I can vouch for Andeh. I drove to France and back with him last month, and he only tried to murder me once or twice, and never with an axe.

andeh

You studied architecture & presumably passed. Live in or near Sheffield?

On the plus side you have a brain, know how to use it and live near some **** awesome bike trails.

On the downside, you work in a tough retail environment and feel directionless.

I remember being in a similar situation when I was 23 only I didn’t have the biking outlet. It’s easy to say MTFU etc but the facts are that you are probably hacked off because you’re intelligent, nothing is challenging you and as a result everything is a bit boring.

As has been said elsewhere – the only one in control of your life is you. Accept TKMaxx as a means to an end and look for something you want to do.

As for your friends – those who matter will always remain in contact, but sitting in a pub pissed off is not going to help.

I eventually ended up selling used cars for a year, then blagged a job with an industrial consumables company which worked out nicely. However, if I hadn’t been scouring the job sites daily, I would never have found that job.

However, even though I’m only 34, I’m married, 2 kids with a stay at home Mum to feed as well, mortgaged enough to bankrupt a small country and I now have absolutely no choice but work my ballcocks off to pay for it all. There’s no end in sight for about 20 years. Good job I enjoy my job (it’s bloody hard and as a result, rewarding when it goes well but awful when it goes wrong).

That won’t make you feel better but it prefaces the only bit of advice I ever give out:

Travel.

Just go. Pack a bag and a bike and go. Somewhere. Anywhere.

You have nothing to lose, no dependents, no house to pay for. So go now while you can.

I went to Australia on holiday three years ago and fell madly insanely in love with the place, but I have too many responsibilties to other people (kids mainly) and have to provide a stable environment, so I will never be able to explore it fully. New Zealand is a dream I can’t fullfil for at least 15 years. I never travelled when I had the opportunities and will regret it for the rest of my life.

Admittedly watching my kids play and be happy makes up for it, but you may find your calling in life if you explore the world whilst you can. You can grow up later….

Tell you what, if you can’t (for whatever reason) do the whole big flee the country escape, why not pack a tent and a sleeping bag and go into the wild for a night or two? Easily done on the train if you don’t mind a walk, and great for putting things into perspective. Possibly best done with a mate though, then if you wake up being eaten by bears you have someone to use as bait.

Or more. Many of the suggestions above are about running away from where your life is. Why not turn it around a bit without being so drastic? You don’t work 24/7, so get out there and do something a bit more imaginative when you can.

Yup what he said.

Any good with bikes, selling or dealing with customers?

Get a job at a bike shop. The pay’s crap and it’s not as much fun as it sounds BUT it is a great experience and IME it can lead to other jobs that are (IMO) better and more interesting in the bike industry. Maybe not a job for life but I know a lot of people who’ve done that and loved it before getting older and more sensible and getting a more ‘sensible’ job which they’re then old enough to even enjoy doing.