I can't imagine not being able to take a single extra day off for two years straight.

I think the only realistic options for most people are to (1) quit and take extended time off between jobs, or (2) get approval for unpaid leave. Unfortunately most jobs don't have an option for the latter. And even if your job does offer unpaid leave, I don't think I could truly "disconnect" knowing that work is potentially piling up in the background and waiting for me when I get back.

>> I don't think I could truly "disconnect" knowing that work is potentially piling up in the background and waiting for me when I get back.

Knowing you've got work waiting when you want it / need to make money is a blessing, not a curse. Having to worry about it piling up sucks. But basically it means both options are available to you: (1) take extended time off, or (2) get approval, because you're necessary enough that the work will still be waiting for you when you get back.

There's also (3) pick up jobs while you're traveling - teaching English, bartending, working for a nonprofit that will cover your housing, or something more creative. That's how most of the long-term travelers I know did it.

The only basic requirement is being sick enough of everything here to take the first step off the ledge. When I left my job and left America, I had $15k in the bank, way more than the OP, but it was still scary and I was giving up a $60k job to do it. Hands down the only good decision I ever made in my life, that gave me a real sense of who I was. I would never have gotten to that knowledge, no matter how much more I made staying in the US; I would have just become more of a slave to the dollar, less and less inclined to seek new experiences (like I'm afraid I'm becoming now).

I really think "most people" is a severe exaggeration.

Even in the US "most people" could probably be lumped into per diem, contract, gig, or remarkably tenuous work arrangements.

> Even in the US

The US is the exception, not the rule. Most countries have a mandatory minimum of around 24 paid vacation days / year. Also usually a bunch of national holidays to plan your vacation around.

I dunno, this feels pretty West-centric. There are literally billions of people in the global south scrapping (a generous and vague term) for a living, to whom labor laws simply don't apply at the level of vacation days.