Recovering Professionals
Recovering Professional
/rəˈkəvəriŋ prəˈfeSH(ə)nəl/
Anyone who left the professional 9-5+ grind to pursue other passions.
Intermittent Retirement
/in(t)ərˈmitnt rəˈtī(ə)rm(ə)nt/
An intentional, temporary reprieve from traditional full time employment, enabling a refocusing on other life priorities and recharging before returning to the professional workforce.
Objective
Recover from a decade of professional progress (and a decent amount of burnout) by reprioritizing non-work aspects of our life that matter to us. Regularly working 50-80 hour weeks is often what it takes to get ahead, but it means giving up many other things you love. Our objective is to spend a year reprioritizing and recharging, better positioning us to find balance when we return to the corporate world.
The traditional rationale of working tirelessly to save money and retire at 65 didn't quite sit right with us. While both deeply passionate about making an impact through our professional work, we remain highly aware that our physical and emotional health is far from a guarantee. It's a privilege we intend to take full advantage of while we can still travel, huck, climb, ski, and paddle (nearly) anything we can set our minds to!
Although this lifestyle choice is far from the norm, we hope our story gives other recovering professionals the courage to temporarily step off the corporate ladder and send it!
Key Performance Indicators
Old habits die hard...
Connect
We're taking full advantage of our newfound flexibility to reconnect and adventure with friends & family all over the US. We can't wait to spend time with our communities.
Recharge
Civilization is a nice place to visit, but we wouldn't want to live there. Spending time doing what we love in the great outdoors is the best therapy around.
Learn
Podcasts, books, formal courses, intellectual discourse—if we don't come out of the year smarter than we went in, we did it wrong!
Advocate
While we have donated time and money to various causes in the past, we plan to really dig in and give back. This year, we're focused on voter registration, conservation, & sustainability initiatives.
About Us
Hi! We're Ben, Chloe, and Woodford. Thanks for swinging by and checking out our site. We decided back in 2019 that we needed a break climbing the corporate ladder and to go ski some chutes. After 4 years of saving, planning, and building, we launched on a year long journey in our home built travel trailer. Hopefully you find this site helpful and entertaining!
Ben
Long time outdoor enthusiast, Ben is passionate about new adventures—personally and professionally. He started his career as an aerospace engineer at GE Aviation before working for 7 years at Boom Supersonic, where he transitioned into a sustainability professional role. Perpetually curious, he loves learning and is always stoked for traveling and human powered sports of all types, including skiing, climbing, mountain biking, backpacking, and anything else that gets him outside.
Chloe
Mountain & desert wanderer, Chloe can typically be found admiring beautiful cactus flowers or "smiling" through a too-long uphill trail run. She started her career in finance at GE Energy before spending 6 years in various increasingly senior roles roles at ed-tech start-up, Guild. Passionate about learning and human systems, she hasn't met an podcast not worth a listen. A true FINO(Floridian In Name Only), she's always up for a trip to foreign countries, skiing/climbing/biking/hiking, or local library.