Redundancy at 36. Take a 4–6 month break/travel or get another job immediately?

36M Australian – take a 4–6 month intentional break/travel after redundancy or jump straight into another job?

Would appreciate some honest advice from people who’ve been in a similar position.

I’m a 36-year-old Australian based in Sydney and currently going through redundancy due to a company restructure in a large corporate/banking environment.

I work in marketing/customer/data analytics and have a mix of experience across SQL, customer insights, CRM/campaign analytics, experimentation, stakeholder management, marketing analytics, plus some Python and MarTech.

For years I’ve wanted to live or work overseas (especially Europe – Netherlands/Germany/Portugal) or at least get some proper international life experience, but work/life always got in the way. I’ve also been feeling a bit burnt out from corporate life recently, so the redundancy has made me step back and think about what I actually want.

I’m considering taking an intentional 4–6 month break to travel while also applying for jobs, instead of jumping straight into another Sydney corporate role.

Rough plan:

• Some time in Sri Lanka/India/Southeast Asia
• 2–3 months in Europe (Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland etc.)
• Slow travel rather than backpacking
• Apply for jobs while travelling (especially Europe-based roles)
• Use the time to reset, upskill a bit, and figure out where I’d actually want to live long term

Financially I should still have around 3–4 months of savings/runway when I return, so I’m not completely winging it, but obviously I don’t want to make a dumb career move either.

My hesitation is mainly age. I’m 35 and wondering if taking 4–6 months off is viewed negatively or if this is actually one of those rare windows in life to do something different before life gets more tied down.

A few questions:

1. If you were in my position, would you take the break or get another job straight away?
2. Has anyone successfully travelled while interviewing/applying for jobs?
3. At 36, does a 4–6 month intentional break look bad to employers?
4. Would you prioritise overseas life experience or financial security in this situation?

Would genuinely appreciate grounded advice, especially from people in analytics/tech/corporate roles or anyone who took a similar break in their 30s.