live a life of travel

How to Live a Life of Travel: Tips to Getting Started

Written By: The Planet D

Digital Nomads

Updated On: June 3, 2023

Recently we’ve received a lot of emails asking us how we financially supported our travels since we decided to take the plunge to live a life of travel in our unconventional life.

I realize that we’ve written a lot of inspirational pieces about following your dreams and pushing yourself to step outside your comfort zone, but we haven’t given real practical advice in quite a while. So we decided it was time to share some of our tips and tricks to living an unconventional life.

Table of Contents

How to Live an Unconventional Life of Travel

Our journey to becoming full-time travel bloggers was not a quick and easy one. We had many failures and setbacks along the way. It took time for us to find what we wanted to do with our lives and what would make us happy. We knew way back in 2003 and we wanted to be together traveling the world forever, we just didn’t know how to make that dream come true.

I realize that many people have that dream, but we felt it deep in our bones. It was more of a yearning than a fantasy. When we were traveling, we felt at home. We knew that on the road was where we were meant to be.

Another Backpacker

In 2004 we were like many backpackers traveling around South East Asia, but unlike the many others out there, we were already brainstorming with ideas of how we could continue to travel for the rest of our lives. We knew we wanted more than just a one-year escape.

We didn’t have the answers yet, but we knew that we couldn’t keep working at our current jobs for the next 20 years hoping that we’d one day be able to retire and finally live our dreams. So we started making plans. Check out more travel jobs by our pals at goats on the road .

Steps to Living a Life of Travel

1. change your spending habits.

We used to spend a lot of money on things that didn’t better our lives. We’d buy $4 lattes, go out to dinner several times a week and we’d buy new designer clothes. The more popular the brand name, the better.

On the weekends, we’d drop $200 on a meal and not even blink at the cheque, and then we’d go to movies spending a good $50 on tickets and popcorn.

Well, all that changed when we decided we decided that we were going to live a life of travel once and for all.

2. Find Affordable Things to do

It was a big decision but we decided to put away enough money to sustain ourselves for a year. We knew that once we took the plunge, we would have to go 100% into fulfilling our dreams, so we needed a nest egg while we worked to become professional travel bloggers.

We ate at home and cooked at home. We made our own gourmet coffees, and instead of going out to the movies all the time, we rented movies. When we wanted to go to the bar, we instead had a glass of wine at home and invited friends over, it was much more affordable.

Our activites changed from spending money on expensive meals and nightclubs, to doing free and exciting things on the weekend like mountain biking, rock climbing, or snowshoeing.

We didn’t drop cash at the bar, on expensive meals, or on expensive weekend getaways to a suite in Niagara Falls anymore. We did as many things as possible for free.

Wwe went camping and spent our time outdoors.It was much more fulfilling and a lot easier on our pocketbooks.

Note: At this time in our lives, we still didn’t know how we were going to become full-time travelers, we just knew that we wanted it to happen one day and that we had to be ready when we finally figured it out. By having a nest egg and by not having anything tying us down, we’d be ready to jump at any opportunity.

3. Downsize

People have often said to us “ I wish that I could do what you do, but I can’t afford it ” Well if you really truly want to travel. It can be really easy to save and build a nest egg. We sold our house and most of our contents and went back to renting a small one-bedroom apartment.

This freed up a lot of our income to put towards our travel savings fund. Getting a small one bedroom apartment that included utilities, cable and parking helped us plan our monthly budget.

4. Get Rid of Debt and Wasted Expenses

We also went down to one automobile. We used to drive two cars and paid an expensive monthly lease. But when the leases came due, we let them go and bought a used car. Our monthly payments were less, and our insurance cost less too because we no longer had to pay for the collision coverage since our car was so cheap. If our car was damaged it didn’t matter because we paid next to nothing for it anyway. We drove that car for the next 10 years.

5. Keep All Options Open

Like many people, we knew we wanted something more in life, but we didn’t know what it was that we wanted. We were frustrated. I remember always saying to Dave “ If I only knew what I wanted to do with my life, I know I’d be successful. ” The problem was, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. The only thing we both knew was that travel was to be a part of it.

So, we studied ALL THINGS TRAVEL.

We went to seminars talking about Teaching English as a Second Language , we went to travel trade shows, we watched travel shows like Pilot Guides and Don’t Forget Your Passport.

Little did we know we were honing our adventure skills

We took up as many adventures as we could. We learned how to rock climb, mountain bike, scuba dive, and snowboard. We became avid campers and built our adventure gear arsenal to an impressive list where we actually started to look the part of Adventurer!

We said to ourselves, “one day maybe one of these skills would come in handy.” At the time, we didn’t know it, but all those skills eventually came in handy. We used to call ourselves “ Jacks of all trades and Masters of none. “

6. Nothing is Waste of Time When Searching for your Purpose

We had doubts, of course, we did. We thought, maybe we’re wasting our time and energy trying new things all the time, but we knew that we had yet to find something that we truly loved.

We enjoyed everything, but we didn’t have the passion that some of our rock climbing or scuba diving friends had for one particular sport. Our friends found their passion and all they wanted to do was rock climb around the world, or go scuba diving when they went to a destination. They couldn’t care less if they saw the local culture or witnessed incredible landscape. They wanted to explore under the sea or a new climbing route and that was great!

It just wasn’t for us. We wanted it all. We wanted to be able to climb in one location, dive into another, and shop at the market in yet another. We realized that we wanted it all!

Our lack of focus helped us become true explorers. It was our “Jack of All Trades” mentality that eventually lead us to become travel bloggers.

7. Focus on Strengths

Once we decided that we wanted to have the word “Adventurer” on our business card, we made plans on how we were going to make that happen. After exhausting all possibilities we decided to focus on our strengths.

We had been working in the film business for a long time and learned from the successful people around us . I watched television hosts promote themselves and create their brand and identities and Dave picked the brains of photographers and cinematographers on the movie set.

We knew that we were good at self-promotion and that we knew the TV business well, so we decided to sell an idea.

8. Do Something Epic

We knew that we would have to do something epic to stand out from the crowd. In 2008, backpacking around the world was becoming very popular. When we did it in 2000, not many people were leaving their jobs to travel the world, but now it seemed to be that everyone was taking a sabbatical.

If we did something epic like bicycle from Cairo to Cape Town people would take notice. So that is what we did and Canada’s Adventure Couple was born.

We had a dream of turning our adventures into a TV show. We hired a publicist, sent out press releases, and announced our epic journey. We knew we loved traveling together and that we had the mental stamina to succeed in this race down the continent.

9. Make a Plan

We invested a good chunk of our hard-earned money into this cycling race. We saved for a year putting every penny away and buying new bikes, training, and investing in the entry fee and flights. We didn’t want to take part in an epic adventure only to return to our jobs and resume our lives.

We made a plan that within two years of signing up, we’d be traveling full time. That gave us something to focus on. Having a time limit and a plan to make it happen, kept us focus don our goal. We had no choice but to to figure out a way to keep the momentum going.

10. With Failure Comes Success

We tried pitching a TV series that had a lot of interest but eventually failed. That didn’t deter us though, we had made a lot of TV appearances and were becoming minor celebrities in the online world, so we decided to nurture our 15 minutes of fame and turn it into something bigger.

Drawing on our nearly decade of travel experience, we created a blog that had a focus. We decided to focus on being inspirational and to show people that happy couples are not obsolete and that marriages can last and that the opposite sex can have fun together.

Right from the beginning of creating ThePlanetD, we knew what our message was going to be. We wanted to show that adding a bit of adventure into your everyday lives can help you feel more fulfilled. We wanted to show people that if we can do it, anyone can.

It took us a long time to figure out our purpose, but we never stopped searching and if you really want to change your life, you can do it too. Don’t let age, money or fear stand in your way, if you want something bad enough, you CAN make it happen.

So the message is, never give up, never stop searching and seize the day. What are you going to do to live an unconventional life of travel?

• How to Travel Around the World – The Ultimate Travel Resource
• 21 Ways to Get Paid to Travel
• How to Start a Travel Blog in 11 Easy Steps
• Our 27 Best Travel Tips from 10 Years of Travel
• How to Achieve Your Life Goals
• How Travel Can Change Your Life
• Best Travel Jobs to Spark New Ideas for Your Future Career

Travel Planning Resources

Looking to book your next trip? Why not use these resources that are tried and tested by yours truly.

Flights: Start planning your trip by finding the best flight deals on Skyscanner

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Find Apartment Rentals: You will find the cheapest prices on apartment rentals with VRBO . 

Travel Insurance: Don't leave home without it. Here is what we recommend:

• Allianz - Occasional Travelers.
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Need more help planning your trip? Make sure to check out our Resources Page where we highlight all the great companies that we trust when we are traveling.

You May Also Like

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About The Planet D

Dave Bouskill and Debra Corbeil are the owners and founders of The Planet D. After traveling to 115 countries, on all 7 continents over the past 13 years they have become one of the foremost experts in travel. Being recognized as top travel bloggers and influencers by the likes of Forbes Magazine , the Society of American Travel Writers and USA Today has allowed them to become leaders in their field.

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59 thoughts on “How to Live a Life of Travel: Tips to Getting Started”

Thank you for being a voice of positivity and inspiration in a sometimes negative world.

We too live an unconventional life. We have 13 children, work remotely, home educate and yes, we travel with ten of them too! It *is* possible to live a life of travel – we did two months of the Balkans earlier this year and are about to set off for another couple of months. Want to know more? Let us know!

Thanks for laying this out there. You guys and your adventures are always a huge inspiration to us! Love #3 “We kept all our options open” as we try to live by that same motto. It really makes things so much fun and introduces you to some crazy and exciting experiences of a lifetime. Happy travels!

Thanks John, I’m glad that you are living the life you want as well. We agree, keeping options open is very important. YOu need to be willing to try something new and be open to new experiences. It opens up a whole new world.

LMAO at the first pic:legendary!

Congrats, it has been awesome to follow part of your journey and thanks for the inside scoop 🙂

Ha! Glad you liked it. That’s Dave’s signature pose. At least lately, ever since we downsized, he does a lot of jumping like that.!

Looks like a very happy couple! You two are living with your dreams. I owe you a lot, very inspiring story. Thanks for sharing the tips, I find it really useful. You can manage to save and budget together. Congratulations!

Thank you Marie! Glad we could inspire you. If you really set your mind to something you can do it too. At one point in our lives we didn’t think we’d ever be able to travel the way we wanted to and yet here we are now. If we can do it, anyone can too!

That is a very inspirational story! My wife and I have managed to carve out a life of travel by working in Denali National Park 8 months per year and having four months off. Many of the resorts and tour companies are seasonal up here and it is perfect for travel.

I just need to cut out those $4 lattes and I can do even more…

Wow! that’s fabulous Jeff. Denali is beautiful. I know what you mean about the $4 lattes, we still love them too.

Thanks for this blog and for sharing with us. Me and my husband are planning for a trip to African countrie’s and its first time for us where we have to visit many countrie’s, so I am nervous about the planning that how do I mange everything but your blog gives me confident about the trip. Thank you so much.

LOVED this. Luckily, my boyfriend and I were students when we discovered our love for travel so we didn’t spend a lot of money or lived in an expensive way. That made it pretty easy to take the leap – and we’re actually able to have a better life than we did in Denmark and still spend less. 🙂

Very interesting post, though! And lots of great tips that we need to follow up on. Especially about gaining more recognition and create a brand like you guys have! So inspirational.

We kicked off our nomadic lifestyle with a bike journey as well – around Europe in 3 months on city bikes, normal clothes and no training. We made it and had an epic journey. 🙂

Thanks for sharing your advice.

Awesome article! I hope others will be inspired too to travel and to save, save a lot of money for they travel escapade.

Interesting read indeed! I think turning your lifestyle pretty much upside down and opting for a life on the road requires a certain balance. The biggest hurdle might be the monetary one, but it’s probably the same with all big plans and achievements: mindset matters! I think someone who can tick of the first points on your list is probably almost on the way… 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Oliver. You are right, all big decisions in life require balance and yes, any big plans whether travel related or not can follow these simple rules. It is possible to change your life if you are willing to sacrifice a little to achieve your dream.

Hi Guys: Enjoyed your article and great sense of adventure…I too, have been traveling all my life and now based part-time in the Philippines. I have 7 channels, with over 21 MILLION viewers from 87 countries. Take a look and learn from some of my videos….. Main channel: http://www.youtube.com/globalvideopro1 WEBSITE: http://www.globalvideoprotv.com

Great post! Great ideas! Thank you!

We left the rat-race and have not looked back. Who wants to be “normal?” Life is a journey not a destination. Live it! Take care.

Congratulations on leaving the rat race Curtis. All the best to you!

There’s really no need to clip coupons to save money; it’s not that effective anyway. The best way is to do what you did: downsize, minimize transport costs and cook. I love how you slowly realize what you want to do in life. It’s all about the journey!

Thanks Dela. You are so right, downsizing is key. So many of us in North America live beyond our means. I think back to how little I lived on fresh out of college. If we all kept living simply, we wouldn’t have the burden of all the money problems. For some reason, people feel that as they age, they need to have more ‘things’ and that just weighs them down. We are now in a good financial situation after 6 years of pursuing our dreams, but we have no desire to go back to buying a bunch of things again. Life experience is what we are loving.

This is an eye opening post. Makes one realize that we can all achieve so much with just the right strategy and not necessarily resources. Inspiring and it made me start booking amazing tours. The journey is the destination!

Congratulations! Good luck with your tours.

This is great advice, both inspirational and practical.

Thank you Mariellen!

Firstly congratulations for hanging on and living your dreams. Here I would like to speak about one of my uncles who loves to trek even at this age (he is in his 60s). He’s a quiet man. The only time I get to see a gleam in his eyes is when someone talks about travel… and I shout out in my mind…”I get that oldie..”

Sounds like you have an amazing uncle! I know how he feels, I can feel excitement come over me whenever I get the chance to talk about our own travels.

You two are an inspiration. I am so glad you are living your dream. Thank you for sharing these great tips!

Thanks Mary. I think the two of you have been living the dream as well! Congratulations right back.

Very cool post. Reducing down to one car is something I know our family needs to do if you want to start saving a significant amount, we’re just finding it so hard to bite the bullet on that one!

I know that it can be difficult to go down to one car, especially if you have kids and have to pick them up from sports or dance or hockey practice. It does save a lot of money though. Between car payments and insurance, it’s literally hundreds a month!

Very inspiring post. Traveling is such an important part of a healthy lifestyle and it is wonderful that you are now able to reach so many people to inspire them to add more travel into their lives through your adventures.

Thank you Katherine. That has been our goal in recent years. We want to let people know that it is possible. For so many years we didnt’ think it was possible to change our lives. Now that we have, we want to inspire others to take a chance and follow their dreams. If two regular people like us can do it, anyone can.

Thanks for your tips. Best of luck with your on going travels. Great read.

Great tips- that are good for day to day life as well!

Great Escapes , oh yes I have a number of interesting trips to choose from. I find it fascinating and also confusing when it comes to planning my travel, so I've opted for an unconventional way of travelling that can fund me while I spend time in the air, or on a beach.

Beautiful & Inspiring post!

There’s a point when you just gotta let it all go and dive right in, even if you have no idea what you’re diving into. I left my old work life behind to move down to Mexico about 9 months or so ago and I’ve never been happier.

Anyone can do it, and it doesn’t take a ton of money. It’s just as you said you need to change your perspective, your spending habits. It’s amazing how freeing it can be to not worry about little things like a tv(that’s what the internet is for), brand name clothes(you know you don’t need those $200 pair of jeans), or dining out all the time, even if that only means Mickey D’s. After that the money starts stacking up. 😉

If you wanna travel the world or just become an Expat the only thing stopping you is you, do whatever you can to achieve that dream!

Congratulations Devlin. Wow! It must be amazing living in Mexico. That is something we’d like to in the next year or two. Spend an extended period of time in Mexico. And you hit the nail on the head. Dropping a few of the extra expenses seriously helps the money add up. We had a lot of fun while still being able to save money, jut by changing our habits a little bit.

Good for you Don. Any great adventures planned?

Thanks for this post. Great to hear some behind the scene stories.

I left my home country a year ago, to move to London and last week I left London to travel the world – starting in Sri Lanka, where me and my boyfriend are at the moment.

It´s scary and amazing at the same time to follow your dreams. I will keep follow your adventures here 🙂

Wow! Have a great time in Sri Lanka, it’s one of our favourite countries. And congratulations to traveling the world! Well said to, it’s scary and amazing all at once, but that’s what makes you feel alive. Being comfortable can be very boring. A little fear keeps like exciting.

You are not a failure though at first you fail. But I can say that you became a successful traveler and writer. You are right at first it is difficult. It takes a lot of perseverance and dedication.

You said it Carl Joe, we didn’t have instant success, but when you know what you want, you will keep trying until you succeed and we have no intention of stopping. There will always be ups and down, but we’ll keep on working at what we want for the rest of our lives.

Saving and budgeting is indeed one of the best thing to do. Thanks for the tips that you’ve shared. I find it really useful

Thanks James, I’m glad we could share a few tips with oyu!

It’s always great to see people follow their dream and lovely to see Don’s comment about getting the travel bug at 60! 🙂

Agreed, it is never too late to get the travel bug and change your life. It’s a whole new world, you dont’ need to be 20 to follow our dreams.

Congrats on hanging in there and making your dreams to travel full-ltime come to fruition! AWESOME!!! We share the same deep passion for traveling and try to save our money to go to Europe about once a year. Our friends ask us the same kind of questions or take little "jabs" at us about the financial part and often ask how we can afford to do this. We tell them travel is "our addiction" and to feed our habit, we do many of the same things as you….such as eating at home and making lots of soups from scratch, only getting basic cable service, driving older & easy/low maintenance automobiles with great gas mileage, no big screen TV's or fancy electronics/phones, working from home, buying most of our clothes from second-hand stores, no beverages except for water when we go out for dinner, saving all our spare change, etc. Once we are on our adventures, we really enjoy staying in simple accommodations like small hotels and hostels, having "picnic" lunches and dinners with local foods from the grocery store and 'self-guiding" our trips with well researched itineraries and utilizing public transportation, whenever possible. All of this really adds up in the course of a year and equates to literally thousands of dollars!!!! We gladly sacrifice and make these relatively easy lifestyle changes, to have that money to travel!!! Best wishes for many more adventures, Cheers 🙂

Great advice, thanks for sharing Nora. You make a great point about water only when eating out. I think the most expensive part of the bill is often beverages. You can always go home afterwards to enjoy a glass of wine at a fraction the price. We don’t way to live like Paupers, but cutting back can make a big difference. I say, don’t cut back to the point of making yourself unhappy in life, but definitely cut back on the little things that you can do without. Best to you too!

Couldn’t agree more with you! More than saving and budgeting, I think the passion to travel should be there. Like I am very bad at saving, but I still manage to travel because I really want to!

Good for you Renuka, it sounds like you do well at making your dreams happen.

Awesome post, i'm just getting the bug for travel at the ripe age of 60, my wife has always loved to travel, but me not so much. I've just subscribed to your newsletter and i'm looking forward to reading more of your articles.

Thanks Don! Congrats on living your life to the fullest!

The reason we were able to leave the comfort of regular paychecks a little over 6 months ago is encompassed in your first 3 points. The last 2 are a bit of a work-in-progress, but it’s always encouraging to read about your success. Keep up the stellar work! Good luck!

Great article for all travel lovers! 🙂

Awesome article double D, shared on Twitter!

What’s amazing about all of these kinds of stories is how different they are with respect to their specifics and yet so very similar in their general approach. For the most part everyone who has ever done something like this tells a story of having a dream, shedding material things, and relentlessly working toward their goal. The execution of those steps all take different paths – some people write books, or barter web development services, or create promotional travel videos, or whatever – but they all basically had to first let go of the familiar and then chase after their dream with dogged determination. I know, because that is our story too.

Congrats you guys. Happy travels.

Well said Brian. It’s true, you need to let go of the familiar and chase your dream. Soon, the unconventional begins to feel comfortable.

How Choosing a Life of Travel Changed Everything

When I first published this essay in late 2016 on how living a life of travel changed my entire lifestyle, I had just turned wrapped up my first stint of long-term travel at 26 years old.

In the years since, my travel lifestyle has only continued to intensify: my husband Jeremy and I traveled full-time for more than 4 years, right up until 2020 and all of its wide-reaching consequences pushed us into signing a one-year lease in Austin, Texas.

Our life of travel is far from over, though: we consider it merely on pause (though our dog, Ranger, and the whole “running a business and not living off of savings anymore” thing will always keep our movements a bit slower than they were back in 2016).

I’ve preserved my original essay about chasing my travel dreams here–it still makes me smile to read it, and if you’re dreaming of a life of travel, I hope you’ll see a bit of yourself in it, too.

At the end of this blog post, though, I’m going to share more about where we are now, as well as some very personal specifics about what changed in us on the road–and it is a lot.

Some links in this post may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more detail.

How Pursuing a Life of Travel Changed My Life

Looking back on it, the long journey that led to me looking at Jeremy one year ago and asking, “How would you feel about selling our house and going on that RTW trip right now ?” started with a book about studying for the LSAT.

I was always going to be an attorney. From early adolescence, I confidently asserted my future plans: I was going to collect AP credits like merit badges in high school (did that), graduate early from undergrad (did that too), and head to law school (plan derailed here).

The summer before my third and final year of undergrad, I sat on the floor of the library on Oklahoma State University’s campus and pored through books about applying to law school and studying for the LSAT.

I can’t tell you the name of the book or the author, but I’ll never forget this paraphrased quote from the first chapter of the first book that I read:

“Before you decide to go to law school, think very hard about what else you could do with $100,000 and three years of your life.”

The author went on to give examples of other paths to take in life, including two that stuck out to me: a round-the-world trip, and living with a local family in a different country to become fluent in a new language.

I would be lying if I said that I had an epiphany right then.

Instead, I rolled my eyes and assured myself with the bravado that only exists in adolescence and very early adulthood that this dude clearly had no idea who I was.

I bought my LSAT study guide. I studied religiously, because that’s what good students do.

And every day, echoing in the back of my mind behind my study materials were thoughts about limited time on Earth and happiness and student debt and my then-boyfriend-now-husband and future motherhood and my fierce desire to see the world and my goal of learning other languages–despite them consistently being my worst subject in school.

Two weeks later, I announced to my family that despite almost a decade of just-as-confident proclamations that I would be doing the opposite, I would not be going to law school. I also had no idea what my career plans would be in place of that.

They were surprised, to say the least. Occasionally, years after the fact, I still have a well-meaning relative ask, “But… are you sure?”

Yes, I am sure. From the second that I made the decision, it has felt inexplicably right. Other than marrying Jeremy, not going to law school was the best decision that I ever made.

It did, however, thrust me into the directionless abyss of “What am I doing with my life?!” that is now popularly called the quarter-life-crisis.

While unnerving, it unlocked a whole new realm of possibilities.

The next 5 years of my life started with a post-grad job that I hated, and ended, several life changes later, with calling my parents with a new life announcement: “So… we’re quitting our jobs, selling our stuff, and going to travel the world for 6 months .”

Despite my best efforts to rework my 5-year plan to accommodate our new life of travel, since the moment that my 20-year-old self sat on the floor of OSU’s library and started considering seriously what adult life was going to look like, I have consistently failed to predict what my life would look like in a year.

This year was no different: despite our carefully planned and budgeted for round the world trip, life has thrown a curveball again.

Here’s the next twist: our planned time in South America is currently on hold, and we’re back in the USA.

There’s a long story associated with why–essentially, we had to come back to deal with our car, whose storage situation was no longer sustainable.

To take care of our beloved Honda Fit, we left Cambodia and are now temporarily back home, rather than flying to South America as planned.

We still fully intend to complete our South America leg, but coming home has given us the opportunity to spend a couple of months visiting family and friends, spend Thanksgiving with loved ones, and quite likely taking a couple of road trips around the USA–starting with a trip to the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival in New Mexico !

Once upon a time, this change of plans would have unnerved me.

Now, I find myself (mostly) embracing the unknown–after all, the unknown has worked out pretty well so far.

I don’t know where we will be spending Christmas, New Year’s, or 2017.

I don’t know what our income situation will look like (we can’t live off of savings forever, after all).

Honestly, one of the reasons that I procrastinated so badly on this post is because I originally intended for it to announce what was next, in addition to where we are now–but I still don’t have any concrete dates or booked trips to offer on that front yet.

What I do know, though, is that settling back into a cubicle for 40+ hours a week with very little vacation time each year is something that we are desperately trying to avoid.

As for the smaller part of me that’s not embracing the unknown?

Well, that part of me is busy anxiously calculating budgets, spontaneously planning trips to places that we may or may not actually visit for years, and stressing about the fact that I have officially given up on 5-year plans and 1-year plans and 6-month plans, and am now down to planning life just days at a time.

That’s just a tiny piece of me, though. I can manage that.

Because truthfully, despite questions of future sustainability, future income, and the stress of depleting savings, Jeremy and I are so happy with this unusual life that we are currently living.

For me, nothing has felt as right as this since the moment that I threw my carefully planned future out the window and announced that I wasn’t going to law school.

What Happened Next With Our Travel Lifestyle

So, all those predictions I made about completing our South America leg?

Yeah, that didn’t happen, though we did eventually spend a month in Colombia in early 2018.

Instead, we spent the first half of 2017 backpacking from Mexico City to Panama (mostly) using the money we got from selling the car we mentioned flying back to the US for, and then quickly became determined to make our life of travel last indefinitely–and we did.

Where Our Life of Travel Led Us

In the roughly 5+ years since I wrote this essay on living a life of travel, I am extremely proud to say that we have built a life led entirely on our own terms (until 2020 clobbered that naive assumption, but, I digress).

After visiting almost 50 countries on 5 continents, we are as enamored with our travel lifestyle as ever–granted, with a few more creature comforts these days.

Today, our lives are funded entirely by our travel blogs–and while I’m proud to say that, I’m even more proud to say it in 2021.

It was no picnic making it through 2020 in this industry, as you can imagine, but we absolutely made it through.

In addition to Our Escape Clause, we now also run Lone Star Travel Guide , about travel in Texas.

How Our Travel Lifestyle Changed Us

Running a travel blog to fund travel dreams is nice and all, but let’s be honest–that’s a pretty common story on the internet.

Outside of work (and it is  very  enjoyable work), though, there are some enormous personal differences in where we are now as opposed to where we assumed that our 2021 selves would be when I wrote this essay in 2016.

Here are just a few.

We don’t have kids.

I’m not saying we won’t ever have kids, but to be perfectly honest, we absolutely assumed we would have them by 30… and yet, we don’t find ourselves in a rush to have them these days.

We don’t own a home.

When we sold our home in San Antonio to travel the world, the plan was always to travel temporarily.

As much as we loved to travel, at the end of the day, we thought that by a couple of years down the road, surely  we’d want to be right back where we started, in a nice suburban home with our travel photos displayed on the walls.

Not so much.

We don’t use words like “never” these days, but homeownership is definitely not in our immediate plans.

We want to live abroad.

Not necessarily forever, but our life of travel has given us an intense desire to experience a full-time life abroad–specifically in southern Europe.

Living in a foreign country is absolutely different than traveling there, even compared to the slow travel that we did.

An apartment lease, a visa, bureaucratic headaches–we want to try out the good, bad, and ugly of living in a country other than our own.

We adore cities.

I almost laugh out loud every time I read one of our early blog posts where I mention we don’t like cities–LOL, no.

As it turns out, not liking commuting from the suburbs into a US city 5 days a week is not remotely the same thing as not liking cities.

We’re more adaptable.

… and patient.

If there’s anything that a life of travel will teach you, it’s those two skills.

Reading over those changes, it’s easy to imagine that our past selves would be utterly shocked to find out where we ended up in life–and they would have been.

It’s absolutely possible that given another 5-10 years, we will end up in that suburban house with 1.5 kids and our travel photos on the walls–but it’s also possible that we won’t, and 25-year-old me never would have dreamed of such a possibility.

To me, the craziest thing about the changes in our dreams, goals, preferred living situation, diet, and more that our travel lifestyle brought to us is how incredibly unexpected and yet, semi-permanent it feels.

Part of that is simply growing up, sure–everyone changes in their mid-to-late-20s–but for us, the bulk of those changes being set into motion has a very identifiable starting date: May 10, 2016, when we boarded a one-way flight to Madrid and set out to see what a life of travel would bring to us.

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About Kate Storm

In May 2016, I left my suburban life in the USA and became a full-time traveler. Since then, I have visited 50+ countries on 5 continents and lived in Portugal, developing a special love of traveling in Europe (especially Italy) along the way. Today, along with my husband Jeremy and dog Ranger, I’m working toward my eventual goal of splitting my life between Europe and the USA.

6 thoughts on “How Choosing a Life of Travel Changed Everything”

Hey Kate and Jeremy! I’m glad you guys are following your travel dreams! Where are you guys currently?

Thanks, Kara!

We are currently in the USA getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving with family in a couple of weeks. At the beginning of December, we’re off to Central America for a few months, starting in Costa Rica!

Wow, that’s quite a story! I hung on to every word. You’re a great writer, and I love this journey you’re on. Looking forward to more of the unknown ahead!

P.S. Hello from a fellow Girls v. Globe 🙂

Aw, thanks Jessica! I appreciate it. 🙂 Glad to see another Girls vs Globe member over here!

I loved reading every word of this, thank you for sharing! It feels like it’s pretty rare to get multi-year updates like this. I hope you guys keep living your best lives. I’ll definitely be following along.

Thank you so much, Angela! We are definitely continuing to live our best lives. I’ll have to do another update next year! 😉 So happy to have you here!

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The Life of a Traveler: What It Is Really Like

Have you ever wondered what it is really like to travel the world full-time? To leave behind home, not knowing when or if you will come back?

Living the life of a traveler, especially as a solo traveler, is full of paradoxes. Full of strange feelings. Full of grandiosity. Let me tell you what traveling is really like.

Choosing this life is more than a temporary escape. It will completely and entirely transform who you are.

Are you prepared for a journey of beauty, adventure and heartbreak? Come with me.

What the life of a traveler looks like

Traveling is saying yes to life.

Traveling puts you in situations so strange they’re hard to believe. The art of traveling is saying yes to opportunities as they arise, saying yes to life. Fear has no say here (even though we all experience it, of course).

As a traveler, you choose to conquer your fears again and again. You become a first-hand witness of how letting go of fear liberates your spirit.

You choose courage. Follow your instincts of curiosity. Have that conversation with the crazy guy. Explore that shady area of town. Dance like no one is watching.

It’s a wild ride, this traveler life. One that creates endless stories and miracles, simply because you said ‘yes’ at one point along the way. You get to see things few others ever see.

And at the end of the day, you will often wonder how you have gotten here. It does not matter. Embrace it.

Uncertainty is a traveler’s homeland

Most people desperately try to hold on to certainty. They resist change. They do everything in their power to keep things as they are just to feel safe.

A traveler does the opposite.

A traveler understands that the only constant we get in life is change and that by resisting it, you only create struggle.

Uncertainty is a solo traveler’s homeland. Sometimes you may not even know where you will sleep tonight. You may not know where you are tomorrow, you don’t know what you will experience in a year, you can’t fathom how the strangers you meet will change your life.

Even if you think you know, you never know. Life has its own ideas of what’s in store for you. Certainty, as much as we try to create it, is not an option.

It is the same for everyone, only that travelers understand and follow the flow of change.

Traveling is a life of extremes

By leaving behind certainty, you enter a ride of extremes. You might get stuck in hopeless situations and be rescued by a stranger. You might land in the middle of nowhere exhausted, only to be swallowed by the kindness of the world.

The emotional extremes are always present when traveling. You experience more deeply.

Everything is amplified. You will experience the lowest lows, feel lost and lonely. You will experience the highest highs, in a rush of freedom and gratitude.

It’s never one or the other. You need to feel deeply to live deeply.

About the unknown driving force

What is it, that drives travelers? What is it that leads us to explore country after country and never feel like we’re done? What is it that makes us choose a life so far from the ordinary?

Is it curiosity? Is it lust for adventure? I don’t think so.

It is a deeper feeling, a deep longing for the world. A burning sensation to experience and expand yourself. Guided by the inner knowing that wonder awaits around every corner.

I have no words to describe this feeling inside of me but I know it is the ever-present Northern Star in the life of a solo traveler.

We are the restless souls, eager to drown in the magnificence of this world. We go, go, go, until we find it.

Discomfort as a teacher

Sleeping in a million different beds. Dealing with chaos, cultures and criticism. Being the one that stands out from a crowd. Doing what scares you. Moving forward despite physical pain. Embracing mental challenges.

Often, the experiences of travelers have one thing in common: Discomfort is more frequently present than most people would like it to be.

But the magic of discomfort is exactly what makes travelers grow so much as people. Life outside of the comfort zone changes your mindset, your outlook on life.

No, the life of a traveler is not comfortable. But a single day on the road sometimes holds as many lessons as an entire year of staying at home.

This is what makes it worth it.

Read also: Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable: The Secret Power of Discomfort

Traveling is falling in love deeply with the world

Even after all these years, I catch myself falling in lover deeper and deeper with the world. With its people. With its natural phenomenons. With its inexplicable magic.

This is where gratitude is rooted. In letting yourself fall deeply, irreversibly in love with the world.

The more you see, the more you will realize what there is to love.

And that feeling, that love, that gratitude – you take it with you wherever you go. It will be with you in your darkest nights, it will be your light to hold onto when everything else is falling apart.

The world is a kind place. Even those who struggle to express it, deep down, want to be kind, want to love and want to belong – if only you give them a chance to.

Always a stranger, but at home in the world

It is bittersweet, sometimes, being a traveler. You have no home. Your home is everywhere. You develop the ability to deeply connect with the world around you, no matter where you are. To find something in common with the strangest stranger.

And yet, you are always a stranger, too. Even in your actual home, you will stand out through the experiences you have made – never completely understood, maybe only by those who carry a similar feeling within themselves.

That’s why travelers seek the company of other travelers. They understand the feeling of everlasting seeking, the love for the loneliness of the road and what it is like to have a million homes and none at once.

Experiencing exhilarating freedom

It comes with the range of incredibly strong feelings, but it is one of the most present ones. That feeling of complete freedom.

When you know you belong to the world, know you have nothing to lose, you feel like the luckiest star child. You don’t need to be anywhere, you don’t need to do anything or be anyone, you only need to exist. In the here and now.

Standing on the back of a pick-up truck. On top of a cliff. Feeling the wind in your hair. Running naked through the fields. Being on the verge of tears simply because of the deep realization of what a freaking gift life is.

We were born free. This is how we’re meant to be, you and me.

Understanding different perspectives

Nothing makes you understand more than traveling how there is no right or wrong. You experience different cultures, different ways of living and will be challenged to question your own cultural conditioning.

Eventually, you realize all these ways of living have their place in the world. If we move beyond judgment, we open our hearts to true connection.

Let yourself discover new ways. The more you know, the more you understand. The more empathy and compassion you will have.

We label others as different, but deep down we are the same.

Dear traveling soul, I’d be honored if you chose to stay for a while:

Your first name

Your email address

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In the life of a traveler, nothing lasts

Traveling is a life of million goodbyes. The people and places you fall in love with are predestined to depart – as is everything else in life.

You will have to learn to not hold on, to be fully present in the now and enjoy the fleeting moments while they last. Your memories are your most lasting companions.

When that thought saddens you, just remember, with a million goodbyes come a million hellos.

Travel is symbolic of the impermanence of life. Nothing ever lasts, the beauty as well as the heartbreak. Everything comes and goes in waves. Swim with it.

Travel teaches you everything

Travel teaches you everything. It teaches you you can live out of a backpack and be happy. It teaches you how misguided our more-more-more culture is. There is nothing more than life itself.

Traveling makes you grow and expand in all the ways possible. If you say yes to travel, you have chosen your teacher in life.

I am the person I am today because of travel. I may have learned many of those lessons staying in one place, too, but I would have never understood them so deeply and so quickly as out there.

Being confronted with a million different circumstances and people, in the end, always confronts you with yourself.

And that, to me, is beautiful.

This is what the life of a traveler is like

Dear friend, you have come to the end of my poetic musings about the life of a traveler. My life.

Writing this made me smile and feel deeply – because it made me realize, once again, how much travel means to me. Even though my words may be clumsy at times, this is my best effort of speaking my inner truth.

It may look very different from yours. But I hope that you, if anything in my words resonates deeply with your soul, get to go out and experience it for yourself.

Be courageous. Follow the calling of your heart. It will lead you to a million places you would have never expected.

And you will grow big. You will grow beautiful. You will grow so full of life it will make your heart burst with happiness.

Some of us simply belong to the road.

Anna Heimkreiter is an adventurer-artist who irrevocably lost her heart to solo travel. She specializes in ethereal self-portrait photography and spiritual illustrations. Her art is the direct expression of the wonder and awe she finds through her adventures.

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Hi I came upon your blog whilst researching a “traveler-born” character in a play for acting class. It explains so much. And also makes me grateful for my last adventure to Sedona,Az. You said: “Travel is symbolic of the impermanence of life. Nothing ever lasts, the beauty as well as the heartbreak. Everything comes and goes in waves. Swim with it.” I love that summary, but also all the details leading up to it. Thanks so much. Tracey

Hello Tracey, that is amazing to hear! Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope your play will turn out to be amazing 🙂 Anna xx

Hi Anna, I met a girl a year ago who was a traveler and I got to share about 8 months with her as she gathered herself. I fell in love with her soul and her unique perspective on life. She has since moved on. It was very hard and I still miss her greatly. But your articles have helped me to understand. I miss you Pebbles but wish you nothing but the best. James

Aww, I understand how heartbreaking that can be. It’s really hard having to say goodbye to someone merely because you have very different ways of living (been there myself, basically the other way round – but from that experience I can say it might have also been a very difficult and painful decision for her, at least it was for me). But that doesn’t take away from the wonderful memories you shared, keep cherishing those! Glad my article could give you a bit of insight into how she might be feeling about traveling and why it’s so important to her. Thank you for commenting, James, take good care! Anna xx

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How To Prepare For A Life Of Full-Time Traveling

In September of 2017, one year after we met, we were sitting at North Avenue Beach in Chicago and I told Gordon; hey, what do you think if we try to make money while living a life of full time traveling? That’s all it took.

Let’s rewind.

A couple of weeks before that day at the beach, a friend introduced me to a family who was traveling the world full time with their kids and documenting their adventures on YouTube and Instagram ( @thebucketlistfamily ). I watched like 10 of their videos and that’s when the seed was planted. Fast forward to that day at the beach, I asked G if that was something he’d consider doing with his life. To my surprise, he said yes.

I honestly thought he didn’t mean it. He would have to quit his job as a consultant and start a new career as a videographer/photographer/content creator (while not liking cameras LOL). However, that evening we came home and started working on a spreadsheet with a list of all the places we wanted to visit and what we wanted to accomplish from our crazy adventure. Our lives changed after that day and it all felt so right.

We opened a bank account together in October 2017. We started saving money like crazy (read more about how we did it here) . But, shortly after, we realized we needed more than money if we were going to -at least try- to turn our 2 years of traveling into our full time jobs.

We weren’t sure how to make this post useful for anyone out there getting ready to travel the world full time and try to make a living while at it. That’s why we decided it was better to divide everything we did into 4 categories: Skills, mental, finances and health.

Estimated reading time: 21 minutes

• Ready to learn about what we did before full time traveling? Let’s do this!

Table of contents

Videography and youtube, seo (search engine optimization) & this website, the planning stage, where do we stand with our trip today, telling our friends and family, finances // how are we going to save all this money, health // how are we going to stay healthy while traveling full time, did you learn anything about full time traveling please share it on pinterest, ps: in april 2018 we posted our full time traveling announcement video on our youtube channel:, skills // things that will help you make money online while living a life of full time traveling.

First we asked ourselves, how on earth are we going to make money with full time traveling? Is anyone out there successful at this?

We read a million posts. Some mentioned teaching English or working abroad as bartenders. Others mentioned online marketing, house sitting and a bunch of other things that didn’t feel like the right fit for us. That’s when we decided to look at our own strengths. We made a list of the things we were good at. Then, decided that we were going to try to make money with a YouTube channel , Instagram and this blog.

What exactly did we learn before our trip?

Ok, so we were like yes, this is so cool, we are going to be digital nomads. Cool. What does that even mean? Well, we had to learn some things from the very beginning. Having a strong foundation was our #1 goal.

We started learning about videography. Making videos and editing them. Practicing with a camera, asking all of my videographer friends for tips and we watched A LOT of YouTube videos. We also got a membership with Skillshare and did many courses about videography and photography. Learned about story telling and how to edit videos in Final Cut Pro X. Some of my favorite YouTube channels for video tutorials are Mark Harrison , Daniel Schiffer and Thomas Alex Norman . I also had to learn about YouTube SEO and strategies, which I learned form this YouTube channel.

Speaking of SEO…. Somehow despite having had a blog for almost 5 years I completely ignored this basic skill (I’m embarrassed to admit it). This time I was not going to make the same mistakes, so we dove in. And deep. We learned so much through the Goats on the Road website. We even did one of their paid courses! I also watched every video on Cathrin Manning’s YouTube channel (and her blog ) and pretty much read every blog post on Keysearch’s blog . This is just to name a few. SEO was by far the skill we invested more time and money into.

This website was another thing that took a few months to put together. We started (and almost finished) a website with Squarespace at first. Then we learned -a few months later- that if you wanted to be serious about SEO, WordPress was the way to go. So, we had to make the decision about making the switch and start all over again. It was frustrating but we know it will be worth it.

All the structural work was done by us at the beginning. Then, we hired someone to add some final touches we couldn’t figure out on our own. We did it this way to save money and because building a website on our own would force us to learn about the basics. This is very valuable when you need to hire someone later on. It’s important that you know more or less what you are talking about, so you don’t get screwed like I did with my blog ‘ Ways of Style ‘ many many times.

We dove deep into the business of online marketing. Understanding algorithms became second nature and we familiarize ourselves with all the ways we could possibly make money online while traveling full time. I did a couple of courses on Instagram with the Professional Traveler that I cannot recommend enough! Even if you are a ‘established’ blogger or influencer. I had my Instagram as my main source of income and I didn’t know a lot of the things she teaches in her course. She’s brilliant!

We are not even close to being experts on any of these subjects. But we’ve been learning what we need in order to get started and we hope to get better over time. It was important for us to have a solid foundation on how exactly we were going to capitalize our 2-year world adventure and most importantly, make it a lifestyle. Sure it sounded fun to everyone, but we meant business. And we were serious about it.

What took most of our time while getting ready for this trip was planning it. If you don’t have an unlimited budget, you have to be smart about which destinations and activities to include. Plus, all the logistics involved in putting together such a long trip. We mostly did all the planning because we needed an estimate of how much this adventure would cost us, however, we don’t plan to stick to every little detail. We will try to stick to our budget instead.

Basically, all of our free time since October 2017 was invested towards something related to this trip. We had a lot of time to get ready, but some things we’ll have to figure out while on the road, which should be (mostly) fun.

We were set to leave on January 2021, but because of COVID-19, green card and passport issues, we are still waiting on things to align so we can start living our dream of traveling the world full time. One thing we know, we are ready to leave. We already sold all of our stuff and are living a nomad life because we are both able to work from wherever there’s a good internet connection.

COVID-19 of course, is going to have an impact on the way we travel. We need to get the vaccine as soon as possible and instead of hopping from country to country, we are planning on staying at least 2-3 months in each place.

July 2021 update: we both got vaccinated, G already quit his job and we are getting ready to leave in September. Stay tuned for more!

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The mental part // How on earth are we going to tell people about our life plans?

I don’t know how old you are, but as a socially acceptable responsible adult, you cannot say to other adults you are going to spend your savings traveling (not at 33 & 35). The thing is we NEVER intended to spend our life savings traveling, but to most people this whole making-money-online thing sounds like a scam. And I get it. I didn’t know much about it until I saw other people being transparent on how they were doing it.

