in sound mind. It took me a lot of effort to build my client portfolio.


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 13:08
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Jul 23, 2018

Like Muriel I work straight through the year. I used to take long vacations when my children were still at home, but they are long gone and we haven’t spent vacations together for some time (trying to get 14 people agreeing on the same date and place is an almost impossible task…). I enjoy having one or two days off here and there between jobs, rather than very few long vacations. It all adds up probably to more than 4/5 weeks a year, but I’m not counting!

 
Sophie Dzhygir
Sophie Dzhygir  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 14:08
German to French
+ ...
Many weeks off Aug 23, 2018

Mario Freitas wrote:

I never did, and even one-month vacations were very rare in my life, except when I was in school.
It's not feasible for a freelance professional to take a one-month vacation. You will surely be replaced by someone else by several clients, and you'll have a hard time fixing up your portfolio again when you come back. No way I'd do that in sound mind. It took me a lot of effort to build my client portfolio.

Hi Mario,
I saw this posting only now but thought it deserves an answer. First, why not say "it's not feasible for me" instead of "it's not feasible for a freelance professional"? Second, how can you say it's not feasible if you never did it?
The longest holiday I took as a freelancer was 3 weeks. But I've been on maternity leave for 6 weeks and it was no problem at all. I lost zero client.


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 13:08
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Poor puss :( Aug 23, 2018

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.


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






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