The 31-year-old spent $20,000 on travel after his release

Forget the “quarter-life crisis.” Millennials are actually turning to the “quarter-of-life study break.”

Amid waves of mass layoffs, persons are selecting to repurpose their unemployment into soul-searching, and plenty of are extending their time away from the office to travel the world.

Peter Lancaster, 31, was laid off from his technology job in California last May. Although he was sad to go away the job he loved, he finally had a probability to take an actual break and revel in life a bit of more.

At the top of June, he sold most of his belongings, put the remainder into storage, gave the cat to a friend and left for his first destination – Mexico.

Over the subsequent eight months, Peter traveled to eight different countries: Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Guatemala, Japan, Ecuador, and Brazil. He said he spent about $20,000 during that point.

Airfare and transportation turned out to be his highest expenses.

He added that while Colombia and Guatemala were the most cost effective destinations, Argentina and the Galapagos Islands were the most costly.

Here are six things he learned on his overseas adventure.

The biggest rule Peter followed when traveling abroad was to stay flexible and aware that plans might change along the best way.

After about six months of traveling, Peter met and fell in love with his girlfriend Alejandra, or as he likes to call him, his “pp” (short for “Peruvian Princess”).

His initial plan was to remain in Peru for 4 days, but after meeting Alejandra he prolonged it to 6 weeks.

“I met her in Peru – in Cusco. I was doing laundry and she saw that I was struggling so she helped me and then we decided to get drinks,” he told CNBC Make It.

“You think you want to set an itinerary, but actually your itinerary changes a lot depending on who you meet,” he said. “Be open and change your motivation from seeing as much as you can to maybe just spending time with someone for a while.”

“It’s much easier to be flexible when you have a schedule to set,” he added.

“I never had clothes that would last more than a week,” he said. “The disadvantage is that I had to find a place to do the laundry, but the advantage is that you can move around so easily.”

For the first three weeks he traveled only with a small backpack. Along the way, he managed to buy the necessary things.

By carrying less, he could be more agile when plans inevitably changed.

After landing in Mexico for the first time, Peter began to feel homesick. “I wanted to go home because I thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be a long trip,’” he said. “But then I started making friends and felt comfortable very quickly.”

He chose to stay in hostels for most of the trip to save money and also meet other travelers.

“Just start talking to people,” he said. “Everyone is really approachable and thinks about the same thing.”

It is important to exercise extreme caution when traveling in foreign countries.

“I think it’s always good to have that mentality that a lot of people might try to scam you,” Peter said. When making purchases or decisions, he suggests, “Take your time.”

“Especially when abroad, use the buddy system,” he said.

Locals can usually tell if you are a foreigner, which can put you in a difficult situation. Therefore, it is important to always pay attention to your surroundings and the situation.

“I don’t understand people who like to travel and eat hamburgers and pizza,” he said. “Going to McDonald’s is more expensive than some local places.”

While abroad, Peter tried to taste the local cuisine, which enriched his travel experience.

On February 29, Peter returned to the United States, satisfied with everything he had experienced.

“If I had an unlimited budget, I probably would have gone further, but I felt like I had just seen it all and was ready to go,” he said.

“I feel content… it’s just nice to have free time and have a different routine than going to work,” he said.