The mental part was intense. It still is.

Getting mentally prepared to have no income, no home, basically no material things, living out of a suitcase, jumping from plane to plane every month, all while trying to build a meaningful and successful business together, has been slow to sink in.

According to most social standards, we are not in an age where we ‘should’ be traveling. Instead we ‘should’ be buying a house and thinking about having a family, or saving for retirement. Don’t think for a second it hasn’t been hard for us to deal with all of this. All of our friends are super stable and seem to have it all figured out, while we are just here thinking of investing all of our money on this crazy trip. It was not an easy decision to make, but we hope everything will be alright in the end.

Telling our friends and family about our new travel lifestyle wasn’t easy at all either. I think we can safely say that while everyone we love, does support us and think this trip is a cool idea, they also deep down think we are crazy and that we might be risking too much.

At times, it may seem like we don’t value the advice of all the smart people we have around us. The thing is though, we happen to believe in what we are doing so much and our vision for our life is so clear , that we still decided to move forward and at least try to build something together that is ours. We owe it to ourselves to at least give it a try.

We are getting older and of course we are terrified, but we’re also brave. It’s inevitable to think about the million things that can go wrong and panic. That’s why instead, we recently started to think about all the things that can go right.

What if. ..

We are actually able to execute our vision?

W e are able to live exactly the life we dream of living?

We can actually make the world a better place?

The answers to those questions act as our compass and motivation to move forward.

Naive? Maybe. Not trying? Never.

We wrote about this subject with a lot more details here. We share everything we did in this blog post.

Saving money was not easy. In fact, it was the reason why we had to wait over 3 years to leave and then some more because of COVID-19 and my green card.

We didn’t really have any money saved when we opened our savings account together. It was frustrating and felt impossible at times, but if we learned anything over these past years is that patience and consistency always pay off. For whatever it is that you are trying to save money for, remember that it all starts with $1.

We watched a lot of YouTube videos and read a million blogs to see how much money exactly we were going to need. Initially, before doing any research I guessed we would need like $100k per year LOL, but turns out you’ll be just fine with $35-40k/year. That’s the minimum for us, based on our traveling styles. You can do it for a lot less though. Trust us, we’ve learned about people who have traveled with just $10k and somehow survive one year. Again, it all depends on how you travel, where you go and what you’re willing to sacrifice.

Be sure to read this blog post to learn how exactly we saved money for our trip around the world.

Our health has always been very important to us, but it became even more important when we decided to leave.

Our health is not something we think about lightly or as a short-term thing motivated only by physical results (that’s only like 30% LOL). We started getting physically ready by going to the gym regularly and eating very healthy at home, which also helped us save some money. We love hiking, being in nature and being active. That’s why it was our top priority to be in good shape to do all the things we want to do and not have physical restrictions.

Do you guys usually take advice from older people? Well, I read somewhere that you should take advantage of your youth. That’s when you are strong and healthy to do all the crazy hikes, diving, trips, overnight buses, etc. Because when you are older, your travel style will definitely change. I’m honestly fine with that, but I do want to make sure to do all the crazy things while I still can.

Being healthy became part of our lifestyle. We do not intent to forget about that while we are on the road. We plan to work out and eat healthy most of the time while we travel too. It will be very hard because we both love food and cocktails, but hopefully we’ll find a good balance over time. It’ll be important for us to remember that we are not on vacation. We are permanently traveling and we want to grow old together and stay healthy.

Final thoughts // Are you thinking about traveling the world full time?

We hope this post gives you an idea of all the work it took to get ready for this. We didn’t think about it lightly. Just like a lot of people, we are risking everything in order to make our dream happen. All we can hope, is for it to be worth it.

* Learn how you can support the work we do *

By sharing all this info, we don’t mean to discourage you if you are thinking of doing the same. On the contrary, we are testimony that if you work hard towards your goals and stay focused, your dreams can become a reality.

“It is precisely the possibility of realizing a dream that makes life interesting.” – Paulo Coelho

There’s nothing special about us. If we can do it, so can you. It will take determination and discipline, but if you want it badly, you’ll do whatever it takes.

We have no idea what will happen after 2 years. We might come back home and start from zero, get a 9 to 5 job and start working like crazy to recover from spending all of our savings traveling. Or we might be able to build a business out of Ways of the World and continue to travel for years to come, who knows? One thing we know for sure, we are being bold for facing our fears and for trying something new we believe in our hearts is right. That’s something we’ll never regret.

Hope you guys follow our adventures on YouTube , Instagram or here. Either way, we hope to answer any questions you may have, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

Thanks for stopping by,

Aimara & Gordon

Related posts you may also like:

• How to save money to travel – Our story, how we did it & useful tips
• How COVID-19 impacted our plans to travel full time
• Learn how you can support the work we do here at WOTW
• More about what Ways of the World is all about

2 thoughts on “How To Prepare For A Life Of Full-Time Traveling”

Awesome tips. I knew one must save money in order to full-time travel but I didn’t think about preparing physically for it. You guys are right. Being in good physical condition is important to keep traveling. Kudos on taking the leap.

One of my dream jobs is to shoot walking videos in different cities. They seems very popular in YouTube. Just put record on and walk, then publish. No editing needed. Easy as ABC, Great post, thank you for sharing 🙂

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20 Life Lessons from a Life of Travel

Before the world abruptly stopped and travel was put on hold, I had been travelling for the last eight years. My lessons from travel span an entire memoir.

I started a blog back in 2012 as a way to document my journey and before I knew it, writing about my travels has become my career.

I’m from a normal upbringing but my life these past eight years has been anything but normal. I’ve been climbing mountains in Pakistan , learning how to make pastries in the basement of The Ritz in Paris, staying with Buddhist monks in Japan and too many more experiences to count.

These experiences have taught me more than I ever realised.

That is, until now.

Home is wherever feels good

After eight years of living out of a suitcase, I finally decided last year that it was time to “move home”. But where exactly is home, when you’ve spent so much time away from it?

I bought a house, renovated it, and promptly realised the childhood town I grew up in did not feel like home anymore. Firstly, because I’d met a man in the Okavango Delta who I would later move to South Africa with. Secondly, because I had grown and changed so much since my departure, that my normal wasn’t so normal anymore .

The truth is, home is wherever feels good.

It is easier now than ever to live in a new country. If you feel up for it, give it a try. Nothing is stopping you but yourself.

Experiences are better investments than things

Has anyone ever told you not to buy a new car because of devaluation? The same could be said about new handbags, designer clothes, and keeping up with interior design trends.

Experiences are investments that pay more in life gains than possessions ever will.

Sometimes you need a trip to grow, find yourself, or find answers you’ve been looking for. Why not take one of these life-changing trips .

Some trips that shaped who I am include: renting a van and driving around New Zealand , 10 days in Pakistan and every single solo trip of self-discovery .

Money does not equal happiness

Growing up in a privileged country, I was conditioned to believe that money = happiness. How wrong I was. Having met people from all over the world who have much less than the average westerner locked into a mortgage, suffice it to say they are much happier than their counterparts.

What is it then, that warrants happiness?

Acceptance of your reality. Simplicity in all things. The gift of giving.

Quality trumps quantity

So the old saying goes; quality trumps quantity. The same is true in light of travel. The more you travel, the more you start to realise those snippets of a new city, country or culture aren’t quite enough.

The further you travel, the less you want to.

You realise it is better to know a place – like really know a place – instead of just know how to ride the metro. The more I explore, the deeper I want to get to know a place.

Gone are the days of my late teens country-hopping around Europe. I’d rather move into an apartment in Berlin for a few months or pack up my life and move to Cape Town.

Learning a new language

Growing up in an English speaking nation, learning a new language was not a necessity nor was it easy. Living in Australia leaves you isolated from foreign languages, cultures and traditions.

Travel is an easy way to break that cycle.

From German to French and a hint of Afrikaans, over the years it has become easier to learn the basics to communicate in foreign languages.

If you are eager to learn, try these language courses .

You learn to stop caring what people think of you

What is it about travel that forces you to leave your inhibitions at home? I can hardly remember my pre-travel self who was insecure, shy, and fearful of what others would think of me.

The woman I have become would not have been possible without travel. Without encountering strangers, meeting local heroes and discovering that everyone has a story to be told.

I care less now about what anyone thinks of me, despite having created a career where I live online. I’m susceptible to criticism on a daily basis but I’ve learned that if you don’t stand for something, you believe anything.

Own up to your mistakes

Another one of my life lessons from travel has been to admit my wrongs. Granted, I’m still working on this as we are often the last to admit our wrongs.

But who was responsible for catching a train from Munich that was westbound instead of heading East toward Budapest? Me. Whose job is it to fix the mistake? Mine.

Travel forces you to make mistakes and this makes it easier to own up to them. Especially travelling alone – no one is responsible for your mistakes but yourself.

You learn how to problem solve

Not only do you learn to own up to your mistakes, but you learn how to problem-solve as a knee jerk reaction.

Wrong train? Get off at the next stop and start again.

Booked a plane ticket for the wrong date? You’ll need to talk your way out of those change fees.

Mugged on the streets and suddenly your cash flow is halved? Time to start budgeting and cutting your expenses in half, too.

What is important in your life

After spending so much time alone exploring foreign lands, I’ve learned to value human connection and community more than anything else in my life.

As a Virgo who loves her alone time, I’m more than comfortable being on my own. I have however learned that too much time alone is not good for me – because what is life without human connection, interaction, and mutual dependence?

The more you learn, the less you know

The further I travel, the more I learn – or so I used to believe. The truth is, with all my prejudices and a Western mentality, the more I travel the less I actually know for sure.

The more I travel, the more I learn. But the more I learn, the less I know for sure.

I’ve been forced to question what the media tells us, how stories are spun for traction, and just face straight out lies.

Vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness

I used to think being vulnerable was a weakness.

However being vulnerable is being yourself. After years of travel and meeting so many people the world over, I’ve come to realise that there is no greater power than just being yourself .

Being your most authentic self is a weight off your shoulders as you never have to try prove anything, you just are. This gives you all the time and power back to work on what really matters to you.

Books are just as much of an escape

Sometimes you just can’t escape. Whether you’re stuck in the office or have used your holidays for the year, often we have the urge to go somewhere but we just can’t yet.

I have found over the years that books provide just as much of an escape. Hence, launching my book club for travellers .

You don’t have to know someone a long time for a deep connection

Some of my greatest connections with people have been accomplished in a day – some even less.

You don’t need to know someone for a long time to have a deep connection with them. You can connect in such a life-changing way with someone who tells you just what you need to hear at the right time you need to hear it.

You can travel without leaving home

Now more than ever, I’m learning there are some great ways to travel and fulfil my wanderlust without leaving home. Whether it be trying a new recipe from a foreign cuisine you love or virtually visiting a museum, there are some great ways to travel without leaving home. Here are my favourites .

You learn to invest in yourself

While we’ve already learned that experiences are a better investment than things, only in recent years did I learn to invest in myself.

Whether it be learning how to make French pastries in a kitchen basement in Paris or investing in life-changing books on entrepreneurship , the greatest investment is yourself. If you never stop learning, you never stop growing.

Long-distance works if you want it to

I’ve had a few different experiences with long distance relationships after 8 years living out of a suitcase. Some have worked and some haven’t.

The truth is, long-distance works if you want to. It’s like any other relationship – you make sacrifices, you make it work. This is one of the lessons from travel I’d rather not admit to – but we can only learn from our mistakes.

Silence speaks as loud as words

Travel has a way of bringing out the best and worst in people. Unfortunately, the good comes with the bad and we have to learn to deal with it.

In travelling with my partner more recently, I’ve learned that silence speaks as loud as words. Sometimes not saying anything really says it all.

Travel is really just about perception

The old saying goes: you see what you want to see.

Travel and your experience abroad really come down to perception. Had a bad day? It could be worse. Life on the road will throw you many curveballs but is all about how you deal with them. Choose to be positive. Opt to be optimistic. If you want to have a great experience, you will.

Your twenties are practically made for travel

I used to be scared by that window of time between living with my family I grew up with and creating my own. But the truth is, this window of time is the perfect opportunity to go out on our own and discover ourselves for the better.

I used to be scared by that window of time between living with my family I grew up with and creating my own.

I never would have shaped my own world view without taking this time to go out on my own. Just because my parents taught me a certain way of living, doesn’t mean I need to follow it. Sure, I will always hold dear the way I was brought up to see the world – but I had to go out and add my own flavour to it.

You won’t always be alone so enjoy the solitude

After spending a lot of time alone, human connection becomes more and more desirable. But the truth is, you won’t always have this time to yourself. You won’t always be able to be selfish. To choose yourself. And to do all the things you want to do and skip all the things you do not. Enjoy the time in your life where you can be alone. It won’t always be this way.

Brooke Saward founded World of Wanderlust as a place to share inspiration from her travels and to inspire others to see our world. She now divides her time between adventures abroad and adventures in the kitchen, with a particular weakness for French pastries.

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Traveling For Life: What It’s Really Like to Move Country All the Time

A few years ago it seemed ‘ Lifestyle Traveler ‘ was the label they attached to me. But more recently that has shifted to ‘ Digital Nomad ‘.

Not that my life has changed much, it’s just that more people started to live a lifestyle that involves moving from country to country while working remotely and that’s how this new label was created.

And in a way I’m happy that they (whoever they are) have come up with a name for people who live a similar lifestyle to mine.

Because although many other digital nomads are very different from me in many ways, it does feel good that I’m not the only one living this “ strange traveling lifestyle “: moving from country to country, starting new adventures and exploring new worlds.

I first moved abroad when I was 17. I decided to spend the summer working in a restaurant in a small town in Spain called Moraira . Not long after that I flew to Guatemala where I’d have my first real backpacking experience.

Since then I have lived and worked in over 10 countries all over the world and traveled through many more. Traveling, moving and building a new life became a lifestyle. A lifestyle that I love, most of the time.

In my opinion, there is nothing more intoxicating than being immersed in the unfamiliar: from the new smells and sights to the new people you are about to meet… It gives me energy, makes me feel alive.

But, seeking a better life abroad doesn’t necessarily mean that things will be easier.

Traveling For Life

I’ve seen some amazing places and met so many great people from all walks of life.

While my friends back home got a steady job and started thinking about marriage and kids I was exploring Mumbai (India) in a rikshaw or swimming with dolphins in Mauritius .

It sounds amazing, yes, and in many ways it is. But no life is perfect and neither is mine.

The older I get the more I realize how important family and real friends are. And that is what I have to miss while I’m abroad . Many of the new friends I make abroad are great people but will never be able to replace some of my lifelong friendships at home.

And then there is all the frustration of having to build a new life.

I recently lived on a tropical island in the Caribbean . Paradise in many ways with its great weather, warm water, palm trees, and endless cocktails.

But, like any other place, it has its downsides: housing is very expensive compared to the average salary, at night I don’t feel safe enough to walk on the streets alone, the inefficiency and “Caribbean relaxed attitude” can be extremely frustrating if you need to get something done, and so on.

I’ve realized though that I need to stop fighting the conflicting feelings I’ve had for so long; those that compel me to keep going, to explore the next place, to go somewhere new, and those that tell me to settle down.

A life of travel at times can be lonely and getting to know a new place can be tiring and frustrating. I’ve missed so many birthdays, weddings, and family Christmases.

But, few people can say that their life is perfect – I just have different concerns and worries than people living more conventional lifestyles.

Also Read: Emotional Challenges of the Digital Nomad Lifestyle

And I have to admit, I really am a lifestyle traveler: I love the excitement of a new place, the joy of planning for a new destination, the unimaginable adventures that daily life offers.

I don’t know why I am this way, but for some reason I feel happier when I’m the foreigner, just a little out of my comfort zone.

So while I sometimes envy my friends who are happy with their careers and settled lives, I still find so much enjoyment in exploring new worlds and starting my next adventure that I think I’ll remain a lifestyle traveler or digital nomad for some time to come…

If You Are Interested in How to Live a Travel Lifestyle, Also Read:

• Why Moving Abroad is Such a Valuable Experience
• 10 Signs You Have Been Bitten By the Travel Bug
• How to Find a Job Abroad & Make It Work
• An overview of other articles about the digital nomad lifestyle
• My Current Crazy Adventure: I Bought a Catamaran to Travel the World by Boat!

“Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected for the rest of my life” – Michael Palin

6 thoughts on “Traveling For Life: What It’s Really Like to Move Country All the Time”

Wow, I can completely relate to this post! I’ve been living in different countries for the past few years and it’s amazing how much it can affect your perspective on life. The constant fluidity can be overwhelming at times, but it’s also incredibly enriching. Thanks for sharing your experiences, it’s great to connect with others who understand what I’m going through! 😊

I’ve been a travel blogger for a few years now, and I can tell you that it’s not always easy to move to a new country every few months. It’s definitely an adventure, and I’m so grateful for the experiences

I’ve been a travel blogger for a few years now, and I can tell you that it’s not always easy to move to a new country every few months. It’s definitely an adventure though, and I’m so grateful for the experiences.

Good on you for sharing not only the highlights but also the negatives of constant travel. I think its amazing that you have been doing it for this long, i bet you have incredible stories form your journeys. We are working towards making this a reality for ourselves too but with two kids. Congrats on your 9 years and hoping for many more too!

Thanks Elisa, I really appreciate that! 🙂 Yes, I feel it would be unfair to only share the positives… a life of travel isn’t always the easiest but it is absolutely worth it! With two kids it will definitely require more planning but just take your time and enjoy the journey! 🙂

That is very interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have shared your web site in my social networks!

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How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel

I’m confused.

I’m simply confused as to how it’s possible that I have so far failed to properly explain how I’ve managed to travel/live/work abroad nonstop for 12 years straight (and counting).

The questions are still pouring in every single day: How do you do it? How is it possible to travel for so long? Where does the money come from?

And while I thoroughly enjoy communicating with readers (I’m being completely serious and encourage you all to continue sending your emails to me as often as you wish), the fact that these very questions are on the minds of so many of you out there has led me to believe that I need to do a better job at providing the answers.

While it’s true that I’ve already written plenty of posts on the matter, clearly all of these posts, even as one collective entity, still fall well short of proving that a life of travel is not some crazy fantasy but a perfectly reasonable and easily attainable lifestyle option instead.

I’ve even referred to other travelers who are out there living a similar nomadic lifestyle , but apparently, that hasn’t been enough either.

So what am I to do?

How do I prove, once and for all, that you do not need $500,000 or even $50,000 in your bank account, that if you are able to scrounge together $500 bucks, there’s little stopping you from becoming a full-time nomad. I’m not joking here. After all, this is exactly what I’ve done myself. Okay, I first left home with $1500 to my name but that’s not exactly a fortune either.

I’m not going to give up trying, so here’s another attempt to show you how I’ve managed to live a life of constant travel.

The following is a brief summary of the past 12 years of my life. It is a timeline of sorts that details where I’ve been, what I’ve been doing and where my money has come from at all times. Ultimately, it shows just how one ordinary person has so far managed to fund 4,195 days straight of traveling and living abroad.

THE TIMELINE

December 25, 1999:

• Left home and flew to Bangkok with $1500 in my bank account
• Planned to spend 3 months traveling around Southeast Asia
• Decided to officially extend my trip despite having only $500 left to my name
• Taught English in Chiang Mai, Thailand, earning approximately $150 USD per week (more than enough to live well in this city at the time)

October 2000

• Returned to the US with $300 in my account (after paying for the flight home)
• Spent 2 months in Boston working as a high school substitute teacher
• Saved $2500 during this time

January 2001

• Returned to Asia and spent 12 months traveling through Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia
• While in India, volunteered as an English teacher for 3 months in exchange for room and board
• Stayed with friends for 3 months in Thailand and taught English once again in Chiang Mai
• Lived with friends for 2 months in Australia, which kept my expenses quite low
• Returned to the US with no money at all

February 2002

• Through a contact, I applied to work on board cruise ships
• Landed a job as a Tour Staff with Carnival Cruise Lines
• Worked on board two different ships during one 8-month contract
• Saved $8000 during this time and then decided not to return for another contract

November 2002

• Traveled to Australia for 4 months

February 2003

• With $4000 in the bank, I spent two months living with a friend in Los Angeles
• Found a short-term job at an advertising company through a temp agency
• Worked for two months and left LA with $5000 in the bank
• Traveled to Thailand, Bangladesh and India

September 2003

• Landed a job as a Tour Manager for Norwegian Cruise Lines
• Worked two contracts on board ships located in Hawaii and the South Pacific
• Traveled to Europe during my 6-week vacation between contracts
• Saved $20,000 by the end of my second contract
• Spent 7 months traveling to Europe, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan
• With $10,000 still in my account, decided to work two more contracts as a Tour Manager for Norwegian Cruise Lines
• Saved an additional $20,000 during these contracts
• Traveled to Europe during my 2-month vacation in between contracts

December 2005

• Traveled for 8 months to South America, Europe and India

September 2006

• Was offered a job with Cunard Line (cruise line based out of the UK)
• Worked as a Tour Manager on board the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2 ocean liners
• Spent 18 months with Cunard, saving over $3300 per month
• Traveled through Europe, Caribbean, Mexico, the Middle East and SE Asia during my vacations in between contracts
• Traveled back to India for 3 months
• Worked one final two-month contract for Cunard Line, saving an additional $6000

September 2008

• Left Cunard (with more than enough money saved up by now) and moved to Australia
• Spent five months in Melbourne working on creating online streams of income

December 2008

• Sold my first eBook online
• Continued working on promoting my eBook while creating a second eBook to sell
• Began earning some income through affiliate marketing

February 2009

• Spent six weeks in Thailand
• Volunteered and traveled in India for six weeks
• Visited Italy for a few weeks

• Traveled through Central America and Mexico, finishing the trip by renting an apartment in Sayulita, Mexico
• Continued working on my online projects
• Income from my online projects reached $1000 per month for the first time

December 2009

• Moved to the Caribbean coast of Mexico and rented an apartment in Playa del Carmen, where I spent more time working on my online projects
• Officially launched WanderingEarl.com

September 2010

• Spent 6 months traveling around the Middle East, Australia and Southeast Asia
• Returned to Playa del Carmen (where I am currently living) in order to catch up on work
• Reached $2500+ per month in online income through the sales of three eBooks I’ve authored and through my efforts with affiliate marketing
• Planning some new adventures for later this year, including a most interesting 30 day train challenge for the month of September (more details to come in my next post)
• Life as a permanent nomad continues

And that’s all there is to it. The truth of the matter is…

$2500 per month, and even $1000 or $1500 per month, is more than sufficient to achieve a lifestyle that involves extensive travel. It really doesn’t take much. Some teaching English here, some cruise ship work there, some internet marketing in your spare time and VOILA!

And this is only a tiny fraction of the opportunities to earn money while traveling that exist out there. Once you realize this, you’ll also realize that luck, miracles and having an overflowing bank account play no role whatsoever in allowing you to achieve your travel goals.

All you need is the courage to take the first step and a mind that is open to trying new experiences!

*** If you want to create your own life of travel, you may be interested in my new project – How to Live a Life of Travel .

This one resource will teach you everything you need to know. Be sure to check it out!***

New blog posts, honest updates from my 21 years of constant travel, personal recommendations and the best of travel from around the world.

1,354 Comments

This article inspired me a lot. This is a life I wanna live when I graduate from school. This life is so beautiful – you are receiving new experience all the time, meet new people, see the beauty of the world. Before I cared a lot about money and job. I didn’t really know which job I want to have after school, and this feeling made anxious. But now I undersood that actually it doesn’t matter for me. Every work is valuable, and this is so cool to change the jod all the time. Just work where you can at the moment, without a concrete plan. I want to feel this freedom so much! Thank you so much for your article!

At the end of the day, i guess it’s all about the options people made in their lives. Congratulations, Earl, for what you achieved so far – you’re an inspiration. Happy travels!

It looks so easy…. I’m on my way to do the same! Wish me luck

Wow! That’s super busy. I travel every 30 days and I know how easy it is to get burnt out. You should make a post about how to avoid travel burnout.

Hi, my comment follows the post of Henry below (apologies on mobile) and querying your tax history. There is no way you have managed this without leveraging parents and friends who pay their bills/taxes, get a credit record, job history and rent etc. Or your supports had an inheritance. It takes the third generation to blow the investment of the first according to wealth generators. I don’t mind lovely posts about going abroad, but I resent that you did not point out exactly when you had bases of people and money given to you to survive. I would prefer to read a chronology with… “couchsurfed because I knew no one” or “crashed a folks or family as I had no money”… Barack Obama was an orphan and has done a lot of work and does not gloss. I think a child of a refugee would read this and feel a bit sick. One day you might settle and you may have a daughter whos might read this summary and think ‘that’s all it takes’… It might help if you prefaced the article with more about your background and more details. Otherwise, love your site.

Hey Jacq – Thanks for your comment. First, regardless of my background (normal, middle class family in the US), I don’t have an inheritance at all and no money was given to me achieve this lifestyle. In fact, my family was so upset when I told them I was going to travel ‘forever’ that they certainly weren’t going to help fund it. I started with $1500 of my own money and that’s the story. I figured out how to make it happen every step of the way. Also, in the post I do mention when I stayed with friends, so that info is in there. When I was traveling, I mostly stayed in dorm rooms at hostels, which costs very, very little. But the thing is, the more you travel, the more friends you make from all over the world, so it’s not as if staying with friends sometimes is a huge ‘secret’ that makes my life of travel invalid. Every long-term traveler I know stays with friends since they meet so many people on their travels 🙂

And to be honest, I would love to have a daughter that looks at this and feels motivated to do something similar, to do something more in line with her own goals and dreams. The idea is not to say this was ‘simple’ to achieve. I’ve written plenty of posts on the difficulties and challenges of this lifestyle and getting to this point. The idea is to realize that with determination and hard work, you can create a life that is more fulfilling than the standard 9-5 lifestyle. I’d love my daughter (if I had one) to make that realization!

Hi Derek I have been following you for quite some time now. And you have also been so kind to give me some advice regarding blogging.

Well, now from Matcha post I stumbled across this one – your blog and writing are indeed contagious – and am seriously wondering. How did you manage to sell an eBook in Dec 2008? I mean you said you only launched Wandering Earl in Dec 2009. This makes me think you still didn’t have an audience, did you? Or had you been blogging elsewhere before this one? Today, all you hear is you need an audience and a huge following to be able to sell your own products. So, I’m genuinely wondering how you managed that. Thank you in advance for your support. Good luck in Miami. Miami Matcha style 🙂

Hey Sona – Thank you for following along with the blog!! As for the first eBook I wrote, it didn’t have anything to do with my blog. It was just an eBook I wrote and I tried to sell it online using a separate website and some resources that were available at the time. Somehow it worked as there was no other product like it at the time and I was easily able to get the eBook in front of the right audience.

These days, yes it is a little more challenging. You either need a large audience that wants to learn from you or you need to create a product that really solves a problem that many people face and doesn’t have much competition. Back in 2008 it was much different as there weren’t 1 million blogs or websites or eBooks or products. It was MUCH easier back then to get your product in front of a lot of people.

Thanks! This post was extremely helpful. I am preparing to take the leap as well, and leaving this 9 to 5 life behind!

Soon, I will get up and leave and travel the world. I can’t wait for the day I will feel so free.

What are your plans for retirement? Do you have any savings for that, or are you planning on working till you drop? What about if something catastrophic healthwise happens?

Hey Henry – I’ve been saving money whenever I can and since 2009, when I started working online, I’ve saved every month. And I have health insurance in the US in case anything happens. In the end, it’s really no different than any other lifestyle…I work, earn money, save money, have health insurance just like everyone else!

hi there! I am currently a high school senior and am so undecided on a major for college. I really want to travel. Did you get a college degree?

Hey Jaycen – Yes, I did get a college degree in Sports Management. You can read this article to learn more about the pros and cons of a degree: https://www.wanderingearl.com/do-you-need-a-university-degree-to-travel-long-term/

Hi wanderingEarl, I enjoyed reading your blogs/stories about your nomadic lifestyle. Such an inspiration especially to those people like me who wants to travel around the globe. Keep inspiring.God bless!

How do you feel being settled? I had your life and now 8 years settled with kids, but keen to live that life again ….do you desire travel again

I always found it hard to explain how I left home in 1999 and returned home-ish, in 2004 when people say “you’re so lucky”

Well, luck has nothing to do with it. I worked and saved before I left – just to have a cushion. But when I arrived in the UK – I grabbed a temp job. Working hard when there’s work, not being too picky about what you do (it’s pretty easy to stomach handing out flyers for a job while in the Greek Islands), and being open and flexible – and interested in traveling to places that aren’t necessarily on the tourist map. Being open to being a bartender one day, an office temp the next, and then passing out flyers the next.

Seeing opportunity wherever you go, is key.

I used to work in London for a little bit as a temp – then disappear for an original intention of being gone for a week, and ending up working in a campground in Oludinez in Turkey for 4 months. It was random, I was like – I like it here, how can I stay and not drain my bank account? So, I just asked “hey, can I work here?” and what do you know? They gave me a job. I spent my time off lazing in the blue lagoon, checking out the rest of the country and having experiences only possible by being at the right place at the right time.

Back then, internet marketing wasn’t so huge – and I WISH I had had the resources we do now. I’m now older, married, and have children – but I’m SO glad that I had the life changing experiences in my 20s that allow me to BE settled now.

It’s about the life experience….. right?

Nice write up, we have “only” been on the road for a little over two years, though in our Landrover Defender. What is interesting to see it that you are not travelling with your own vehicle but you have projected similar costs as we have experienced with our own vehicle. I guess the costs of travelling by bus and staying in youth hostels or similar evens out the costs of camping, fuel and repair expenses.

What a brilliant, inspirational way to live. We hope to live the same life and we’re just starting out. Thanks for the tips. Can’t wait to hear about the 30 day train challenge!

I am in your shoes now have $1,500 to my name and I want to go back to travel. I just came back from a trip I feel like I want to go back on the road. The thought of getting a “job” here just depletes my soul.

Hi Earl, I just ‘StumbledUpon’ this post, it’s a great read (even although it’s a few years old). First time I was in Thailand was in 1999. I went there to manage a bar on Koh Samet – bar thing didn’t work out but I stayed for 3 months and met a girl, before traveling to Nepal, and then back to Thailand. Found out that my Thai girlfriend was pregnant, returned to the UK to make some money and then went back to Thailand in 2000-2001 (for 6 months) to visit my girlfriend and daughter. Returned to Thailand and stayed in Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, & Taiwan (2 years this time, 2002 -2004, doing mostly sales jobs); returned to the UK with my girlfriend and daughter because my girlfriend was pregnant at the time with our second child (my son – now 12 years old in 2017).

Prior to going to Thailand in 1999, I had lived and worked in Jersey in the Channel Islands (2 years), Canada (18 months), California (1 year), Egypt (6 months), and London UK (15 months); I am originally from Glasgow, Scotland.

Kids put paid to the more or less constant traveling, but I have no regrets – my kids are my best pals; luckily I am self-employed back in Scotland so still get to travel more than most. Off to Barcelona in April, trekking in Nepal in October this year also. I also have some online interests – a novel I have written set in Thailand, and I own and operate a Thailand Travel Blog, and make some money with that through affiliate marketing.

How are you these days? Still on the road? Hope all is well and wish you good luck for the future.

So my question is did you have health insurance? If yes how did you pay for it? If no what was your plan if you got real sick or injured? I hope you did not expect that you would just go to the hospital and the rest of society would pay your bill.

Hey Chip – Yes, I usually had travel insurance and I’ve also had private health insurance in the US. But the couple of times I got sick or injured while traveling, it was usually cheaper to just pay at the hospital and not go through my insurance. When I busted my toes in Thailand, I had extensive care in the hospital and it cost $30.

Great tips. I guess that you guys who have the privilege of speaking English as a native language can teach English anywhere in the world. I hope one day Portuguese will be more popular. 😉

Inspirational! I aspire to live the nomadic lifestyle in the near future, but until then, I guess my “work to live” philosophy will have to do. I consider myself somewhat of a “part time nomad”, makes little sense I know, but I’ve explained it in an article I wrote entitled “living to work, why I refuse”

I think a big part of the problem is that many of us find ourselves tied down with well paid jobs, mortgages and children, which isn’t the best starting point when wanting to be nomadic!

[…] a year. Wandering Earl has a great post on how he started his travels with a flight to Bangkok and only $1,500 in his bank account. And Jodi Ettenberg at Legal Nomads has compiled a list of links to various travel bloggers and […]

That’s amazing! You are a great inspiration! I’ve been on the road for 4 years now reading your blogs frequently. Travelling long term is possible, for the right people of course. I think it’s great that you show others that it’s possible.

Nicely done.. i noticed that you travvelled to india quite a few times. just wondering what was the attraction and what parts have you travelled there?

Hey Ajay – I just find India to be one of those countries where, every time I visit, I have a completely different experience. Also, it’s so large and diverse that I can always find something that interests me. I’ve actually be to India 23 times now and have pretty much explored most of the country 🙂

Thank-you so much for this inspiration..i just can’t wait to take full control of my life. Once i do, I’ll start travelling and never stop

Thank you for sharing your timeline. Such an inspirational post!

Great post, Earl, and very very motivating! I guess anything is possible if you remove the barriers and personal hangups. Thanks!

To begin with, you are very fortunate be a national coming from a 1st world country as your passport does not require you to get visa approval in major countries. And yes, I sadly envy you as I have been wanting to travel and see the sun and moon from other side of the world. Hope I could bump into you someday and will certainly be happy to hear from you directly your crazy topsy turvy journey=)

Hey WEarl, Do U Know transports from Islands like Bahamas to Cuba to Jamaica or Turks. Trying to see if I can fly from Florida & hit several islands inexpensively. URock & Thanks!

There’s really no way to do that inexpensively unfortunately. Stopping in the islands along the way always adds a lot of money to the total cost.

Thanks for sharing your journey. I’ve just moved to Vietnam to give the digital nomad thing a go for a few months – I work as a copywriter. Turns out I’m not much of a digital nomad, so I’ve taken the ‘nomad’ out of being a digital nomad and instead, I’ve set up a kind of home base in Nha Trang. I lived and worked abroad for a few years back in the early 200s, but this time has been more challenging as now I have a husband and three-year-old in tow!

Wow! I’m super jealous of your lifestyle. You must have seen so many amazing places. I want to take the leap and pursue this, but my student loans wont go away 🙁

Thanks Earl, you’ve just made me want to shoot out of Sydney and begin my own journey!

One of the best post I’ve came across, Kudos!

Love this post and laughed a bit because my friends always think that I spend my life traveling and that money falls from the sky. I mean if it would we would know it right?! I think it’s great that you explained it all and that hopefully people who think we need lots of money to travel the world will understand the tips & tricks and will get inspired. 🙂 On a personal note, I believe that if people were less materialistic, they would suddenly figure out that their money can be spent on amazing experiences around the globe rather than on a new car or pair or shoes they don’t need…

What an amazing journey. It makes me think of what I could have accomplished years ago if I set out to try to do it then. Now I have a baby to support which makes the budget traveling a bit more difficult. I recently wrote a family travel guide to Amsterdam, where we’re living as American expats. Hope to make a series out of that and pursue traveling more often. Here’s hoping!

This sounds very realistic providing you have the optimism that you will find work where ever you go all the time.

Highly inspitring post, Earl! Thank you! Greetings from Slovakia

Hi. Very interesting reading.

My question is about your business and where you have set it up? I guess you have to pay tax somewhere?

Hey Paul – My stuff is all set up in the US and I pay taxes in the US as well, just as any normal business would.

Thanks so much for posting this.

I’m a junior traveller with aspirations to one day travel close to full time. It’s great seeing your break down with the timeline and it shows me, and I’m sure your other readers, that you have to think outside the box to make the lifestyle work. There are also far more ways to earn enough coin to keep on the road that what most people imagine.

Thanks again and I look forward to more articles!

NamasteGypsy

That’s Amazing! With capital A!

The blog looks really good as well! Congratz!

The people I’ve known with nomadic travelling lifestyles all had favorabke life situations and opportunities that enabled them to take on such lifestyles.

They were all university grads/students with supportive well-to-do families and/or friends they could fall back on ( if things went wrong) They didn’t have to bunker down in unfavorable dead end jobs just to make ends meet…

What I’m trying to say is, the opprtunies described in the article are not available to everyone who would like to embark on such a journey.

Hey Ep – I can say that after meeting thousands of people over the past 16 years of travel, I’ve met plenty of travelers who don’t fit into that category you describe. So I’d have to disagree with that statement that it’s not open to everyone as I’ve heard incredible stories, over and over again, from those who did not have university degrees, who didn’t have supportive families, who had nothing to fall back on…and yet they used their determination to make it happen!

I agree! I’ve met travelers from all different walks of life. You meet people from less than fortunate backgrounds especially in cheap travel places. In my opinion, the only real excuse is being from a country that is unstable, has a week currency, and/or a restricted passport. If you are from Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, etc., then really the only thing holding you back is you. That’s not to say it isn’t easier for some than others and it’s not to down play the obstacles that poverty and rough family backgrounds creates. But I don’t believe for a second that, with the right mindset, those are things that can prevent you from traveling the world. Thanks for the post!

You are a great traveler my friend ! I hope we ll meet somewhere in the world.

Thanks, this was really helpful for me. Regards.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! This post explains how to be a constant traveller and provides needed inspiration.

Very interesting Diary ;), I have found especially interesting working on Cruise ships ;). I was wondering, your online income comes mostly from sales (your products) and affiliate sales, yes ?

Sometimes I feel like leaving everything and set out for a long term journey. This is a lifetime dream. I travelled across Europe and India with my backpack but I never dare to leave my settled life for a long time. Actually I did not even know how to do it! Now I have the clues. Thank you for sharing secret of your 13 year journey. That is amazing! This is not related to money and time only, but the power of your mind and spirit. I congratulate you my friend. Cheers.

I agree, it can be hard for some people to understand how this digital nomad lifestyle works. It’s hard to get that you don’t need to HAVE that much money to travel everywhere. Usually, most people think of travel in terms of a vacation, which can be expensive, because of course you want to splurge and enjoy and relax since you’re away from home. But traveling as a lifestyle, which I’ve done for over 5 years—that requires a much smaller budget, much less expenses. Even as I write that, it sounds sort of hard to believe 🙂 so I get how it’s confusing. I’ve been trying to explain the way I work and travel on my blog, and recently tried to break down the very specific steps of how to get into travel writing (travelnaturally.wordpress.com), although you really have to be motivated, because travel writing alone won’t support long term travels from my own experience–other kinds of freelance writing will, however. In the end, you’ve just got to be persistent and flexible, no matter what kind of jobs you pursue to support your travels.

This is an extraordinary journey – great stuff. I recently left Australia to work as an Au Pair in Spain for the next 6 months. I’m not planning on coming back home anytime soon, and this has given me just a tad more confidence 🙂 Gracias.

I’m returning to this post after being away for (so far) six months. I now feel a lot more confident in being able to manage long term travel. Thank you so much being a motivator in my trip!

I am about to graduate with a PR degree and I am very proficient in video production and have been reading all I can on living and traveling. Do you typically find jobs before you travel to the next location or do find them there? If yes, what means of finding jobs do you utilize. Additionally, how were living conditions? I’m the kind of person who doesn’t mind sleeping outside, or anywhere for that matter.

The fact that you had degree to teach English, contacts for cruise ship work and friends to stay with abroad on multiple occasions in your timeline, every two month period of working while back in the US you managed too save a few thousand is why your able to live a traveling lifestyle. As well as good fortune to have gotten hired abroad and back in the US when you needed too, unemployment is not exactly mythical issue in any country. It’s getting tired how nomadic blogs like this push “anyone” can accomplish this lifestyle, yet successful examples have very particular details that made it possible. Bottom line is if you have money in the bank you can use said funds to pay for as much travel as you can afford. If you don’t you have to figure out continued income or you just vacationing. Being conservative in spending is neither “creative” nor “clever” its common sense, if your bad with your money traveling on a dime isn’t going to workout for you.

Correct; I think Earl is also very lucky man.. beside being smart.. To get jobs like the manager of Norwegian lines is like vinning the lottery … And “living with friends” for months… hmmm .. not everyone’s cup of tea .. ?

Exactly… Not everyone can be so lucky to find themselves in life situations that allow for such opportunities. It would be disingenuous to assume everyone have those options…

Hey there wandering Earl, I was wondering do you have to have a degree in order to teach english in a foreign country? I know different countries have different requirements.

Hey Christopher – Usually they do require a university degree (in anything) in order to get hired.

What about black people? Can blacks travel as well without fear of skin color? Because I am from Jamaica and i want to travel soon and i am doing a degree in management studies.

Don’t get caught up in all of that nonsense. Everywhere you go there are some black people. i lived in japan for 6 years with dark skinned African American friends and als Jamaican people that I know are still there. there is always people who may or may not be weary of you but if you approach life with an infectious msile and good cheer, you will have great experiences that far outweigh the negative. I travelled troughout Thailand and Vietnam with my dark skinned canadian friend and we had a blast. he further travelled at least 10 European countries and had 99% positive experiences. He told me there were a few times he new he was being judged but nothing stopped home from enjoying himself and coming home safe. I have also been to Cambodia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico, and Canada. There were always at least some people of brown or black color. Forget all of that and enjoy life!

[…] Wandering Earl […]

hey Earl, i am a fashion student . i live in India. loved your blog. i really want to Travel. But i dont have a plan. I wanna live an Independent life for 2 years. Explore World Art , Music , Fashion , Culture etc Please guide me as to how can i earn and work out on my expenses , since i am just a fashion student and and have no other educational degree waiting for your reply

Great stuff man! you are very inspiring! I stumbled across your blog about 6 months ago and now I have also my “normal lifestyle” and am now on my world trip by small motorbikes! Here’s to following your dreams!! dags

[…] reading Wandering Earl’s blog for about 3 years, I’d imagined this could only be a one-off successful travel blog. How […]

[…] man who calls himself “Wandering Earl” left his home in 1999 for what was then a planned three-month trip to Asia, but he has been […]

[…] Wandering Earl: How I can afford my life of constant travel […]

Just wanna drop by and say Hi Earl!

I’ve followed your blog for a few years now and have realised that whilst not a full time traveller, I am a traveller in my own way. I have literally just started my blog, which was mainly inspired by yourself and a number of other blogs in the travel niche.

Hopefully one day in the future I will come along on one of your tours!!

All the best. Matt

Beautiful, I am currenty in a rut trying to earn an income while traveling! thanks for the motivation man 🙂

Hey Earl! This is my first time I have ever been on your blog and I am amazed! I’m 16 right now and I want to travel all over the world. Especially The swing at the end of the world ( Casa Del Arbol ). I just have the question, how do you make enough money to keep going from country to country ? I read that you sometimes get a job wherever you are staying at but will that be enough to keep living this lifestyle for a while? Get back to me soon please !(:

Hey Jeth – Just have a read through the blog as I write about it all – it was a combination of teaching English, working on cruise ships and now, working online with various projects.

[…] idea that you need to be rich to travel is just a myth! Earl from Wandering Earl outlines exactly how he managed to pay for 12 years of traveling and being on the […]

Hey Earl, Am Siva from India….I would like to lead a life like you, but I don’t no were to start.Really the way u come’s ….really interesting and feel the pain of struggles. ANYWAY AM READY TO START MY LIFE in the way of your,….ANYONE IS THERE TO JOIN , pls mail me guys…..”rvmhss086@gmail. Com”.

“TRUST IS THE ONLY THING WHICH WE NEED TO TRUST A LOT”

Just stumbled across your blog now and I’m truly amazed. ☺ I can’t believe that you’ve been travelling for so long. I think having that comfort in money is what a lot of people look for when they travel. Truly inspiring. I’m definitely gonna follow your posts.

