How this former engineer took a ‘mini-retirement’ in his 20s

A vacation is good for the soul. But in the case of 29-year-old Mike Notarfrancesco, an artist who sells his prints online, a “mini-retirement” was even better.

The New Jersey native was working as an engineer in Miami, supporting three project managers while managing and delegating tasks for 20 to 25 projects simultaneously.

The rewards were great — a six-figure salary, and the company’s total retirement contribution to his account was 18%.

But a voice in his head was egging him on to stray from the prescribed 9-to-5 grind.

“There was absolutely no way I was going to last another year of this, let alone the 35 until retirement,” he said. “A long vacation wasn’t the solution. Neither was a sabbatical.”

That’s when Notarfrancesco decided he would embark on a “mini-retirement,” using his “existential crisis as an opportunity to get a taste of what life without work was like” to clear his mind and reevaluate his passions and priorities.

To fund his dream, Notarfrancesco created a separate savings account, with the goal of saving enough to cover six months of living expenses.

“By the time I reached my savings goal, I was so burnt out from working long, intense hours and feeling totally disconnected from my job, I was relieved when it came time to hand in my resignation letter,” he said.

That happened in June 2022, and while Notarfrancesco typically would have been anxious about quitting a job without a new one, that wasn’t the case when he logged his last day.

“Since I was looking to start over again, I was really excited to take a leap of faith into the unknown,” he said.

Notarfrancesco had packed one very special item: his sketchbook. “I’m glad I did, because I spent a lot of time drawing,” he said. “There were obviously a ton of highlights [of the trip], but the majority of the time, it was just me walking around, eating well, chatting with strangers, observing the world around and drawing.”

The six-month adventure began with a family vacation.

Then, “I said goodbye to my parents and brother as they returned home, and all of a sudden I was alone in Rome,” he said. “I realized it was really just going to be me from that point forward. There was a moment of panic that set in, but that quickly turned into excitement and optimism.”

After three months of exploring Italy, he flew to Bangkok, Thailand. While in Chiang Mai, he got his first tattoo. (“An ancient Sak Yant tattoo from a Buddhist ajahn applied in the traditional hand-poked method,” he said of the “spiritual experience.”)

After exploring the mountains, islands and rainforest, he traveled to Tokyo, with plans to visit a cousin in the Marines stationed in Okinawa.

“We spent Christmas Eve at Universal Studios in Japan, including the new Super Nintendo World, which was living out a childhood dream,” he said.

He flew back home in February 2023, with his travel fund reaching a balance of $0.

Not booking a single thing in advance save for the initial plane ticket to Italy is what made this trip so different from anything Notarfrancesco had done before.

“I was going to visit places without a set itinerary, so I didn’t feel like I had to rush to see everything, and I could travel at a much slower pace,” he said, noting that if he didn’t enjoy a city or wanted to follow a local’s recommendation on somewhere to visit, he had the flexibility to build his itinerary however he pleased.

“That to me is what made it a mini-retirement. Much like a retiree at 65, I wanted to be able to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, enjoying the money I had worked so hard to save up and not be held hostage by a schedule,” reflected Notarfrancesco. “And just like how you’re done working during retirement, I chose not to work a single second of my journey. I think a lot of people are under the assumption that you have to have a job at all times. This trip was meant for me to take a step back and find myself again.”

Notarfrancesco’s vagabonding also gave the young engineer an “aha” moment about his career: His true calling was to be an artist.

“I wasn’t looking to find my purpose on this trip. I was just enjoying my time being fully present, and in the midst of that presence, my purpose found me,” he said. “As soon as I came home, I had an outpouring of support from my friends, who commissioned me right away. It’s hard to explain what it felt like when I decided to just go full speed ahead with my art business, knowing that I was meant to do this, not just a feeling,” he added.

Currently, Notarfrancesco runs an online shop that sells prints of his pen and ink artwork added with a “touch of gold” acrylic paint for a style uniquely his, and allows clients to commission custom pieces from him.

To others who dream of traveling the world but aren’t sure where or when or how to start, he said, just go for it.

“Don’t let other peoples’ fear and insecurities persuade you out of what you’re being drawn to do,” he said.

“If you want to travel the world and none of your friends do, don’t wait for them, otherwise you’ll be waiting forever. There are plenty of people out there who are just like you, in the same exact boat, and could be 10 years younger than you or 40 years older than you. When you finally meet them, you’ll wonder what took you so long to take that leap of faith yourself.”

The worst-case scenario, per Notarfrancesco, is that you pick back up where you left off in your career.
While Notarfrancesco hasn’t matched his engineering salary yet, he is more content and fulfilled than ever.

“Before, my goal was to earn a lot of money, now it’s to be happy,” he said. Had he never pushed himself outside his comfort zone to go on this six-month voyage, he’d probably still be sitting hunched over a desk at a job he didn’t like. “Why wait for your golden years to travel?” he said.