A Gen Z woman has taken 30 “micro-retirements” in three years so she can travel the world — and says it has made her a “better employee.” Lauren Kirby, 21, a nursery worker, has saved over $12,500 to travel to 30 different countries since starting work aged 18. So far, she’s visited Portugal, Mexico, Estonia and the US, among others — and lived for six months in Australia, from March 2024.
She says these “micro-retirements” have made her better at her job — as she’s been able to pick up childcare techniques from different cultures, such as taking children out for walks in all seasons. And outside of her working life, Lauren says they’ve “changed her as a person” — taking her from a shy, retiring teenager to a confident, self-assured woman. Micro-retirements have become a trend on TikTok that sees Gen Z workers take periodic breaks from their career.
Lauren, from Maidstone, Kent, said: “Once you go on a micro-retirement for the first time, it literally changes your life. “It’s all well-and-good for the older generations to travel once they hit retirement age — but, even though it sounds very morbid, you never know if you’re going to get there. “When I was 16, I was too shy to order my own food.
I took a micro-retirement from work at 18 and came back a totally different person. “Now, I’ve hit 30 countries — and I’m working my way through the rest.” At the age of 18, after seeing an advert for a child care rep on TikTok, she de.