All the best on your travels from beautiful South Africa.

Great article, thank you for the inspiration 🙂

I’ll be returning home soon after a year travelling around Asia, but I don’t think it’ll be long before I start planning my next adventure!

Wow, very cool!!! Two thumbs way up. After reading this, I am now a fan. In my own way I am trying to travel to as many places before I bite the big one. You are way ahead of me my friend. Keep posting and I will keep reading.

Keep traveling

Thanks Angel!

Wow! Amazing timeline! Classic “If there’s will, there’s a way” story:) Thanks for sharing and i’ll definitely check out one of your books..

[…] How I can afford my life of constant travels […]

Hey Earl! your story is very inspirational, and do you need to have some sort of degree to travel? I mean i guess the more people see your work experience and degrees the better. Did the people ask for some type of degree when you thought English????

Hey Pola – I do have a degree and I actually wrote about your question before. Have a read of this post and be sure to read the comments as many readers gave their own thoughts on the matter: https://www.wanderingearl.com/do-you-need-a-university-degree-to-travel-long-term/

What you have done is just truely amazing, and inspirational! While I was drinking my morning coffe, I accidentaly found your cruise ship farewell post. It is 3 p.m. here in the UK, and I am still in my pijamas, and reading your blog. 😀 My journey started in 2011, when I left my home in Hungary, and became a crew member on board. It took me for a long time to accept who I am… I am someone, who doesn’t want carrier, children, house, car, garden and dogs. I don’t want anything else from Life, but travel! I want to see, and experience as much as I can, and it makes me feel so good, that I am not the only alien on Planet Earth. 🙂 I hope one day you will cross my way, and we can share some storys live! And don’t forget, “not all those who wonder are lost..” 🙂

Best wishes, Eva

Hey Eva – I look forward to meeting you somewhere out there. Seems like we’d have a lot to talk about! Until then, keep on enjoying your journey 🙂

Hi earl, Nice to see that you traveled in Bangladesh in 2003. I was only 15 years old then. If you come to Bangladesh again please feel free to contact with me. You are a great person. Travelling all over the world doing a lot of job sounds so interesting and inspiring. If you need any accommodation, holiday lettings or any help for booking hotel i will be here always. Best of luck.

Hello Earl! So inspiring that you are travelling the world and working while doing so. This is exactly what I am trying to do now, just getting my passport and visas worked out, but how do you keep getting a visa? Youth mobility Visas are only good for two years and can only be used once, and work visas are hard to get unless you work in a specific field? What kind of visa are you using to continue this long term travel, because I would love to travel for longer than 2 years!

[…] Simply ask Wandering Earl, he started out on Cruise Ships.  […]

It’s inspiring on the one hand but still baffling. I have no doubt that an average income of let’s say $25K a year is sufficient for slow traveling. Probably a lot less, if you stick to countries with low cost of living, which is fine. My issue is with long-term life planning. I’m not sure how old you are, but when you’re in your forties and have kids in tow, things look a little bit different. Pension plans, long-term savings and retirement are things you have to take into consideration. Will you be able to work, online or otherwise, 10 or 20 years from now? Will you be needing specialized medical care (can be a problem when traveling in some areas)? Will you have enough money to pay for your kids college fees? I am convinced it’s still doable, but the monetary outlook is different. May actually blog about that soon. Thanks for the inspiration!

[…] Just ask Wandering Earl, he started out on Cruise Ships.  […]

[…] How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel – Wandering Earl […]

[…] from sites like WanderingEarl.com, FoxNomad.com, NomadMatt.com, Fluentin3Months.com and, of course, ChrisGuillebeau.com have had very […]

[…] O texto na integra em inglês está disponível aqui. […]

Hi Earl, I was thinking that travellers life is difficult and it is actually for Indians. I want to be a traveller and i m trying my best but i dont knw where actually i lack behind. If u can help me get through by any chance though i m trying to be in your path. Regards Swagatika

I’m 22 and currently planning a trip to europe for a month(or more). This is really inspiring because I’ve always wanted to be nomadic and only recently did I discover it’s possible. I was wondering if you think me being a woman changes anything? I’m really nervous about my safety (I’ve been abroad before). Reassure me, even as a woman, I can do this too right?

I totally relate to that. I am a woman planning a 6 month venture in Europe soon and I worry about traveling alone. It’s so hard to find people who want to drop their lives and travel. So my choices are go alone or not at all.

Hi Shyler. Have you started your venture yet? I can relate to you. I want to live a nomadic lifestyle, but i would like someone to travel with. In the beginning at least. I think it would be a little easier if i had a friend to share experiences with. If you want someone to travel with, we could get to know each other and see if we have the same interests. And maybe venture together?

I think that all three of you should get together and travel!! it’ll be safer 🙂

Hi Earl, It is true that I excited to read your inspiration story as well as fascinating to me . I am huge fan of you. Go ahead !!!

Thanking you, Mahmudur Dhaka,Bangladesh

I am so glad I found your blog. Unlike you, I am just about to begin my travels. I have an online job making $2500 a month. I am planning on starting in Bucharest August 1st. I want to stay in Bucharest for a few months and then travel to the other EU countries and then who knows. I am an American with a newly renewed passport with enough income to go anywhere. I will definitely be looking to your blog for inspiration. I am 45 so I am starting out a “little” later in life than you but hopefully I will get as much enjoyment as you. Maybe will cross paths one day.

What kind of job that earn that much money online? Im interested because I want to know how to do it. Im thinking of studying veterinary medicine in Bucharest this fall, it would be nice to have an online job on the side.

With all the elevated violence in the world these days, particularly the ISIS groups and affiliates, are your travels impeded? Is it more dangerous to be a traveling American right now than it was a few years ago? I am wondering if the world’s view on Americans has changed or if the level of violence in the world has changed that much or is it just US news outlets make it seem like that unduly.

Your travel logs are really interesting and inspiring!

Hey Chris – I’d say that the only difference is that there are a few more countries I wouldn’t visit right now that I would have, or did, visit a few years ago. Apart from that, nothing else has changed.

Hi Earl! Thank you for writing such an inspirational post! I feel way more inspired after reading this! How do I go about signing up to work in a cruise ship? The only skill I have is cooking as I’ve been doing it fr 6 years now! Maybe working as a server too. :p It would be great to get some information from you. As I am interested to work and travel at the same time! 🙂

I love your lifestyle…..I too have lived overseas and taught ESL in Asia and traveled to 30 countries, I have worked on a cruise ship and and on an island and in the tropics and lived with friends. I adore the nomad lifestyle. RIGHT ON!!! Keep it going! If you have lectures or give speeches…I would like to hear you. Thanks, you are a great role model.

[…] which is still yet to end 4,195 days later. He left home with $1,500 to his name. In his article How I Can Afford My Life of Constant Travel, he lays out a timeline of his travels and how he’s managed to support himself. Most of the […]

Hi there Wandering Earl! I am planning to move to mexico and was hoping you could help me out with a few questions? I read your blog about living for less than 1k per month in places and wanted to know about Riviera Maya for living? Is that a decent affordable place to live? I wanted to know also do we need passports to drive there from the U.S? Is it a safe place? Will we need a car? I have some money saved..by some I mean about 3k maybe a little more. I am a 28yrold woman with 2 sons who are 6 and 8. Any help you could give would be soooo wonderful! Thanks my traveling friend!

Hey Ace – The Riviera Maya has become much more expensive in recent years and while you could still live there on less than $1000, what you get for that money is significantly less these days. Yes, you do need a passport to enter a foreign country. The Riviera Maya is very safe if you use the same common sense you would use at home. If you need a car – that depends on what you plan to do, where you plan to live, if you are okay with public transportation, etc. I would say that $3000 won’t last the 3 of you too long down there at the moment. It might be better to look at less expensive regions.

Hey man wandering Earl. Let me just first say……………YOUR THE MAN!!!!!.your living the life I’ve always dreamt of !!This was my dream lifestyle eversince I was a little kid . I’m from India and am 19 .I’m a huge fan.

I have a plan of earning about 2 to 3 million dollars by the time I’m 38 and put it in a savings account and then live my dream.the good thing in India is that you get 10 percent interest on your fixed deposits so a moneyed guy is pretty much guaranteed a fixed income for life.

This is what keeps me going in life.i was wondering if you could suggest some good cheap destination as I am planning to make a short vacation in sept this year

Hey Raj – There are many options, from SE Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, even Malaysia) to Central America and Eastern Europe as well. I would focus on the places that really jump out at you and get you excited because you can almost always find a way to travel on a budget!

Your posts are always very inspiring and to be honest your whole lifestyle is what I dream of. My question is, do you think this sort of lifestyle is achievable for a shy guy? For example, you clearly aren’t shy otherwise you would never have been able to teach English without any sort of tefl cert etc. I have always wanted to live the life of travel but am very shy and tend to just go on trips of 3+ weeks. I’ve been to Thailand 3 times alone and it’s a bit of a utopia for me. Maybe I have more confidence than I give myself credit for because would people without confidence really go to Thailand alone?

I am considering my next move as a working holiday to Australia but i’m worried I won’t make friends there because of my shyness. But at 24 I guess it’s time to grow out of that if I want to achieve my dreams.

You just answered your own question 🙂

Biggest thing is, if you want to change something, or do something, don’t wait around: just do it. Like that Nike commercial. XD

I traveled with a friend in New Zealand on a working holiday visa for 6 months a few years ago (I’m now 24, like you). While I was with someone, we were in the minority! Many people traveled alone, and made friends along the way. It’s actually quite easy to make friends abroad, even if you’re really shy and introverted (like me). Sometimes all it takes is a connection like, “You’re from the United States? Me too!” Really, you connect with people you never thought you’d befriend in your own home country.

Best of luck to you! I hope you end up going. 🙂

I concur. No one should ever be afraid to travel alone as you do make friends easily, and if you’re by yourself, you’re more approachable than if you’re in a group. Many more people come up and talk with you when you’re by yourself compared to being with a friend or group of friends, as groups are more intimidating and so individuals are less likely to approach your group to start a conversation. Never let fear stop you travelling (within reason of course 🙂 )

[…] end up with the money you intended to have, still go. Anything can happen on the road. When Wandering Earl went on a three month backpacking trip back in the day, he left with only $1500 (GBP £971). He […]

Most excellent, Earl. This is the most forthright, honest journey I’ve read. Most folks save the details for their book, which makes sense, as another source of income. So, I really appreciate you putting it all out there. I’m finishing my TEFL course & setting off to teach English overseas. Thailand was my first choice but, w/o a degree, it doesn’t look promising. So, I thought about Colombia, but I’ll only be able to break even. Which leaves China. I can save more of my income in China than either places. I just hope I can stomach the air quality for a year. Like you, I’m leaving with only a couple thousand. I do my time in China. Get some teaching experience under my belt. Save some money then head out – building website, teaching, volunteering, exchanging… pretty much your template. I’d traveled to 17 countries in my 20s so I know that opportunities, that I can’t even predict, will come my way. Anyhow, awesome site. Your stories got me venting. Haha! You have a new fan.

Great article. I’ve been following you for two years now and I bought both How to Live a Life of Travel and How to Work on Cruise Ship.

How to Live a Life of Travel is the best ebook I have read about travel, I think i’ve read it 3-4 times haha! I recently did a review on my website too.

Have a good one Earl 😉

Hi Earl, Your writting impresses me so much. Moreover, your life with travelling is very charmingfull. i wished I could be as you were. I have some experience in travelling, but not as much as your. nice to know oyu and just owul dliek to let you know, once you happen to be in chiangmai, you have place and food with frienship waitting you here.

great blog! great life experience! like you, i love to travel a lot though im still a student right now. I’ve done plenty of traveling throughout the world by summer schools and exchange program. Actually im having great time here in France right now. Have you ever been to China? im sure u will find a whole different world there. We Chinese are crazy about foreigners. u’ll experience great fun. However i do have some practical questions that i always wanna to ask to a ‘professional traveller’ like you.(i suppose that’s just the way of how chinese people think…) if you do not have enough balance in your bank account, how can you deal with some unexpected situations like a major disease(god forbid)..wont that be a disaster?… how about when you r older and cannot live a nomad life like this anymore(though i hope u’ll do it forever)? have u considered where the money source will be then?

Wow your life of travel sounds amazing 🙂 I have one question – I’ve tried sifting through the other comments to find the answer but there are so many of them!

While you were working abroad in all these different countries…did you need to obtain a working visa at all? I know how much of a hassle it can be to get sometimes (UK working visa especially).

I’m from New Zealand, I do Graphic Design to make a living, hoping to travel South East Asia and Europe towards the end of this year.

Thanks! Jess

$2500, $1500 or even $1000. You are so right! I have easily traversed the globe on $1000/m. Not necessary living ‘high off the hog’ but accomplishing my ultimate goal of travel.

Prioritize what is important to you and the rest will fall inline.

Happy travels!

[…] Wandering Earl, lives all over the world and shared in quite a bit of detail on how he can afford his life of constant travel. Even if you’re not a wanderlust-er, go have a read. His determination is truly […]

[…] if you don’t end up with the money you intended to have, still go. Anything can happen. When Wandering Earl went on a three month backpacking trip back in the day, he left with only $1500 (GBP £971). He […]

I am a freelance journalist, and your story fascinates me. (I have written for the NY Times.) I would like to write a story about you, but I find the whole premise suspicious. I would like to interview you (Via Skype: alburty) You wend a profound influence on a lot of people. It deserves some inspection. Come out, come out wherever you are.

Hi Stevan. Not sure if I properly understand your post re your suspicion, but it sounds like you’re questioning whether the way Earl posts that he is able to travel is true. The way Earl described it is very familiar to me as I did something somewhat similar, on a smaller scale, for a couple of years hitchhiking around Australia. I went and worked in a ski resort for 3 months and then took off up the coast, and just kept going, then back down to the South the following winter, followed by a couple more months working in the snow. This gave me enough cash to head off for another 6 months, ending up in Westen Australia, teaching a bit of guitar, and some days in a music shop. I was camping and staying in hostels most of the time whilst on the road, and living very cheaply. These days, Couch Surfing is a much simpler way, but this was a while ago. Met some wonderful people, and have some great memories. Just about to jettison 99% of belongings and do the same again! But this time, around the world. Open ended.

You find the premise suspicious? You find working periodically to save money and then traveling to places much cheaper than the west on a small budget suspicious? You find writing on a blog about your travels and making a book about the same topic to earn extra money suspicious? You find affiliate marketing while having an online presence suspicious?

I find you suspicious you f’kin wanker.

Binge reading your blog. You are amazing, so inspiring. Glad to see someone living my dream life. Hopefully one day I will be able to live that life too!

Thanks for the tips and motivation

Hi Earl, I have been a shrink for 20years and then a casting manager in TV reality shows for 10 (and once in a while a documentary presenter), so I will answer your question “Why people do not understand what to do”. Of course being a real example is not enough (modeling is the psy world for this). The same is true also for telling people “How to”, just because they will read and tell themselves that they simply are not Earl. I think this is our common mistake. Which is telling the solution, which will always be only a personal solution. Nothing to do with the collective unconscious that drive our journeys. On the contrary we all should change our attitude. Telling our controversial issues, the pros but also the cons of what we are doing. The interior struggle, the defeats, and, why not, also out luck and the positive coincidences. Everybody wants to be Ulysses, we must (try) to be Homerus. ciao

This is my first post on your blog, although I started reading it a few months, and I have found it inspiring.

I am 15, and I am about to go to 6th form. I have wanted to travel for some time now, mostly thanks to your blog. I am an academic person, so everyone I know expects me to go into business or science, but I want to see the world.

I plan to go to university to get a degree, and I want to get through with as little debt as possible. I will then work for a year to save up some money before going off travelling, probably to SE Asia. However, I don’t know how I would break the news to my parents. They have always been quite protective of me, and they want me to get a well paid job, which is not what I want anymore. Do you have any advice for me?

Hey Cameron – Thanks for commenting and the best way, in my opinion, to tell your family is to have a plan. Don’t just say “I want to go travel”. Tell them where you want to travel, why you want to go there, what you hope to learn, what kind of experiences you want to have, and how those experiences and this new education will help you later in life. If you have such a plan, it sounds much more realistic then just wanting to travel indefinitely!

https://www.thelongestwayhome.com/blog/long-term-travel/long-term-travel-planning-preparing-your-friends-family-for-your-journey/

Also, here’s a good post on the topic:

Thanks Earl. I’ll make sure to have a plan when I tell them.

wow..I’m was just about to think how hard it is to travel. but I realize the only thing thats keeping one from travel is the set of mind! When you think it’s hard…then things are going to be hard for you. I like the free living. I’m about to visit some friends in the US and was about to give it up, thinking about the expenses. But you’re right , it can be done. What an eye opening to see the world and cultures. Money well spend! Stumbling to this is the best thing! Thank you. Best of luck

Regards Debra

Hi Earl! First time poster to your blog ….just found it and absolutely think it’s great!! Another poster Bart, asked some questions about if you had a home base, etc. This interested me, because i can’t find much info. on how to get “started” traveling full-time.

Did you have your own residence back home? Did you just give your notice and move out, not worrying if you wanted to come back? What did you do with all your “stuff”? Did you store it (which costs money), or just sold or got rid of it all. How did you know what to take with you….clothes, electronics etc, and how much….Did you just buy these things along the way?

These are my questions, as i think i have most of the rest figured out for now. Thanks so much!….Jeff

Hey Jeff – I did not have my own residence at home…I started traveling right after university, before I got a place. So I left for a few months, thinking I would come home, get a job, get a place and all that, but I never came home basically. As a result, I hadn’t accumulated much stuff either and right now I have a few boxes at my mom’s place and that’s about it.

As for what to take with me, I packed my backpack with what I thought I needed and then, over time, I figured out what I really needed…discarding what I didn’t need. You can buy anything you need along the way so now I know that I don’t need to pack much at all and it makes a difference, but everyone needs different things to be comfortable, so you just have to start and figure out what works best for you.

Hope that helps!

Hi, I love your blog. I’ve read many of these type of blogs ’cause I’m planning on doing this too. I have a big question (For me it’s hard to came back to my country once in a while to save money ’cause my career here doesn’t make more than U$700 a month aprox and working every day all day. I’d love to work as a tourism guide or teaching languages. I think this is what still stop me on leaving home) Ok, so my big question is how can you stay long times in some countries? ’cause there must be a max time of stay (after that u would be illegal). I’m from Chile and for example if i have a go and return ticket to spain and I go to many places and choose to stay…lets say africa or asia or whatever…am I not going to be in trouble for not going back to my country when my ticket said?… Thanks and have a beautiful days!

Hey Cami – It all depends on the country. Every country has different rules for travelers of different nationalities…sometimes you can stay one month, sometimes three months, sometimes more…you have to look up the visa rules for each country you want to visit. But if you get a job there, you would usually get a work permit through the company or organization that you are working for and this would allow you to stay longer in the country while you are working.

But there isn’t anything wrong with staying away from your country for a long time…you don’t have to go back at all if you don’t want…you won’t get in trouble if you stay away for a while 🙂

Thanks 4 ur reply! I’m really looking forwards to do this. I’m going to the Mediterranean/middle east in may-june it may be an option not to come back….! we’ll see

Best of luck and succes!!!

Thanks for a great summary Earl! I love your lifestyle of constant traveling, but am wondering whether you have some “home base” from which you set out for new adventures? I looked at certain years and mostly trips which you list don’t sum up to 12 months in every year (e.g. in 2010 you spent 6 months traveling around the Middle East, Australia and Southeast Asia, where did you live the other 6 months?). Bart

Hey Bart – Yes, I have had certain ‘bases’ from time to time. I used Mexico as a base for a couple of years and I’ve been using Bucharest, Romania as my base for the past 3 years.

Thanks for the answer Earl! Were you renting house there long term and eventually subleased it when you were out traveling or did you depend on short term accomodations wherever you came back to your “base”?

Also, could you explain how did you manage to stay in Mexico/Romania for so long from the legal perspective? Did you establish there some kind of residency or everything was on tourist visa and you just had to get out of country before it expired?

[…] a real passion for interacting with others and making new friends all over the world. Check out his amazing travel/work resume or read one of my favourite blog posts of his about the “currency of Pad […]

This is so very impressive, Earl. I just want to know, how can I work in a Cruise Ship? Do I need any special training? I’m from India, by the way…

In general, you would need a university degree and a CV that convinces the cruise line that you would be a great crew member. Of course, if you have some good experience in any job that would be a good match for a position on a ship, that definitely helps too!

[…] better since. Earl has been traveling full time since 1999; some of his most popular posts include how he affords his lifestyle and that time he got held up in U.S. Customs, after an accidental meeting with the […]

Wow that’s impressive! You have lived so many adventures! I am only at the beginning of my travels (or I hope so!) I travled 4 months in Asia and then worked in Australia for 10 months, and I am now traveling in New-Zealand, before coming back home, for a few months only I hope, to find a job and get enough money to go to South America. I just hope to find a job quickly so that I can keep on traveling and working abroad again! I created a blog about people who left everything to work abroad and live their life differently, I would love to hear from you! Happy new Year! Pauline

hi Earl, great stuff you have here. I’m planning to go to thailand alone next year. I’ve never traveled alone and not more than 5 days. I would like to try a month long, but I can’t due to job responsibilities. I’m a young web developer and busy preparing myself to earn even when I’m out the country. Anyway I’m scared to travel alone, do you have any advice for me?

[…] of my other friends showed me a link to WanderingEarl’s blog:. I loved this article, why don’t more people know about these other options? There is more […]

Hey Earl! First off I just want to say Thanks! I have always wanted to travel the world and this blog is a huge inspiration to make that dream a reality. I have a a question for you as I’m beginning to plan this journey.

What paperwork will I need traveling between countries?

Also where would you recommend starting out in the France/Germany/Great Britian areas? I’d like to if possible maybe rent an apt central to these locations for my first 3-4 months. Thanks again and Happy Travels!

Hey Drew – You’ll need a passport and then it depends on the country you visit as to whether or not you need a tourist visa to get in. You need to check the US State Department website that lists every country in the world and what the requirements are for US Citizens to get in.

As for where to start out, that’s for you to decide 🙂 You should start out in the part of the world that excites you the most and where you really can’t wait to explore. Starting anywhere else wouldn’t make much sense!

I’m a 37 year old female whom has a son that will be starting college this coming August 2015.

It has always been my dream to live as you are once my son went to college and this coming year will be my very first chance.

I want to travel to the Middle East. I will be a solo female traveler for one year. I will have about 1500 in USD income per month coming in and would love to work as to get to know people and emmerge myself into where I will be living. However, I want the flexibility to also wander about during this year. What sorts of jobs are available for an English only speaking woman in the Middle East. Although, I do plan to dig in and start learning a bit of the language before I go.

Do you think that garented income would be enough for me to live on Mon nthly and where would it be most beneficial for me to live. Also, what type of place would I be looking to live in? Do I rent? I’m not looking to live glamorously just wanting to be safe and make it somewhat homey.

Also, are you able to bring an animal with you?

Your blog has been a great sort of relief from the naysayers whom think I’m crazy for wanting to spend the my remaining days as a gypsy around this great big world.

Any response and/or direction would b of great help; Thanks, Tiffany

Hey Tiffany – Thanks for the comment and to be honest, right now, there aren’t too many options for the Middle East due to safety reasons. As an English speaker, your main option is going to be teaching English and right now you could look at Turkey, Dubai, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar perhaps…in some of those places such as UAE and Qatar, $1500 might not be enough but for the others, it could work if you kept a budget. For a place to live, it depends on where you go…you need to narrow it down to a specific town/city first in order to figure that out 🙂

And as for an animal…you might be able to bring one with you but it will be a hassle (getting the papers for it to cross borders is often not easy and can be expensive) and you’ll probably have to pay more for accommodation since many places don’t want pets. So that would really add hassle and money to your trip.

Thank you for the time you have taken to reply. To be honest, I’ve thought about this for a long time and I always seen in myself in my head living in Morocco. I fancy myself a writer/artist and the daydreaming of having my William S. Burroughs’s moment is one of my favorite past times. Plus, I have researched a bit and find the culture to be one of interest. And, after much thought, I feel like in a year I could visit and spend time in the Middle Eastern places I desire to travel to due to my faith.

Any thoughts or suggestions in reference to my previous questions concerning Morocco. I just stumbled upon your site yesterday and haven’t gotten to dig into it deeply yet, as I’m sure it’s going to be one of great help and resource as I plan over the next 10 months;) So, if you have wrote about it, sorry to make you repeat yourself, a link would be great as well;) I hope I don’t become a pest, but I’m determined to do this and I want to do it right;)

Thanks a bunch and Btw, Bill (AKA: The Secret Service In a past Life or so he thinks, watch dog, I am kinda determine joins me because I think he might die from heartache if he doesn’t) is going to be very upset about him potentially to having to join the kid at college and/or having an extended stay with Grandma;)

Hey Tiffany – I haven’t been to Morocco unfortunately so I don’t have much information to share about renting a place there or about bringing in an animal. As for the $1500 per month, that should be more than enough to live in Morocco…but if you plan to travel to other parts of the Middle East at times, you might need a little more simply due to transportation costs as Morocco is quite far from the other countries I’m assuming you would want to visit.

Ever taught of finally ending your journey as a nomad?

Just curious. 🙂

Hey Miguel – I don’t think about it too often actually. My theory is that if I wake up tomorrow and decide that it’s time for me to end this journey, that’s what I’ll do. But until that happens, I plan to keep on going!

Hey Earl, thanks for all the great information your site provides. Just wondering if your product “live a life of travel” would have much benefit for someone in my situation?

I traveled pretty consistently for about 3 years so I know the ins and out of this lifestyle. The piece that eludes me is financial sustainability. I’ve tried a handful of things, constantly looking for new ideas… is there much in that product beyond ESL teaching, cruise ships, blog/internet marketing ? If not can you point me in the direction of some resources which might be helpful?

Many thanks

Hey Colin – Yes, there is more to it than that…as financial stability is probably the main challenge that keeps people from traveling, that is something that I tackle in depth in this book!

Cheers to a great post man! I’m departing for hopefully many years of travel next year. Just waiting for some medical crap to be sorted out. Do you buy all one way tickets or round trip?

Hey Cory – I generally buy one-way tickets but you can read about that situation here: https://www.wanderingearl.com/proof-of-onward-travel-a-story-and-a-solution/

hi wandering earl. i am a 13 year old boy who loves to travel which led me to your page. and to be honest i envy your way of life and i want to do similar things with mine. however i still have a while to go before i should worry about this but what led you to the beginning of your travels. i am trying to ask what should i consider studding to get three? also how many other languages do you know and how did you get so good at them?

Hey Gunner – You should study what interests and excites you the most, otherwise, just like with anything, you won’t enjoy what you do. And the good news is that these days, just about anything you study can be transformed into some kind of job opportunity that allows you to travel. So you don’t need to be stuck studying something that you don’t really want to study, just for the sake of it. As for languages, I speak Spanish decently and then a little bit of several languages…but, in my opinion, the only way to get good at them is to use them every day, all day by living in a country where that language is spoken. You’ll learn much faster this way.

I wish I had the courage to do that when I was younger. Bravo!

Now I am near the age of 50 with a heck of a nest egg saved up, and soon I will be semi-retired and a full time self employed travelling blogger myself.

Do you mind if I ask what your e-book topics were? You are an inspiration. 🙂

Hey Gary – My eBooks can be found right here 🙂 https://www.wanderingearl.com/travel-resources/

I’m almost 29 years old and about 5.5 years deep into the real world workforce. Newly married and we are both more than ready to plan our escape, we say now or never! By the time we leave (hopefully in April 2015), we will have about $35,000 saved up and it’s just me and my husband. We are surfers, so we don’t need much to keep happy and we are going to cheap locales such as Mexico and Indonesia. What I’m mostly wondering, and maybe you’ve posted about this very thing, but did you just have all of your funds in one account and you relied on a single ATM card? I highly doubt it, but I also don’t know. I’m assuming credit cards are a bit of a double edged sword also. I don’t want to come back in way too much debt, however, my husband wants to keep his truck in CA so we will have car payments to worry about. The reason to keep the truck is we go to Baja all the time and Mexico is a stop on the world trip for sure. Anyway, so you never once ran out of money correct? We don’t plan to “work” while taking ~12 months off…we are open to opportunities to work, but don’t want to rely on finding work either. What are your thoughts on the issues of debt and dealing with some minor financial responsibilities while abroad? Also the specifics on “banking” while abroad. Thanks ahead of time!

Hey Lauren – Thanks for commenting and I use two bank accounts in the US, both of which don’t charge me any ATM fees when I withdraw money overseas from any ATM. So that makes it very easy. The same with credit cards…I have two and they don’t charge me any international fees either, and they earn me points that I can redeem for flights on various airlines as well.

And that is correct, I have not run out of money at any time. As for debt, you just need to get organized and make a plan, to understand how much you need to pay each month, how much you have overall and how much you can spend on your travels as a result. I personally don’t get into debt so even with my credit cards, I pay them off every single month on time. And for banking abroad, it’s quite easy really. If you get a bank account and credit card that doesn’t have international fees, then there’s nothing to worry about at all.

Alright! Signed up for Charles Schwab checking and a travel credit card with no fees, so I think I am sorted banking wise. Work end date is April 30th and I am counting down the days. My next question is in regards to technology that you have along with you. We plan to bring one laptop and one iphone. As well as a camera and a kindle. Is that sounding like an excessive amount of technology?? I’m not sure we need the laptop at all but wondering where you dump your photos along your travels?? Do you bring books with you to read or do you use a tablet, or do you find the time to even read? I never read now at home but asked for a kindle for Xmas in hopes to read more while traveling. Also do you only use wifi networks as you find them or do you have one of those portable wifi hotspots? Next I plan to research the blogging aspect to see if there’s any way to make money while abroad. Thanks ahead of time for any information!

Hey Lauren – Sounds like you’re on your way! As for technology, you should just bring what you think you need….I have a laptop, camera, phone and kindle and that works well for me. Everyone is different, there is no right or wrong amount of technology to carry, just whatever suits you. I do read on my kindle but again, whether or not you have time to read will depend on how you travel…it’s hard for me to tell you that 🙂

For Wifi, there is wifi in many places so it’s never a problem but I also travel with a portable device on some trips, especially because I need to be online for work. And with the blogging, keep in mind that it’s not possible to just create a blog and start earning money…in fact, it’s a poor way to earn an income because it takes a lot of time (many months to years) to create the kind of audience and traffic you need to earn anything. A lot of people start blogs thinking it will be a quick way to earn money but most of those people end up abandoning their blog before long because it’s a lot harder than one might think.

Thanks Earl! Can you tell me which brand of portable wifi device you use? I found a pay as you go device (Karma) but it is National only I think. Do you have an unlocked cell phone? Or do you have a cell phone plan? I have been told that unlocking your phone is the way to go, but maybe there are reasonable international plans out there?

Since you have a laptop, do you regularly upload your photos to your hard drive? I would be so fearful of losing the photos to theft or something like that. An external hard drive might be the solution to that, but not sure?

I completely understand what you are saying about the misleading idea of making money from a blog. I know it’s a lot more than just typing up a little blurb and magically making money. But I recall something you mentioned about affiliations or something and I am just going to start researching it. I won’t be banking on anything blog related, it’s just an interesting concept. I’d like to think my husband and I are unique, but who knows. I haven’t really seen any travel blogs geared towards traveling surfer couples 😉

Hello sally, I am from India. If you want any guidance I can help you. Basically it depends on what you like to visit like historical places, beaches, religion places or mountain places. If you need any help, i ll help you. In some cities it is not safe to travel after 9.00 pm. Decide what you like so I can give you proper suggestions 🙂

Hope you could pay a visit to my country Philippines 🙂

Thanks for sharing your life experiences with your readers..

I am also wanted to start out in this adventure of endless nomading – could you tell us what types of affiliate marketing you do?

Hey Chloe – I’ve used a variety of methods over the years. When I first started, I had other websites promoting various products in certain niches, sometimes eBook or digital products found on Clickbank. I basically used affilorama.com to get started and can highly recommend their free lessons.

Hi There Earl,

Thanks for being open on how you are getting revenue to fund your travels. I hope it’s OK for you to share with us what types of ebooks are you selling online and how it is generating income? I too am very interested to do what you do.

Hey Baguio – You can actually find my eBooks right here on my eBooks page 🙂 https://www.wanderingearl.com/travel-resources/

Got it! downloaded and reading…thank you so much!

Opps sorry…i don’t have it…yet

Hi Earl, which one is better… negotiating with current employer for location independent work style for a steady paycheck or trying make a way of earning on the go by freelancing (more uncertainty probably)? Which one would you prefer if you are asked to choose one?

Hey Rawn – There is no better option…it all depends on each person’s circumstances, skills and knowledge and which option would be more feasible for that individual.

My question was more like which one will facilitate my Long term travel more if I had both option open… committed to a job may have some strings attached like having internet connectivity during the working hours but I won’t be as worried about my expenses and income. On the other hand independent income plan will help to move wherever I want for a arbitrary period of time yet I may always thinking about my purse and anxious about ways of earning. Both of the ways may work out for a long term traveler but from a Peace of mind perspective during travel which one will be more favorable?

Hey Rawn – Again, that’s not something I can answer for another person. Everyone’s idea of peace of mind is completely different. Some people would be happier having that stable income and giving up some of the freedom while others would only be happier working independently and having no restrictions as a result, while having to work a little harder to get the income coming in. I’m sure the ‘best’ way is different for every person…I know some people who prefer each option. For me personally, I naturally prefer working independently but that’s probably because that’s what I’ve been doing. If things worked out differently and I worked remotely for a company, I might prefer that option too.

Thanks Earl…

[…] by Derek Earl Baron. Back in 1999, I left home for a 3 month trip to Asia that has still yet to end. Now, as a permanent nomad, my aim is to show you that long- term travel is not a crazy fantasy, but a very real lifestyle option instead. To read more about my travels and background, just click here. Read more on wanderingearl.com […]

Hey mate. Just stumbled on your site and am kind of in the same boat. But, mine is a bit different story.

I decided to live in Japan a couple of years while using a military college benefit to go to a language school here. So I have a steady (low, but enough) income through that, and am working my way to being fluent in japanese as well as working on computer programming.

In all, it doesn’t take much to travel. There are a lot of opportunities out there to support yourself. In Japan alone, you could possibly find someone with a farm to help out on for room and board!

[…] so. He’s also written a blog post about how he affords his constant life of travel here: How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel, but the main point of how he does it is that it’s his […]

So this has got my travelling bug up and alive again, I have traveled to South Africa: St Lucia, then Swaziland and up to Mozambique, however I felt slightly ripped off by the tour group I went with. I am now thinking of travelling to South America with my partner, is there anywhere that you would suggest we should go in particular/any tips about budgeting, or planning the trip ourselves?

You are incredibly inspiring,

Kind regards,

Hey Fiona – Thanks for commenting and to answer your questions, it’s hard for me to say. I recommend going to the places that inspire and excite you! Do some research of what there is to do and see in South America and just see what stands out as the most interesting experiences for the both of you, because what one person enjoys might not be what another traveler enjoys. And as for budgeting, just come up with an idea of how much you want to spend each month and start researching how much things cost in the countries you want to visit – accommodation, transportation, local meals, entrance fees, etc. Then you’ll be able to see if and how you can ensure that you stay within your budget. Wishing you a wonderful trip to S. America!

Hey Early, this is beyond inspiring. It about making opportunities to do what you love. I am in the midst of wanderlust by taking a job in Colorado soon where I will save up money and continue a nomadic journey. Thanks so much for laying all this out. Your story reminds me of nomadic matt and how he wants to help people travel again. Cheers.

Thanks for reading Jhessye!

I am planning to Travel to India soon , Can you please tell me where is the best place to shop there and where is the best cheap/clean hotel to stay at ? I wanted to ask you too if its safe for me as a lady to travel there alone you know we hear a lot about rape stories there . Thank you Earl and always keep us updated !

Hi, Sally. We had been to Kerala in India, a much cleaner and safer place. Most of the people in Kerala are English educated and are friendly. Munnar is also a nice place. For a solo lady traveller, it’s better you go through an Agent while going there though.

I believe I have met you! When you were working on the queen Mary 2, I went to the Caribbean from New York to see st Lucia st kitts etc… And met a guy very much like you! Thought ‘he seems pretty cool’ and here I am reading an article on your life traveling! Haha Very inspired! I will be doing this next year (a 3 month trip to Asia) Thanks for the article man!!!

Hey Ollie – That’s too funny and I was definitely on board for plenty of Caribbean cruises and was in St. Lucia and St. Kitts all the time! I wonder if it was me! And that’s excellent that you’ll be doing this next year…who knows where that will lead!

I love your post Earl,

This post is very inspiring and hopefully I can become a full time travel blogger. It must have been amazing to work on a cruise line and teaching English abroad is something that I really want to do, but I am having difficulties finding a job as English teacher since everywhere I have looked they only want native born English people. Since i am from Iceland they will not consider me even though I have lived 5 years in the U.S.

Thanks for this great post, it has really helped me to gain some insight in the life of a full time travel blogger.

Best of luck with your future travels.

Very inspiring! Im actually starting to do something like what you have done all these years but while doing it im building a steady stream of income (residual income) through network marketing to pay for all my expenses. I hope to have a great story to tell, like yours in a near future. Thanks for sharing!

Do you know any couples that do what you do? I am trying to convince my hubby that it would be doable.

Hey Kelly – There are plenty of couples out there doing just this…check out neverendingvoyage.com and hecktictravels.com to get started!

Amazing stories about your travels. I am officially jealous now! I wish I’d discovered this back when I was young. But that opportunity has passed now, although I do believe that it’s never too late. I am 55 years old, with numerous health issues that must be monitored with doctor visits about every three months. I use Medicare/Medicaid, and Social Security to survive now. My questions would be (1) How do you deal with USA taxes? And (2) What type of insurance do you use to travel abroad? And (3) Is there a USA law requiring you to come home every so often? If so, how often? With my limited income, I am afraid I won’t be able to afford the insurance, since my prescription drugs are SOOO expensive. But, if I could travel, I certainly would! It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to visit Europe, North Africa, Greece, Eastern Europe, Russia, Germany, Australia, and many other locales. I have a BFA in Fine Art, and can speak several languages rudimentarily (German, Russian, Spanish.) What would you do if you were in my position? Do you think a person could overcome these challenges? I’m a big believer in finding ways to make things work, and your website and info has given me a flicker of hope now. Anything you could respond with would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, and I hope you’re getting along well after your bout with Dengue Fever!

Hey Alan – Thanks for the comment and here are my answers to your questions.

1. I pay taxes just as if I was living in the US. 2. I have private health insurance in the US that covers 50% of my medical expenses overseas if anything happens. 3. No law exists at all…you can stay away for as long as you want and you still maintain your citizenship.

As for what I would do in your position, that’s obviously difficult for me to say. I guess would do some research, see how much my expenses would be, look at what kind of income I could have coming in and also try and find new ways to earn additional money. And then I would be able to make a more informed decision as to whether or not this lifestyle was possible. With that said, I’m a firm believer that anything is possible if you stay truly focused on your goal!

It sounds as if our stories might be pretty similar! I live in Ohio right now, and although I am raising the last of my four boys, I have the goal of teaching abroad once I get him into college, or off into his life! I’d be very interested in following your story! Of course I’m jealous that you are way ahead of me!!

Hi again Earl,

As you can see I’m stalking around your site, and picking up delicious tidbits of information! I am currently raising the last of my four sons waiting for the time to come to step out on my journey! I am finishing up my Masters degree in education, and acquiring my TESOL certification to apply for teaching jobs overseas. I’d like to spend time in a local area and take my time getting to know the place, so I thought a teaching job would be perfect for me!

I love your story. I am planning to do this myself next summer. I am in my 40’s I have raised three beautiful sons and now I am selling and gifting what I no longer to need to make my dream a reality. My question is as a US citizen you are required to pay taxes when working abroad have you given up your citizenship or how are you handling this with your journey?

Thank you for your story it is inspiring!

Susan from TN

Hey Susan – I simply pay US taxes just as I am required to do. There is no difference if I am living abroad or not, it’s as if I am living in the US when it comes to taxes.

Oh man you are living my dream.Sorry if you already mentioned it but did you have a particular degree to allow you to become an English teacher and/or cruise ship member?

Seems Iike i found the answer to my question XD

Hi Earl! Thank you so much for sharing! Great post! I have travelled for five years, without much money in my account either, once using only 90 USD for a 3 months stay in India. So I certainly agree that it is possible! Looking forward to read more about for travels and tips! Cheers!

Awesome post man! Thanks for going into detail about your finances. This will show readers how affordable it can be to live on the road. I always tell people to just put themselves out there, build up good karma and life will always provide for you. Finding a career path that allows you to travel is always the best way to go though. Well, thanks again. I’ll look into your other posts in the future. Please check out my blog.

Not wanting kids or a house is the essential requirement for a life of travel. For many people these are necessities in life, but your life is yours and you get to choose what you value most. The world is way too fascinating to pass up.

I’m in my 20s and by no means have a wild life of traveling. Many people think I do, however, since I enjoy visiting national parks and wilderness areas, plus taking road trips. Saving money is easy. I have a lousy phone & plan, an old car, I don’t eat out too often, and I have no cable TV.

Avoiding the 40 hour work week and having a freelance job is my dream. In the meantime, I’ll be saving money at my current job and anticipate the possibility of an adventure. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. You shouldn’t wonder why you can’t travel when you already have kids at home, or cannot live without an iphone.

You are basically living my dream.. I have always loved travel throughout my life, but my dad never took me to get a passport, instead we traveled to most of the U.S. I have since joined the Navy, because I fell into the societal expectation of “hard work,” in order to get a good job. I want to get out of the Navy so badly, as I now have saved more than enough to travel, and people just don’t understand why I don’t want to wait until I’m in my 40’s or later to travel…

A few questions: 1. Did you take a TEFL or some other course in order to teach English? 2. Was there any sense of job satisfaction from working with cruise lines, or was it crappy work that enabled you to travel? 3. If you could do it all over again, is there anything that you would have done at the start?

Good luck on continuing your travels, -David 🙂

Hey David – Thanks for commenting! As for your questions, I did not take a TEFL course. And yes, there was job satisfaction while working on the cruise ships, much more than I ever would have imagined. And I’m not too sure what I would have don’t differently or at the start…I would say that I would pretty much have kept things the same.

Thank you for your reply!

Hi, I was just wondering what your education background is/was before traveling. You mention teaching english in foreign countries and being a manager on cruise lines, etc. Do you have a degree that helped you get those positions? In your experience, would you say this lifestyle is still something that would be possible without going to college? Thanks 🙂

Hey Jamie – Have a read of the below post, it should answer your question!

https://www.wanderingearl.com/do-you-need-a-university-degree-to-travel-long-term/

How exactly do you acquire a passport and visa if you don’t have a permanent address just curious you see I want a life of travel but am wondering how you would acquire those things without a permanent home

Just use a relative’s address. Do you receive physical mail somewhere? If so, use that address.

This post really inspired me to do what I’ve always wanted to do since years ago which is Travel the world. I’ve traveled to 24 countries and counting, but have not yet achieved the “nomad” lifestyle. I currently live in Playa del Carmen (I am Mexican) and am saving up with my very poorly paid job to finally start doing exactly what I love most, which is traveling. If you’re in Playa or are coming back anytime soon I would love meeting up and getting to know your story a little better 🙂 I plan on starting my travels in late 2015 or early 2016 as an official nomad! I couldn’t be more excited looking forward to what’s to come! THank you so so so much!

Regards, Mari.

Thanks Mari…I shall let you know if I get back to Playa anytime in the near future!

Hi Earl, I’m coming into travel a little later in life – with a full blown grown up family at home. Trying to find a way that works – sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ll keep plugging away and then maybe those who have a desire to get up and get going later in life/with commitments and a family can find a way too!

