In between about every other job, I'll take an extended trip. I did six months around Southeast Asia. I've done extended around-the-US travel. A couple months in Belize/Guatemala. Currently in the middle of three months in Cayman/Honduras.
If you've got no mortgage, no debt, no kids, it's easy to do at any income level. I've made these choices. It's not a tradeoff that many people want to make, but it's available to most people should they choose it (I realize kids aren't always planned).
Most of my trips are low-to-medium budget. SE Asia and Central America can be done for $20-50/day. Cayman is expensive, but I used to live here, so I've got free housing and loaner cars from friends (yet it's still costing me close to $100/day). The US can be dirt cheap if you don't mind car/tent camping.