A Never-Ending Vacation.

Ten years into his job as an insurance underwriter, Robert Baldwin had had enough. He was sick of his work, bored with his hometown of Leicester, England, and ready for something new. He decided that moving 100 miles southwest to London might do the trick, if only for the change of scenery. But before embarking on this new life, Agnes L'Hostis, Baldwin's girlfriend--who was working for a dot-com at the time--laid the groundwork for what became an even more radical departure: a seven-month backpacking trek in India and Nepal. It was a frightening notion for Baldwin, who was then 31 and had never ventured beyond Europe's borders. But he figured that such an opportunity wouldn't come along often--so off they went. "It was a question of challenging yourself and proving to yourself that you could do something different," says Baldwin. Looking back now, he says, the trip was "the defining event in my life."

Carving out the time for epic adventures was once the exclusive realm of academics, the idle rich and students looking to find themselves. But it is fast becoming a more realistic option for the rest of us. In part, changing demographics are responsible: Gen-X employees, who switch jobs and careers with far more frequency than their parents and elder siblings, are more comfortable with extended breaks between employments. But surprisingly, the attitude shift is also being fueled partly by the corporate world. With companies everywhere trying to find ways to trim expenses, an increasing number have turned to unpaid and partially paid time off as an alternative to layoffs. Last year Accenture, the financially battered global consulting firm, offered workers a voluntary FlexLeave program that allowed them to take six to 12 months off at 20 percent pay and full benefits. (They were also guaranteed their jobs when they returned.) As of mid-October, 3,300 employees had snapped up the deal--many to fulfill lifelong travel dreams such as attending cooking school in France, language lessons in China or safaris in Africa.

But before you drop everything and dive headlong into the jungles of Borneo for a year, NEWSWEEK has collected a few helpful suggestions from those who've gone before you.

Plan how you're going to pay for it. So you're reading this and thinking, sure, I'd love to take time off, but how can I afford it? Hope Dlugozima recommends several ...