I’m 16 and love travelling although I haven’t done much first over seas trip later this year. This has really inspired to maybe pursue this life as I really hate school even though I’m doing alright. I came across this on stumble upon and will read some more blogs. Thanks for the inspiration 🙂

Hey Brian – I appreciate you reading through some posts!

Great post Earl. I’m happy I have read your post and see your timeline travels. This is very inspiring.

How do you deal with saving for retirement and health care cost and all that boring stuff?

Hey May – Just have a read of this post…it should answer your questions! https://www.wanderingearl.com/do-long-term-travelers-prepare-for-retirement/

You bewitched me dude! how far miles you have done on your life’s path. I’m just shocked by what all I seen..you remind me of something that I had familirly got experienced… litt money and big goals to be achieved.. since 2009. I been travelling with too few cash on my road. I was born rumbling and nomadic man just like you dude.. I started my trip in Czech republic.. my travel was never lasting but i just gave a short pause. I worked as freelancer translator just to earn my life. I have spent more than 5,000$ I guess.I went to Uganda and Kenya. I enjoyed a lot. Now, I tell myself that I never felt regret on which i done. Keep going man, go ahead. I’m wishing to be your tripmate in any event. That’s my facbook. Please add : https://www.facebook.com/furkan.arisoy1

Ummm… do you have a girlfriend? 😉

Hey Jen – Hmmm…I like to keep my personal life private 🙂

That’s great – thanks!

Do you have any links or examples that you can refer me to of people living this type of lifestyle with children? I have already started researching issues on my own, such as alternative means of education, but being in contact with others that have already done it or are presently doing it would be nice. I realize that there would be many differences, but I would love a life of travel with my children.

Hey Diane – Check out:

AlmostFearless.com YTravelBlog.com 1Dad1Kid.com thefamilywithoutborders.com

I recently came across your site when searching for information about working aboard cruise ships. Having travelled on the QM2 a couple of times I figured I’d found the right site when I clicked on the link!

My husband and I live in Guernsey in the Channel Islands (worth a visit if you’re ever this way – we’d be happy to show you around!) and we travel as much as possible in between working commitments. Right now we’re on a three year plan to save as much money as possible before setting off to travel for as long as our funds will allow.

I was wondering – what did you make of cruise ship work and how did you get into it? We’ve heard so many stories about it being very difficult to gain employment aboard cruise ships in certain areas. We’ve also heard that the money is dreadful and that you don’t really get chance to enjoy the places you visit, although with regards to money it sounds like you did okay! What are your thoughts on this?

Is it a friendly atmosphere on board? We’re not shy of hard work and understand that you generally work 10-12 hours per day, 7 days per week whilst at sea. We’re not phased by that but I’d be concerned about signing a contract only to realise it’s not a nice place to work once you’re on board.

Anyhow, if you have the time we’d welcome your thoughts – we’re just starting to build our own travel blog with details of our experiences, although it’ll really just be a diary log for us to refer to so don’t expect to see an income stream from it at any point.

Good luck with the site – I’ve signed up and continue to look forward to your posts! I think it’s inspiring how you’ve managed to travel so long, although it’s clear from this post that it has taken a lot of time and hard work on your part, so congratulations to you for making your own way and working towards the lifestyle you want – that’s my plan someday 🙂

Hey Lou – Thanks for the comment and perhaps you might want to read this post I wrote about working on cruise ships:

https://www.wanderingearl.com/farewell-to-ship-life/

That should answer most of your questions!

Inspirational! You have so much respect from me.. first off from working on cruise ships (I have been working as a flight attendant, so kinda similar.. and it can be pretty hard work!) and also for earning sales of your e-books, I’m trying to get into some freelancing work as writing is my passion & I can’t wait to get traveling permanently! You are definitely living my dream.. and inspiring me!

That’s good! Well then, I am looking forward for that adventure. I hope you can write an article about it too!

More adventures Earl! 🙂

Very inspiring. I want to be like you; adventurer/traveler.

I love traveling too but I think you haven’t visited the most beautiful places like I did haha just kidding. Well then, I am inviting you to visit the Philippines, most especially Palawan, if you want to see a paradise. 🙂

Hey Carlaloo – I’ll get there eventually I’m sure 🙂

Really inspiring journey, thanks for sharing! I’ve been abroad for the past year and am ready to set off again back to Asia! Some people think I’m absurd and “haven’t you had enough adventure yet?” but it’s quite a rewarding experience.

Question regarding teaching abroad – it seems like many places have minimum commitments and/or teaching certificate requirements. How did you deal with these issues? Thanks!

Hey Molly – That is true that some places have certain requirements but there are definitely plenty that don’t, so if you don’t have a certificate, just keep searching until you find the opportunities that don’t require one. You’ll find opportunities for sure!

I admire your constant travel around the world but for me it is just a dream. I’m earning just a under $500 per month. It would be a tremendous task for me to save up money just to travel. This $500 per month is what I get from living in an under developed country.

[…] “How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel“ […]

Back home people spend money in many things they don’t need and that they don’t even realize. I used to tell my friend that the money they spend monthly going to party on Friday and Saturday night + packs of cigarettes , would give them enough money to travel every 4 or 5 months. easy! bon voyage!

[…] Travels “How I Make Money While Traveling” – Twenty-Something Travel “How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel” – Wandering […]

Hey I just started reading your blogs and I have a a couple of questions. Do you think its a good idea to travel with a pack of 4-5 people? we plan on a 2-3 year trip. What things should we be ready for? Where should we start?

Hey Paul – In my opinion, traveling with so many people causes many issues. The main thing is that everyone will want to do their own thing, some people will want to go to one town and some to another and in the end, it won’t be as smooth as when you travel on your own or with 1 other person. I can tell you that if 4-5 people travel together, there’s a very small chance that you will all stay together for 2-3 years. It might last for a month and then you’ll go your separate ways. But there’s nothing wrong with that in the end.

[…] just came across this really interesting post about how this guy can afford to travel nearly continuously (to date he has been on the road for […]

Great break down earl, just goes to show if you cut down on your expenses you can travel for extended periods of time without killing your bank account. You’ve certainly done well to answer those that think you need to be rich to constantly travel. Great article and a fantstic website, keep up the good work. See you on the road!

Hi, I’ve traveled a bit in my life, but I usually stay in one place for a few years, working there, but now I’ve had enough of being in Israel for 3 years and want to go back home. I’ve heard of the beauty of SE Asia and other places, but do you have to get a lot of vaccinations and take antimalarial drugs. There’s so much disease in a lot of these countries. Have fun.

Hey April – Those are all personal decisions but you don’t HAVE to do anything. You just need to do your research and decide if getting vaccinations or taking antimalarial drugs are for you. I personally don’t take anti-malarial drugs and I have only a few basic vaccinations, ones that are advisable to get no matter where in the world you travel.

I haven’t even taken vaccinations and seeing my friend getting really messed up from it, I’m gonna leave it that way. I think using a common sense while eating and drinking is much better prevention against diseases than chemicals. Just my two cents. Cheers 🙂

There are absolutely no vaccinations in existence that consist of chemicals.

Its sound like Mexico trap you hahaha Im from Mexico City, you are welcome whenever you want 🙂

hi Earl have you been to Iceland? =)

Hey Sigrun – Yes, I have been to Iceland twice 🙂

This is amazing. The timeline puts things in perspective and gives a clearer picture of how this is all possible. I’ve been traveling more and more every year and am slowly figuring out the in and outs like you did in the beginning. I’m looking forward to seeing the world. Thanks for this!

I think this is the most inspiring post I have ever read online! Good job and congratulations on having courage to take chances in your hands 🙂 True inspiration for me. Keep on 😉

Thanks Misha 🙂

Amazing post, i enjoy in reading!

[…] The first, is Wandering Earl. Earl has been travelling now for over fourteen years – he left his home with just $1500. He made it work by travelling cheap and by taking advantage of all the different ways to make and save money – from working on cruise ships or teaching English.Please click here to see a concise list of how he has made money. […]

[…] for articles on how to travel the world with a limited budget. After reading his post entitled How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel, my life was almost instantly changed. It made me realize just how possible the dream was if you […]

[…] ‘nous’ casos que conec (sempre a través dels seus blogs, com aquest o aquest altre) sobreviuen utilitzant models diversos per a aconseguir ingressos. Viatges pagats […]

Hi Earl, u just inspire me …….. its my dream to travel around the world as traveler photographer …….. but as a Indian we have to face all family drama …. job then marriage and so on …….. but ur blog really help me ……….change my thought i think to travel we need money a lot but u had change that thought …….. soon i ll be also travel like u ………. hope that day come soon , once again thanks a lot……….

I love this post! It is a great source of inspiration to travel! I truly believe in traveling for any budget, and this encourages me to continue traveling even if I have a busy full-time career. 🙂 Thanks for sharing, it was very useful and informative!

Great post, you obviously decided this is the lifestyle you wanted and did what you needed to make it happen. I’ve been living abroad/travelling for nearly 4 years now (funded by teaching English) and I can’t see it ending anytime soon!

Nice story Earl. I hope I would be like you, can manage work and travel. Thanks for sharing your story with us. You deserve that success in your life.

Hi Earl… It’s me again 🙂

I was wondering… the list you posted seems great if you’re single… but what if you’re half of a couple? Do you think it would be possible for a couple to achieve this near-constant traveling, or is it truly best suited for the individual, as it seems to appear?

Thanks! -A.

Hey Amanda – There are many couples out there doing just this! Check out uncorneredmarket.com, neverendingvoyage.com, globetrottergirls.com…and that’s just a few of the many couples making this lifestyle a reality.

Earl, you have to come to Argentina. You can live with a few dollars here, and the people is extremly warm!

Thanks Hugo. I’ve been to Argentina before actually, not sure when I’ll get back there again but I’m sure it will happen.

Your courage and confidence is amazing !!! True inspiration to who aspire to be a Nomad!!! as well.

[…] Earl, o blogueiro gringo do Wandering Earl, viaja desde 1999 e começou trabalhando em cruzeiros. Nesse post aqui ele conta como (em […]

What sort of health insurance coverage do you have, or how have you handled health care needs overseas? Also, are you putting away something for retirement, or with this lifestyle do you see no need to retire?

Hey Larry – I have private health insurance from the US and at times, I also purchase travel insurance depending on where I’m headed. And yes, I do save money, I’ve always saved money since I first started working, regardless of the job I was doing.

Thanks for sharing your success story in such details 😉 I would say it is a bit easier for native speakers with teaching English here and there to get things rollin, but i still think the online is what gave you the opportunity to really enjoy this nomadic lifestyle.

Thumbs up, great story and huge respect for what you have already done. Good luck and happy travells 😉

Hi. Just curious how you are able to manage work visas for jobs that are only a month or two long? Or even temporary jobs?

Hey Jack – I’m not sure if you read this post correctly. First, as stated in my post on teaching English in Thailand, I taught informally and I did not have a work visa for that. After that, I volunteered (which does not require a work visa) and I also worked on board cruise ships, which, once again, does not require a work visa. There is nothing on my list above that actually required a work visa at all.

[…] How I Can Afford My Life of Constant Travel (by Wandering Earl) […]

Thank you so much, you don’t understand how much this has inspired me to pursue my travel ambitions!

[…] Making a living while being on the road by WanderingEarl- Earl has been on the road for more than 14 years now, so his methods of generating revenue while traveling are valuable and are based on years long experience. […]

I love the timeline and I wish more blogs did this! It makes it so much easier to mentally piece together how exactly things worked and gives a much clearer picture than a blanket statement like “bring $10,000.” Thanks!

Hey Esrl, thanks very much for sharing your experiences! That is a very impressing timeline! You are too modest: your success is not only a matter of courage but also a question of flexibility and I of the ability to cope with all kinds of people.

Hey Earl, I just graduated college and recently booked a flight to bogota, Colombia to travel South America. I originally was only going to go for a month and a half, but I heard from a friend about your blog. It completely inspired me to try and extend my stay and travel more extensively. I have four months before I leave and I’ve managed to save about 1,500 dollars so far. I haven’t done much planning yet other than contacting college students who are members of couchsurfing.org. My dream is to travel the world, but I have no idea how to plan or make preparations for such a journey or fund continuous travel like you have done. I feel like it was no coincidence that I found your blog. If you have any pointers or advice, I would be forever grateful. Sean

Hey Sean – Thanks for commenting and it’s great that you’re interested in long-term travel as well! As for advice, I would direct you to my “ Getting Started ” page as well as my popular eBook “ How to Live a Life of Travel ” as those two resources will certainly help you figure out how to achieve your travel goals.

Thank you to share with us your traveller background, it’s the proof that with a lot of self-motivation, anybody could achieve awesome goals.

I’m impressed, you never changed your mind during more than 10 years: you’re still travelled-focus. Earl, keep going, you are a very good source of motivation for us.

Hope you’ll travel 10 years more 🙂

Hey ! I just found out ur blog today (in the middle of studying my freakin mid term test) , and all i can say is WOW ! Reading these inspiring you’ve been through makes me believe in myself more and more 😉 Anyway i just want to say that you should keep up the good work and wish all the best for your inspiring journey !

Bless from Indonesia

I have a question.. How easy is it to apply for a job to teach English?? Are you allowed to work (teach) without work permits or all that crap? :/

They’re probably the most troublesome things ever: documents.

Hey Phoebe – It’s really not so difficult and there isn’t much in terms of ‘documents’ that would create any hassle. Just look at a website such as: eslcafe.com and you’ll see listing all over the world. When you get hired, the school or language institute simply provides you with the paperwork needed to get the work permit. Quite easy.

This is a great post. It’s amazing how many people just don’t realize that it is doable to travel relatively inexpensively for long periods of time, especially people in the States. It just takes a little dedication and a leap of faith. Big time props to you for having the balls to make this happen and be open about how you’ve done it with others. You’re inspiring others, my friend.

Wow. You have an amazing wonderful life thankyou for making me feel that my dream is highly possible. Xxxxx

Love this! You don’t have to be rich to travel… We have so many resources and opportunities in the world now. Take advantage people! Pretty much anyone can do it. Great and simple run down of your travels and earning Earl. Yay for making money AND traveling. <3

Great to get a little rundown of your streams of income over the years. Very interesting.

Furthermore, it’s probably the only way to make sure that people understand that you don’t have some crazy trust fund set up somewhere…

You are my God and I officially worship you. Good work dude. True inspiration.

Thanks for the comment Kate 🙂

[…] aulas, trabalhando em cruzeiros e, há alguns anos, com a renda das vendas dos seus e-books (ele explica aqui). Ficou com inveja? Aprenda com o mestre: Earl escreveu um guia sobre como viver viajando (em […]

Hey Earl, you have my respect. That’s a quite interesting take on life.

[…] admit, I got a bit lucky on this one. My post “How I Can Afford My Life of Constant Travel” became quite popular somehow and ever since I wrote it back in June of 2011, it has brought me […]

Thank you for you post Earl! I have been considering quitting my job and traveling for awhile as I have been doing a lot of traveling already, but have had many concerns financially on how that would all work (just like most people). Read quite a few blogs, but yours was quite helpful in putting it a bit more in perspective! I look forward towards reading more of your posts – Enjoy your adventures!! 🙂

Hey Melissa – It takes some planning but it’s quite possible to achieve. There’s some great opportunities out there to earn some money overseas!

I want to travel the world like you. I hope i will be…

Thanks for sharing your tips for travelling! I am an avid traveller myself and it’s always interesting to see how others do it and manage to have money. In all honesty, as a traveller you never really have any money, it’s all about the experiences gained from the places you’ve been and the people you meet. I am definitely going to use some of your secrets.

Your story is inspirational and I didn’t discover my passion of wanting to travel the world until recently. Reading this blog has only made me more informative but excited about one day (hopefully soon) taking off and seeing the world.

Although I read through lots of your posts I still fear taking that next step. I have more money than when you left home but I don’t have a College education or much work experience other than retail. Cruise jobs interests me a lot! Like everyone, I’m worried about the Visa laws and the ability to sustain work for constant travels.

yeah. the issue of finding a partner for life and all that jazz always comes up in travel discussions. but you know what, it’s possible! ;D

Congrats on the awesome life style! reality is what you make it right? 🙂

i wish to achieve something similar to what you have done. continue on continuing on 🙂

[…] How I Can Afford My Life of Constant Travel by Wandering […]

Hi Earl! I have a dream travel the world like you 🙂 Hope meet you oneday 🙂 I’m Viet Anh, from Vietnam. I’m 22.

If you have never traveled before, how do you go about finding a place to stay and a job in another country?

Hey Allie – It all depends on where you are traveling but there are endless resources online these days to find places to stay (hostelworld.com / airbnb.com / etc.) and also to try and find work. Once you narrow down the destination you want to visit, it makes it easier to narrow down the search for these things too.

Hi Earl, I have been following your travels for almost a year now and I’m always amazed when I read your post. I read a lot of your posts before my boyfriend and I decided to travel around the world, you really inspired us. I started a blog not so long ago (we have been travelling for 3 months now) and for the subject about saving money while travelling/ how people can keep on travelling, I wrote a post about housesitting, have you done that before? Here is my link: https://mywayaroundtheworld.com/make-your-travels-last-longer/

Kind regards Nicole Thomsen

Ps my boyfriend and I are thinking about trying a guide tour with you. But I will write you when we have decided 🙂

Hey Nicole – I personally haven’t really done any official housesitting but I certainly know many travelers that do, and it’s a great option. And I shall look forward to your message about my tours whenever you decide!

Hey earl, you have an interesting post, the cruise job in particular, i have a question, take in account i’m from a 3rd world country ….. did you ever had to apply an immigration form to work and live legally for more than 3 months in any of the country’s you worked in? Regards.

Hey Jaime – No, I’ve never needed a work permit for any of the jobs I’ve had or places I’ve lived.

I see you spent quite a bit of time in middle eastern areas, thailand and india, was there a particular reason for this or were these some of your favorite areas? I wanted to get out of the military and travel atleast a year, but I wasn’t sure if I had enough money. It sounds like you made it with very little and I could too!

I would definetly love to go to India, Thailand, Indonesia etc though, they have always fascinated me most.

Anything you’d comment on that?

Hey Sarah – There are countries all over the world that I’ve loved but some that I enjoy returning to over and over again. As for going to India, Thailand and Indonesia, all I can say is, why not? They are all wonderful destinations and I’m confident you would have some truly amazing experiences in those parts.

Wow, I wish more travelers would put their funding into terms like this. Congrats to you on making it work and continuing to prosper!

You haven’t mentioned debt – I assume you never had student loans or those were paid off before you set off on your adventures?

Hey Lisa – I did have student loan debt when I started traveling. I simply deferred the payments until I was earning an income, which happened to be on board cruise ships. And that experience allowed me to pay off the debt each month and still save money at the same time.

You never mentioned bills. I assume you didn’t leave the US with student loans or credit card debt?

Thanks for your sharing here and congrats you found a balance between travel and living. But you must be a native speaker to teach English at foreign country right ?

Hey Rachel – That certainly does help but I do know of some non-native speakers who have managed to get teaching jobs too. Also, English is not the only language people are looking to learn so no matter what a person’s native language might be, there might be people looking for instruction!

First of all thank you for doing this wonderful act of sharing your knowledge and experience with others. I wonder how do you manage to reply to so many posts?

By the way, it may sound strange but I started working as a freelancer starting around Jan 2012. It was to overcome depression and divert my energy. I was and I am still continuing with my regular job but want to move to full time freelancing. The only problem I am facing is fear. Fear of what if things do not go right and I am not able to earn enough. What should I do to overcome such fear? The economic condition around the world is adding to such fear.

Thanks for your time.

Hey Brijesh – My advice to overcome such fear is to think about what is the worst case scenario? What if you try to move to full time freelancing and it doesn’t work out? Well, you’ll have to go back and get another full time job, which in the end, isn’t the end of the world. And if you have confidence in yourself and you are determined to achieve your goals, then you should take the step in the direction that you truly want.

Of course the bitc** one got posted! It was saying that I loved the way you mixed ‘real life’ jobs with those that every nomadic traveler does at some point (me included, pre kid) – teaching English, etc. – and that I sent it to my son who wants to be a travel writer/photographer someday, it’s great inspiration.

best, Molly

Hey Molly – Ha…that’s a good example of spam filters not being quite perfect! But I do thank you for the comment and if your son ever has any questions, just tell him to send me an email and I’ll help out as best I can.

I’m a bit insulted… I left a – very nice actually – comment here a few weeks ago and checked back as I sometimes do when bored to see if got a reply and my comment was not even posted. ? Do you ignore posters for some reason? Wondering why I wouldn’t have been deemed worthy to post (after taking the time to even bother), if that is what happened, as you moderate comments. Would love feedback. best, Molly

Hey Molly – Nothing to be insulted by at all. As long as a comment isn’t full of profanity, I approve it. However, sometimes, as is the case with any website, the spam filter labels normal comments as spam and that must have happened in this case. I don’t go through all the comments in my spam folder because it would take a long time. And I didn’t see your comment before so I’m sure that’s what happened. Feel free to post it again and I’ll keep an eye out for it.

I have some questions that you may have already made posts on or may have links to resources on and if so, please let me know of these. Otherwise I hope that you can answer these questions directly. My wife and I are in our mid 20’s with 2 young boys living the “American Dream” of work, debt, stress, work, more stress and really no freedom. We have started our journey to travel the world or at least move abroad for a more simple life that can be spent together. Currently we are just working on selling all of our stuff. I have not been able to find too many people that are doing what you do with kids, or if they do, they are not writing about it. I was wondering how many people whom you have met that are doing some form of what you do but with kids? My other question is about taxes and your citizenship status as an american. How does all that work with you always being in another country and not having a home address? Hope that all makes sense. Thanks

Hey Tommy – There are plenty of people out there traveling with kids, definitely no shortage. Some blogs to check out might include: 1dad1kid.com / almostfearless.com / familyonbikes.org / soultravelers3.com / thenomadicfamily.com

As for taxes and citizenship, I’m still an american citizen no matter what and as a result, I pay taxes just as if I was back in the US. If you don’t have an address in the US and you are constantly moving around the world, not for work, you are considered an ‘itinerant’ in the eyes of the US government. And itinerants must pay taxes as normal. If you live in another country, then you might be able to have a good chunk of your income exempted from taxes but there are so many rules and regulations that it’s impossible to summarize here. It’s completely different depending on one’s situation.

[…] Read it for yourself here. […]

Nice post, and congrats on finding a balance mean to travel and living.

I was wondering, for individuals like myself, who want to travel – but also want to save money for the future, and possibly buy a house or other large investments, do you have any advice?

Hey Kar – Well, that’s exactly what I’m doing myself. Just because I travel and work overseas (or online) doesn’t mean that I’m not saving for the future as well. Many of the options for earning money are not just options that will put a few dollars in your pocket…there are plenty of ways to earn a full time income as well.

Hi earl your story is awe inspiring I am going travelling with a friend all over Europe in 3 weeks time we hope to go for around 4 months. This will be my first time traveling properly do you have any tips on how we can make our trip last longer and tips on finding work out in the places thankyou 🙂

Hi Christie,

I too am working on a blog but wont be starting it up till the end of my next adventures. I would be really interested to see how yours goes starting up so if you are looking for some followers let me know the address!

I totally agree with Earl, travelling isn’t a competition to see who can visit the most countries before they die, its about having the freedom to do what you want. Also, if you look to the top of this page you will notice that the number of countries he has visited is 86 at this stage, not a bad effort.

Hi Earl this is a very helpful timeline. I like the idea of just taking jobs when you need them. Makes for some interesting opportunities. I am working on a blog but I know it will take time and some serious adventure before it brings in any money. How long did it take for your online projects to bring in $1000 a month?

Hey Christie – It’s not so much how long it took for a project to earn that much because I earned that much after starting several projects. So once I had a few projects working, I was able to earn $1000 per month. It took me a couple of years though to get all those projects underway!

Hi, Earl s,

wonderful to know your life and abt the xperiences u share. I am in INdia and cant find the short term travelling and earning professions like travelling and being a local guide. could u suggest me how can i go ahead and fulfill my dream on working and getting some money with travel.

see u buddy omesh

We shouldn’t assume that everyone wants a wife and a family. Some people want to spend there life traveling and with the responsibility of those things it more often then not doesn’t happen. Kudos to you for following your dreams and being in the places you want to be.

Just found your site as I was researching on how to earn money while traveling. In a little over a month I will leave Istanbul (I’m an American) after living here for 2 years following a hitchhiking trip circling the Black Sea on about $4000 I had saved teaching in Korea.

I’m a bit anxious this time because I’ll be traveling from Istanbul to Spain by hitchhiking (with perhaps just $2000 max). I’d really like to get a travel/photography website up and running before I go. Did you develop this site on your own or did you get professional help with it?

I’m hoping to do some house/pet -sitting, couchsurfing, volunteering…and of course several photo projects while I do this trip to help get me to where I’m going.

This blog looks great and I’m getting a lot of helpful and supporting info for my own new journey coming up.

Ok Guy. I read your article. But I figured it out that your traveling style is just merely suited to the citizens of the rich western countries. Because at the begining when you ran out of your money, you always went back to the states to look for your short-term jobs. The things that you have worked on afterwards to support your journey and life may have been learned along your trips, therefore they are needless to consider. What I’m wanting to point out here is that the starting years of your nomadic journey were based on previleges as a citizen of a rich country, It’s not something that the normal citizens from the 2nd, 3rd worlds can do. I’m quite sure that you have witnessed that almost of travelers or nomads along your way are from the west.

Hey Stephen – Yes, it is of course easier for those from western countries to make this kind of lifestyle a reality, but with that said, I have met people from dozens and dozens of countries around the world, including developing countries, who have also created such a lifestyle. Right now I am in a cafe in Lviv, Ukraine, and sitting here with me are a Mexican, a Turkish citizen, another American and a guy from Ukraine, all of whom live the same kind of nomadic life. It might take extra effort but it’s still possible.

Hey Stephen – Yes, it is of course easier for those from western countries to make this kind of lifestyle a reality. I’m not claiming otherwise. But with that said, I have met people from dozens and dozens of countries around the world, including developing countries, who have also created such a lifestyle. Right now I am in a cafe in Lviv, Ukraine, and sitting here with me are a Mexican, a Turkish citizen, another American and a guy from Ukraine, all of whom live the same kind of nomadic life. I also received an email from a Nepali citizen this week who has managed to live a life of travel for several years. I have friends from Mexico, Romania, India, Thailand and Indonesia who also work online or have managed to find work around the world as they travel continuously. It might take extra effort for some but it’s still possible.

This is a great website and I am slightly jealous of all the things you have experienced. There is a part of me who would just love to take off and leave everything behind and be a nomad. But as life turned out I got married and had a daughter and nothing has been better than that in my whole life. Different strokes for different folks though. Your’e adventures sound like a blast.

Hey Earl..I have done some traveling -India, Thailand, US, and on..stopping the university to learn a bit more about this world diverse culture.Working in any kind of thing just to survive out there and have no finacial help from parents. And so, I realized I can’t stay still in just one place anymore. Thus, I came back to Brazil just to finish my graduation (for my parents) and started dreming about a nomad life. All this talking is just to let you know that after reading your blog I found out I’m not crazy cause of this idea – and if I am crazy, there are othe crazy people surviving it 😉 . My trip is about to start (Aug 13) and I only have a one way fly and an openmind. Maybe I will be the next ‘Earl’ 😛

Hey Rafaela – That’s excellent and I’m really happy for you! If traveling means we’re crazy, I’ll gladly accept it 🙂

Do let us know how your adventure goes!

The biggest hurdle for most people: Debt. Get out of debt (or don’t get into debt to begin with) and you’re going to be much better off. I’m also thankful that my wife loves travelling and we’re planning on doing something similar in the future. Great site, by the way.

i just came across your site and must admit it is by far the best lifestle i have ever seen…..i hope to take the leap some day and become a traveller like you …..and i have no idea how to find the courage to do that….

I hope hat one day I can take this leap. I’m not one for settling down, and being in one place too long makes me less than desirable to remain around. I also love traveling and am about to head back to Japan for an 11 month program.

I’ve always wanted to just go out and travel, couch surf, camp it out, that kind of thing. As a young female though, I’ve always felt that perhaps doing such a thing alone is not the wisest, and though I’ve traveled to a few places on my own, there was always a guaranteed and controlled environment at the end of the day. I’d love to find a traveling partner at some point though, I’ve yet to find anyone who can handle being on the move as often as I would like.

Maybe after I finish my degree and decide whether or not I’m going to grad school I’ll take that leap and head on out to the wide and fascinating world that exists. What you’re doing is awesome and amazing and I aim to end up like this one day.

Good luck in all your ventures!

Thank you Paige!

Hi Earl. This is really inspiring. I actually just resigned from my job as a TV writer to pursue traveling and freelance writing. After reading your blog, I’m thinking I should’ve done that years ago. But anyway, it’s not too late.

I’m now based in Bangkok and will be traveling to the US and Canada starting next week. I’m very excited to visit the places where I lived before and also places that I haven’t been. Anyway, great blog! Just subscribed. =)

Hey Adrian – It’s never too late at all! And thank you very much for subscribing, much appreciated!

Good afternoon, I was wondering how did you deal with immigration and all that. How did you manage to get into countries despite having to look for an income? Whenever I traveled to the U.K., France, Canada, Turks & Caicos (pretty much everywhere I’ve gone) the stamp read that I wasn’t able to receive any type of employment or funds. How did you manage to land all these jobs? And did you have to leave after a certain amount of time in one place? For example, if I traveled to France, I would have to leave after 3 months according to their laws and permission to enter the country. The only place I can legally stay as much as I want are Mexico and The United States because I have citizenship in Mexico and permanent residency in the U.S.

Hey Eduardo – Thanks for the comment. When I was in Thailand teaching English, I was on a tourist visa and every month, I crossed the border to Myanmar, came back to Thailand and received another 30 days stamp. Technically, I wasn’t allowed to work and that’s also why I didn’t work for a company. I taught English on my own, just by advertising at the university.

And for my other jobs, I didn’t need a work visa. When I worked on board cruise ships, I didn’t need any visas and now I work online, so I don’t need work visas for that either. I can just travel on tourist visas and it’s all legal.

Hi Earl, Cool life! I have to get up at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning….LOL Anyway, my question is: How do you know people all around the world? How do you convince them to allow you to live with them for free for months at a time? I think that was the one thing that made me realize that not everyone could be able to do what you have been doing. Even with Couchsurfing, I can’t imagine being able to cover the housing, especially as a female. T

Hey Trisha – Thanks for the comment and hope it wasn’t too difficult getting up so early 🙂

As for your question, I don’t stay with people for free…I almost always pay rent, even when I’m staying with friends. That’s always been my way and that won’t change. A good example is right now in Romania where I live with a good friend of mine but I pay rent every month. As for how I have friends around the world…that’s from traveling. The more you travel, the more people you meet from other countries and before you know it, you have contacts all over the world. So in the end, yes, everyone can do what I’m doing because I’m paying my way and making it happen. And to think of how many people, both males and females, use Couchsurfing on a regular basis, which basically eliminates accommodation costs all together, the truth is that you could live this lifestyle for much less money than I spend!

Wow, am I jealous! I have a niece that works on the cruise ships as a stage manager and has circled the globe a few times now. The adventures and experiences for those lucky enough to travel and get paid at the same time are opportunities of a lifetime! Thanks for sharing, love the truck photo!

I love reading the whole series and your current updates, what a way to travel and live a self determined life – congrats!

When I read such nice blogs I wonder about few points,

1. How do you manage to get visa and do you get working visa? 2. People from countries like US, UK, Canada etc have some advantages because government takes good care in older age and people do not need to worry about saving much. Am I wrong?

Hey Brijesh – For the jobs I’ve done, I haven’t needed work visas. I usually travel on tourists visas which, for some nationalities are easier to obtain that others. And about money, I still need to save up for old age…have a read of this post:

https://www.wanderingearl.com/do-long-term-travelers-prepare-for-retirement/

Hi Earl, Thanks for your reply. I did not know that one can work while being on a tourist visa. I know that working holiday visa is one option but being an Indian citizen I cannot get one.

I will do some more research on visa aspect and the kind of jobs that one can take up while being on a tourist visa.

Thank you again. Your posts are really helpful and inspiring. Keep it up…

Hey Brijesh – One normally cannot work while on a tourist visa but the jobs I had did not require such permits. When working on board cruise ships, I did not need any working visas because the cruise line takes care of that and now that I work online on my laptop, I don’t need a work visa because I’m not actually doing any work or earning any money in any of the countries I visit.

I think traveling is great… I wish i could have the courage to do what you ‘re doing…

[…] their priority to travel and did it. No special formula or secret sauce involved. Action = results. Lifelong memories and new experiences all while actually spending less than if we were to stay home … sign me […]

Great post and informative timeline Earl.

Earl – this is awesome and inspiring. I’ve only been on the road for just over a year and my journey seems so short compared to yours. And I totally agree with you, you don’t need a lot of money to travel. It’s all about learning to do it affordably!

Great post Earl! Its good to see you dont need to be rich to travel often!

Hey Earl, such a great life traveling, isn’t it? I used to work on cruise ships a lifetime ago and did not fall in love with it. Maybe as a Tour Manager and with shorter contracts that lifestyle is better. How did you get that position? 🙂 I love traveling myself and I hope to get inspired to drop everything else and go on the road for longer times again.

Hey Mihaela – I had a contact when I first applied for cruise ship jobs and after interviewing me, they decided that I would be a good fit for the Shore Excursion department. So that’s how it all started for me.

May I had I think it is a pity that you often goes to the same countries.. you should discover many countries as you could. I’ve been 6 times in Vietnam, Thailand, 3 times in Laos, Indenosia… and that was nice, but i think it is better to discover new countries, new things 😉 How many countries have you visited, just by curiosity

Hey Adriano – It’s not a pity at all to visit the same countries. There is always something to learn and always new people to meet, even if you return to the same place 1000 times!

I agree with Earl, if you like a place why not visit again? Don’t have to be just a country counter…

interesting. But you were not constantly traveling as you were saying in the begining of your post… time when you were looking for a job, when you came back, an so on… I presume you came back to US to have a teaching diploma? Cause when you teach a foreign langage in Asia (Vietnam and Thailand especially) it is more than 2000$ a month with a diploma.

I’ve done some travels, as few years “like” you travelling/working/traveling that was interesting. I hope you still enjoy it. there is one little issue when you really are always traveling: to find you wife, to have a family… I hope you’ll find some day.

Hey Adriano – Actually, I’ve spent very little time in the US since 1999 and I did not come back to get a teaching diploma. I never had a teaching diploma and taught English on my own, not through a language school.

This was a really great post. Your breakdown was good and believable. Continue living as oppose to just making a living. Thanks for sharing.

[…] life of travel I have pursued over the last four years has led me to some weird but more importantly wonderful […]

Great article. I have always dreamt about doing something like this. Maybe not that long though. I still lack courage to leave it all behind, but this post at least made me see that it is in fact possible.

Hi Earl! I really love your blog! You are a great inspiration. I finally had the courage to quit my office job here in Switzerland (after more than 12 years) to follow my dreams of traveling the world and learning new languages. I can not wait to pack my bags. I hope not to return anytime soon. 🙂 Thanks for this great blog with much useful information. Take care, Petra

Hey Earl. Want to start off by saying I really enjoy reading your blog. It is both entertaining and informationally benefitial. I have considered living a life similar to what you describe and I just have several question:

1.) When you take up jobs as with the teaching and cruise lines, are you offered the job before you go to a foreign country or do you travel to the desired location before looking for a means of income? 2.) Similarly, as for housing, do you plan out where you will sleep days before online and such or do you wander around during the day and come across a suitable overnight place to stay? And when you are travelling, how can you gaurantee yourself a place to sleep, in other words how do you know if you will be able to access internet or a phone where you will be when you are in need of a place to sleep? 3.) Just out of curiosity, I understand you speak Spanish because you have lived out of Mexico, but were you always fluent in the native language before travelling to a foreign country? You mentioned mingling with citizen in Pakistan in a seperate article, what is your process for learning languages?

Sorry for all the questions, just very curious on the whole idea of travelling the world as I am highly considering it in the near future. Thanks for the help. Good luck on your travels.

Hey Zach – Here you go…

1. It depends. For a cruise ship job you definitely need to apply before hand as it can be a long application process. But for teaching English, I think it’s best to travel to the destination first and check out your options. You don’t want to enter into an employment contract in another country only to show up and find out that the school you’re teaching at is not what you expected at all.

2. Normally, I’ll book my first few nights accommodation these days and then I’ll figure it out when I’m there. But with sites such as hostelworld.com, it’s remarkably easy to find accommodation pretty much anywhere in the world. And these days, internet is absolutely everywhere. If you don’t have internet, then chances are you’re in a place where you wouldn’t be able to book a room in advance anyway and you’ll still find options just walking around or asking locals. In 13 years I’ve never been without a place to stay.

3. I only speak English and Spanish and these days enough English is spoken in every corner of the world to make it quite easy to communicate. It’s important to learn at least the basics of any local language but that doesn’t take long. Usually, such as happened in Pakistan, I end up finding someone who speaks English well and then that person can also help translate my conversations with others.

Thank you for replying so thoroughly and so soon! Great information. You can expect more support and sharing of your blog in the near future. Safe travels!

So, when did you travel to Sri Lanka? There is no mentioned of it anywhere and would like to know…

Hey Kris – I traveled to Sri Lanka back in 2006 I believe which was before I had the blog. So I haven’t gone back that far and written about such destinations.

[…] inspiration to anyone who wants to have a new experience abroad. What we like: Inspiring posts like How I can afford my life of constant travel, which shows exactly what you can achieve with vision and […]

Wow, you’re living the dream. This is amazing…congrats on making it all work. Inspires me to travel.

i just chanced upon your blog randomly after searching for ‘best travel blogs’ and goodness you are amazing! how do you do it! (rhetorical question)

Truly amazing. That’s how I imagine my life…although I’m satisfied with imagining for now. Just for now 🙂

Your post was inspiring and even I want to travel as many countries as possible. Will see when my journey going to start! By the way I see lot of India trip in your timeline. How many states your covered so far ? I am just Curious 🙂

Hey Shiva – I think I’ve been to all but 5 states in India so far 🙂

I’ve been told by many of my elders that long-term travel is a highly unachievable feat for me, mainly because of the travel expenses. In reading this blog of yours, I’m starting to believe that maybe I can also travel for a long period of time.

When you taught English at Thailand, were you already fluent in speaking Thai? And, did you also need a teaching degree/qualification, or any form of training, to teach at a foreign country? Also, if teaching isn’t a favorable job, what other sorts of jobs are there in Asia?

I’m very eager to hear more from you, as you have a rewarding lifestyle that continually broadens your perspective of the world and its people.

Thank you for your time 🙂

Hey Nicole – I didn’t speak Thai at all because that’s not needed. The students already have a basic understanding of English and it is much faster for them to learn if you speak only in English and not in the their native language. For more about my teaching experience, have a read of this post:

http://www.wanderingearl.com/how-to-fund-your-travels-with-creativity/

There is no need to give up because you have a family. Actually, we think the opposite is true. You should give your kids the world, let them see it and experience with your guidance. We made it happen and now live in Spain. You can do it too, if it is your priority. 🙂

Paul, I want to tell you that it is not impossible to have a life of travel once you have kids. I live in China and know several people who combine travel and working abroad with having small children. The kids are ‘worldly’, not into material possessions and generally have a very tolerant, open-minded attitude about life. It’s possible to change jobs and move to other areas of Asia. Travel is cheap and fairly easy. Don’t give up on it for your kids – you might be doing them a favour.

Oh… God, you have a very beautiful life, Earl. I actually obsessed to travel just to one country nearest, once in my life time. But until now, being forty years old it is still be a dream. So now, I always travel on my own world, in front of my old PC everyday.

Seems to me that the most important prerequisite for becoming a nomad is an innate desire to travel. If that flame is strong enough than nothing will stop you from doing it and the way will be made clear. If it’s not strong then nothing will get you off the couch. Quite simple.

Thank you for the info. It’s interesting that you have never been to Africa yet you have travelled for so many years.

I am African so i must admit that I am biased. We invite you to our beautiful continent.

Quite good money with the cruises. And with your website! I managed to receive 20€ of donations in almost 2 years, not that inspiring 🙂

Hey Earl Me and my 17 year old girl and 15 year old boy are wantimg to start roaming the world. Ive got a few ideas just wanting your input

Hi Earl, thank you sooo much for sharing! It seriously cleared my mind after wondering, “How the hell this guy survive travelling for sooo long! Is he a millionaire??” This post i super awesome. Really appreciate your effort for putting this up!

Thanks for reading Lia! And I’m definitely not a millionaire at all 🙂

Hi Earl ! I am 19 and currently majoring in Communication. Will employers on cruise ships be looking for some one with a specific degree or will any degree work just fine ? As long as you have a higher education ? I ask because I also aspire to a life like yours and after reading your article, I agree with others that working on cruise ships seems to be the best way to earn money. Thanks in advance ! Bree

Hey Bree – It really depends on the position and any other experiences/skills/knowledge you may have in life. But as an example, I had a degree in Sport Management and I ended up as a Tour Manager on cruise ships…little connection between those two 🙂

Wow, this is very interesting. You are a proof that indeed, it is possible to live a nomadic life. Thanks a lot for sharing the details. You inspire me a lot.

really like your story.

If you are ever in Mexico City shoot me a mail. We are doing a lot of cool experiences here in the city and the sourroundings plus we’ll for sure find you a coach to crash.

Cheers, Ralf

sounds like you got the life!! And I flipped when I saw you went to Sayulita!! I love that place!!! 🙂 I go to San Miguel De Allende, Guanajuato every summer in Mexico, and its a really gorgeous town, you should visit it sometime.

Hey Emma – I should visit sometime…never been to San Miguel de Allende.

It’s absolutely gorgeous! 🙂 Not in a beach area though, but it’s in the safest state to travel in right now, Guanajuato. https://www.google.com/search?q=san+miguel+de+allende&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=545xUfXpEeGyiQKpr4GYDw&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1196&bih=589

Hey Earl I did something similar but on a way smaller scale when I left the states in 2009. I taught English in Seoul, and spent my cash in South East Asia for a few months, then scrapped my last pennies to get a TEFL in Barcelona, then worked there for a few month before getting my masters in Holland. I found work in Amsterdam about a week after I submitted my thesis, and that’s where I’ve planted my feet since. People often ask me how they should start their search for work abroad and I always tell them its about managing your expectations, and figuring out if you’re in it for money or the experience. I think once you figure that out, it really helps to shape the direction you want to move towards. All the other stuff falls into place! Thanks for your share!

That was amazing! I hope you can visit the Philippines too! 🙂

I’m amazed at your amazing ability to save money. Very ccommendable, I would have blown the whole lot the moment I walked past a western shoe shop (luckily I was not able to do this in the Far East as I’m a european size 39, therefore my feet are too big)

Awesome list, im doing suming similar though i only started about 2 yrs ago. The biggest pain im finding atm is getting on the cruise ships, how did u score the first bit of cruise ship work, i don’t have a connection in it like you, so wat would u suggest i do?

Hey Mike – Have a look at my popular guide: https://www.wanderingearl.com/travel-resources/work-on-cruise-ships/ That should help you out!

I’ve stumbled across your web site and as I love travelling, I was totally curious of finding out what’s your lifestyle about, so I started to read this post and wow… your experience is so inspiring! I wish you the best, that’s something I’d totally like to try at least for a little period of time in my life.

Hi Earl, Sounds fantastic, I wish I had done something similar when I was young, however I did see quite a bit of the world while in the Navy and still travel with wife and family when I can. Regards Paul

Great post and wish I had done similar when I was younger, now with family I guess it is pretty much imposible but we still travel as and when we can. Regards Paul

does the degree help in getting jobs or were you getting paid minimum wage at the beginning?

