I was pretty young when I quit (20), so I'm not sure how useful it is, but:

— [W]hat was the experience like?

10–11 months, through Europe, quick stop in Turkey/China, Southeast Asia, and finally South America. Really amazing and eye-opening, especially at my age of being relatively sheltered in my childhood mostly in the northeast USA. Nearly every day was a day where I learned or saw something new, which was awesome.

It was also pretty challenging at some points, but of course, that made it engaging as well. I'm reminded of me, a shoddy hiker, backpacking with a heavy pack through Torres del Paine in Chile, only completing it because I took breaks every 15 minutes to motivate myself with peanut M&Ms.

And yeah, it was a very formative experience, and I came back changed for sure, and, I think, more resilient.

Responding to some of the commenters before me, I was also an introvert when I went and I absolutely had some hellish times while staying in hostels and I can see how other introverts might have experienced the same. Over time, I did become more of ambivert, but yeah, I definitely also experienced some trifling times as an introvert. This contributed to a good amount of fatigue from being outside of my comfort zone (see below).

— How did you choose to budget?

Not very well, but thankfully, traveling (even in some places in western Europe) is very affordable compared to than living in a top-tier city. I could survive off of $50 a day in Europe lodging at hostels, and anywhere from $30 down to $10 a day in Southeast Asia. I generally spent more than the average, since I wanted to experience the places I was going thoroughly.

— What moved you to this decision, and how was the process of finding work again after your travels, if applicable?

A desire to expand my problem space and create a better mental model of the world that better matches reality. As for post-travel, I went back to school, but being a developer, I suspect I wouldn't have had any trouble finding work again. I didn't, though, because traveling accelerated my quasi-disillusionment with tech and my move into behavioral science.

— If you were to do it all again, what would you do differently?

Be more fearless. I was a 20-year-old kid so a bit of worry was probably on par, but being nearly 23 now, I would have taken more risks. I certainly wasn't conservative, but I could have done more. I came back home after South America because I was fatigued after challenging myself. Interestingly, I think I would have been more fearless if I let myself just realize I was burned out and let myself rest without feeling like I was wasting time "not seeing the world" or something. It doesn't always have to be go-go-go and then resting only so you can do it again—rest for rest's sake. Long-term traveling, as any traveler will tell you, gets tiring.

I would also optimize for meeting more people and traveling with them more. I did meet a lot of people, but didn't really travel with too many of them (perhaps 10% of my trips were with others). Solo travel is freedom to the nth degree, but it's also really great to have a mix of shared and solo because it's nice to experience things with others sometimes.

There's lots more I can say, but it was a pretty transformative experience and it's something I wish everyone would experience sometime.