Hey Chris – It’s tough to say but the degree definitely helped me get the job on board cruise ships.

brilliant list. how much you didn’t spend much time travelling Europe ?

Hey Kay – I’ve spent a good amount of time in Europe and at this point have seen just about every European country except for about 4 or 5.

Being there and communicating are the two things you are doing that others consider crimes, which is why they don’t do them. Simple life and writing style — I like it. Thanks for sharing your ventures.

Great article!! Thanks for sharing!!! I am currently living in Phuket, Thailand. Being from Namibia, Africa. I constantly hear: ” I’m so jealous of your life”; “I wish I was you”, etc – all from people with a boring job, in a boring city, not knowing HOW to change their life, and make it better and more adventures!! But honestly, it’s not THAT difficult. Like you said, all you basically need is some start up cash, and the right mind set!!!!

Good luck with your travels, look me up if you ever head this way again!

Hello Mr.Earl, My name is blake jackovitch.I am 20 years old and was born and raised in atlanta georgia. Just recently (last november 2012) i traveled Spain. I stayed in malga, the southern part of spain for a month and a half. Earl i can tell you with full sincerity that it was the best month of my life.while overseas i also traveled to Barcelona Torremolinos Rhonda Marbella and experienced the “culture shock”. I definatley plan on making this my life (traveling). what do you do to support yourself in your travels?? Please i hope you email me back man :). Safe travels.

Hey Blake – The details of how I support myself are all in this post and others like it. But basically I started by teaching English, then worked on and off on board cruise ships and now I earn my living working online, mostly through blogging and other projects.

Hey Earl, Absolutely loved this post! I am a young, avid traveler in the making. My main reason for posting is to ask, how did you know what you were going to do or how did you figure out your plans before jumping into this life style? As you said in Dec. 1999 ‘Left home and flew to Bangkok with $1500 in my bank account. Planned to spend 3 months traveling around Southeast Asia.’ Did you pre-plan places you would stay in cheap hotels and ways to travel about or did you just spur of the moment go and figure out as you went on. My biggest concern is that I would end up with little to no money left in a foreign place stuck. My other question is how did you come in contact with people that could help you enter the jobs of teaching english over seas? Once again, great post! -Andrew

Hey Andrew – Apart from booking my flight to Bangkok, that was all the preparation I did. I knew that I also wanted to visit other parts of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos but I did not plan things out in any detail and just went with the flow once I arrived. As for meeting people, you just need to talk to as many people as you can. That’s all I did and the result was that I learned about opportunities to earn money that I had never considered or heard about before. The more people you talk to, the more you will learn!

Wow. Your travel experience is incredible. As an avid cruiser, I would love to have worked as a tour director before I had kids. Exploring is one of my favorite things to do, as is cruising to new destinations.

Great post Earl! I’ve done a lot of similar things to you over the years, great blog you’ve got here!! Jonny (Don’t Stop Living – a lifestyle of travel)

I’ve been traveling a few months a year for the past few years now, mainly SE Asia want to work towards a life of travel rather than just really long vacations. My first thoughts were to teach english but after reading this post again more and more I’m thinking cruise ships may be the best way to earn money to travel while traveling. Could your perhaps offer me any advice on getting work on cruise ships or perhaps help with a contact in the industry.

( I sent an similar email through your contact me link but I wasn’t sure what was the best way to contact you (

Hey Craig – The best advice I can give is to check out my popular eGuide – How to Work on a Cruise Ship – as that will give you everything you need to apply and have the best chance of being hired for just about any ship with 18 major cruise lines. Once you have a read, let me know if you have any questions!

[…] believe it’s possible to travel for the rest of your life? Read Earl’s How I Can Afford My Life of Constant Travel and then pack your […]

[…] How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel […]

This is very interesting and cool. Hopefully some day I can do this:)

Great summery. Traveling is just such a great way to enjoy the freedom of life.

Thanks so much for breaking this down. I love how you provided concrete examples of how you supported yourself financially throughout your travels, and it’s making me believe traveling around the world is possible. Just working up the courage to leave my day job and just take the plunge. Thanks again, and glad I came across your blog!

Hey mate, good on you for having the courage to do this! Well done! You’re not trapped in a fluorescent prison!

Thank you for the breakdown. Its amazing at the same time inspiring. But in all your travels, u are missing a very good spot in the SEA. The Philippines.

More travels for you and everyone!

I was very impressed with your dedication and tenacity towards creating a pretty interesting life for yourself, but I must ask you what level of education do you have and what kind of training/experience to you have?

Hey Steve – Thanks for the comment! As for education, I just have a university degree in business and no other training apart from that.

Great list. Would like to see some updates for the last two years. Playa del Carmen has been growing so fast for the last couple years, are you still there?

Hey Robert – I actually did write a post called “ How I Can Still Afford My Life of Travel ” which gives some more updated info.

Very interesting. Thanks for the breakdown. 🙂

Hey Earl! Great post, just found you in stumbleupon today. 😉 we are an American family of 4 and 5 months into our life in Spain. We are going to be more mobile over the summer when school is out and perhaps plan that style in the coming years. We are soooo bitten by the travel bug and have been for years. Now that we are gone and sold it all, we want to keep it going as long as possible. We want to give our children the world! Thanks and I will keep up with you now that I found you.

[…] came across this man’s blog: https://www.wanderingearl.com/how-i-can-afford-my-life-of-constant-travel/.  His name is Wandering Earl and he’s been able to live a life of a nomad, traveling from […]

Wow! You’re amazing! I absolutely love travel; I lived in Italy for two years and visited Svizzera, Slovenija, Osterreich, &c. I always knew there was a way to travel cheaply, but never thought much more about it. Amazing article! Good luck on your travels! BTW have you ever considered becoming a part of a crew on a sailboat? It’s rather easy….You can put an ad out on either Latitude 38’s “Crew List”, desperatesailors.com, or Sailnet’s classifieds. You can actually get hired even if you have no experience sailing, but you get to (literally) be paid to do one of the greatest things on earth. I almost put out an advert on Latitude 38, but then I saw their “over 18” clause….. 🙁

Good luck on your travels!

Hey Brad – Thanks for the comment and while working as a crew on a sailboat is appealing to me, these days, I have too many online projects that are keeping me busy and I just can’t make it happen. Maybe when things calm down a bit I’ll be able to do so! Thanks for sharing that info though…I’m sure it will help out quite a lot of people!

hey Earl, I am so excited to find your website. I got in touch with Niall Doherty when I saw an article he’d published concerning Vipassana and then he led me to you–very happy synchronicity! I am 55 years old and very close to finishing my “Mom” job to my last two children. I have been a gypsy for most of my life and have the strongest desire to travel when my nest is empty. I am a writer and editor, so I know that I can make a living anywhere. My kids are all enthusiastic travelers, as well. I have a degree and want to teach English in a foreign country initially. Do you think that there are any particular considerations to be applied when an older woman travels alone? I am in good health and intend to enjoy my life until my last breath…my kids/grandkids understand this and I have no worries about continuing to travel. Thanks in advance for any advice, Carmen

Hey Carmen – Welcome to the site! And I don’t think there is much else for you to consider when traveling along. As I tell most people, using the same common sense you would use at home is about all you need to stay safe and healthy while traveling as well. I really can’t think of anything in particular that might be an added concern…just go out there and enjoy your adventures!

This is really inspirational for any traveller. People often dream about working their way round the world. You have shown this can be a reality.

Such inspiration ! I really really love to travel all around the world but i cant seem to find the right job and I’m the only daughter so my dad is kinda protective over me. I only travel when my parents are free. I WISH I COULD BE JUST LIKE YOU.! do you have any ideas on what stable jobs that provide constant traveling ? please reply me.

Thank you for such an inspiring post! Having to live on a budget when I travel, I know you travel for cheap, but always wondered how long-term wanderers made money to fund their lifestyles, so thank you for removing the smoke and mirrors.

I was just reading your post on ‘Funding your travels creatively’ (the Chiang Mai teaching story) and being entrepreneurial on my travels is something I wouldn’t have thought of. I’d have tried to sign up to teach and get frustrated with the process of continued job searching, needing Toefl’s, filling out applications, cover letters, etc… In fact, going the loooong-ass way is what I’m considering doing and it’s just one more thing to make me feel tired and scattered. Thanks for your posts. I needed a dose of fresh ideas. I just wish I had some of your bravery to pull some of that more entrepreneurial stuff off. Looking forward to more brave ideas from you =-)

Hey Christine – Luckily, once you start getting creative and start putting your entrepreneurial cap on, it becomes easier and easier to create your own opportunities our there in the world. And I’m a firm believer that in order to make this long-term lifestyle happen, one needs to be able to create something out of nothing!

I have been trying for years to get on a cruise line ( specifically on a Tour or Event Staff) I’ve been working in the hospitality industry in hotels and resorts in Canada and the US but have never been able to secure a position on a ship. I have a feeling I am making the process harder than it should be, so do you have any advice on how I should be going about it? I’d appreciate any sort of tid-bit you could give me! Thanks so much!

Hey Sarah – The best advice I can give is to have a look at my eGuide – How to Work on a Cruise Ship . It provides everything you need to know and has helped dozens of people land jobs on ships around the world so far!

It is actually easy of its what you truly want. Its very easy to travel long term without stopping, if you plan for it. My husband and I worked very hard to save up enough money to travel for 3 years non stop. Its about setting your priorities. If long term travel is a priority for you then you CAN make it happen. You are the only person who will stop you from achieving what you want to achieve.

Earl – You have been an inspiration to my hubby and I while we were planning our nomadic life. We bought your book and it was a great help. I still refer back to it from time to time while we are on the road. I can only hope that we can travel for as long and as successfully as you!

Keep on keeping on (and ignore the haters).. You are awesome! Thanks for showing myself and so many others how to live a life of their dreams!

Wow, I admire you for what you did for the past 12 years. I have always been attracted to traveling but spending time and living in different countries is the ultimate experience for me. However, I’ve never done it and I wish I had the courage to quit my day job and just get everything I can from the world. Very inspirational, thank you!

Hi Earl, this post is very inspirational 🙂 I believe that you can easily travel with $1500 in your bank account however that’s very limited and I must say for that amount of money it won’t be enough to travel around Europe but maybe in Asia yes because the currency is much lower and the cost of living in Asia is much cheaper. Some people would like to travel around Europe first and I doubt they will leave their country with that amount ($1500) of money in their bank account. 🙂 Also, not everyone is fortunate to get a job as an English teacher or in a cruise line while traveling overseas and staying in a new country for 3 months. What if I can’t get a job while in Asia or in Europe while traveling? I have no choice but to return home before I run out of cash 🙁

Well done and congratulations for making it this far 🙂 You were and are still very fortunate to have been able to find a decent job that allowed you to save a substantial amount of money 🙂

Also, I’m sure you must have spent some extra money on your work visa while working in different countries, am I right?

Hey Esperanza – Actually, I didn’t need a work visa for any country…I worked ‘under the table’ while teaching English in Thailand and you don’t need a work visa to work on board cruise ships. And now I work online so I don’t need a work visa for any country either. So no extra expenses there 🙂

And I have been fortunate, but there’s nothing stopping anyone else from taking advantage of the same opportunities that I took advantage of or of any of the other thousand of ways out there that people can create a life out of travel. I didn’t do anything special – I just applied for a cruise ship job, which you can do as well. And if you want to travel long-term then you also need to think realistically. It doesn’t make sense to start in Europe if you only have a little money. It makes more sense to start somewhere cheaper or somewhere where you can earn some money and then go from there.

Also, I have met people from dozens and dozens of countries who have made this lifestyle happen and each person has made it happen in their own way. You just have to be determined, creative and to try and meet as many people as you can. By doing this you’ll discover opportunities that you never knew existed!

very useful tips. Thanks Earl.

Very inspiring story. It can be said that I am tempted to pursue the life you are living right now, be a permanent nomad. I’m tired of this cubicle work life. But there are questions with same theme that bug me so much recently and I intend to ask you if you won’t mind. As a permanent nomad, certainly you live non-mainstream lifestyle. And sometimes it’s hard to live against the current, different of how majority live. When this all adventure over, let’s say, you have traveled and visited every country on earth, what will you do next? Keep traveling? Until when? Do you have intention to raise a family? Have a wife and maybe children? Will you settle in a stable permanent resident or you will take your family travel the world? Will you get your children go to school?

I’m sorry if I ask too much. The fact is those questions keep inhibiting me to open my self to start traveling around the world. And maybe it is nice to get opinion from the expert of word travel, like you.

Looking forward for your answer. Cheers.

Hey Fanny – Thank you for the comment and that’s no problem at all to ask me any questions you want!

As for how long I’ll keep traveling, I honestly have no idea. The way I look at it is that if I were to wake up tomorrow and decide it’s time to stop, then I would stop. But until I feel that need, and as long as things continue to go well, then I’m going to keep on doing what I love best, which is travel of course. Who knows who I’ll meet, who knows where I’ll end up or what kind of opportunities will come my way? So I prefer to live now in the moment and take it all as it comes.

And the same goes for raising a family…I’m open to the idea but I don’t think it would help if I flew back to the US and actively sought out someone to spend the rest of my life with. In my opinion, I could find the right person anywhere and since I am always meeting new people everywhere I go, I have just as good of a chance of meeting the right person with this lifestyle than if I lived back in the US. And again, if I meet someone and decide it’s time to raise a family, then I’ll make some adjustments and that’s what I’ll do.

But as for the other questions, I don’t know if I will take my family to travel. It all depends on the situation and what I, and my family, want out of life at that point. Like everything else, I don’t dwell on it too much right now since I really have no idea what the future really holds 🙂

Hey Earl. Thank you so much for the answer.

You’re right. Live the now. Hemhh. People keep asking me about “what about the health insurance?”, “what if someday you’re gonna have a child and you have no money to raise him?”, “how about your children education cost?”, “what about the pension fund?”

Arrgghh. They drive me crazy with the questions 🙁

Hey Fanny – I can imagine…the thing is, you handle all of those issues while traveling/living overseas just as you can if you were at home and at the end of the day, if being overseas makes you happier, then that seems like the wisest option!

Thanks again for the answer Earl. I guess you’re right. Your answer will be my pondering material. Hahaha. Need to build my guts now 🙂

Great post Earl! I was wondering how do you keep up with your online projects when you are traveling. Isn’t it a pain to go online when you are visiting a foreign country? How many days after your stay do you go online and continue with your projects.

Hey Jenni – Yes, it is quite a challenge to travel and work at the same time but I manage as that’s all part of the lifestyle. Basically, I work about 5 days per week, squeezing in working hours either early in the morning or late at night and going out into town during the day. Whenever I fall behind with work, I just stop somewhere for a few days, catch up with everything and then continue moving on again. So it’s always a constant combination of travel and work!

Amazing story Earl. I first went traveling in September 2008 and soon after started to look for ways to generate income online to sustain my traveling. It’s been a long but great experience. Now I’m back in Finland working but desiring to get back on the road soon! Keep it up! 🙂

Thanks Ville and as long as you stay determined on your goals, I have no doubt you’ll be back out here in the world soon enough!

The important thing people overlook when thinking about this style of life and travel is “transient working”. Because in reality it takes time to get to being able to do it without needing funding from a direct job. I have been out in the Philippines for over 5 years now and there is a bit of a explosion on the cash when you introduce Western income and Eastern styled living. Being able to save instead of blow the cash and gaining debt.

The e-book idea is a good one and no doubt regular funding from it can keep you on the road for another 10 years as you update people on your travels.

Good going! But would also say that often those questioning “how to” will quite possibly never get round to taking the leap for one reason or another but generally its the insecurity of not knowing what tomorrow brings.

I guess I sent my personal message to you too early! I should have scoured your blog for everything first, it seems! So don’t mind half of the message I sent. Thank you for this post. It’s really interesting. Though, I do have to ask (because I haven’t found a post answering this question yet, though I’m sure I’ll find it soon after I’m done posting this comment), did you leave in 1999 with a degree of any sort? I’m assuming so since you were a substitute teacher in Boston at one point and they generally require degrees, but I could be wrong.

Hey A.F – Yes, I did have a degree in Sports Management when I started traveling. Check out my post “ Do You Need a University Degree to Travel Long-Term ” for some interesting discussion (especially in the comments) on this topic.

Easiest place to start might be Belize. Or Singapore. Depending on what a “best” start means to you.

I gotta start a blog. Earl, you rock.

I went to Kenya for 3 weeks, and stayed for 5 months. Being a white dude who speaks English ended up being my ticket to getting survivable work.

I hung out at the National Theatre in Nairobi, I met dancers and actors and jugglers and puppeteers and singers and hip hop artists.

Being the only white dude, people would just walk up to me and say “Hey, I heard they need a white dude for ______”

I did audio book recordings, radio commercials, and even got a job doing promotions where I had to pretend to be an Italian Grape Farmer and give away brandy as prizes at nightclubs. This forced me to travel the country in a bus with 10 female models/actresses for several months, on weekends with a promotions company. I was on TV doing stand-up comedy and worked comedy clubs most weekends I wasn’t with the models.

Being the “token” white guy paid off enough for me to have crazy adventures and make spending cash. Although, no, it was not legal. So, best case scenario is you never get caught, or make enough money to pay for the work permit. The worst thing that can happen is you get deported and never allowed back.

It FELL into my lap, all of that work.

My suggestion? If you have an accent, you might just be a commodity for media and promotions companies in faraway places. And of course, in many countries, foreigners who are capable of doing the performing arts is rare. Anyone coming to the country who has acting talent is DOING a job, and probably not available for a job.

So if you are outgoing, you might try contract work. I hear in Asia that some actors from USA get paid to give tours to businessmen in factories. They help “sell” the factory to the clients more easily than a local could.

Thanks for your posts, Dude. I’ve been travelling nearly 9 months a year since 1997, but I always had a house to go back to. I finally rented out my house 2 years ago and haven’t been back since.

One thing that cannot be overstated is how much BETTER travel is when you have a job. You REALLY get to know a country by working shoulder to shoulder with locals.

Most travelers end up going to resorts or they go see the backwoods natives and go on tours. By working, you get a really special look into the lives of the people, and honestly, it helps me feel less like a bum. You don’t know a city until you have to commute like everybody else.

What I like about contract/media work is that is was all short jobs. I could still avoid the 9-5 while getting paid 100x what most 9-5 jobs pay. (what am I saying? In Kenya it isn’t 9-5 its 6-6) I could do a short 10 minute stand-up comedy set or magic show at a club and make $35 bucks. $150 to do a TV appearance. I could get $150 for a radio advert. The promotions company paid between $60 and $120 per day, and I never worked more than 10 minutes a day (though I was waiting around for several hours)

All in all, Africa was amazing in terms of finding cash – and considering a 4 egg spanish omelet with tea and ugi was $1.20 for breakfast each morning, I did quite well.

Hey Darren – Thank you for sharing your experiences and if what you wrote doesn’t motivate others to get out there and make it happen, I’m not sure what will! I’ve always felt that the most important step is to just start traveling and then, once on the ground, it’s all about meeting as many people as you can. You never know where a simple conversation or handshake will lead.

There are thousands of opportunities out there to earn money…a little creativity and focus can go a long way in finding them! Your example is as perfect as it gets.

Wishing you more wonderful adventures in 2013 and perhaps one day we shall meet up for an egg sandwich!

Very inspirational post! I have visited over 50 countries in the last 6 years and now trying to start a few online income streams. I’ll check out your other post on this topic. Salva

Hi Earl, I’m a recent college graduate that has dreamed of travel all my life. My family thought I should travel young and I’ve briefly visited over 30 counties (mostly tours and cruises). I haven’t left the country in almost 5 years. Since I’m done with school and have no financial obligations, I am taking a long needed, extended vacation (starting in SEAsia) that which I may never come back. I have been self employed as a glass blower, fire performer and and an internet entrepreneur, etc over the last 4 years of my life and am confident I can make it on my own. I wanted to thank you and your site for being one of the most valuable resources I’ve had in boosting my confidence in my ability to travel the globe alone. Thanks Again, -Wil

Hey Wil – I wish you all the best with your upcoming trip to SE Asia…the exact same location where I started my long-term travels as well. You never know where the road will lead once you begin but to me, that’s the exciting part of this lifestyle. Please do keep me updated once your trip gets off to a start!

Hi Earl (Derek) I was wondering some of the countries you traveled needs work permit even for part time job …so what you did about it???

Hey Amar – I haven’t really needed any work permits. When I taught English in Thailand, I did it informally and not through a language school, so I just set up my own operation ‘under the table’. And apart from that, working on board cruise ships doesn’t require a work permit anywhere and now that I work online, I just enter countries on a tourist visa as I am not working for anyone in any country so I don’t need the work permit.

Names Fred , been reading some of your stuff , am hoping to travel the end of January till the end of may , not did much traveling was at Thailand last year for a month with friend , felt I did not see much as I would have like to, so going myself this time to india ,am in my early 50s and want to try and see some of the world , do you think india is my best start ?

Thank Fred .

Hey Fred – India is a fascinating country, although in all honestly, it is about as challenging and intense of a destination as there is on this planet. It’s definitely not a relaxing place like Thailand. It’s an exhausting place to visit but if you feel you’re up for the challenge, in my opinion, there are few places that offer as many rewards as India for someone who is ready to be shocked and thrown way out of their comfort zone!

I’ve always felt like a nomad, or a gypsy at the very least. I never did stay in one place too long, but I have never been further than the Canadian and Mexican borders of the USA. When I became an empty-nester at age 40, I decided to turn my dream of world travel into a reality beginning with teaching in Mexico. I took the long road, going to college for 7 years, so I would have something concrete to fall back on wherever I ended up. In February, I will fly to Guadalajara for a six month teaching job and I plan to keep going. The first time I purged all my personal belongings to move to Oregon from Idaho, downsizing from a three bedroom house to a little apartment. In 2008, I purged again to go to Hawaii for six months to work as a nanny. It feels great to be free from being held hostage to material items, payments and interest!

Thanks for your website. I’ve seen you on television a few times and look forward to following your travels!

Hey Christine – Welcome to the website and seems like you’ve had a nice diverse range of travel experiences so far! And I’m curious where you saw me on television? I didn’t know I was on television yet 🙂

Just wondering how hard is it to get a job on a cruise ship? PS its great that you’ve made a lifestyle around traveling!

Hey Ally – Like with any job, it all depends on your education, work history and other experiences but in general, if your experiences match the needs of a certain position, then there’s no reason why you couldn’t get hired! With over 350 cruise ships in the world and up to 1500 crew members on each, there are plenty of positions that need to be filled…

I intend to be a traveler too. But the problem is cash. You get paid a lot for teaching(which is not true in my country,India) and a chunk of your traveling experiences have been in south-Asia which is relatively cheap considering you have american dollars. You also saved a lot working on cruises(which is also kind of traveling). I am an engineering student and I don’t have the slightest idea where I can land a job like yours which helps me save $10,000 which is substantial. I think you have some kind of professional degree which helps you in getting such kinda jobs. And if you don’t then please elaborate on how can I get one myself. I would love to travel through the whole of Europe extensively so I was just thinking if you could help me on this by giving any tips. Looking forward to your reply.

Came back to your page for more inspiration. This is the kind of life I want to live. I thought I would make it a reality but I realized soon that it is not as easy.

First and foremost, how do you get a work permit in other countries? Do you do this work and earn on tourist visas? Is that legal? Or is that just easier when you are an american citizen?

I happen to be from India, and on my recent visit to the USA, I had to get a special visa stamping so I could earn in the USA. And that required a lot of paper work to be completed from the employer’s before I could even apply for the visa.

How can I just fly down to a country and then look for work there?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hey Pragati – I actually haven’t needed a work permit as apart from teaching English in Thailand (which I did without a permit), I have earned an income by working on board cruise ships (no permit needed) and working online (which also doesn’t require me to get a work permit anywhere). I’m now able to travel on tourist visas because my work is all on the internet and that is perfectly legal since I’m earning money into my bank accounts at home and not earning money from any company or person in the countries I’m visiting.

But it’s different if you want to actually work in a particular country…in most cases, this would require you to get a work visa/permit and those are usually only issued by an employer overseas once you are hired. There are possibilities but it does take some research and hopefully finding the right place that can offer you the right opportunity!

I agree with Scott. I’d like to know about your long term goals (if any) as well. At the rate you are going, you will be able to write a best selling book and live off of the success of that 😀

That’s awesome to do and quite admirable as well but do you have any plans for the future? I did quite a bit of traveling when I was a bit younger and I have settled down in Melbourne Australia to (hopefully) have more than $1500 in my bank account. I grew up in The U.S. and have no plans to live there again but I realized that I am going to get old and I still have to take care of myself. I really am impressed and think that more people should have the kind of cojones that you have to do what you are doing, but I am curious about your long term goals only because you haven’t really said anything about that.

Hey Scott – I had $1500 in my bank account when I started 13 years ago but after working on board cruise ships for several years and now earning an income online for the past three years, it’s a different story. I have always had goals in mind and as I write about on the site, that goal has been to turn travel into a sustainable lifestyle, not to bum around with just a few dollars in my pocket. As I wrote in my latest post, I’m now looking for place somewhere in the world where I can buy a place of my own…

Hey Earl, it’s been interesting for me, when I tell people what I’m doing, to hear the responses and questions. When you tell someone you are creating a new way of living your life, and travel being a huge part of that, it’s just a hard thing for the average person to comprehend.

It’s not their fault, really. It’s simply how people are raised to think. (ie. born, buy things, go to school, buy things, get a job, buy things, get married, buy more things, have kids, buy way more things) It’s a small percentage of people that break this mold and do something different. (and look, I’m not saying that having a family or some things is bad…)

And that’s basically what you are doing, something different. It’s just not the “norm”. You’re focus isn’t on the car you drive or building a family, it’s to travel the world, connect with people and find new creative ways for you to continue the lifestyle that you have chosen.

The scary thing for most people is that, for this way of living, (ie. outside of the mold) there isn’t a pre prescribed “itinerary” to follow. Which the uncertainty in this is enough to stop almost anyone.

So what I’ve noticed is that a common comment is “What are you going to do down the road, when you stop traveling?” In my opinion, this is just the best way that that person can deal with the uncertainty of this sort of lifestyle. Try and put something down on the “itinerary”. But that’s the thing…the “itinerary” is ever changing.

The goal, for me, on a daily basis is happiness. Long term, happiness. But I want to maintain this while living a life of travel, adventure, connection, and creativity. Where will I be when I’m 80? Who knows. And, quite frankly, I’m not spending much of my time worrying about it.

Just my thoughts, B

Hey Brandon – Seems like we have quite a bit in common in terms of the way we think about life. I agree fully that most people just can’t comprehend living a lifestyle that seems so unorganized and uncertain and in all honesty, it is scary for those living it at times. But it’s a risk one needs to take if they want to really achieve their goals…the unknown is exciting and that’s where all the magic lies!

Earl, couldn’t agree more!

Well, keep it up my man. Lot’s more to come 🙂

This is absolutely amazing! I am a friend of Tim’s and he let me know about your blog. I am interested in travel as well. I’m not going to do this 😀 that’s for sure! But I have always wanted to go and spend a few months in a particular region and this blog will prove to be very helpful. I sent it to a friend of mine as well, as his uncle has a travel blog. Thank you so much for providing this wonderful information to the internet world. It is truly cool. I wish you the best in your journeys. Peace. ~Lola K.

Hi, This is my first visit, after suggested by my friend. I love travelling & done that from the day I started travelling before earning. Traveled many parts of India, yet there are places left to visit. But I always felt like having money is better & help in having a peaceful travel. I must admit, how wrong I was after reading your website. You truly lead a nomadic life & would love to do so. I’ll stick to your website for further updates.

Hey Partho – Thanks for visiting and welcome to the site!

Hi.. this is my first visit to your site.. Great and very interesting post!

I believe that if you really have the desire, you will find the opportunity to turn that desire into reality.

Hi, You are really lucky to be able to go through countries without having to worry about visa issues. I think for alot of others, who would love to give this idea a try, it is really hard considering the amount of effort and money that goes on in issues like visa regulations.

But i am glad you are taking full advantage of an amazing opportunity you have. A lot of others don’t.

Hey Tanvi – I know it’s not as easy for everyone but there are ways to make it happen! I’ve met people on the road from many countries that have visa issues and with a little persistence and a lot of hard work, they someone achieved their travel goals…

[…] lengthy posts, he still garners between 30-60 comments on a post. His most popular post about how he can afford his travels resulted in over 800 […]

I was wandering. All these places you have worked, would you have been hired without a college education? I live in Denmark and planning to go travelling after i have finished what in America counts as High-School. So i just want to know if its going to be a lot harder getting jobs like those you have had when travelling.

Hey Isaak – The only jobs that I’ve really worked are teaching English and working on board cruise ships, and in general, they do require college degrees. But there are hundreds of other jobs out there that wouldn’t require degrees and you could always work at hostels, pubs, cafes, etc., just to get some money in the beginning. You could also try a website such as Helpx.net as some of the listings there are paid and others offer free room and board in exchange for a little work each day. I know several people who travel to various parts of the world just using that website and they love their experiences!

I’ve always wanted to try traveling, and I’m glad I stumbled on your blog. Rest assured I’ll be coming back to follow your adventure! I hope I can start soon as well.

This is great, Earl. I’m about to launch a business in the new year that will help people travel the world, safely and cheaply. Just doing some research now. I’m sure we’ll be in touch more officially soon. But thought I should leave a reply now because this blog post deserves it anyway =)

wow you’re amazing dude… nice

So my sister pointed me to this website because she said that your story reminds her of me, so I had to come check you out. I would just like to say to all your readers that this lifestyle is not as difficult as a lot might think. Put your spirit into it, remain open to newness and change, trust that the universe provides, and always accept the moment you find yourself in. I have been traveling since 1999, when I was 18, and now find myself living and working in Costa Rica. As Earl said, there are many different ways to live this adventure, so I would like to be a another testimonial to that statement. I have never taught english, worked on a cruise ship, or made money through the internet, but I have always been able to keep myself going. I urge all your readers who wish to embark on a lifetime voyage throughout space and time to do so immediately. Do not hesitate one second longer. Jump! The unknown is where dreams are made, its where everything magical dwells.

Hi Jai !! Your post was very inspirational to me, as much as Earl’s! It’d be great if you could share with us how you managed to afford your lifestyle as a traveller. Since you didn’t have the same kind of jobs that Earl mentioned, you can give us more ideas about how to survive out there in the world. In case you can’t do this here, my email is [email protected] , or you can find me on facebook as Emmanuel Añazgo. Thanx again for your post, it really encourages me to give my first step to “where dreams are made” 🙂

This is not “amazing” as some here claim. If you’re healthy, couch surf instead of rent, and have no payments of any kind, it’s pretty damn easy. I seriously doubt he purchases his own food either, but is fed by his friends, students, and other locals.

Hey Sarah – Well, in that case, you would be completely wrong. Whenever I stay with friends, I pay them rent, I almost never couchsurf (I’ve done it twice I think in 13 years) and I pay for all of my food, and my transportation, all activities and anything else I do. I work hard to earn a living in order to maintain this lifestyle and I don’t take handouts from anyone.

I think you are very naive Sarah, if you read the blog you would know that is not the case. You clearly have a rubbish job and a boring life. I think this is very inspirational 🙂

Amazing and good on you! I left home nearly four months ago with a wedge of money in the bank to last me a year or so but plan on doing the same kind of thing – work where I can to save money, work in exchange for free food and accomodation AND keep building my website as a full-time business. It is possible and you’ve shown that. Keep up the adventures!

[…] hating bloggers who go “Oh, I’ve set up my blog for passive income and now it makes money for me while I […]

I’ve recently started a life of travel myself, having spent just about two months in Portugal. My next stop is to go somewhere in Asia where i hope to teach English. I was wondering if you had any experience in the language before you left america.

Hey Michael – I had no experience with Thai at all before I started teaching there, but it’s not necessary to know the local language. Most language schools require the students and teachers to speak English at all times as this helps students improve their English at a much faster rate.

Wow earl…. That’s the life I always wanted for myself. I am an Indian and the kind of money you could make taking temp jobs in US is not an option for me. The money you are talking is like a CEO’s salary in this part of the world… I’m sure you are aware. But anyways… I see that you travel to India a lot… I live in a town called Pune close to Mumbai. I’d love to hear from you next time you are in this country… I may be of some guidance and help to you and who know I might find my means and ideas to travel after being with you. I was a cabin crew with an Indian International airline so I have done quite a lot of traveling but I wasn’t at any international place for more than 1-2 days except Singapore where I’ve traveled to on a vacation. My town has the famous OSHO ashram.. I wonder if you are aware. I can provide food, accommodation and guidance in return for your stories…:)

I’m not sure you can really call yourself a Nomad, you seem to have spent at least 50% of your time (if not more) in well paid jobs, that as a necessity of the job involves travel. And another 25% staying with friends. It’s great you’ve done a lot of traveling but don’t pretend to people that it can be done easily and without stopping for fairly long periods to earn money.

Hey Theo – I certainly am not pretending or hiding anything since I’ve clearly detailed everything right here in this post and in many other posts on this blog as well 🙂

It is quite remarkable that you have managed to start your journey with little money and then take it from there. If one really wants to travel there is nothing stopping anyone. I think you have done a very good of it, and congratulations to you. I am impressed that you visited India as well.

One thing is clear is that you are a true traveller since you visited Afghanistan (and Pakistan). No one goes there unless you’re a solider in the US army or really crazy.

Wish you all the best in your future travels… Shalu Sharma

Thanks so much Shalu and I like to think I’m not too crazy 🙂

Soo inspirational!! I have big plans to take a year off to travel after college and all of your posts make me so excited! If you’re still traveling in 4-5 years I will definitely take one of your tours! And I’ll be sure to make a donation asap 🙂

Hey Lexis – I’m sure I’ll still be out here somewhere so I shall look forward to meeting you on the road!

Very inspirational! I would love to be able to do this and I’m going to get your book. I wish to start in South America though. You mentioned you started out teaching English. Did you need ESL certification for this? I’m not a teacher.

Hey Mike – I did not have any certification when I started teaching. I actually wrote about my experiences here: How to Fund Your Travels With Creativity

Wow, Earl! You are amazing! I am a traveler myself, well at least starting. I’ve always love to travel ever since I was young and since I started my backpacking trip last June. I knew I’ve really wanted to travel. It’s been my dream to travel the world. And now with my work I’ve been turned from pursuing my dreams as a traveler to having a good future in a company that I’m currently worked with. What do you think I’m gonna do?

hi Earl, a quick question, if you don’t mind – does that mean you have little savings? I’ve no doubt it’s possible to travel on “small funds” but what happens when you need money after you “settle down” in future? Say if you get married, buy a house, have children… Or do you belong to the camp of “cross the bridge when you get to it, things will work out”?

@raych – Just have a read of this post – Do Long Term Travelers Prepare for Retirement – where I talk about this very topic. In short, I’ve been saving for the past 10 years and have always made sure I put money away.

Your story is truly an inspiration. You live in playa del carmen? haha ill be there in 9 days :D.

I just sold all of my stuff and am new to travel blogging and am about to backpack central and south america with only about 5 thousand to my name. I have been looking into cruise ship work. I was wondering if you need previous experience to get most of the jobs?

I will definitely have to pick up your eBook in the next few months when im getting close to end of my trip and looking for cruise ship jobs. Sounds like working on a cruise ship is an amazing experience.

Hey Brendan – Have a great trip to Playa! I actually don’t live there any more…I was living there from 2010-2011 but since that time I’ve mostly been around Europe (although I’m in India right now). As for cruise ship work, you don’t need previous cruise experience at all. It’s more important to have some kind of work/education experience that can be related to one of the positions offered on ships. It doesn’t have to be an exact match though. As long as there are some similarities between your past work and the cruise job you wish to apply for, that’s usually sufficient.

Hi! I read this article and noticed you worked on the QE2 for a while. I was wondering if perhaps you had ever been to Ascension Island during this time?

Hey Vicki – I never was at Ascension while on the QE2. I was sent from the QM2 to the QE2 just for 6 weeks to cover another Tour Manager’s vacation and we were in Iceland/Norway almost the entire time.

Constant Travel? The headline is misleading, to say the least. That is unless you count the months of work time as “travel.”

Hey Dave – I do count the months of work as travel. To me, travel is time spent away from your home country and since my work was on board cruise ships, in which I was visiting several countries per week, I’d say I was definitely traveling during that time.

I started with Cartagena for a week. That was my first time in a Hostel! Travelers would ask me: How long are you traveling for? Uhhmm One week! I would answer. The following summer I went on a one-way trip to Peru and visited Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Panama and Mexico… All under 1500 USD. Got hooked and just came back from Brasil from a 4 month trip. Now I am not hooked anymore, I’m obsessed. I just want to finish school and leave again. Indefinitely. Thank you so much for this info.

Bro! You are my hero! I think the one thing that you didn’t mention, and this is only because I’m positive that you are an extremely humble guy, is that there is no doubt you were hyper personable, caring, giving, loving and more than willing to go with the flow in any situation and have a huge smile on your face while doing it. Your energy is probably addicting to say the least…

With the right energy one might be able to just about anything. Taking that first step is often hard but, as you have proven, once you do, more than likely you will discover things that you never knew were possible.

Perhaps we’ll cross paths at some point. Would love to share a cold beer and some conversation with you.

Keep it up brother! Cheers, B

Thanks for the comment Brandon! Looking forward to that meeting, somewhere at some point!

Hey bro, i travelled for a year and i seriously loved it, but now im at uni and i fucking hate being back home with all the rules, the peolple that really dont understand u and all that shit, and u really inspired me to make a life of travels! So, how can i get a job in a cruise, give me a hand bru! cheers… Ps: i love Sayulita bru

Hey Juan – Just have a look at my eGuide: How To Work On Board Cruise Ships

That will honestly give you all the information you need to apply for and hopefully get hired by a cruise line. It’s as comprehensive a guide as it gets!

I found your website at StumbleUpon; I must say you get around. You are young and living your dream. Nice post and website.

I agree totally on the matters of money for living abroad! I was raised in Switzerland and went to Berlin to improve my German when I was 19 years old. It was only supposed to be for 1 month, before starting college. That was before falling in love with Berlin but with the realisation that I only had 200 euro in my bank account! The first few months were very tough, I did horrible jobs because I couldn’t speak German well and Berlin doesn’t have a lot of jobs anyway. But because I barely had enough money to eat, I was motivated enough to find work and within 1 1/2 month I found an acceptable full time job and a room in a shared flat. I ve been living for 5 years now in Berlin and when I look back, I know that I only succeeded because I had so little money! I have a few swiss friends who also tried to move to Berlin but they kept receiving help from their parents and snobbed jobs because it wouldn’t of course be a swiss salary. After 6months-1 years of literally not doing anything, they finally had to move back to Switzerland. I always tell 1 thing when people want to travel: do not think that you’re too good for a job when going to another country & do not expect to get the same kind of jobs or salary when travelling. Moving to Berlin at 19 with 200 euro with no experience about life was the most daring thing I ever did and I can already see myself at 80 years old looking back at my life and thinking “how the hell did I managed that??”. I’m more than happy in Berlin and have no reason to leave for the moment, but because of what I did when I was 19, I know that I could easly move to another country in the future without being scared.

Great blog and I’m happy to hear about someone having so much fun travelling as you!

Hey Stephanie – That’s quite a story and a great example of how to make your dreams a reality even without having much money to begin with! Thank you for sharing and I just might have to be in touch the next time I’m in Berlin!

If I wanted to travel like you, is it possible to travel during the summer and still go to college or do you have to consistently move around?

Hey Anya – There’s no right way to travel so you can travel however you want to or however works best for you!

I envy the life you live. Would love to be able to travel around the world.

this is the most remarkable thing i’ve ever heard. i’ve always dreamed of becoming a traveler or nomad and this website gives me hope. i am amazed by your courage and confidence living all over the world. keep inspiring the youth, you prove you dont have to fall in line to live happily. regards

Thanks so much for your comment James!

I would like to thank you for all the wonderful content you supply here. This site has truly inspired me to attain all my dreams of travel. You are truly doing a great service to those who originally thought it impractical to travel the world. Look forward to continue following your site.

Good for you – BRAVO! Travel is such a great way to expand one’s horizons, both physically and mentally, in learning about other peoples and cultures.

[…] the above quotes excites you enough to follow a similar lifestyle, here is something worth viewing .How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel – Wandering Earl. Rate this:Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like […]

What a great story! All that’s needed is courage, imagination and will to persevere! Life does not has to be boring, mundane nor conventional. I’m inspired 🙂

Wow – wonderfully insightful – thank you for sharing this! I know some “nomadic” travelers are very peculiar about who and what they share about their income streams. Thanks for being so open!!

Very inspiring! Thanks for sharing your story and your tips.

Thanks StumbleUpon which led me to your page. I instantly liked “How I Can Afford My Life of Constant Travel”. You are candid and vivid in your travel tales and you offer a lot of ‘side dishes’ like kidnapping in Bangladesh or going Shillong, India for recovery of your US$ 2,500 while gaining or losing more in the process.

I travel myself, more and less in your style. I have been to 57 countries but my dream of pushing it to 100 may not be realized. First, I am 70 and have lost the luster. Second, I am required to obtain prior-visa for almost all countries and border-hoping is a forbidden fruit for me.

I hope I would make it up for a virtual travel through your description.

You lucky and a good man! And… 1. where your photos in this page? I like the first, the second, the fourth and the fifth ones! 2. I am on Twitter, You Tube and Facebook too – and also on StumbleUpon and Google +.

Amazing stuff man. I often wonder how people got to where they are now and you really laid it out. I’ve started my own blog to hopefully be able to achieve the full-time travel life I want as well and it’s great to see the path you took. Hope to be joining you in perpetual travels soon! Cheers

Hey Earl, I’ve been looking to travel for some time. I feel as if it is my calling. besides the need or want to help people, I don’t think I’ve experienced anything stronger… so i have a few questions for you. The first would be: How indepth of an understanding of the other cultures’ language do you have to have to teach English, is there any degrees involved in such a thing, and how exactly do you go about finding such a job? Second would be one I am interested in: Do you need to have any prerequisites to work aboard a cruise ship, and do you know which ones that offer good chances of hire? Third would be a question that I’ve been wanting to know for many reasons: How do you go about acquiring a work permit for other countries, and do you have to obtain a work permit for each country separately? Finally, do you have any personal recommendations for places to visit? Hope you get back to me, and if you do- thank you for your time. _Ryan

Hey Ryan = Thanks for commenting! And my suggestion would be to take a look at my latest eBook: How to Live a Life of Travel

It will answer every one of your questions in complete detail and fully prepare you to achieve your travel goals. I think you’ll find the material to be quite useful!

You live the life I often dream of! I totally agree that long-term travel can be manageable and I admire your efforts to make it a reality. So many people think you have to be rich to travel–that’s not true! It’s amazing how many people will go out and buy a sports car or eat at fancy restaurants daily and then wonder how some have the money to travel.

Earl. here is a challenge for you. put yourself in Australia, Brisbane, Sydney etc. with no return ticket.

you have no money from your previous country you were in, you have no visa to be able to work in Australia, (although as a usa person you probably would be able too)

How long will it take you to get out of this country.

I am trying to get out of Australia for a European adventure trip, the cost to get a simple return ticket to europe is huge. over $2000 AUD

you try Earl

Hey Geoff – Well, first, I wouldn’t put myself in a situation where I had no money in a country where I couldn’t work 🙂

But if I was in such a situation, I would get a job anywhere I could or get a working holiday visa for NZ. And you have to be reasonable…if you’re in such a situation, a European adventure isn’t realistic in the near future. Why not save enough to get to Asia where you can work again (teach English), save some more and then head to Europe?

This sounds amazing… I would be delight to meet you, next time whenever you come to india..

Your story is amazing, I cant imagine a life of a ‘secure’ job, Im only 16, so everyone keeps going on about how im supposed to know what I want to do forever.. , Ill scrape through college just to get a degree under my belt:) But you have really inspired me and I really want to travel, but Im worried about safety, I dont have anyone to travel with. Would it be safe for a young woman to travel alone? Or should I try and get travelling companions or something else. Is it dangerous in places like India, I would imagine, or is it possible to stay in safe areas only. 🙂 thanks, its great to know that it is possible. Also, although you have discussed work permits and stuff like that, if I worked as a waiter or other tax paying jobs would I need a new visa/permit for every country? and how do you deal with language issues, obviously you cant speak the same language as everyone, do a lot of countries speak english well?

Hey Emily – The world is much safer than we think and you can easily travel alone. Have a read of this post: Please Don’t Be Afraid To Travel On Your Own

As for work visas, it all depends on the work you do and the country. And with languages, English is so widely spoken these days, in every corner of the globe, that language barriers really aren’t something to worry about.

hi my names Dylan, I think I just left a detailed comment here a minute ago lol, but I dont see it so im not sure if it went through…. anyway I just wanted to let your know how inspired I am by the work that you are doing and lifetsyle choice you have made. I am so extremely passionate about many of the same things that you discuss and blog about and your work puts motivation and spirit back into my dream of travelling the world for a life as well! Right now im 21 living on Long Island, NY with my parents and just graduated with an associates degree from suffolk county community college, as for work I currently have a number of part time obs for myself giving me income for my car and other bills I have to pay in my life. I have so much to ask you but I can’t write a book on the comment page hahaha, so I really hope that you will let me talk with you a little more indepth and detailed about travelling (via e-mail or something) and maybe some of your interesting stories as well. Until next time I am glad to be able to call you a new friend in spirit and wish you the safest of travels and this entire post is also a toast to the next life changing adventure you go on.

Namaste, Dylan

i am so inspired by u earl ! i am from india and i want to travel a lot like u but i have a few questions regarding travellers from india how they can manage money in dollars as we get very little value in dollars and we dont get jobs as an esl teachers and do u know any lifelong travellers from india? as most of the travel blogs are from north american travellers waiting for your reply

Quick question, I am sure the answer is really networking and just having desirable qualities but how do you find these jobs while abroad? If you could describe your interactions or what you personally did that helped you get the jobs that would be great. Also any tips

Hey Joshua – It is all about networking and talking to as many people as you can. I learned about teaching English from another traveler I met and I also learned about working on board cruise ships from someone I met while overseas. And that was all it took. Also, the more you travel, the more people you naturally meet and as a result, the more opportunities you hear about and the more beneficial connections you make!

As for specific tips about how to get such jobs or what kinds of work you can find while traveling, you might want to check out my eBook: How to Live a Life of Travel

Thanks for posting such a thorough outline! I’m living a little vicariously through your blog. Though with all this travel and never staying in one place too long, how do you maintain romantic relationships, if at all? I think that’s a big barrier to a lot of people who would maybe otherwise live this lifestyle.

He Ania – Romantic relationships are not early as difficult to maintain as one might imagine. I am fortunate to meet like-minded people all the time, new people every single day. And when I meet someone I want to spend more time with I have the flexibility to throw down my bag, stay in one place and see if it works out. Sure, there are challenges, but there are challenges with any kind of relationship and I do believe that my chances of meeting someone who I can truly connect with is much higher while doing something that I love (travel) than if I were back home limiting myself to only those around me.

Spot on. Happy traveling!!

You are so lucky! Well done. You do need the right passport to do what you do. But you know what they say…good luck is good karma from your past. You’ve certainly done something good somewhere. Lived as the wife of an expat since 2005. Staying put now in the UK to get my UK passport as it has been a nightmare traveling on my current passport. Well done you!

[…] START BY READING THIS POST BY EARL: “How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel” #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } […]

Wow thats an amazing story. However one can really only do that if one has no family and kids that go to school. I hope for you that you are not only getting this freedom by the expense of being on your own…Finding a partner that wants to have this kind of lifestyle for years on end is not that easy right?

However, I still think that what you are doing is amazing. As long as it brings you happiness…thats the key.

It drives me absolutely bonkers when people think travel must be expensive.

Keep it up!

Good posts thank you for sharing this. I’ve worked as an ESL teacher in Korea and lived abroad with the military. Love to travel. Happy travels.

great to read ur latest post…

i do a similar thing.. working in switzerland as a waiter and travelling in between seasons, or quitting for 18 months to travel…. then finding work again in switzerland.. can save up to 3000$ a month. may be more with the tips…. BUT i never feel like i am “on the road” when i am here, cos i have too much work clothing that i need and a heavy lap top… i like to travel with 10kg max…. and be able to walk easily with my pack, which i cant do now, i live in staff accomodation, have not had a car in 12 years…. i dont even have a functioning cell phone.. and have never had an apprtment…. so i am pretty much homeless too……

happier that way…… i feel there is so much more to life….. out there to be discovered…. best wishes Trevor

Interesting, that’s the real life you’re living.

[…] Baron, the blogger behind Wandering Earl, has a popular series of articles about how he can afford to live the life of a nomad. Earl left home Christmas day, 1999. His original plan was to spend three months traveling around […]

[…] Of Constant Travel Posted on August 6, 2012 by Earl The most popular post on this blog has been “How I Can Afford My Life of Constant Travel”, a post I wrote back in April 2011. The idea of that post was to offer better insight into […]

Wow! It’s all I can say!

So inspiring! I’m a 19 year old college student about to go into my sophomore year of college. I believe gap years and traveling are the things that really shape a person and allow growth. Fortunately, I was able to go across the country for school and experience a new environment. I would, however, love to spend a good amount of my life after college traveling (like you have) except with a more international aid focus. My parents think my desire to travel is foolish and life is better when people are monetarily secure. What are your best recommendations at how I can talk to my parents, allowing them to see what is so fulfilling about a nomadic lifestyle, versus a conventional one? Also, hasn’t the price of traveling greatly increased since you began in 1999?

While I’m not the official WanderingEarl, though we’ve met, I felt a need to respond to the last two comments as I can relate to both of them. While WanderingEarl posted a great reply to Shootdaj, I wanted to mention that there are summer jobs/internships for university students where they can earn enough to pay for school. My wife and I both participated in such a program and were able to graduate university debt free. That same internship turned into a full time job for us that allowed us to earn enough money in one year to pay for our 8 month world trip this year. In response to Mallory, I’ve worked with university students and, as a result, their parents, for years. Many parents will not understand how traveling, or other non-conventional endeavours, can be beneficial to your personal development. My dad didn’t understand why I took a summer internship that moved me across the country and didn’t guarantee a certain income, but when I return with a large savings from the summer and later paid for all my schooling, he had no complaints. So my suggestion is that sometimes your parents won’t understand the decisions you make but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make them. Times have changed tremendously. Twenty years ago, a degree guaranteed you a job and financial security. Now, none of those are guarantees, and there are many other ways to financial security than just a traditional job. I think WanderingEarl is trying to show everyone that if you have the desire to make traveling a part of your life, don’t let all the ifs and buts stop you, because they will always be there. Take the first step and take a small chance, and you’ll see it’s not as hard as everyone else makes it out to be.

Hey Earl – Thank you for adding your input here and I think there are plenty of ways to pay off debt but most people just assume that it takes years and years to do so. Your experience certainly proves otherwise!

Hey Mallory – The truth is, your parents most likely won’t understand until you actually go out there, start traveling and making a life of it. It’s hard for people to see the value in something that they don’t know much about, especially something like long-term travel which does not fall in line with most people’s views on how people should live. But the key is to just stay focused, go after your goals anyway and eventually, once you’ve started to achieve them and your parents see that you are not wasting your life but enjoying a fulfilling, sustainable lifestyle instead, they will start to understand. As for the price of travel, some things get more expensive but in general, you can still find $3 hotel rooms in India, eat street food in Thailand for $1 and find inexpensive flights…traveling cheaply, and well, is still very possible all over the world!

Good post, although I think you might be missing the fact that many of us have debt (me personally from school) that has to be paid back before we can start spending whatever we earn on traveling etc. But that’s not to say that it cannot be done, just something to consider, though.

Hey Shootdaj – I graduated with debt as well, just like many people. However, I simply deferred the payments for a while until I could figure out a plan and once I started working on board cruise ships I began paying it all back as quickly as possible.

Are relationships harder because of it? Do you have to be alone?

Hey Elly – Not at all…I meet like-minded people all the time and have had a few long-term relationships over the years. There are challenges involved with maintaining a relationship but then again, there’s challenges involved with maintaining a relationship no matter what the situation!

Wow this is truly fascinating!

This what my life is all about, very inspiring stuff

Hi, You are living a dream life!! After reading this, I think I might start something like this in a smaller scale next year. By the way, I had a query; do you need a work permit or something to work in all these places? Even if it is something as simple as teaching english, I thought a tourist visa did not allow such luxuries. Thanks and hope you visit many more places!! P.S: Nice to see that you visited my country(India) many times! 🙂

Hey Sarang – In my case, the only jobs I’ve had that would require a work visa is teaching English. Working on cruise ships or working online (which I do now) doesn’t require a work visa at all. But with teaching English, I did not work for a language school or organization so I didn’t get a work visa. I just created my own classes and so I managed to do it all on a tourist visa since it wasn’t technically official 🙂

So the main tip is not to pay taxes?

Hey Ben – I pay taxes every single year as if I was living in the US. That’s the rules and I follow them.

Are you happy living the life of a nomad?

Hey Jasmin – Yes I am! If I wasn’t happy I would change direction and do something else 🙂

Sounds like a dream and so much fun! But just a doubt, i believe you’re a bachelor now,what about marriage? how can a married man/woman or a couple think about such a lifestyle?

@GoodCook – There are actually endless examples of married couples who are living this lifestyle…just check out my “Links” page and many of the blogs I mention are written by such couples, some of whom have been living this way for many years in a row. Also, you might want to have a read of my other post: Am I Destined to Wander the World All Alone?

Awesome! We hear the same thing…”You must be rich to do all that traveling! How do you do it?” Love the life!

Hi, i enjoyed your post. I was inspired. I also travel. I’m starting to trail my province and planning to have the whole country soon (Phil.) https://jessrelgilbuenasteps.wordpress.com/ please take a glimpse on my site. 🙂

* Una historia fascinante =)

Very cool, Earl. I noticed in all your travel that you haven’t spent any or much time in Africa. I spent 6 years all over East Africa and it is one of the most beautiful places on the planet – that I’ve seen, that is (I’ve only been in 19 countries). It’s super cheap there, too. Maybe as you’re considering your next destination you’ll land in Uganda/Tanzania/or Kenya.

Hey Scott – Thanks for commenting and as I tend to say on the site, the only reason I haven’t spent much time in Africa is because I need to be quite connected these days to the internet for work. So once that changes and I’m able to take long periods of time away from the internet, I shall definitely be heading to Africa!

What an inspiring story – I love to hear positive folks who are focused on living their dream.

I have traveled the world as a PADI instructor, kayak instructor, and now Registered Nurse for the last 20 years. I added to the fun by having a beautiful little girl, Kalypso, born in Thessaloniki Greece in 2009. Since then she has been to Dubai, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and on a tour of zoos with a EuroRail pass through Europe. She has been to 13 US states and we are looking into our next adventure. Travel is far more challenging with a munchkin, but I just adapted and keep going. For those that have to give up the couchsurfing, Servas offers much the same experience with more safety. My daughter eats, sleeps and plays with children of different cultures everywhere we go and we get so much insight into the way people live than by staying at a hotel.

Just wanted to add that idea for older or more cautious travelers looking for a less generic experience.

Thanks for the blog and keeping the spirit of global awareness alive!!

Very cool life experiences you have been able to have. Ever since my mom & I traveled on vacation to Mexico, I have been craving more out of the country trips! We’ve made it to the Dominican Republic & hopefully a trip to Puerto Rico soon. I take Spanish in school & it is a big interest of mine, so I love to hear it spoken native. I’m still in high school & want to be a nurse. I’m hoping I can find a way to intersect my love of helping others and traveling. It was very inspirational reading your blog, & it gives me the hope that it really is possible to travel places I’ve always dreamed of going. Good luck with everything!

Hi Earl, a post like this is something I’ve been searching for, for ages! I’ve read so many travel bloggers say things like, well it just happened really – I just earnt money. Which, everyone knows but no one knows how! I’m trying to start up a travelling blog of my own to fill with tips, advice and my own personal experiences but it’s early days and I’m just working out all the shenanigans like traffic and such like. It’s http://www.backpackjen.blogspot.co.uk if you’ve got a minute to check it out and maybe give me some advice!

Hi, I am 18 years old and have always lived my life feeling like I was meant for so much more and that I would never be able to stay in the same place more than once. I have a huge craving for traveling and sitting in my quite suburban home in Ohio with my family has never felt like enough. I would love to start traveling but, I dont really know how to get started. Its my dream to live a nomadic lifestyle but I seriously doubt my parents would aprove and according to them its their way or nothing. Just reading about your life has left me feeling very jealous and craving to leave my small house. The most exciting thing my family has ever done was travel out west for a month in our camper. Thank you so much for taking time to read this and I hope you continue to remain safe in your travels!

thanks for the breakdown, glad to see you making it work!

I admire you so much! This is exactly the sort of thing that I’ve always wanted to do with my life but I’ve never felt I’m in a financial position to do so and reading this has made me think that maybe one day I’ll be able to do it. Thanks so much!

I would love to make a movie on you…!! btw awesome stuff that you do, keep it up.

I read your blog and all I can really say is Wow and that I absolutely love what you’re doing.

Wow. I’ve always wanted to do this, but as a Filipino, it’s very difficult to travel to different countries. Filipinos need a visa to go abroad, and it’s very hard to secure a visa here unless you’re rich or have a strong connection with powerful people. But with this blog, I feel very inspired to do this one day even if I have very limited options. Thank you so much! 🙂

I know this is a cheesy question, but what’s your sign? I have a passion for travel too and money is of little importance to me, as long as I can get by. And from what I’ve read and been told, I’m a “true sagittarius” because of this 🙂

Hey Josee – I’m an Aries 🙂

I admire people, who know what they want and go for it! You’re definitely one of them. And thank you for being so honest and detailed about your finances – it’s inspiring and very useful!

Hi Earl you are such a great wanderer.. because you wander with direction and more zeal to travel. I love how you put up the timeline. It sounds very encouraging to try that kind of lifestyle also.. I will be following your posts, thanks for this amazing one!

I was wondering if you already knew the languages of the countries in which you taught English at? Did you previously know Thai? How did you teach an English class if you didn’t know those languages?

Awesome stuff btw! I just got back from touring Greece.

Hey Olivia – You don’t have to know the languages of the country you’re teaching in. When you teach, you’ll almost always be given a class with students who have already studied English and so you won’t teach them from the beginning. Also, almost every language school requires students to speak only English during class in order to help them learned more quickly. So everything is in English and you wouldn’t use the local language while in the classroom or school setting!

Come to Datça! Be our guest!

Your story is very inspiring. You have proven that one bold move is what it takes to conquer the world. Well, some people would think it insane for you to pack your bags and go on a journey to some uncharted waters with that little amount of money in your pocket. But you did it. People thought Magellan was insane when he sailed off and eventually discovered our country, The Philippines. It’s true, after all, that the greatest discoveries are found with a small amount of money, but with a huge dose of insanity. And you have found life. What an inspiration. I’m 27 and I have been dreaming of seeing the world, and I would be quick to cite financial setback and, well, ‘fears’ are my reasons why I haven’t visited a single country yet. But you know, you have proven that monetary constraints are certainly not a factor in order to realize your dreams. Keep it up!

Greetings from the Philippines!

Hey Dan – Well, in that case, I shall look forward to hearing all about your adventures ahead and where your journey takes you!

Hey Earl, just stumbled across your blog. I’ve always known I’ve wanted to travel the world but never knew how or when I could do it. Upon reading your blog, I’ve been inspired to “take the leap”. Only a few questions however are playing on my mind about traveling. a) Do you need a Visa to work in each country you visit? b) Do you plan every little detail before departing from home? Or just figure it out as you go?

Anyways, cheers mate and safe travels =] By the way, if you’re ever down in Melbourne again, give us a bell and hopefully we can meet up!

Hey Paul – You only need a work visa if you are working for a company/organization in that country and earning income through that company. As for me, since I work online and not for an actual company in another country, I just travel around on Tourist Visas as that’s all I need. And I rarely plan much at all these days. Sometimes I’ll book my first night’s accommodation in a new place before I arrive but other than that I figure it all out as I go.

And the next time I am in Melbourne I shall look forward to meeting up!

i want to go travel around the world, just one thing stopping me is that i fear that my lack of education would actually prevent that. i wanted to b a journalist since i was small but now that im older i am behind in high school and have all my friends going to college to live their lives happily, while i stay behind as a demo many tell me that i need to go to college to b a journalist ,i know their right, to travel and write what i see sounds like a life i want and i would do anything for but i reality is stopping me . i planned a road trip to Canada with my friends ,if anything i hope that on the trip i would get a little taste of the outside world to see if i can manage . do you have any tips for me since i don’t have the education and no idea which job i can have that lets me travel

Hey Bryan – Have you looked at this guide yet? “ How to Live a Life of Travel ”

It may be just what you’re looking for…

HI there Earl,

I StumbleUpon your site and I’m glad I did. I’ve been wrestling with the online income concept. The internet is wonderful but I’m unsure of which ones really work and frankly there’s alot to wade through. Do you mind expanding on your online income?

I remember just after graduating high school I said, “If I could only make $1,000 a month, I could do anything!”. It’s somewhat true. Thanks for a great blog.

Hey Win – With my online income, it’s a combination of selling eBooks, affiliate marketing and some advertising revenue. That’s basically how it works for me. The problem with online income is that it takes a lot more work than most people realize in order to get started. But if you don’t mind dedicating 1 or 2 years to working hard, learning as much as possible and overcoming the challenges, you’ll be rewarded in the end!

Hey Earl! Just saw your blog. and I am amazed. You’re an inspiration to many people. I honestly believe that travelling allows for a better understanding of each other’s context and culture and should eventually pave way for better relationships amongst people of different nations. I hope one day we’d bump into each other in one of our travels. Thanks man!

@niknokviquiera – Let me know if we’re ever in the same region and we shall indeed meet up!

hi! this is my first time reading your blog and I love it already! I have one question though- where do you stay while you are abroad? thanks for all this great info!

Hey Maggie – I usually stay in hostels, budget hotels, guesthouses, at friends’ homes, local apartments (that I rent if I’m staying somewhere for 1 month or more) and sometimes I use Couchsurfing.com.

hello! I stumbled along this website of yours, and it was as if something struck me while I read this page. I am a 23 year old girl and live in Turkey for about 2 years now (lived in The Netherlands for 14 years before moving here) and since I came here my desire to travel has reached a higher level, because of this country I saw (even from the plane!) so much green and so much wonders in it. I want to travel more then anything now. It’s like as if this is the only thing in my life I am sure of, the thing I want to do. And I know I can be good at it, I am capable of speaking 3 languages, and a 4th one upcoming (spanish) and I am learning that because someday I want to choose the nomad lifestyle, and having a knowledge of many languages is a good advantage for me. The thought of traveling makes me learn languages more enthusiastically.

But I wanted to ask you something, I am a girl, and to travel as a girl is a difficult thing to do in this country (or should I say world?). How do you feel and think about that, about gender difference in travel? Because in my heart I can do it, but somewhere I am a bit afraid too.. not enough to keep my motivation down but it is there.. Can you give a soon-to-become-nomad-traveller-turkish-girl some wise words to keep my motivation up? Because you have traveled to so many countries maybe you have seen how it would be for a girl to be on the nomad path of life…

You really lit up my motivation for travelling, because mine thoughts were also about the money issue when travelling.. But you have gotten your way out very good. I am enormously happy for you, and I know you will be meeting even more amazing people and walk on even more beautiful grounds with each passing day..

Greetings from Turkey!

Hey Hatice – In my opinion, you really don’t have to worry much about traveling, even as a solo female. The world is no different than being at home. If you use the same common sense you use at home while overseas, you’ll be just as safe. And during my travels, whether I’m in Europe, Asia, Latin America or even the Middle East, I meet almost the same number of female solo travelers as I do solo male travelers. And all of those females would be the first to tell you that the world is much safer than we imagine and there is nothing stopping you from getting out there as well.

Of course, some countries can be more challenging than others (India, parts of Africa), but overall, the majority of countries would pose no risk.

If you want more information about it, here are a few solo female travel bloggers to check out: Jodi from LegalNomads.com Shannon from ALittleAdrift.com Jasmine from JasmineWanders.com Sherry from OttsWorld.com

And those are just a small sample!

Thank you for the information. I am more confident with my choice now. I will read the blogs and continue my dream. Have an amazing trip!

What kind of experience do you need to be an excursion tour guide? I’m not a big people person, but I’d be okay giving tours. I’m a pretty god vocalist, and have considered auditioning to be a production vocalist, but I’m not sure I’m THAT good. Any other tips for someone who is a bit of an introvert wanting to work on a cruise ship. I’m also a weakling and I (shame) still don’t know how to do laundry very well…I’m 20…

Any other ideas for working abroad? Great blog by the way. Love it. Though after reading the Chris McCandless comment, you might want to have someone that will make sure you’re not freezing to death in a bus in Fairbanks on a regular basis…

Hey Marissa – Thanks for commenting!

As for cruise ships, I wasn’t actually a tour guide, I was a Tour Manager. So my position was to manage the Tour Department where we organized and sold excursions in every port, collaborated with local tour operators and handled all aspects of the passengers’ on shore experience. You generally need to be outgoing, have some travel experience and be able to work in pressure situations for such a position.

As for other ideas, have a look here and I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for: How to Live a Life of Travel

Hey Earl, I’ll be 16 years old in August and I’d love to do this. Any tips?

Wow! Motivational stuff Earl. I’ve been doing sort of a similar thing, travel working around the world. This is great stuff though! I gotta get a job on the cruises! You make much better money than a tour guide! 🙂

Hey Ian – Cruise ship work, as long as you are hired in a good position, is definitely well worth it!

Wow great post – and even better information. Thanks. As someone relatively new to all this travel writing lark, it’s good to get some sound information from someone who is successful at it. Thanks again for sharing.

Hi Earl! I’m from Chile and I’am planning to travel around Europe in December-February. I love travel and I have been witing this for a long time. I’m seen the option of going to an english school for one month first and then go for the adventure. I’m 19 years, and I’ll be doing this all alone. Y have a lot of questions, like if it is a good idea to go to the school, (in Cambridge) first. I also like to know which places are the ones that i can not stop visiting and I thought tha you could help me because your experience. And I like to know if there I’ll have the posibility of been with others like me, and maybe make friends and travel with them. I don’t have lots of money so you inspired me to don’t worry about that. How much do you think I´ll need?

Hey Gabriella – Thank you for the email! If you want, send me all of your questions to my email, using the “Contact” link at the top of the page. I’ll then be able to answer everything in more detail.

Just want to say I absolutely love the site and the blog. I’m from the UK and have been travelling for about 7 months now. Planning on working in Australia as of September to potentially fund some more travel. You have clearly managed to show that it actually is possible to ‘just keep going’, something I am going to be very tempted to do!

So thanks a lot for a bit of inspiration! Take care mate

Seriously, what I would like to know is – is there a prize of some sort for the blog post with the most response? And if there is, does this win it??? Clearly you are really, truly reaching out to people and striking a chord. Well done!

Hey Linda – Haha…I’m pretty sure there are posts out there, even on travel blogs, with more comments 🙂 But hey, I love interacting with everyone and seeing the questions and discussion that results from such a post. It’s exactly why I love blogging!

Hi Earl, Found this blog really interesting and was just wondering whether you make money from your blog as well as your e-books? How difficult is it to publish an e-book? I was hoping to make money from my blog in the long-term to fund some of my travelling but I’m not sure how feasible this is. Any advice greatly appreciated! Thanks, Carmen

Hey Carmen – My eBook and the website are linked together of course but I do also earn some money just through the site as well. As for publishing an eBook, that’s the easy part. Making sure that the information you provide is useful and geared towards a specific market is the hard part. If you’re interested in earning money from you blog, I would check out: Travel Blog Success

It’s a great program and has helped a lot of people earn money with even just a simple blog.

I was just wondering, what kind of college degree did you have to get for all that? Did you need an education?

Hey Ryan – I do have a college degree and you can actually read my thoughts about traveling with an education here: Do You Need A University Degree to Travel Long-Term?

This is great! Me and my fiance have been backpacking for a couple years now, currently visiting Barbados. We have made it around the U.S. many times and nobody seems to believe us when we say that a lot of money is not very important. We sleep in a hammock or tent and have also met tons of people on the way that are more than happy to have two respectable people stay with them. Anyways, just wanted to say thank you for putting this out in the universe because it’s hard to explain to people that opportunities really are everywhere, despite the economy they know today. Anyways, safe travels to you!

Hey so i read everything you did and it sounds amazing! the only question i have though is did you have to know the language of the countries you taught in before you went over? And if so how much did you learn? Or how much did you know before you went?

Hey Gerald – Actually, you don’t need to know any of the local language when teaching English. In general, most foreign teachers end up teaching students who already have some knowledge of English. Also, in order to facilitate a better learning environment, almost all language schools require classes to be 100% in English, with students having to speak English at all times.

Loved reading your timeline! Bravo!! Is there anywhere you haven’t been that you are dying to visit? What has been your favorite city to visit?

Hey Casey – Any country I haven’t been to yet is a country I would love to visit! As for my favorite cities, there are many, ranging from Melbourne to Delhi to Ljubljana to Istanbul and Capetown, among others 🙂

You reminded me of Christopher McCandless. Live your dream buddy 🙂

Thanks for reading Ramnath!

[…] all of your problems by traveling to a new place. You can grow ten times each time you travel. Read this article by Derek Earl Baron who has managed to travel/live/work abroad non-stop for 12 years […]

Well holy shit. I’ve finally found someone that travels the world full time, and has found the time to pin it all down into words to help inspire others!

Dude – you’ve done it for me. My planning begins…. now.

Thanks man!

Hey Graeme – It all starts with the planning and once you take that first step, you’ll wonder why you didn’t get started earlier! Thanks for commenting!

Hi Earl, your life is very inspirational. I hope to be able to travel the world and experience what freedom feels like. Thank you for sharing your experiences, and it does seem possible, now that you have done and proven that you could for 12 years.

[…] Read this article by Derek Earl Baron who has managed to travel/live/work abroad non-stop for 12 years straight and counting! You’re going to learn how he could afford a life of constant travel. […]

A minor addition: what concerned me when I thought of becoming a nomad after 2.5 years of travel was that it’s much easier to make money when younger than older so IMHO one should consider thinking further into the future than taking jobs than only enable you to save something but actually consider starting a business that can be managed the world over. Common examples are an online business or services that can be rendered anywhere such as treatments (massage, reiki, coaching, …) or courses (yoga, cooking, …).

My best wishes to any person who’s going to embark on such a new journey.

[…] Read this article by Derek Earl Baron who has managed to travel/live/work abroad non-stop for 12 years straight and counting! You’re going to learn how he could afford a life of constant travel. […]

Great to see someone living their dream. I also love to travel and my business partner and I are fortunate enough to be able to travel whenever we please thanks to our websites. And the beauty of it is that we can work from anywhere in the world (as long as there is internet). Just recently returned from a three month jaunt around Europe. I take my hat off to you Earl. Cheers

Thanks for the comment Wanda!

Interesting post. Good to see someones living the life I dream of.

Steven Wade, Edinburgh and Dundee.

:(((((((((((((((( How could you get jobs so easily like that?!!? And dosen’t it ever get tiring going from job to job? Omg. I want to travel so badly.

Hey Amanda – I actually haven’t changed jobs too many times. Once you get a job in the cruise industry, it’s quite easy to move around between cruise lines as they would rather hire someone who has previous ship experience. And it doesn’t get tiring at all as I get to have some rewarding work experiences and then move on whenever I feel like a change. Of course, these days, I just work online so I don’t have to go from job to job and I’m definitely enjoying this style of work as well.

It looks like you like India a lot. Which places have you been to? I live here, so the next time you come over, i’d love to meet you and hear about all the your adventures! It’s pretty amazing that you’ve managed to do this for 12 years. Wow.

Hey Nikita – I’ve been all over India, to just about every corner of the country. I’ve spent over two years in total there over the past 12 years 🙂 Where are you located in India?

In Bangalore.. It’s not as exotic as the other cities in India, but its home and pretty dam amazing!

Hey Nikita – Bangalore is an interesting place and I’ve been there one time before. And if I make it that way again on my next visit, I shall let you know!

I like the blog man,i like your passion for living and travelling,i want to travel around the world too,i’m 25 but i’m still in college,hopefully for about 2-3 years i will join you:) i notice that right now you’are in Romania,i’m from Macedonia which is close to Romania so i recommend to you to come to Macedonia and maybe we can get to know each other

Hey Marjan – I’ll actually be going to Macedonia in July, so maybe we can meet up then?

Hey Earl thanks fot the reply,i’m glad that you can come to Macedonia,well i don’t know for sure because this summer i wanted to go to Greece,i wanted to work on a island there a month or two but i will see,maybe i will be here in Macedonia in July,i don’t know what to say,we can stay in touch till then.

Thanks for these insights, Earl – it is good to see that it’s mostly not about the money to start a trip. I guess if you’re willing you can make it though not having big savings on your Bankaccount. Great article!

Hey Steve – The money is definitely secondary as it can always be earned somehow. But convincing yourself that this is true is the bigger challenge!

Wow – epic blog man :).

I’m moving to Israel from South Africa shortly and im thinking about traveling. You really give the foundation and inspiration to get going! Keep it up.

Hey Tyron – Good luck with move and hopefully that will be the start of more adventures to come!

[…] that I have so far failed to properly explain how I’ve managed to travel/live/work abroad Link – Trackbacks Search for EHS News Search […]

Hi Earl, I LOVE what you are doing! I dreamed about traveling the world my whole life. When I turned 55 I decided it was time for action and joined the Peace Corps. I am currently serving in Belize and loving it. Had a chance to couchsurf Turkey and am now hooked while home on leave this year. Have you tried that yet? Now the whole world is opened up to me and seeing your blog has inspired me to no end! I will be 58 this August and my contract with PC is up Jan 28th 2013. Do you think the cruise lines would hire someone like me? (my age?) I am very young at heart but some people can’t get past the numbers……their loss! Ha! Look forward to hearing from you and I have been sharing your blog with everyone I know!

Hey Gayla – Welcome to the site and I appreciate you spreading the word to those you know! And as for the cruise lines, I always say that anyone under 65 will be considered as would anyone else. If you have what it takes to do the job and be a part of ship life, then they’ll hire you. I’ve worked with fellow crew members ranging in age from 18 to 75 as cruise lines love to have a diverse group of crew on their ships.

And I have used couchsurfing a few times during my travels…it sure does add an entirely new dimension to travel, especially with the benefit of interacting with so many locals instead of staying in hostel or hotel.

Keep on enjoying your time in Belize and I look forward to interacting with you some more on here!

You both inspired me and I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your insights. My name is Anita and I just turned 60 although to tell you the truth it hasn’t caught up with me and I don’t think it ever will, to me age is but a number and I’m terrible at math 😉 I have been doing some traveling myself, left a marriage of 30 yrs, my kids left for University and I took off to start LIVING. I’ve lived in Mexico, USA and Israel and I’m back in Mexico but soon to leave this place, and I would LOVE to travel all over the world videotaping my travels and turning my blog that has saved my life these alone years into a Travel for people my age who all of a sudden find themselves alone at 50 for the first time in their lives. I’m going to contact both the cruise lines and the PC, gotta start somewhere and those are two great ideas. Wish me luck and I invite you and your readers to go to my blog and read my experiences, life is a FUN adventure, you just have to get over the fear of the unknown and LIVE IT! Best of luck to you and safe journeys. Anita

Welcome to the site Anita and I certainly wish you the best with your own adventures! Seems like you’re quite determined to make it all happen 🙂

Great story 🙂 What do you do in Bucharest to earn money?

Cheers, Daniel

Hey Daniel – Thanks for reading the post! As for money, I currently earn my income online through a combination of websites and online projects, something I’ve been doing for the past 3.5 years

Awesome tips. Nice trips!

As a fellow Earl who is also traveling, was happy to run into your site through a tweet from another traveling couple. We are currently in Turkey now and can relate to a lot of what you say! Just read your post about the 20 minutes in the airport and it is great advice. Looking forward to reading more!

Earl iPadNomads.com

Hey fellow Earl 🙂 Great to have you here and I hope you’re enjoying your stay in Turkey!

This is my absolute dream. Unfortunately i’m still not of legal age to leave home. Just two more years till I begin to fulfill my life long dream of travel and adventure. Now, the countdown to freedom begins.

Stumbled on this site. AWESOME post! I have always wanted to travel the world. As a mother of 2, wife and homeowner, I have a lot of reasons (excuses) why I haven’t. Thank you for that nudge of confidence. 😉

Thanks for visiting Jaz and I really do believe that no matter what anyone’s situation, with some determination, you can achieve those travel goals of yours!

[…] read a post on Wandering Earl a while back about how he’s been able to travel for the last 12 years almost continuously […]

Great break-down. I am really interested in exploring cruise ship employment options as it seems to be a great way to save up quickly, or in our case help pay off student loan debt quickly so my wife and I can really save money for our own pockets. I have your ebook, bookmarked to order later on and really give it a look through for all its worth. Thanks for sharing.

Hey Cornelius – Sounds good and it is a great way to pay off student debt quickly. That’s how I paid off my debt!

Stumbled Upon this and absolutely loved it! I’m 23 and just lost my job and all I want to do is travel now. Is paying for a guide on a website the only way to get in to a job opportunity with a cruise ship? I absolutely loved the one cruise I took as a kid and think this would be an amazing way to get out and do something with my life! What a dream that could be..

Hey Brandon – Thanks for the comment! And while it’s not the only way, my guide will definitely make the entire application process much easier and quicker and it will give you a far better chance of getting hired by a cruise line than if you were to try and figure it out on your own. I’m not sure if you saw the unique guide that I offer but it’s here at How To Work On Cruise Ships

And please let me know if you have any questions at any time!

I just thought you might enjoy starting a new thread that isn’t “How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel.” I’ll call this one “provisions.” As you travel about, you must need to find food. What it a typical breakfast like? Do you depend on local hosts? And if you go out on your own, how do you know what to order? I’d be afraid I’d end up eating fricasseed dog!

Hey Stevan – Thanks for the suggestion and I will certainly work on creating some posts about the topics you’ve mentioned! But to quickly answer your question about food, I usually just wander the streets and find places that seem to be popular with locals. As for what to order, I look around at what others are eating, I try to ask for some translation of the menu (English is spoken in almost every corner of the planet these days) and then I also leave some of it up to chance by choosing random items 🙂 So far, I haven’t eaten dog yet, or at least I don’t think I have!

I love this post! Just fyi i’m stealing this plan. LOVE IT.

Cheers to you my nomadic friend.

Hey Nancy – Steal away! That’s what it’s here for…and I look forward to hearing about your own travels!

This is very interesting and inspiring! I’m graduating college this week and I’m planning on teaching English in China for a year. I really want to be able to travel freely and easily as you do one day! Keep it up! I hope to be like this soon enough.

Hey Carmen – Congratulations on your graduation and I’m confident you’re going to have a wonderful experience over in China!

Since I was very young I was constantly dreaming of far away places. Mostly to be away from my parents, go figure, but as time passed, “excuses” as you call them kept me coming home. I was born and raised in Santiago, 2nd largest city in Dominican Republic and I am still here, living a wonderful life with my three kids (18 yrs old, 12 yrs old and 5 months old) and my gorgeous husband. I tried three times to be away from Santiago, the first time when I was 19 I lived in NY for a year, later I lived in Santo Domingo (the capital of DR) for also a year. In 2008 I moved to Guatemala with my kids and it was then that I learned the wonderful impact that life in foreign countries can do to children. We had so many rich experiences and we still dream with that year wandering around Guatemala. Being from Dominican Republic is certainly a limitation since we need a visa for almost every country in the world, just to go to Venezuela, for instance, which is crazy, the list of requirements is so long you just don´t want to go there. My 12 yr old daughter wasn´t able to get her visa to the USA for instance even though I ´ve been traveling there since I was 14 and my son applied and had no problem whatsoever. I dream that someday we will have a world without frontiers. I read your blog to my son who is leaving to Belgium on August to study french for a year. He also as me is dreaming with seeing the whole world. I know that someday I will be able to do it, maybe not so many countries, but at least to see the beaches of Santorini, the beauty of Positano, go find my family roots in Santa Domenica de Talao,and so on… but for now I am happy to see my son maybe conquering what it was not possible for me when I was younger. As my brother calls me “a river of endless dreams” I keep dreaming about far away places.

Never stop dreaming! I believe your dreams will come to fruition.

Hey Ericarol – Thanks so much for your comment and I certainly do hope that you get a chance to see some of those places you would love to visit! Thank you for sharing your story on here 🙂

don’t you get lonely?

Hey Paul – Actually, I almost never get lonely. There are new people to meet everywhere, I have friends all over the world and if I feel like forming some closer bonds, I just throw down my backpack and stay in one place for a while. I know it surprises a lot of people but I’d have to work real hard to be lonely!

Hello, your post was extremely inspiring. What was so hard about life on cruise ships specifically? Also, I don’t know about you, but wouldn’t you feel worried that you would get stranded in a country if you ran out of money? And also what if you are looking for dating opportunities but you were always moving around?

Hello Lucas – Working on ships requires a person to work in a very unique environment. Work days can be long and unpredictable, you’re stuck on a boat for long periods of time, passengers can become frustrating, you usually have to share a cabin…but it’s all still worth it considering the benefits! And I don’t worry about running out of money in some foreign country. Just because I travel all the time doesn’t mean that I simply spend every dollar I have. I save money just like everyone else when I work and if I am that short on funds, I would stop moving around and just stay put in one country for a while and try to earn more.

As for dating opportunities, I meet new people all the time and you never know where it will lead. I’d much rather be out here traveling and meet like-minded people than being at home, going on traditional dates with people that I have very little in common with. And when I meet someone that I want to spend more time with, I simply re-arrange my lifestyle a little in order to accommodate a relationship. I’ve had several long-term relationships over the years.

I certainly would like to do something like you do, but get discouraged when I think about how the stress of job hunting would ruin the rest of my trip (which would be cut short anyway.)

It seems that no matter what you do with your life, you’ll always be haunted by whether or not you can suck up to people and persuade them to hire you. I absolutely hate job hunting – working hard at something without ever getting results, trying to impress people when you know the interviews will be given to the charismatic people anyway, and staring at a computer screen updating resumes when it’s terrible for your eyes. I say job hunting is like tuberculosis: it’s worse to do a half-assed job than it is to not even try. In job hunting, if you’re not willing to sacrifice your social life and grades (if you’re in school) to get interviews, then all you’ll be doing is wasting your time writing cover letters and causing stress. In TB treatment, if you don’t take your medication every day you end up with drug-resistant bacteria.

Is it easier to get interviews and jobs while traveling? You mentioned in one of your comments that English teacher jobs are easy to get… Is that true even if you’re not charismatic and lucky?

Hey Chloe – When traveling, you have to look at job hunting as part of the experience. As for how easy it is to get interviews and jobs, it all depends on your background and what kind of jobs you are looking for of course. Teaching English is indeed quite easy to to…just look at a site such as EslCafe.com and you’ll see just how many opportunities are out there and what the requirements are (there aren’t many requirements at all!).

Well, you could do this because you are an American Citizen. It would be slightly worse when you are a citizen of India or such other Asian countries due to visa requirements like a bank balance of specific amounts as per country visa stipulations.

Hey Sahana – As I mentioned many times in the comments already, yes, there is a bigger challenge for citizens of certain countries but at the same time, it is not at all impossible. There are people out there traveling the world from dozens of countries, including India, and if they managed to make it happen, there’s little stopping others from doing the same.

Very inspiring! Moved to China from Canada five years and haven’t looked back. Plan to retire to Thailand in a year or so, but probably not forever. It’s a big world out there and I wanna see as much of it as I can.

Hey Steve – At least you know you can always change direction any time you want…some time in China, some time in Thailand and when you’re ready to move on, just pack your bags and off you go!

I’ve been doing more research on living and traveling abroad long-term. What do you do about taxes back from the US? How about taxes abroad–say when you were in Mexico? Thanks!

Hey Jonny – I pay all of my taxes to the US just as if I was living in the US. I don’t actually earn income overseas as I work online and not for an employer in a foreign country. As a result, I don’t have to pay taxes to another country, only to the US in the end.

I am actually proud to say that I have worked with and know this man!! While working for Cunard Onboard the Queen Mary 2, And after coming across his website and reading you my friend are truely inspiring to others. It’s a pleasure to have known you!!

Hey Steve! Good to see you on here…a very nice surprise indeed. It certainly was a pleasure to have ‘worked’ (very loose term there) with you and those certainly were some good times on that ship. If only there were no passengers it would have been even better!

HEY!! 🙂 So jealous of your life! Just found your page and i would love to travel after uni next year. Finding this has proved that it’s possible for me too! Can’t wait! I’ll be asking for your recommendations on where to visit!! 😛 Thanks! Nash

Hey Nash – It definitely is possible! And please do ask me for some recommendations when you’re ready…I’ll be more than happy to help out. Just stay focused on your travel goals!

wow. you have inspired me.. im 19 years old and LOVE to travel… as a child i visited corfu, majorca, lanzarotte, ibiza and things.. now living in New Zealand (highly recommended) i have visited vietnam, australia and america… but i want to see the world! Thank you for inspiring me to just do it!

Hey Rachel – You’ve seen quite a lot already so I can imagine how those experience inspire you to continue traveling even more!

This is something I’ve ALWAYS wanted and your page just showed me how possible it actually is. I’ll be 22 next month and for the first time I’m 100% positive of what I’m about to do with my life. (Finish degree and save a little $ to launch my adventure!) I too will share my travels so that I can show others that they can live this dream. Thank you for this.

Hey Kirstee – In that case, I shall look forward to seeing where it all leads you 🙂 Just stay focused and you can achieve any of your travel goals!

I’m really impressed with your stories cause that is exactly the life I want in the future. I was always worried about the financial part as I really can’t save much with my current job back here in Malaysia. But no matter how, my mind kept telling me that I have to take a step forward in order to achieve my travel dream. So, I’m applying the Australia Working Holiday visa in this coming July but the high commission needed the applicant to show a bank statement of AUS$5000 which I don’t think I will manage to have one. Earl, just wondering that would you suggest me another way out to start my travelling life experience? I would like to travel to Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Should I just fly to Australia and seek for the opportunities even though I have not much financial support? Is Australia easy to get a part-time job for us Asian? Looking forward to listen to your experience or advice. Thanks. Jess from Malaysia.

Hey Jess – Thanks for the comment! I do have Asian friends who managed to find work in Australia, some of them on a working visa and some of them without the visa. It’s never a guarantee of course but there usually are opportunities to make it happen. One good step would be to contact bloggers or other travelers that are currently in Australia, or even any friends of friends or anyone that you might know in some way in that country. Simply ask them if they know of any opportunities…the more people you get in touch with, the better chance you have that someone can help you out!

Hi Earl – I’m so glad that I stumble upon your website. I am looking into traveling and roaming the world. I plan on working on a cruise ship as income. Do you have any advice on how to get hired? Can’t wait to hear back from you and read more about your adventures! Kelly

Hey Kelly – Thanks so much for the email. The best advice I can give you is to have a look at the guide that I created about working on board a cruise ship 🙂

You can find all the information you need right here: Work On Cruise Ships

Very inspiring stuff! I teach people how to market their products/ebooks online and you’re clearly a success story. All the best!

hey earl… your life seems inspiring. and its like … i want my life to be like this… this has been in my mind for quite some time. your case is just ideal… as good as it gets. if you plan to come to india … anytime of the year… just hit me back pal. i will come up to meet you, we’ll have a good talk, a long walk and listen to music….

Nice article Earl, and I hope you continue sharing your travels!! What I miss from your article, however, is the most important aspect of travelling; the human element. Travelling is not for everyone, and the way you put it is not as simple as you make it sound. How did you cope with being away from “home”? What kind of character traits are necessary for a true world traveler to survive? How did you maintain a network of friends you could rely on around the world? How often did you have to rely on the locals for survival? How did you manage the (perhaps overblown) sense of anti-Americanism abroad? The devil is in the details, as they say, and those are missing from this article. On the other hand, I’m sure those details are in your e-books 😉 Smart man.

Hey Robert – Well, the first trait that travelers should possess is not making assumptions about people! You are quite wrong about the details being in my eBooks and if you actually looked at my eBook titles you would see that they each have a specific focus. And you’re right, the details are not in this post either and that is because this is ONE post. The details are, however, on this website, in the 250+ posts that I have written over the past two years. I suggest having a read through them and you’ll find the answers you’re looking for 🙂

[…] How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel – Wandering Earl Income from my online projects reached $1000 per month for the first time December 2009 Continued working on my online projects […]

Hi Earl! Thanks for sharing these tips, your site is a great resource! I spent almost a year teaching English in Russia with a friend. It was a great experience and I’d like to have a go at more extensive travel; however, as a woman, the thought of traveling alone for so long worries me. Safety is a concern. Do you have any thoughts/tips on this? Do you know of any woman who have lived a nomadic lifestyle? Safety is definitely a concern.

Hey Alex – There are plenty of women living this very same lifestyle! And in terms of safety, you just need to use the same common sense you use at home while you are overseas. The world is much safer than we imagine. Usually, people worry about safety until they finally arrive at their first destination alone as they suddenly realize that there really wasn’t much to worry about at all.

Check out blogs such as LegalNomads.com, ALittleAdrift.com, JasmineWanders.com….those are three female nomads and that’s just a tiny sample 🙂

Awesome…

I have stumbleupon you site and I am inspired from your life….

Thanks for the tips…

I hope we can find the same courage…

Thanks Murtiki!

Inspiring read! I’ve been traveling since 2009 with little money as well. Doing two working holiday visas in Australia and New Zealand as well as some cash in hand work in Europe. I traveled India for 3 months last year as well. I’ll be heading to Indonesia this June. I’ll have just over $6000 in my account by then.. what kind of tips can you give me to help make it last as long as I can before I have to head back to Canada. (which I really don’t want to do) It just seems as though I’m running out of options for working abroad without any education behind me. What do you think? Cheers!

Hey John – Luckily, Indonesia is as cheap of a country to travel in as you’ll find. It’s pretty much on par with India in many aspects. So your money should last a while there. However, if you’re drawn to Southeast Asia, you could also try working as a timeshare salesman. It’s not for everyone but resorts all over the region hire foreigners to give sales pitches to potential customers. The commission and earning potential is huge if you don’t mind doing some sales work.

I’ve stumbled upon your site here and find it very interesting. I have been doing volunteer work in La Paz, Bolivia for the past 9 months and have a good bout with various illnesses. I was wondering if you could share some of the difficulties you’ve faced in traveling to so many places (more-so from a health perspective).

Hey Matt – Thanks for the comment! I will try to put together a post in the next few weeks that talks about any health-related difficulties I’ve had over the years while traveling.

Glad I stumbled on this great article! I dream of doing this some day but like many feel as though it would cost a lot of money, and the security of not having a regular income is kinda daunting. Also as someone mentioned above does it not become quite lonely? Just another question too… You say you taught English in schools and going by your post you seemed to do well earning a lot of money on the cruise ships… did you have experience in these lines of work before you got the job? It seems everywhere these days you need experience to get in any type of job and if you have no experience at all how would someone like myself go about teaching English in another country? Could you also speak their language… isn’t there a language barrier? Would really appreciate it if you could comment back Earl. I wish you all the more success in the future!

Hey Steven – Thanks for commenting and I’ll definitely answer your questions.

1. Life on the road, at least for me, is not lonely, mostly because I am constantly meeting new people everywhere I go. Also, there’s nothing stopping me from staying in one place for a while if I like it, which allows me to make stronger connections and have a more normal social life. As an example, I spent 1.5 years in Mexico at one point and I’m currently based out of Bucharest for the past few months. There are so many people to meet everywhere that it’s really hard to become lonely!

2. I did not have any experience in teaching English or any other job that would help me get work on board cruise ships. As for teaching English, just go to a site such as EslCafe.com, scroll through the job postings in a country such as South Korea. You’ll see hundreds. Then apply to a few of those jobs just for fun and I’m almost certain that as long as you have a degree and are a native speaker of English, you’ll get some job offers based on that alone! As for working on board cruise ships, cruise lines are mostly interested in hiring people who can handle unique, challenging and diverse environments (which is what it’s like on board a ship). That stuff is much more important than work experience because at the end of the day, the specifics of any job on board a cruise ship can be learned but being able to adapt to life at sea requires someone with an open-mind who can handle ‘ship life’.

3. As for speaking the local language when teaching, this is generally not a requirement at all. You will typically be teaching people who already have at least a basic understanding of English and the school that hires you will almost always require your classes to be conducted 100% in English. This helps students learn faster. So not knowing the language is not something that should stop you at all. There are thousands of people teaching English in places such as Japan, Korea and China and if learning the language was a requirement, that number would certainly be much less 🙂

I hope that information helps you out a bit but if you ever have any more questions, just send me an email through the Contact link at the top of the page and I’d be more than happy to answer them!

You inspire me Mr. WanderingEarl

This is very inspiring, thanks a lot! I have traveled a lot but have been stuck in the U.S. studying and what not. And now I am broke because of school but I want to keep traveling! Your website proves that I should be able to make it happen.

I did some research on affiliate marketing and it seems to be a great opportunity. How did you create your own websites though??

Hey Blake – Thanks so much for the comment! As for creating my own websites, at first I used the program called Dreamweaver but these days I make all of my websites through WordPress.org. It’s a great, flexible platform that allows you to build websites by downloading certain ‘themes’. And then you just need to learn a little bit of html coding in order to make the most out of it and really customize the site so that it looks the way you want. It’s easy to learn though!

Well you are a male caucasian and sort of #1 in the primitive food chain with good people and communication skills. For a black person the whole scenario would be different…fill in the blanks and I not saying more. To your credit, being able to teach english in these places where the demand is huge helps a lot even more than an advantage a medical doctor would have!!!

While there might be more challenges involved, it surely is not at all impossible for you to live the same lifestyle I’ve been living. We always tend to focus on the negative and we always try and find excuses for everything. Nut believe me, I’ve met people out there in the world from every race and religion who have managed to travel long-term as well. If you wanted to travel extensively, you could certainly make it happen.

A beautiful and visually appealing breakdown of exactly what you did, how you did, and why you did.

I love it!!!! It goes to show you need very little $$$ to travel worldwide. Inspirational!!

[…] Read Further on Wandering Earl This entry was posted in Entrepreneurship, Leadership, The Internet, Webdevelopment and tagged entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, travel, wellness by Franklin Piens. Bookmark the permalink. […]

This would be a great option for someone who holds an American passport. Sad fact is, citizens of most third-world countries wouldn’t be able to do this. At least not without plenty of financial assets. I’m Filipino and I know how difficult it is to get travel visas.

Don’t get me wrong — I loved this article. I just wish everyone can do what you do. Sounds fun 🙂

Thanks for the comment John! And yes, it can be easier for certain nationalities but I must say, I know plenty of Filipinos who have managed to live a life of travel as well. There are visa issues for them from time to time but there are also plenty of countries that they can visit and experience 🙂

Found your blog through stumbling, really inspiring post. Thanks a lot for sharing.

In the comment above, John raised the exact same question I was going to ask you. It’s not easy getting a visa if you are not a first world citizen. Another obstacle is that earning (and saving) $500 is not that easy for a Philipino (John) or Bangladeshi (me). I had to save money for three years since graduation from university before I could travel abroad for the first time. Since then I’ve managed to travel in Malaysia, Nepal and before the journey brought me to Canada. For the time being I’m enjoying life in Canada, but like every nomad out there, deep in my heart I know I’ll leave for some other destination one day. Tried getting jobs as english teacher in several countries; seems native speakers are preferred in those situations. I would not call this an unfair advantage, but it’s an advantage for sure. Don’t you think so ? Traveling for Asians and Africans is still not that easy, but I dearly hope it will change someday. We all need to meet each other and know the world.

Hey Raiyan – I agree with you that some nationalities have a bigger challenge to make this kind of lifestyle happen but you are proof already that it is certainly possible! And while it may be difficult to save money, I’ve met hundreds of Filipinos and Bangladeshis who have worked on board cruise ships, earned a good amount of money and then used that money to achieve other goals in life. There are opportunities but it takes some creative thinking and some determination!

And sure, getting English teaching jobs is an advantage for some but there are still dozens and dozens of ways to earn money out there. The key word is ‘creativity’!

Absolutely agree about creativity & determination. Keep posting 🙂

What I liked so much about your timeline is that you made it clear that you WORKED while traveling and experiencing the world. I feel that so many people, especially if you go through college, are so focused on having a career that the idea of jumping from job opportunity to job opportunity and just feeling things out seems improbable. People are so concerned with job security but I love how you have managed to see the world. Question though, and sorry if I missed it in the article, did you have any student debt? Great article!

Hey Jonny – I would definitely never have been able to create this lifestyle without work, a great deal of work! As for student debt, I did have some when I started my travels. But I deferred the payments for a couple of years and then, when I started working on board cruise ships, I began to pay it back. Working on ships definitely helped me take care of that!

i come to the site by chance via stumble. You are really awesome! I can not do it like you, but really i admire you!!!keep it!

Thanks for the comment Cathy!

Once the mist of outright jealously has cleared a bit it’s clear that this is an excellent post for number of reasons.

I think the fact that you show how you have progressed, from the start of your career to where you are now is really helpful, time-lines are almost always useful when looking at any subject.

And although you’re rightly optimistic about making money and opportunities occurring, what is great is that it does show that to reach your level as a travel blogger, people will still have to work to get there.

Also the fact at the time of writing this there are 585 posts which must obviously means that is has a resonance for a lot of people.

Anyway a very illuminating post, thanks.

@ecothreesixty – Jealously was definitely not my intention 🙂 And you’re right about the hard work involved with such a lifestyle. In fact, the amount of work involved is far more than most people would ever believe!

Keep it up Earl, you’re an inspiration of courage and determination. I hope I could do what you do in the future as I’m planning on following your path.

Thanks for sharing this Earl, you have a great travel story and online income success story at the same time which is really inspiring. 🙂

Thanks for that EJ!

Hi Earl. I am so pleased I stumbled upon this inspiring story. I am 18 years old, with big dreams in the future to travel. I have never heard any story quite like yours. I have only visited 9 countries so far in my life, but every experience I’ve had has been one to remember. I love how you can relate to the common person in terms of practical finances. You must be proud of yourself. But I have a question, in your..12 years of traveling, have you ever felt lonely? Even though you meet people everywhere you go, do you get feelings of loneliness? Or have you comfortably adjusted to this lifestyle? E-mail back if you please! Also, in terms of worthwhile experience, which are the most amazing places you’ve visited? Thanks… Once again, it’s people like you who inspire me.

— Felicia — Ontario, Canada

I stumbled upon your site. Wow! Very inspiring. I have been wanting to travel myself and do not have the chance yet. Just wondering, why didn’t you travel the Philippines? ^_^ Mina from the Philippines

Hey Carmina – Thanks for the comment! And there is no real reason why I haven’t made it to the Philippines yet. I’ll get there but my plans have so far taken me to other places. I want to go, and I’m sure I will the next time I’m in that part of the world.

Wow, some great tips here and what an amazing time you must have had. I’ve lived out in thailand for 6 years of my life when I was younger and now living in the UK. Looking to do some travelling myself in the next couple of years but don’t think I could do as much as you’ve done.

Awesome tips! Congratulations for the courage, many people wish they could carry their lives this way, but there need some efforts… Plans for South America? Brazil?

Hola Lucas! I’ll make it back to South America eventually…not sure if I’ll get there this year, but at some point!

[…] The questions are still pouring in every single day: How do you do it? How is it possible to travel for so long? Where does the money come from? How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel – Wandering Earl […]

so…. basically you saved up your money from various jobs and took several very long vacations. does that sum it up short?

Hey Earl – That’s not exactly correct as the work and travel is not separate for me. I do them both simultaneously. For example, over the past 4 years I’ve been working online as I travel so it’s not as if I’m on vacation. In reality, I’m saving money as I travel.

I didn’t read everything (sorry I’m at work), but that means that you’ve worked where you go to holiday to earn money? And sometimes you went to countries where the spend of life were less important than where you live for real? Is this your method?

I think this is very interesting to share your experience, thank you for inspiring us 🙂

Thank you for responding me.

Hey Prisca – Actually, I am not on holiday when I travel because I am constantly traveling. I don’t actually have a place where I live for real. And these days, I work online so I am able to work anywhere as long as I have an internet connection.

This is just fantastic Earl!!! Too good that you do what you want with less bucks:)

why did you decided to stay in mexico?

Hey Renata – I have since moved on from Mexico but I decided to use Mexico as a base for a while because I had a Mexican girlfriend at the time and I loved being able to live in a laid-back beach community for very little money.

Surely there are some advantages of being a USA citizen and having a language worldwide acceepted as mother language. Probably most of the countries wouldnt gice you a visa if you are a 3rd world county citizen and it would be able to very hard to find jobs if you cannot speak english.

Hey Servet – There are definitely some advantages, I agree with you. But the point that I try to stress is that it is possible for people, even those from the developing world, to live a similar lifestyle. Over the years I’ve met people from so many countries who have managed to figure out a way to travel that I am convinced it is possible for most people. Visas may be difficult to get, but again, they are not impossible!

You are my idol, I have just recently left work and travelled for 1 year. Now I have returned to the U.K. to work and all I can think about is travelling for the rest of my life. I better get a Tefl and quick 🙂 Cheers for the inspiration.

Hey Hollie – That TEFL will certainly help and open up quite a lot of doors for you! It’s hard to return home after having a taste of the traveling lifestyle…luckily, it seems you’ll be back out there again before you know it 🙂

So right now I am a college student and traveling the way you do is something is I would REALLY like to do. I just feel like once I’m done with school, I’ll be in too much debt to actually go out and do what you do :/. Also, do you ever get home sick or miss someone particularly close to you? These are the things I think about once I really have the desire to just drop everything, leave and travel. It seems like, to live the lifestyle that you do, you would have to be single lol

Hey Mitchell – I actually don’t get homesick at all. It’s always nice to visit the US once or twice each year but apart from that I’m always looking forward to exploring more of the world and so I’m able to maintain my excitement about travel. As for being single, it’s not that important. Once you start traveling you will meet a lot of people, many of who think similarly to you and so the chances are quite high that you will find someone that you will connect with. And when that happens, you simply need to decide if you want to keep on traveling, if you can integrate travel into your relationship or if you want to stop traveling for a while to be with that person. It’s a completely different lifestyle for sure but it’s definitely not as lonely as one might imagine!

Killian, You might be surprised at the reactions of your friends and family. I think all parents are concerned for the safety and well being of their kids, but once they realize this is important to you they might be your biggest supporters. I know my parents can’t wait to see where I go next and how long I am staying so that they can come visit me. Send lots of emails and pictures and they will be able to travel along with you.

How can I afford my life of constant travel? everyone can afford their passion, money is secondary my friend. courage is certainly complementary and once you find it, life will just flow…

an old saying goes: if it’s not for you, you’ll just find an excuse.

way to go my friend! your blog is definitely encouraging and your help priceless.

*pardon my english, just not my mother language.

Hey Jorge – Thank you so much for commenting and I’m glad to see that your ideas are similar to mine! And no need to apologize for the English, I can understand it perfectly 🙂

hi! I literally stumbled upon this website and it inspries me to continue living abroad as much as I can. I am from Germany but I am currently living in China. I have been infatuated with travelling for the past 4 years. Ever since I was an exchange student back in 08/09 in the US I wanted to get to know the world better. I love exploring the culture of another country and I love how if you just alk to the natives (and other travellers as well) you can learn so much. In the summer of 2010 I spent 2 months in Costa Rica as a assistant teacher of some sort and travelled constantly and I also spent some time in Panama. The following summer I travelled through Europe with two American friends and now I am in Beijing for another 2 weeks until I go the south. I am staying in China for a =n entire year. This has inspired me to keep up with this kind of life and to pursue travelling. There’s so much I haven’t.. Thanks so much for this! As for he comment on courage. I know it is hard and I think if you think about it for too long you might talk yourself out of it. I just don’t really think about it that much and don’t get all worked up.. it’s getting to the point where it is quite easy to pack my stuff and say goodbye..

Hey Desi – I like your last two lines of your comment because I agree that the more you think about and worry about such a lifestyle, the easier it is to convince yourself not to pursue or continue it. But if we don’t think too much and simply go out there into the world, we soon discover that there’s not much to worry about at all. We can find ways to survive out there and before we know it, such a traveling lifestyle does become quite natural!

You seem to love India…. 😛

Hey Jimmy – India will always be my favorite country!

Wow..wonderful journey, very interesting.

Waiting for you come to Borobudur, Indonesia.. ha ha

Hey Ary – I’ll get there one day…I’m a big fan of Indonesia and have loved all of my travels to your country!

Your life is very inspiring! I am from New Zealand and have been living and travelling in the US for 2 years now. I noticed you said you got into cruise ship work ‘through a contact’. I’ve always been interested in cruise ship work but every place I’ve looked for information about it seems to be some kind of weird scam or you have to send them money just to get information. Do you have any advice on how to land a cruise ship job? Or perhaps know of anyone I would be able to contact who could help me out?

[…] How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel | Wandering Earl – StumbleUpon Traveled to Europe during my 6-week vacation between contracts […]

Adding to it …am from Bangalore India. Just curious to know if you’ve had a chance to visit south India….

Hey Sandy – Welcome to the site! And I have been to Bangalore, about five years ago. I’ve spent a good amount of time in South India but there is still more for me to see over there. I’ll have to get back there this year at some point 🙂

Thank you for all of your comments!

Oh good to know u’ve visited my city… there are lot of historical places in the south to discover. When you come back here, you should visit Hampi in Karnataka and another place called Murudeshwara temple in Karnataka. This temple is surrounded by 3 sides of water and one side of Island. Check this link : https://travel.oneindia.in/36/holiday-destinations/murudeshwar.html

Hope you like it 🙂

Hi Earl, I felt great reading your experience. It makes me feel even good when i think that someone has left all the materialistic things in life and just been wandering places. You’ve followed your heart!! I wish you good luck in your future adventures. When your dreams are true and genuine you’ll encounter with good people who will care for you when you fall sick 🙂

“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.”

Awesome, inspirational post. Earning income online has really opened up a world of possibilities for those that want to travel long term.

Hey Dennis – It sure has opened up many opportunities and I still am amazed at the options people have to create their own independent source of income these days!

I just finished a 8 month hitching adventure a few months ago and I can’t wait to get back on the road. Dude, I’m in awe of yer skills. That’s the type of resume I want but I’m more of a fruit picker/weed clipper kinda guy. Good luck in yer travels.

Hey Jones – There’s nothing wrong with that path! There are plenty of times I wish I was outside picking fruit instead of instead on my laptop for 14 hours straight. Good luck on your travel as well!

Thanks for going into these details. It makes it seem as attainable as it is.

This is so inspiring. What a life you have had. This is truly the way to live. I’ve been traveling on an off for 7 years myself and understand how you never get enough of this world. This shows that you don’t need to be rich to explore this planet and enjoy it to the fullest.

Hey Kristen – That’s definitely what I want to prove…that a life of travel is not a wild fantasy available only to the super-wealthy. It’s actually available to all of us 🙂

Earl, I always had the chance to traveling in my young age. I was born in the Belgium Congo and had the chance to visit 27 countries. My daughter Anne six months ago had a job in San Francisco she was working as Graphic Designer. Well Anne and Monica come up to a poster that said “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” I understand and she made me so happy when they decided to take this voyage. Keep on traveling the world I am positive that if you keep on reaching people in your blog you will run to multiple people that want to make your dream a reality of your live. Please if you would read Anne & Monica blog, you sure could maybe connect someday. 🙂 https://www.anneborremans.com/about.html Daniel

Hey Daniel – Thank you for commenting and I will definitely check out their blog. And I think it would be hard for anyone to read that quote and not want to change the course of their life and starting chasing after their true goals. I’m glad to hear that your daughter did just that!

Thank you Earl, I will also keep checking on your blog. I know that you are going to get your dream and make it the reality. Good luck and it a pleasure for me to run into your traveling experiences. Daniel

[…] How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel | Wandering Earl – StumbleUpon I’m simply confused as to how it’s possible that I have so far failed to properly explain how I’ve managed to travel/live/work abroad nonstop for 12 years straight (and counting). […]

I just wanted to thank you for such an encouraging article/website. If more people adopted the “crazy and reckless” lifestyle you espouse, the average person could have so much more perspective, not take so many things for granted, and just be appreciative of everything they have. And even if you live in the greatest place on earth, how will know it’s great if you can’t compare it to other places you’ve visited?

Well said John! I always imagine what would happen if everyone was required to travel overseas during their young adult years. This world would be a much different place (in a good way of course) and the benefits would be massive and far-reaching. I guess until either of us end up running our countries, such a program probably won’t happen too soon 🙂

This is an amazing article 🙂 so inspirational. I’m only 17 right now, but I’m looking to incorporate traveling into whatever occupation I land up with. I’d actually love to try living as a nomad, but I fear I’d never have the courage (and my parents would kill me, haha). However, I’m curious. Does it ever get lonely on the road? It seems like it might. Are you ever looking to settle down when you get older? Do you have any plans? You sound like you’ve had an amazing life 🙂

Hey Katie – Thank you for commenting! As for loneliness, have a read of this post I recently wrote: Please Don’t Be Afraid To Travel On Your Own . That should answer your question 🙂

And as for settling down, I don’t think about it much. Basically, if I wake up tomorrow and decide it’s time to stop traveling and live a more settled life, then that’s what I’ll do. But until that day comes, I plan to continue living the life that I want to live, which is one that includes constant travel.

your words just gave me that reason im looking for! there is a possibility! there is a chance to do it! ! that is the fact! how to reach it! is everyone’s deal!, my personal question will be how to do it if u live in a third world country, and even working that much u cant get the minimun of 4600 usd per year ! i will find the answer im sure i will post it!! care! rocio

Hey Rocio – That’s definitely the right attitude to have if you want to get out there and travel! As for earning money, the idea is to create your own income, so that you don’t always have to find work. If you can find a way to work online, then it doesn’t matter where you are in the world as you just need an internet signal in order to get your work done!

I love this – you’re so right about not needing a bunch of money to start out. Start with what you have, and then figure out how to get the rest as you go.

People ask us this sort of thing a lot – I think the answer for financing it will be as different as the person asking the question. We’ve tried lots of different strategies since we started traveling 5 years ago with our 4 kids (we now have 5).

The answer for financing continues to grow and develop and change as we do.

Thanks again. I’ll have to reference this post on my blog for financing travel.

Hey Rachel – That’s of course completely true as there is no one set way to finance such travels and it really all depends on one’s creativity and ability to create their opportunities. It’s not always easy but the point is that there are ways to make it happen, and your family is another perfect example. If a family of 7 can travel around the world, there’s nothing stopping anyone from achieving such a goal!

Earl, you are truly inspiring! I have done little traveling in comparison to you. I have traveled to the Cancun area several times and just recently to PDC (as well as some Europe travel for business and pleasure). I am so interesting in go back to PDC for a longer period of time. Are you still living there? I also feel like I am getting too old to just pick up and leave. I am 31 have a great job and in the process of ending a marriage but I am really interested in a change of life. I agree with other posters and being a young, blond, American woman on her own, it does make me nervous at times. In my past travels, I have met a lot of people in the same situation (traveling alone) which helps. I would love to chat with you more about PDC, and how I should go about moving on my dream before it’s “too late” 🙂 Take care!

Hey Crystal – Too old?? I’m 34 🙂 And being a solo, blond female traveler really is much less of a deal than you would think. The world is much safer than we imagine and you’ll find an endless number of solo females out there doing the very same thing I’m doing. And I’m willing to bet that almost all of them would encourage you to make the change as well!

As for PDC, I’m no longer living there. It’s actually been about 8 months since I left and I’m now spending time in Eastern Europe. But if you have any questions about PDC, just send me an email through my “Contact” link above and I’d be more than happy to help out as best I can!

I was going to say the same heheheh. I’m 32 and barely engaging into becoming a nomad traveler. It is never to late, unless you die hehehhe. Cheers! Love the blog Earl!

Thanks Joe! And you’re right, it never is too late at all!!

Earl, I have to ask you. What has your love life been like the past 12 years?

@MozhetBeats – My love life has been normal 🙂 I’ve had a few long-term girlfriends over the years and I meet a lot of people everywhere I go. There are definitely some challenges when it comes to love and travel but every relationship has its own challenges in the end!

Great question MozhetBeats, I was wondering the same.

Earl, you just put a post about the things we are trying to accomplish so we can inspire each other. That is the one thing that holds me back, not having a partner to go on the journey with. I am passed my mid-30s and it is not so easy to me to make a decision to pick up and go, but there is a certain point in my life where if I don’t have a significant someone I’m just gonna go. That certain point is when I finish paying off my student loans and my mortgage. I’m working on paying them both down in the next 10 years, that way I can generate some revenue by renting my condo and have a place to come home to and not have the student loans as that thorn on my side.

My goal is to be a missionary. I am a Christian and I’ve been a missionary in the past, it is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done in my life. So when I’m done taking care of my debt, I want to go out there to the world and serve those who are in need.

Hey Nina – I believe that we never know when we’ll find the right person and so there is no reason to just sit around waiting. We should be trying to achieve our goals in life regardless. And besides, if we are out there doing what we love most, the chances are greater that we will meet someone who thinks similarly to us and who we connect with at a much higher level. Just because a person travels doesn’t meet they can’t meet people, fall in love or enter into relationships!

awesome job you got there!

i, myself, been traveling for over 10 years now. working as a quality control inspector for a japanese company. my work base is here in fiji island.

i happen to stumble upon your site and caught my attention that you’ve been around great places and yeah, did i say that your job is awesome?

wish i could do the same but the problem would be visa matter as i am a filipino passport holder which is too cumbersome to acquire visa from other places that i (we filipino) would like to go to.

i am still in a process of reading your whole site, BTW.

more power and happy traveling, man! keep safe!

Thanks for the comment Rodel! And even though it is more difficult to obtain visas, there are still plenty of countries that you could visit. I know of a few Filipinos who are living a similar lifestyle to mine, traveling all over the place. But for now, living in Fiji is not so bad at all 🙂

Hello Earl, honestly this is the first time i hear or read about you but i have a small experience to share with you, it’s as harmony said, paraphrasing, it all lies in having the courage to take the first step. i am a grad student and i was living my life slowly and easily in Lebanon my home country, but now im writing from Pakistan. 2 weeks ago my instructor came to me and he said do u want to travel to pakistan for a collaboration project and i said yes and here i am now. im not saying that im planning to live the nomadic life u are having but im just saying that it really took me a big leap of faith to come here alone to a country where i know no one and for a project by the time i came here was unknown. Now i miss my friends and family already and cant wait to get back to lebanon but three weeks are still ahead of me. I have to say also that im not having a really entertaining time because the project im here for is taking all my time, but it s good to meet new people and travel to new places and if it happens again and i were to travel another trip like that i will for sure go but next time i will plan it more to have some time to see the country im visiting. thanks again for sharing your experience. Oh and no need to mention that if u havent visited lebanon yet please do and when u do u can contact me and i would be more than happy to be your guide.

Hey Martin – Sounds like you are getting a little taste of the traveling lifestyle over there. It’s not always easy and it always depends on your situation, but just because Pakistan might not have been the most rewarding experience for you doesn’t mean that another country will be the same. But you don’t have to travel either and only should travel if that’s what you feel you want to do 🙂

And I have visited Lebanon before…but if I do make it back there again, I will certainly send you an email.

Have you seen a “A map for saturday”? very cool traveling documentary…. I kinda want to travel but it is a bit difficult when society puts so much pressure on getting a college education and a white collar job.

Hey Sam – I have not seen that documentary but I’ve now added it to my list of one’s to watch! Thank you for the recommendation!

Good read, Earl.

I feel a lot from your last sentence; I always wanted to go to Japan back when I was studying at college (I’m from the UK so I will have been around 17) but never had the courage. Surprisingly, I met my current fiancée who happens to be from Japan here in the UK.

Since meeting her I didn’t care how much money I had in the bank (I had limited funds since being a student) and just flew over there. I didn’t have much spending money after paying for the flight, but you don’t need spending money when you can explore other cultures. I happen to have the best memories from being in Japan and I’m always at my happiest then; money doesn’t even cross my mind.

I enjoyed this post, as I can relate to it a lot. Thanks for the share!

Hey Luke – Interesting how life tends to unfold! And that is always a point I’m trying to make….you don’t need much spending money to have rewarding travel experiences. Paying for an entrance fee to some sight does not guarantee an incredible experience. But talking to and interacting with locals, almost always does!

It was quite interesting to read about you travels. I have always wanted to travel the world but I envision that I should be filthy rich to do so. However, your example has made be rethink that I should have a lot of money to travel. I am from Nepal and it is good to know that you have been there as well. I wish you all the best for your upcoming travels. Stay safe and take care!

Thanks for that Rashmi! And I’m glad that this post helped you realize the opportunities that actually do exist out there. As for Nepal, I’m loved my visit there and it is definitely a country I would love to visit again 🙂

[…] work and refill my bank account for a couple of months, I would not have been able to work as a substitute teacher at a high school in Boston (and save up a good amount of money) without my degree.A good friend of mine went to […]

How do you deal with the cost of insurance? are you insured or do you have a safety net in case things really hit the fan either medically or from a evacuation standpoint?

I ask the question as I have spent more time traveling in the last 5 years then I have spent at home and I am always dealing with ways to find out how to get cheap affordable insurance with such a low income.

@Jbusacker – I am insured as I pay for medical insurance back in the US. Before I did this I would always take out extensive travel insurance instead. But having the insurance in the US gives me more peace of mind just in case anything serious ever does happen. And I’ve found the cost to be quite affordable for good coverage.

WOAH! Your beyond inspirational and I love your website!!!

Thank you Tori 🙂

Thank you so much. It puts ‘travel for a living’ into perspective.

check out Eritrea..near the redsea..beautiful coast and ppl–you will have a good time

hello Earl ! I was wondering how you promote your e books and if you could give me some tips about writing one of my own? thanks tons and love your page btw

Hey Ezra – Thank you for the comment! Your question is actually quite a complicated one as there is a great deal of stuff involved with creating your own eBook. It would take dozens of pages to even begin to explain how to make it happen. But I promote my eBook several ways…they are available on my blog ( Travel Resources ), they each have their own website and other people help promote my eBook on their websites as well. Those are the three main methods I use.

If you have more specific questions, just send me an email and I’ll try my best to provide the information you need…

This is just amazing! Lucky you. I always wanted to travel the world, I’m still 20 but I think I shouldn’t waste my time saying it’s still early, I would love to start now but university is in the way. Another point, I’m not an American and I need visas everywhere, so it won’t be easy. I think I will start with Europe next year!

Thank you so much for the advices provided here. Written down.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your adventure!

Hey Tarek – Great to hear from you and I think you have the right attitude. It may not be easy but you’re not going to let that stop you anyway!!

Definitely not! Than you for the reply.

I have a question about Europe! How much does it cost -at minimum- to go to 8 European countries in one month (probably January-February)? and is Eurail pass good enough for a backpack-student traveler? If not, what’s the best -and cheapest- way of transportation?

Thanks in advance.

Thank* (English isn’t my mother language)

Hey Tarek – If you plan to travel to 8 countries in one month, then a Eurail Pass would definitely be the way to go. It will not only save you money (especially if you are a student) but it will save you a great deal of time and hassle. You won’t have to worry about booking and paying for your tickets in advance.

As for visiting 8 countries, that is a lot in one month, especially if you are in Western Europe where the countries are larger. It’s possible but will involve quite a lot of long-distance train rides to get from one country to another. In terms of money, you would probably need $1500 (which includes the cost of your train ticket) although, if you travel around Eastern Europe, you could survive with less money as things are cheaper in that region.

Hey Earl – Then Eurail pass it will be! Thanks. As for the 8 countries, they are all in Western Europe, but on my plan, I have lots of sites to visit that are on the borders between some countries, which makes it easier, I guess.

And as for the long-distance train rides, there is an advantage of it, I don’t have any problem sleeping in public transportations (used to it since I take them a lot for long distances in my normal daily life). So, I can take long-distance train rides at night from one city to another (Munich-Berlin or Paris-Geneva for an example). And as you said, it’s possible!

Eastern Europe is a bit hard for me, since not all of it’s countries are in the Schengen Agreement. Only few, in fact. In the future, maybe!

Is there any other ways to stay in contact with you other than here? since I’m planning my tip to be in January-Februray NEXT year, and since I have lots of things to ask about! Any other possible ways?

I never knew “StumpleUpon” could be useful this much. Lol!

Hey Tarek – Feel free to send me an email through the Contact Me page on my site. I’m always more than happy to reply to any emails I receive!

omg man you are a legend! here is my way to travel : me : hey papa im going to travel put some money to my bank account papa : here is ur money 30.000$ and last thing when are you coming back ? me : donno! when i run out of money i guess ..

True Story!!

Hey Earl, I just “stumbled upon” this particular post on your site, which is exactly the step I am at in my traveling lifestyle…how am I going to afford it?!! I’ve been investing and working on this for a few years and my actual set out date to leave the “real world” is sometime between Aug and Sept of this year…gunna be hard to quit the good paying, but boring job I have!

The first poster, Harmony, nailed it on the head…and I think seeing how many opportunities came up for you, as well as my confidence in myself just reaffirmed how strong my convictions are!

My actual question for you is about women (and if you have already posted about it, please just link me!) I am a 24 year old, white, American woman…I’m well read and I understand cultural differences as well as someone reading but not experiencing can at this point. BUT MY BIGGEST FEAR AND HOLD BACK is how other cultures may see women. Maybe this is an American culture thing and I am worrying because of news stories or what friends have said and everyone will just be accepting? But you hear about less respect for women or rape or kidnap…and not all of it has to be bad, some cultures may just have different gender roles I could break on accident. So with all your travels I was just wondering…do you have any thoughts or tips for a traveling women? Do you think your experience would have been very different had you been a women?

Strange, sorry…I feel like this may come across sexist, but I only mean it as an honest concern and question…

As an add on…same thing but non gender specific: Have you ever broken a cultural taboo…was it a big deal? Do you take the time to study where you are going next first so you know the general feeling of that area?

Hey Tamara – That’s certainly a valid question and my answer is simple. The world is a much kinder and safer place than what we gather from watching the news. Yes, there are cultures that treat women differently than what we may be used to but with things such as kidnap and rape, if you use the same common sense you use at home, the chances of it happening to you are also the same as at home.

I’ve met endless solo female travelers over the years, whether in Latin America, Asia, Europe and even the Middle East (which will be a huge surprise…take Syria for example, every solo female traveler I met there was shocked at how little they were bothered and how easy it was for them to travel around on their own as a woman). In the end, don’t let this fear hold you back as you’ll soon realize that your fear does not match the reality of how life really is in the majority of the world.

As for breaking a cultural taboo, I’m sure I did this a few times, probably more, but it’s never been a big deal to the point where I dwelled on it for more than a minute. In general, I do study up on customs and traditions before traveling somewhere new, just so that I don’t make any major cultural mistakes. But apart from that, as long as you are smiling and it is clear that you are interested in learning about the local culture, few people will ever fault you for making a mistake considering they know you are a foreigner.

Just study a little and again, this fear will quickly disappear once you begin your travels!

wow. this is just the information i need to get started. thank you so much. i hope everything goes well for you in your future. i have big plans of traveling the US once im done with college and saving up a bit. im looking forward to continuing reading this blog. thanks again!

Hey Heather – I certainly wish you the best with your travel plans for the future as well! If there’s anything I can ever help out with, just let me know!

I’ve been thinking about (and constantly putting off) travelling for a while now. I’ve been to Hawaii, a few mainland states and and a lot of Europe but I’ve never been away for more than a few months. I think, after reading your webpage I might finally be able to pluck up the courage and start some extensive travelling. Did you go to college? I’m sorry if that is too personal. I have a very rough idea of where I want to go, or at least start my journey. I was thinking of teaching English in Japan or else the Galapagos. I’m 23 years old . I know it may sound stupid but I’m afraid of what my friends and parents will think. I just feel like I need to ‘find myself’ and see the world before I become entwined in the gears of life and start my career or further my education.

Hey Killian – Thank you for commenting! I did go to college myself and I actually just wrote a post about whether or not it is important to have a degree before traveling. You can read that post here: Do You Need a University Degree to Travel Long-Term?

Apart from that, it’s natural to be afraid of what others will think because chances are, they will think you’re crazy 🙂 But that shouldn’t stop you if it is something that you really want to pursue. At the end of the day, if you need to find yourself, you need to go out there into the world and find yourself. If you don’t, you’ll regret it for a long time!

Yo dude Thanks alot for the post, this is a pretty sweet story/guide for what i gotta do. I’m gunna save up some money hopefully around 2000 if i can and start off exactly how you did. Just have one question, how/where do you sell your eBooks? Like say i wrote one, who do you contact or where do you go to post them and make them available for people to buy? Good luck in future travels, Cheers

Hey Stuart – I mostly sell my eBooks on my site…they can be found on my Travel Resources page. Apart from that, you just need to learn about internet marketing, although it all depends on the eBook you were to write and the target audience. There are quite a lot of ways to market such a product, each with their own benefits and challenges depending on what your book is about. you can advertise with Google adwords or on Facebook, you could try and attract affiliates to promote the book for you in exchange for a commission or you could set up your own site and try to sell it directly. Also, many people write an eBook and simply put it on Amazon.com for sale.

Plenty of options 🙂

Hey Earl! Im new to your website but I haven’t been able to stop reading for the past couple hours. I have such a passion for traveling and exploring the world just like you are doing. I am still in high school but dream of buying my first plane ticket out of this town! Because I am still so young (only in numbers might I add), my family is not supportive of this “reckless and crazy” lifestyle. You encourage me to keep on believing in my dream to travel the world for the rest of my life. Thank you so much for giving me the confidence and determination to do what I have always wanted to! I am exited to hear about your next adventure!

Hey Samantha – That’s the key…staying focused despite those who are trying to discourage you! Eventually, once you start achieving your goals, those same people will begin to support you. Breaking free from the ‘real world’ is a hard concept for many to grasp so it is understandable that people look at such a decision as crazy. But that doesn’t mean you should give up!

Awesome, thank you so much for share. ” Hi! ” from Vietnam, do you know Vietnam ? If you go to Vietnam, call me, good luck to you.

Hey Duy – Welcome to the site! And I have visited Vietnam one time but it was many years ago and I was there for just about two weeks. So I’ll have to visit again to see what I missed!

All that travelling and you still haven’t been to Africa….?

Hey Kelly – Well, now I can say that I have been to Africa after a recent trip to South Africa 🙂 And I’m sure I’ll be back on the African continent at some point this year as well.

I unfortunately didn’t take the time to read through all the comments…..but Earl, you’re very last statement…..”All you need is the courage to take the first step and a mind that is open to trying new experiences!”

That truly, I think, is why everyone asks “How do you travel around the world with no money?”

It’s not the mechanics of being able to do it that they want to know. It’s the how do you get the courage to do it? It’s not an easy question for you to answer, how does one gain the courage and the faith in themselves that they can do this?

Or any other challenge that they take on? So many people are afraid to step into the abyss, but in my experience….isn’t getting out of bed everyday stepping into the abyss? Isn’t every day you are alive and breathing, and survive the day, trusting yourself and having faith in your abilities to get through that day stepping into that abyss?

We all need to just close our eyes, take a deep breath, and take that first step. No matter how big or small that first step is. We all have the strength in us to do amazing things. We all have the courage to do everything we ever dreamed of or wanted for our lives and those around us.

Yes, it is terrifying to step outside of our comfortable routine. But once you do, oh the possibilities you open up for yourself and others.

Thank you for continuing to inspire people with your courage to trust yourself, and have faith in your abilities. Everyone has that strength and courage within them.

Hey Harmony – That was such a wonderful comment you left, quite motivational in itself! It is all about that first step because once it’s taken, we realize that it wasn’t as difficult as we thought and we gain the confidence to take the next step and so on. Eventually, we taken many steps and we wake up one morning living the life that puts the biggest smile on our face!

This post is awesome. I love how you actually wrote out everything you did to show everyone that it’s totally possible to travel – you just have to make it a priority. I’m glad I randomly found your blog! I’m looking forward to any new stories you have. 🙂

Thanks for commenting Diana and I appreciate you following along with the blog!

Like many other readers I linked here from another travel site. Love the nomadic idea but my case slightly different. I’m 58 years old. (Life Happens.) Most of the articles I read are aimed at a much younger demographic. Do you encounter older travelers among the “Restless Youth” or would I be a bit out of place in a hostel or sleeping on a train? Thanks for your time. “Keep on Trucking”

Hey Randy – While there is a lot of focus on younger travelers, you certainly wouldn’t feel out of place while on the road! I am constantly meeting travelers of all ages, whether in hostels, budget hotels or any form of local transportation. And the beauty is, travel unites people to the point where age doesn’t matter at all…travelers are much more interested in interacting with other travels, no matter what the age, and learning from them.

So even if you’re outnumbered by younger travelers, you’ll be just as welcome and will be able to have experiences that are just as rewarding!

Earl, wow, stumbleupon just brought me to you, and I must say I am inspired. It has basically always been my life goal to travel everywhere I could possibly manage, including, yah know, everywhere you’ve been! And I have always fretted about figuring out where the hell the money would come from. You just gave me some great ideas, and I have a few more brewing in my head. I am glad to know there are people out there living my dream who aren’t independently wealthy or some other nonsense. I will be right there with you, soon enough. And I just found a new website to follow! Thanks, man.

Hey Tori – Glad to hear you’ve found some good ideas here and the reality is, there are thousands of opportunities out there to earn money. It just takes some creativity! And I appreciate you following the site. If you ever have any questions about anything, please let me know!

Hey! Hi! You are in Romania? What cities have you visited and plan to visit here? I live in Constanta (a big port in Romania, at the Black Sea). Loved your article. it gave me some ideas. There was a guy from Turkey that had the same problem like me, regarding visas, and right to work in a foreign country. Maybe I’ll go to work after I’m finishing college, next year, in the summer. I’m going to college more because I had to do something and I didn’t really knew myself. But this last year was full of personal “revelations”. I realized what I really wanted to do. But until I’ve red this post, it seemed like it’s impossible to attain it. Thanks for the hope and ideas you send people through your site!

Hey Iulian! Yes, I am in Romania, currently staying in Bucharest visiting some friends. I have not made it to Constanta yet and will probably wait until it gets a little warmer 🙂

As for the life you want to live, there’s always hope. Even though you need visas to many places, there are still many places you can go. I just met a Romanian guy who traveled by motorcycle from Romania to Mongolia and back again, visiting 12 countries along the way and now he is heading to South America as well. It can happen if you stay focused!

Hay Earl, Just wanted to say you are living the dream. My wife and I are working on taking the dream to travel around and reading your message gives the faith that it can be done. Good luck and have fun.

Hey Danny – I’m glad to hear that you’re heading towards the dream as well! It can definitely be done and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise 🙂

You sure love traveling to Middle East. Cheaper i guess??

Hey Kanwar – I love traveling to the Middle East as much as I love traveling to Asia, Latin America, Europe or anywhere on the planet for that matter. And the Middle East really isn’t that much different in terms of costs than many other parts of the world…

Earl, thank you. I’ve been searching for information for a long time and you finally hit it right on the nail. Blessings to you.

It is great that you can make such a trip for a long time! well, unlike you claim, it is not possible for everyone to make a trip like that. For example, it is nearly impossible for me. If you do not have a US, Canadian, UK, NZ, AU, or EU passport in this world, it is IMPOSSIBLE to travel without money! Do you know why? Because we need VISAS! To get the visas we need thousands of documents including bank account details, papers that show you are working for a company, or you are a student, flight tickets exactly the dates that you ll go back to your country and tons of other legal documents to prove that you are not a possible immigrant. This whole process is against HUMAN RIGTHS! We do not have the equal opportunity as you do. That’s why we want no VISAS in the world.

Hey Seyhun – Thanks for the comment! And while I understand what you wrote, you even said yourself that it is ‘nearly’ impossible. It is not impossible as almost every country on the planet has at least a handful of other countries that its citizens can travel to without too much of a problem. And you don’t need to visit every country in the world to be a traveler. You can do the same thing I’m doing while traveling around your home country or a couple of other countries as well.

Also, the point I always try to make is that once you do start traveling (traveling ANYWHERE), you will discover new opportunities that will change the course of your life. You never know who you’re going to meet or what you’re going to learn and where that will all lead you. As soon as you use the word ‘impossible’, then it does become ‘impossible’ but there are plenty of people out there who have done things that many once thought was not possible to achieve.

Hi Earl! I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog and it’s gotten me excited for my trip this spring to India. My friend has a contact there and I’ll be able to teach English at a monastery in trade for food/board for about 2 months. Any advice on the trip? I haven’t been there before and any shared past experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Hey Kevin – You should be excited about your India trip!! It will be a life-changing experience I’m sure. I’m not sure if you read my post “ Why Every Traveler Must Visit India ” but that’s a good start. Apart from that, I have over two years of experiences in that country so I’m not even sure where to begin. But if you have any specific questions at all, please feel free to send me an email and I’d be more than happy to help out as best I can!

What kind of education do you have and was a college education required for when you taught english?

Hey Braxton – I have a Bachelor’s degree from university. And considering that I taught English on my own and not through a language school, my education wasn’t important as nobody actually hired me. But if you do plan to teach through a language school overseas, in general you would need to have a college degree in order to get a job. They don’t care what the degree is in but they want to know that you finished university and have that extra education.

Hey, it’s an interesting read.

That being said, no offense, but some of your math does not fit. You got TO Thailand and survived through 3 months (at $150 a week by your own calculations) on $1500 and still had $500 left before taking a job as an English teacher.

Others are implausible. You saved $2500 working as a substitute teacher in 2 months in Boston for example.

Others, aren’t something just everyone has available (a friend in Los Angeles that will let you stay at his house rent free for two months).

So I’m just wondering what you’re not telling us. Was there a source of income from elsewhere?

Hey JC – Thanks for the comment, although you were completely wrong with every single one of your assumptions.

First, yes, I arrived to Asia with $1500, traveled around Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos for just over 2 months and then began teaching in Thailand. Yes, I had $500 when I started teaching. I taught for 6 months and left Thailand with $300 to my name. Not sure what the issue is here. It was my first trip, I was on a super-tight budget and I stuck to that budget. It was also over ten years ago when prices were much cheaper than they are today.

And again, yes, I did save $2500 as a substitute teacher in Boston. The pay at the time (I don’t know what it is now) was remarkably high for those who were willing to substitute in inner city schools.

As for having a friend in Los Angeles, first, when I say I lived with a friend, I rented an apartment with a friend. We both paid equal rent. I was not living for free.

Sorry to disappoint you but next time, it might pay to ask questions before reaching your conclusions 🙂

Hey Earl! I am absolutely fascinated by your entire journey.I was hoping to know more about the ” teaching jobs” that i can take up while traveling to Europe this summer.Was it like a paid internship sorta thing? and U’r an inspiration Earl..Good Luck!!

Hey Shruti – Thanks for the comment! My teaching experiences were not paid internships. I actually just advertised my teaching services at a university in Thailand and taught my students in an informal setting. Here’s some more about how I set this up: https://www.wanderingearl.com/how-to-fund-your-travels-with-creativity/

Good luck in Europe!

[…] I’m simply confused as to how it’s possible that I have so far failed to properly explain how I’ve managed to travel/live/work abroad nonstop for 12 years straight (and counting). How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel | Wandering Earl – StumbleUpon […]

I’m thinking about doing the same thing, but teaching music instead of english

I’m sure a lot of people tell you that you lead an amazing life. What you’re doing right now is what many dream of but have no courage to experience! What I want to ask is this: from your experience, how possible is it to do all this with a spouse or a boy/girlfriend? Thanks and keep inspiring people! 🙂

Hey Bowie – Thanks for the comment and I can say that’s it is definitely manageable with a spouse or girlfriend, assuming that partner wants to travel as well! But there are many couples out there living this lifestyle, such as UncorneredMarket.com and NeverEndingVoyage.com . And those are just two of dozens and dozens. Of course there will be some unique challenges but any relationship has challenges in the end 🙂

Very impressive Earl! Well done. Just goes to show – the dream is totally doable!

Wow Earl, You are really courageous man. Your brief 12 year history is fascinating. I wish I could be like you, but I fear too much and on top there are fear of my parents letting me go. (Yes i read the fear article) I can travel for short term, but cant imagine myself living in those countries.

I was wondering if you have articles on what are the basic skills someone should have before travelling. i.e driving, athletic, ability to teach, language skills, Swimming [I cant swim to save my life :(] etc.

Hey Abdullah – I don’t have any specific articles about the basic skills one needs simply because it doesn’t matter. There are no requirements at all to travel 🙂

You just need to be open-minded, that’s the most important thing. Apart from that, whether or not you can drive or swim plays no role at all…

Hey, im only sixteen right now and ive lived in new orleans my whole life but just recently my parents and i were transfered to africa where i lived for a summer and traveled there and for the past year i have lived in at an international boarding school in switzerland, and have been doing a lot of traveling and as much of a nomadic lifestyle as i can. Stories like your and other people’s really inspire me to live like that. Its has been a dream for me almost my entire life.

I intend on traveling around europe with a friend one of the coming summers on foot and by train and i really want to live as much of my life as i can nomadically. but im not really sure where to start… Like, what kind of major should i get in college to help me with this? how do i pack? and just all thing like that. You are really an inspiration to me and if you could get back to me i would really appreciate it!

ps. your a boss!

Hey Andrew – Thanks for looking through the site, I really appreciate it! As for where to start, there’s no one right way to prepare yourself for extensive travel. You should major in whatever discipline interests and excites you the most. There’s no major that will benefit you more than others and if you study what you love, then you will realize the benefits of following your dreams in life and you’ll be much more inclined to start traveling once you’re finished with school.

And believe me when I say that all of the questions that are probably running through your head are not nearly as important as you may think. For example, whatever you pack, you’ll survive and the more you travel, the more you’ll learn what things you should or should not take with you…it’s all about learning through experience 🙂

Earl- this artical inspired me so much! ive always love traveling, and ive been to a few places, but reading this made me realize that i just need to go do it and stop waiting around for the “right moment”. im online buying a plane ticket to sydney right now. all thats left to do is pack my bag 🙂 thanks so much for writing this!

Hey Cami – That’s great news! So did you buy the plane ticket??? I hope so!!!

[…] this dude: […]

I am currently an undergraduate and have done multiple study abroad opportunities and they are some of the most amazing experiences, however my biggest issue is finding cheap flights. How do you do it? As a college student I don’t have a lot of money, what would you suggest? Thanks

Hey Leah – Cheap flights are not so difficult to find. You just need to be flexible and check out as many different sites as you can, including those for budget airlines that don’t normally appear in the major searches such as Kayak.com. If you don’t have set dates or even a set destination, you can often find great deals that will take you as close as possible to where you generally want to be.

Hi Earl, Thanks a lot for such impressive and amazing story! This is really awesome! But I have one question. As you know, when you are in relationship, you don’t get to travel too much. So, I wanted to make sure if you had a girlfriend or you were married at that moment and anyway traveled? Did you? I’m currently a student and I’m planning to work after receiving my BA, just wanted to know more.

Thanks! Bob

Hey Bob – Thanks for the comment! As for your questions, I have never been married but I have had a few long-term girlfriends over the year. It’s not easy to maintain such a relationship as you pointed out but somehow we managed to last a long time with a combination of living together overseas, traveling together and occasionally traveling on our own. It’s not the ideal situation for many people but there are ways to make it work. It just takes some creativity!

Thanks a lot for your reply! I can only say one thing! You are amazing 🙂 My father used to tell me, you need to study, work and get a good job so your job will send you overseas, but here is another way. Now my goal is to study and graduate successfully and travel! You became my motivator! Thanks for that!

buddy, this is awesome! i am currently 2yrs into my nomad life and enjoying it immensely:) reading this, reassures me that my nomad life will continue…thanks! might see you out there one day:)

Hey Kate – I do hope we meet up somewhere at some point…then we’ll both motivate each other even more to continue!

When I grow up, I wanna be just like you. I’m 60 and can’t find a job here in the U.S., so I’d rather just become a vagabond. I have two questions: how do you afford housing? Do you stay in hostels? Also, what do you do about health insurance. These may seem mundane questions, but when you’re used to a certain level of comfort and may have unforeseen health issues, they become important.

Hey Stevan – Thanks for the comment! Basically, I work online and so I’m earning an income just as anyone else does. As for housing, these days I generally stay in budget hotels as I prefer the privacy and comfort of a private room in order to get my work done. But I also stay in hostels from time to time as well and don’t mind them at all. As for health insurance, I have proper insurance from the US and then I typically purchase travel insurance in case of any emergencies while overseas. In the end, the combination is not as expensive as one might think.

Now it’s just getting the spine to do it… 🙂

If I didn’t have a family at home, I’d love to follow in your footsteps, your travels and lifestyle sound amazing!

Great article! I always wanted to be the nomad you are! The last line of your article, ‘All you need is the courage to take the first step’ is the bare truth. Good luck for the future adventures!

Thanks for visiting R.S. and yes, once we are able to gather the confidence to take that first step, we realize that it’s not so difficult after all 🙂

I just stumbled across your page and I’m so glad I did! Your life from here looks like a dream to me. I’m currently studying Travel and Tourism in the UK and I’m eventually looking into getting into the industry. Hopefully my job will allow me to travel at the same time!

Is there anywhere you haven’t been yet that you’d really like to go?

Thanks for the awesome post, Gemma.

Hey Gemma – Thanks so much for visiting the site! As for your question, there are plenty of places that I’d really like to go. In fact, I want to go everywhere! But at the top of my list right now is Central Asia and more of Africa, both regions that I hope to get to at some point this year…

I’m very new to your site and I found this post wonderful! I’m a junior in college now (Global Studies and History/Political Science) but once I leave there will be no settling down, I want to live a nomadic life very similar to your own! Thanks for the info and inspiration. (: -Christina

Thanks for reading Christina and I look forward to interacting with you some more on my site!

This site is great. The information you provide is wonderful for all of us (including those of us who enjoy traveling on a budget!) I’m interested to know how difficult finding apartments are on your travels versus staying in a regular hotel. I will visit your site to follow your future trips.

Where do you get ideas on where to go though? My husband and I will typically visit TripAdvisor or Travel Explosion to get some idea of what countries seem interesting.

Anyways, thanks again and keep up the good work!

Hey Barbara – Thank you for commenting and following along! As for apartments, it’s quite easy actually and usually I do a quick search online, ask some locals if they have any ideas, contact other travelers who have been in the area before and even check out sites such as AirBnB to see what’s being offered there. And almost always I end up with several good options.

As for ideas, I simply go wherever interests me. There is not a single country I wouldn’t travel to and so I don’t mind where I end up usually. But often times I’ll hear about a particular destination from another traveler or maybe through an article I read online and then that’s my next destination! But your methods are perfect as well as it’s always great to hear what others recommend and to get some new ideas for your next adventures!

ive been touring through travel vids and blogs and this is the first article ive read on your site and WOW! While ive travelled alot of the world, ive never been brave enough to stay and work at a place that i loved (even though ive been offered work). this awesome article is defiantly changing my view thou =) just quit my job (again) and am booking one way trip to asia (4-5 month), so ill defiantly be reading all your blogs while im itching to go =)

-Dave from Ottawa

I noticed a few times you worked on cruise ships. I am lucky enough – thanks to a healthy police retirement fund my dad got for 32 years of loyal service! – to have been on a cruise in the med. I got talking to one of our ‘designated waiters’ who we became very close to over the 2 weeks. He was making an absolute fortune out of this and it meant his family back home could lead basically a luxurious lifestyle (by his homelands idea) off the money he raised for them. It got me thinking it would be a great way to save money up, unfortunately being at university it is impossible for me to dedicate myself to any of the British contracts on offer as they all stretch either too far to make me miss the start of my semester or too early so I run the risk of missing exams.

But staff seem treated like kings on these boats. All the waiters are specifically required to eat the highest standard of food to make recommendation later on to those travelling and get the best beds on the ship (bar the top top money classes of course!).

Of course getting on a cruise also means you get a small glipse at different parts of the world. So staying in great beds, well fed, good money and travelling. Seems a dream even if the work is very long hours too. Would seriously suggest this to any budding traveller.

Well done and happy travels good sir!

I’ve found it — the article I’ve been searching for.

I’m a twenty-something, part-time working, only sometimes student, trying to figure out what I “realistically” want to do in life, when all I know I truly want to do is travel. Travel anywhere and everywhere. However, the only thing I ever hear from my family and friends is how expensive it is, and how “you can’t make a living travel the world – that’s what vacations are for”. This crushes my traveling hopes, but I dream of it regardless. Reading this has opened my eyes to the possibilities that lay before me. Making money as you go, staying with friends around the world (I have a few here and there), and saving up that money for your next adventure is really the only way to accomplish what I want in life. Thank you so, so much for the article as it has inspired me to chase my dreams.

[…] Income from my online projects reached $1000 per month for the first time December 2009 How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel | Wandering Earl – StumbleUpon […]

Thank you so much for this article. It inspired us — and we’ve become bloggers. We hit the road running, beginning in China in April.

Hey Lane – That’s so wonderful to hear!! April isn’t too far away at all and I’ll be sure to check out your site as well!

You are the best I really enjoyed reading your article. One should learn from your way of handling the things travelling, learning, never giving up you are an inspiration to me.

Regards, Sunny from Toronto, Canada

Thanks so much for visiting the site Sunny!

I am very inspired after reading this article….it is really amazing. i belong to pakistan and i am also very found of travelling but you can understand it is very difficult to take initiative. i have also not much money to travel i wish that i could also manage like you. please give me any tip or suggestion that i could overcome my these problem and start to enjoy my passion.

Thank you for sharing your story, I always admire people who carve out their own path…and I thank you for your encouragement that you have given freely to others who wish to carve out a similar path. I notice you’ve been to India too, which is where I currently am. I like your observation that the reason you travel is freedom…check out my site whch I have just started over the last 6 months…thats exactly my theme is !?!

Hey Earl! My friend and I are from Canada and really want to visit California in July for the month (we’re 20 and want to rent a place near the beach on our own, preferably Hermosa). We’re looking at expenses and they all seem overwhelming! Its unbelievable how long you stayed in those places with so little in your pocket. What kinds of places did you stay in? And do you have any tips for the two of us? We’re really trying to make it happen. Thanks in advance!

Earl you rock man !! I love traveling and hope to more in future however I am now married to my wife who I met whilst in Java and we know have 2 young girls so may put on hold to ensure some stability !

Thanks so much Roy! Getting that stability seems like a good plan but I have a feeling that your traveling days are quite over either…so I’m sure you’ll have some more adventures eventually.

Have a safe New Years!

Thanks Earl I really do hope my / our traveling days are not over just going thru a different chapter right now !! You stay safe and all the best for 2012 hope to bump into you one day in future somewhere out there !!

This is inspiring. I’m taking off for Prague in exactly 9 months. Thanks for the information!

That’s great to hear Trevor! I love Prague myself and certainly think that’s an ideal place to begin an adventure…

Hi! So I am going to be graduating high school in about 6 months and have been thinking about traveling for a while. So what would you suggest would be a good first step into doing this or a good place to start? I have read a few blogs/ articles but I don’t really know where to even start lol so any time of help would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance 🙂

Hey Yana – The first step should be to decide on what your goals are for your travels and once you determine this, it will help make clearer the actual part of the world that you should start off in. And this leads to being able to figure out expected costs as well. And if you can figure out which country or countries you plan to visit then, when you search online, you can find much more specific information about how to travel in those places. This will make a huge difference as otherwise, just looking at endless travel articles can be a bit overwhelming 🙂

Hi Earl,will be coming down to playa del carmen for a week in january and was wondering about places to eat and points of interest

Hey Mike – There are endless places I could recommend 🙂 To eat, definitely try La Fogata, which is an open-air restaurant, perhaps the most popular in town, on Avenida Constituyentes, right next to La Mega Supermarket. Also, I would go to Nativo as well as La Cueva de Chango and my personal favorite, La Dona Mary which is a local, and very well-known, tostada eatery that is open only in the evenings (closed on Mondays). As for points of interest, the town itself is all about the beach, but in the region, you have cenotes, the Mayan ruins of Coba, the beautiful town of Valladolid, the yellow town of Izamal and even Merida is well worth a visit. Too much to do and see down there!

Even though I didn’t ask the question, I love the answers. This blog got the traveling bug going in me, and I’ll be spending 9 days in Playa myself here in mid to late January also. I can thank you Earl for the interest in Playa, as well as another blog I found via google about a traveler who spend a week or so in Playa. Being I live in Florida, the flight is cheap, as is Playa. If I enjoy myself nearly as much as I think I will, I’m already planning about 2 weeks in May or so when the water should be nice and warm.

I’m a full time nursing student and ever since I graduated high school a couple years back, all I wanted to do was travel. I come from successful parents who’ve forced college upon me, so I gave in. Reading your story, sends the most EAGER feeling that I should just pack, pick it all up, and go. It’s my dream, it truly is my dream and you’re living proof that there’s hope I can accomplish my dream. You are an inspiration, I’d like to ask where you would suggest the most?

Thank you! Adriana

As someone who is married to a nurse and about to begin a year-long travel journey around the world together, I would tell you to finish your nursing degree. It is one of the most marketable careers and one that will actually allow you to travel. My wife has worked all over the country and around the world as a travel nurse and done some awesome traveling in the process. Stick with it and it will pay off.

Thank you for the advice, especially coming from one who has somewhat experiencing what I plan to do! I’ve never considered a travelling nurse.. Looks like you just opened up a whole new door for me to consider! Thank you.

Earl – you rock! Thank you.

That’s amazing and something I would LOVE to do. how did you go about getting the job on the cruise ship? From what I’ve experienced, is it not too easy. Thanks!

Hey Sarah – I got quite lucky with the cruise ships as I had a contact person through a friend who helped get me the first interview. Otherwise, it can be quite difficult to get into the industry. I’m not sure if you’ve seen this yet, but I have been helping many others get cruise jobs with this detailed guide of mine: How To Work On A Cruise Ship

That’s simply impressive! Although traveling to Asia is really cheap what you did was a whole new level!

Great article! I’m curious to how you are able to work in different places without a work visa? Do they just allow you to teach English, etc. with no visa? I know for the cruises it shouldn’t matter since it’s mainly in international waters. Thanks!

Hey Larry – It all depends…I taught independently, not through an actual language school and so I was able to get away without having a visa, even though it technically wasn’t legal. But in general, if you land a position with a language school or organization overseas, they will take care of the necessary paperwork to get you the work visa. Most countries don’t allow you to get a work visa before you actually have a job so it’s quite standard procedure for the organization to handle it all for you as a result!

Hi! Thanks for the great information. I’ve traveled quite a bit, but I’ve never worked while traveling. My biggest question has to do with work visas/permits. I’m an American and have am currently having quite the time simply trying to get a permit to work in Canada, so I can’t even imagine the red tape for other countries. Was some of your work under the table? Any advice or blogs you could refer me to would be great.

Hey Lindsay – IN most countries, you get the work visa once you are hired for a job. This way, the company/organization that hires you takes care of all the paperwork and the process is quite smooth. There are only a handful of countries that allow you to apply for a working visa before arrival and without having secured a job, and that can be complicated. Although, getting a work visa for Australia or New Zealand is quite easy if you’re younger than 30!

Hi Earl! I’m from Turkey, I love backpacking, travelled quite a lot, write a travelling blog myself too and appreciate what you are doing. Your style of travelling wouldn’t work for a Turkish or other non-EU or USA nations. Unlike you, we can never get a long visa from any country. We have to collect many documents to prove that we will definetly come back to our country and have enough money/properties and also we pay a lot for visa applications. What we can do is to travel in some great countries who doesnt ask visa, like some south east and south America countries, which is quite fine too.

So if you have any tips for all those whose passports dont allow to travel easy and free, please let us know!

Enjoy Romania, where you seem to be right now! (I read your interview here in newspaper, nice one!)

Hey Derya – I think you actually answered your own question 🙂 There’s no reason why you can’t live the same lifestyle as there are more than enough countries that you can visit on this planet. It’s ok if you can’t visit every country, just get out there and spend time in the ones that you can easily get into.

And with my US passport, I normally have to pay much higher fees for visas than any other country on the planet so that can be a major expense for me…and there are a couple of countries that is easier for you to visit…Russia and Iran come to mind 🙂

Wow! It really is easy when you think about it. The big step is just doing it. Kas

Hey there! Your breakdown of numbers is a fantastic help…I’ve read countless travel blogs in the past few weeks and they quote any figure from $500 to $60, 000 for kicking off your travel dreams. I’ve felt a little discouraged by people who’ve raised their eyebrows when I tell them how little money I have (a grand or two) vs. how soon I plan to set off; now, I can just flash this page at them and stop feeling like an idealist!! Just the pick-up I needed, thanks 🙂 Happy travels. P.S. Your opinion of whether SE Asia, Eastern Europe or South America would be the best place to start off with so little cash?

Hey Lauren – I think you should start traveling with however much money you feel comfortable with and, after reading this post, you’re confident leaving with what you have, then I say go for it! As for a destination to start off in, I tend to lean towards SE Asia, simply because it’s relatively easy to travel around, has an incredible diversity of cultures and you have the option of going far off the beaten path, or meeting other travelers and traveling together. There are just so many options and not much to worry about in that part of the world! And it’s obviously very inexpensive 🙂

Just got stumbled here (as much of visitors) and I got really impressed as I’m looking at your website. What you did is totally amazing, I would truly love to do this someday.

But I have some worries, and as I am from Spain, I just know Spanish and English. Of course teaching a foreign language as I’ve seen in many travelers blogs is a good choice to make money. But the thing is, do you know more languages than English? If don’t, how did you taught english to chinese people?

Thank you very much!!

Hey Sruc – Thank you for leaving a comment! And to answer your question, apart from English I speak Spanish and that’s about it. When I taught English in Thailand, I learned a little Thai but it was not necessary for my classes. Basically, whenever you teach a language overseas, you will be teaching students who already have some background in that language. Rarely will a school put you in front of a class of young kids who have never heard English or Spanish before. So you’ll be expected to communicate only in English (if that’s what you’re teaching) so that the students will learn more quickly. And in many parts of the world, you’ll find that the students are so eager to learn a different language that they want to speak only in that language as much as possible.

So it’s really nothing to worry about!

Reading through your timeline I am amazed. It is interesting to literally see how you can travel and earn money at the same time. It helps those that need a little guidance! 🙂

Did you know Bob hone? Staff captain on the QE2?

Hey Matt – The name doesn’t sound familiar, although I only spent 2 months on the QE2 while I was filling in for another tour manager. I spent the majority of my time with Cunard on the QM2.

Hey, wonderful article. I have always wondered how to travel with little money in the pocket and this explains it. I had one question though. How do you manage to find the part time jobs that you do in countries like Thailand/India etc.? In local newspapers ? I don’t think they would have them on websites there would they ? Or is it just through contacts ?

Hey Rakshit – Mostly, it’s through contacts. If you reach out to locals and other travelers you meet, you’ll find some opportunities. Another good place is at hostels as they often have message boards that list part-time jobs for travelers, or at least they often have staff who know the right people if you want to find some work.

Great! Now if I can figure out a way to do it with 2 teenagers — I’d go tomorrow! Can’t imagine a better education for them, but can’t figure out how to do it any reasonable way with kids!

This seems awesome man. It is very interesting reading your story and the lifestlye you live. I’m 24 years old and been to some countries myself. But I was wondering is it difficult not seeing your family? I know at first it was hard for me but I got accustumed as the more times spent independently. Im recently living in California but going back home to Pennsylvania to be near my family and finish my degree in engineering. Do you have any advice on how to succesful and happy, because im at the point where Im not sure what I want except for graduating.

Thanks, Jesse

Hey Jesse – Even though it may seem as if I see my family less than most people, it’s not really the case. I generally make it home 2-3 times per year and then my family comes and visits me somewhere 2 timers per year or so. And we are always communicating, whether by email or skype and so, in the end, I am in touch with my family more than many of my friends who live in the US but whose family lives several hours away by plane. As for advice on how to be successful and happy, that’s a tough one to answer as it depends on every individual, what they want out of life and what their definition is of successful 🙂

You are very smart!! Your ways of making money sounds like fun. My daughter did 3 years of travel by teaching english in S. Korea & traveling in Asia. Asia is very inexpencive.

Thanks for yet another fantastic post! When my husband gets his BS in June we’re heading off on a road trip around the US for about a year, doing help exchanges for 2-4 weeks at a time, and staying with friends and family. After that…well, it’s a big world! Mexico and Thailand are definitely on our lists because I like sun and beaches. I’ll be earning a little money with an online writing job, and he’ll probably be doing some online tutoring. We might consider cruise ship jobs to save some money, especially since you offer such a great resource! Two questions: Is it difficult to live/work on a cruise ship with a partner? Did you know anyone else who was doing it while you were working your cruise ship jobs? Were they allowed to live together, etc. Also, you mentioned that you have US health insurance. Does it cover you internationally? Is this separate from traveler’s insurance? I’ve been looking into different traveler’s insurance, but the health component is definitely more for emergencies, not checkups. Do you have a good resource for separate health insurance? Thanks so much for the inspiration! When people live their dreams, they show others that it’s possible.

Hey Zoe – Some cruise lines don’t hire couples but others, usually the smaller luxury lines, do welcome couples. However, chances are that you will not share a cabin as cabins are almost always allocated by department and usually they won’t let you work in the same department for obvious reasons. But depending on position, one of you may end up with a single cabin and so it wouldn’t be a big deal at all.

With health insurance, my US insurance covers 50% internationally but I will often obtain travel insurance as well to cover any injuries that may occur. But it is quite difficult to find travel insurance that covers more than emergencies. I’m not sure of any that provide similar coverage as to what you would get with a policy back home, although in some countries, people can buy local insurance if you are going to stick around for a while. Other than that, just make sure you get your checkups in places like Bangkok and the cost will be low enough where you don’t need the insurance for such checkups!

[…] How I Can Afford My Life of Constant Travel  – Wandering Earl has been roaming the globe for over ten years. In this post he explains exactly how he has managed it. It’s an inspiring read for anyone who thinks they don’t have the money to travel. […]

Great breakdown! I’d love to tour the world for at least a year or so. But, do you have any advice for those of us that don’t exactly have a resume built for scoring $20,000 cruise line contracts? Are those our only money making options?: English Teacher, Cruise Director, or Online Entrepreneurship?

Hey Daniel – There are endless ways to earn money while traveling or living overseas, not just the ones mentioned. You can work on farms, work in hostels or bars, provide a service for local businesses, teach scuba diving, work at resorts or selling timeshares in tropical locations….it just takes a little creativity, and taking that first step to get out there into the world, to discover that earning money is not as difficult as it may seem. I always like to use the example of another traveler I once met who spent her time bouncing around from town to town in South America and Central America. What she would do it contact a local boat tour operator (maybe one that offers fishing tours, snorkeling tours, etc) and work out a deal. She would then go around to all of the hostels, hotels, bars, restaurants and start talking with other foreigners and trying to get them to take the tour she was promoting. She received a good commission for every person she sent to the tour operator.

I’m not saying that’s what you should do, but the idea is that the opportunities that exist while traveling often have no similarity to the opportunities that exist at home. Creativity is key!

Hi Earl! I am getting ready for college which is definitely my goal before doing anything else, but I have always been heavily interested in traveling. I have been to a few places already on some family vacations and I studied abroad for about a month in Spain. I learned that eating at affordable local places is always the way to go since the food is good no matter what (at least in my opinion)! I know that staying in safe, affordable hostels isn’t hard to come by as well as couch surfing (if you’ve ever heard of it) and home exchanges, etc. so that money can be managed easier.

Really what I am getting at is that I do know of the sneaky ways to help conserve money, but could you let me know what encouraged you in the beginning and what still continues to encourage you as you travel? I want to someday do this SO badly, kind of like Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love and Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun, but I don’t know how I could travel and find work doing something I love.

I have always been interested in Psychology and writing, so if I were to minor or major in either or these or communications, what kind of steady jobs do you think I could find?

Hey Lindsey – I am encouraged to continue traveling simply by the education that I gain. That first-hand education is all it takes to convince me to continue traveling for yet another day. As for saving money, you could also try by starting off in countries that are quite cheap. This not only helps you save money but it gives you some time to learn about other opportunities that exist out there that may be able to help you continue traveling as much as you wish. When I began, I decided to start tutoring English in Thailand so that I could earn enough money to survive, enjoy a new culture and decide what my next step in life would be. And during this time, I happened to learn about working on board cruise ships and so I did that for a while…

The point is, just taking that first step will lead you to opportunities that you currently aren’t aware of. As for the subjects you’re interested in, don’t think in terms of what kind of jobs you may be able to land. Just study what you love and once you have the degree, then you look for ways to do something that excites you. That is a far more rewarding method 🙂

I just wrote a comment about a bumper sticker that cracked me up in Mexico…and it was in Sayulita. I see you also stayed there a spell. Where were you staying? Ahhhhhhhhh, Sayulita.

Hey Chewy – That’s funny…I was staying in a place called Casa Jaqui, about a five minute walk from the main plaza and beach. Now that is one addicting town! Barely a day passes without me spending a few minutes daydreaming about moving back there….Ahhhhhh, Sayulita is right.

I am going to take a shot in the dark and guess you don’t have any student loan debt. I have done some travelling but I have a large (and yet growing) amount of student loan debt that keeps me from living the nomad life I so want. You can only defer so many times and I can lose my nursing license if I do not pay each month. I have considered Peace corps and other similar orgs but that lack of flexibility those projects offer is a bit off-putting. I am currently back in school getting my masters in public health. I figured this would help me travel and work. Now I am thinking it may just be adding to my debt and nothing more. 🙁 I know you don’t need to be rich to live the nomad life but you certainly need to be debt free.

Hey Naia – Actually, I did have plenty of student debt when I began my travels 12 years ago. I basically deferred the payments for a couple of years and then I just started paying it back. I know it can be difficult but it’s certainly not impossible. Of course, the more debt one has, the harder it is to pay off while traveling, but hopefully your masters will give you a nice boost into a good position overseas and allow you to start chipping away at the loans.

And if you think you need to be debt free to travel, have a look at this site: ManVsDebt.com

This is such a great post Earl! I’ve read so many interesting articles on trying to save up for travel. More than anything, it takes hard work. And I guess it’s ok to still “work” as long as you save the money to travel the world. I’ve always doubted my position in the corporate world…but your post just gave more sense to where I am right now. Thank you 🙂

Hey Rica – Thanks for reading and I’m glad you found this post useful! Work is necessary for everyone of course and anyone who says that we should avoid work altogether is not being reasonable. Even if you’re in a corporate job, it’s all about how you use the money you earn and where it leads in the end. You’re in complete control of that 🙂

Hi this is my first visit to your blog. Saw you commenting on a travel Blog. I am highly impressed by your efforts. I am from India and saw that you have travelled a lot in India, what made you do so. How do you manage your personal life ? Would like to be a regular to your blog. Best Wishes : )

Namaste Abhishek! Welcome to the site and I appreciate your comments. To be honest, I first visited India many years ago after another traveler I met recommended that I visit. And I instantly fell in love with the country, with all the diversity, history, food, culture…and so I have kept on returning many times over the years.

I look forward to hearing more from you and again, thanks for visiting the site 🙂

It’s good that you have followed your passion of traveling and at the same time earning from your works. While traveling is not my passion, I have certainly learned something about how to achieve the things we want. Thanks for the inspiration Earl. 🙂

Hey Walter – That is definitely my goal, to show that any goals, not just travel, can be achieved if we take that bold step and try to make it happen! Travel is not for everyone and it’s great to know that you find some inspiration here even though travel is not your personal goal 🙂

Dude, the reason you can afford to travel all the time is because you don’t pay for your own health insurance. You run the risk of crushing your family’s finances if you were ever involved in a serious accident or became ill. You don’t have some magical formula for enjoying a fruitful life. You are simply being selfish in terms of your responsibilities.

Tell me a way to enjoy limitless travel while truly having all your bases covered and I’ll be interested.

Hey JM – Actually, I am covered by a full health insurance plan that I pay for every month, a health plan from the US. I’m not sure where you reached the conclusion that I don’t have health insurance. During my earlier years of travel I would purchase travel insurance but I then switched to full health coverage from back home several years ago. Thanks for your comment anyway.

I just stumbled upon your site and I am loving it! and I want to say that I am one of those people who make excuses not to follow my own Utopia of traveling all over the world, you are so right about us, they’re just excuses lol.

I also enjoyed very much reading that you stayed in two of my favorite places in the world Sayulita and Playa del Carmen, I just love it there.

I look forward to read more about your lifestyle to finally get over my fears.

Thanks a lot for sharing!

Hey Alejandra – Always a pleasure to ‘meet’ another Sayulita and Playa fan! No matter where I go in this world, those two places will always remain two of my favorites as well.

Perhaps I’ll see you one day out on the road…so stop making excuses and get out there again!! 🙂

You are all so lucky that your mother tongue is English!! It makes your life much easier. But what would you suggest to me? I’m from Hungary, nobody wants to learn Hungarian.. I think my only choice is cruise ship work which I’ve been thinking about.. But it’s still not fair. Not to mention that salaries in the USA must be much higher than salaries here so you have better chances to start the travelling lifestyle.

Hey Lilla – There are definitely some advantages to having English as a first language but I don’t think the higher salaries in the US make much of a difference. I have barely spent time in the US working and the overwhelming majority of the money I’ve earned have had nothing to do with actual employment in that country. Cruise ship work is the best example as it offers such a good opportunity for people from all countries to earn some good money.

Thanks for sharing how you make it all happen! It’s all about short contractual work!!!

hi there, like everyone else here i have always been super keen to do exactly what you have done. but like everyone else i am pretty concerned with the whole income/money issue. i’ve been researching heaps in the last month how people are able to live like this and am just trying to gather ideas and what not. before reading it here i was already looking into teaching english as a possibility.. i am actually going to thailand in january and since i’m pretty confident that i’m going to leave my uni course this year i’ve decided looking into getting a job teaching so that i can prolong my trip as long as possible, my question is 1. is it a requirement as far as you know to actually have some sort of degree or training etc in teaching to be able to work like this? and 2. how hard is it to get onto a job like this just by asking around once i’ve actually arrived, (and without training)? any help on the topic would be very much appreciated if you get the time, thanks so much!

Hey Aydin – To answer your questions, while it is possible to find work teaching English in Thailand without a degree, your chances are going to be infinitely better if you do have that degree. With just a degree (and no formal teacher training), you’ll be able to work for many language institutes and schools throughout the country. But without a degree, and without formal teacher training, you’ll probably be overlooked by others who have at least a degree.

Alright Earl, so how do I land a job as a cruise tour manager to save all that dough? LOL

I like this post, you gave a nice breakdown and showed how it is all about saving, saving, saving. Even when people plan short two week trips, they find that sacrificing to save the money is the difficult part.

What’s your secret for saving? What do you give up to save the money you do?

Hey Fidel – My secret for saving is simply prioritizing. I now know exactly what is important to me and what is not important, what I really need and what I want, which I will usually forget about anyway if I don’t spend money on it. So, while I spend money, I am careful about what I spend it on and try not to waste money on things that aren’t that important to me. That’s really the only method I use because in the end, I realized that what makes me the happiest, doesn’t cost much money. Sure, I might need to fly somewhere or pay for a hostel or guesthouse, but wandering around a new place, meeting new people, doesn’t cost anything in the end!

How do you manage VISA to travel round the world?

Hey Enwil – I simply apply for and obtain the visas that I need. Some countries do not require visas, others provide visas at the border and some countries require me to get a visa from an Embassy or Consulate before I arrive. I just check the rules and then follow the instructions…

Truly inspirational story you have. I have already done much traveling myself, but I hope to do so much more in the future. My main question (no need to answer if they are too personal) is how old were you when you headed off to Bangkok to start your journey? Also, assuming you finished college, what did you get your degree in?

Keep up the great work!

Hey Sean – Thanks for the comment! I was 22 when I left for Bangkok back in 1999 and I left just a short while after finishing my university degree, which was in Sport Management of all things. My goal was once, if you can believe it, to be the next Jerry McGuire 🙂

Luckily, things worked out the way they did and while that degree might not be the most useful for my current lifestyle, just having a degree has come in handy at several points along the way.

I have read this blog post so many times I am starting to loose count. Whenever I feel like long-term/indefinite travel is not an option I just come onto your site and read this entry again. It reminds me that my dream isn’t impossible and there are people out there who have made it a reality. After reading this several times in the past few months without commenting I thought I should say thank you; thank you for your constant reminder that long-term travel is possible and you don’t have to be a trust fund baby to make it happen!

Thank you for that Renata, that really means a great deal to me and I’m honestly very happy to know that this post has been able to provide you with some inspiration. As you’ve figured out, your dream is not impossible at all and while it may not happen right away, if you stay focused on your goals, the day will come when you can finally say that you achieved them!

Inspirational reading Earl and congratulations.

Happy & safe travels

[…] has a great timeline of money earned here, but mostly it’s made up of teaching English [something I mentioned in my future post], web […]

Just as they say – it takes a lifetime of work to be an overnight success! Good on you – definitely an inspirational story, and one that I hope to emulate in my quest to earning a living online.

All the best for the future!

Thanks for that Nicole! If you stay focused on your goals of earning a living online, you’ll achieve them eventually. I’ve found that the only people who don’t achieve what they want are those who have decided to quit because of the challenges they must face along the way…

Hey Earl, I “accidentally” stumbledupon your blog, and couldn’t help reading the whole article and almost every comment. I couldn’t just pass by without saying: Gosh, you are a hero to me! I’ve been wanting to travel for a couple of years now, but I’ve just started university, so I’m afraid travelling’s going to have to wait a little bit longer. Anyway, reading you has encouraged me, and assuring me the long wait will be worth it 🙂

Best wishes from Bolivia (hope you’ve been here while visiting south america)

Hey Ariana – Thank you so much for reading through my site!! And that’s okay to wait until after university before traveling. That’s exactly what I did and in the end, no matter what degree you have, chances are that it will help you in some ways in terms of opening up additional opportunities around the world. Just make sure you don’t give up on your travel goals over the next few years!

And I have not been to Bolivia actually. The next time I am in South America I will make sure I spend some time in your country 🙂

You are the Frank Sinatra of traveling and living because you do it your way. Congrats on 12 years well spent.

Thanks so much Ted! That’s definitely the first time I’ve heard that analogy but that is what I’m trying to achieve 🙂

I loved this post. When I was 18 I left Ireland on my own with $900 to my name and headed for America. I spent two amazing years there working and travelling around the country. Since then I have spent 6 months in Dubai and 5 months in India. I’m back in Ireland now trying to scrape a few pennies together for another trip (hopefully Australia). I didn’t think it would ever happen but this article has given me more hope that I’ll be able to make it there. I’m only 21 so hopefully I have plenty of more adventures heading my way.

Keep up the good work

Hey Marie – You certainly have done quite a lot of traveling for being only 21!! And if you’ve managed to do all of that already, while starting with only $900, I’m quite confident that you’ll be able to achieve the rest of your travel goals, including Australia. After all, you can get a working holiday visa for Australia so that you can pick up jobs as you travel along to help fund your adventures. It doesn’t get any better than that!

Your story is truly incredible and I’m inspired to meet some more of my own travel goals. I spent 6 months in Argentina for school (Feb-July 2011) and it made me consider taking the kinds of trips that you’ve been on for such a long time. I have a question though, how do you account for things like retirement? Or settling down and having a family (that is, if it’s something you want)? Or anything else that would require a considerable amount of money in the bank. I’m just curious what your plans are as someone living the nomadic lifestyle.

Hey Kait – Thank you for commenting! At this point, I do save most of my income, so I do make sure that I always have money for the future. It is possible to travel and save money at the same time and I’m willing to bet that I save the same or more money than most of my friends working jobs back in the US. As for a family, that is obviously a challenge with my lifestyle but I always say that if I wake up tomorrow and decide that I want to slow down or stop traveling in order to try and start a family, then that’s exactly what I’ll do. But until the day arrives when I want to make that change, I’ll keep on trying to achieve my travel goals!

This is the best post I’ve ever seen about the earnings, savings and travel 🙂

@crazy sexy fun traveler: Thanks for that! I’m always happy to hear that others find a post to be useful 🙂

I am quite jealous of your life style! I would give my right arm to travel as much as you do! I want to go to Italy for a couple of months (or more), but I’m worried about running out of money. Hopefully I’ll be able to go soon. Your website has given me more hope of doing so!

Hey Darcy – My advice would be to hang on to your right arm and keep on reading the travel blogs of people who are out there traveling around. The more you read the more you’ll discover that everyone has found their own unique way to make their travels possible and I’m certain that you’ll start to get some ideas of how you can make it happen as well. It is possible, so just don’t give up on your goals! And if you ever have any questions at all, feel free to send me an email and I’d be more than happy to respond…

Hey Earl!! This is quite the amazing, inspiring blog you have here! I took my first travel at 23 when I was fed up with my average life in Connecticut and boght an RV and spent 5 months traveling around the US! Saw 38 states in the summer/fall of 2008. The itch to travel has been with me ever since but I have about $10,000 in credit card bills from that trip and the period of no work after…I’ve been researching Thailand alot the past few months and it sounds great for me for a year, but I can’t allow myself to leave until the debt is paid. Cruise job sounds like the quickest, easiest way to save money and GET ON THE ROAD!!! (by foot this time…half that credit card bill was GAS!) I would love to do a 3 or 4 month contract, work hard, then enjoy the next year. My question to you: Any advice on getting hired to a ship besides just what I can find on Google? Especially as a couple. My girlfriend has been through everything with me so far and her desire to see the world by foot and live a minimalistic life is as strong as mine! I feel like my patience living a mundane life is going to run out before my bills are paid :-/

Hey Nick – Thanks so much for the comment and your RV trip around the US sounds quite fascinating! As for getting a job on board cruise ships, it can be quite tricky as it really is difficult to find reliable information with just a Google search and I’m not just saying that because I sell my own eBook on how to get a cruise ship job. The reason I actually wrote this guide is because there is such a great interest out there in such employment but without knowing the exact process and what the cruise lines are looking for, it’s very difficult to get hired.

Anyway, have a read through this page of my site where I offer the book: Travel Resources – Work on a Cruise Ship

And once you have a look, feel free to send me any questions you may have!

Hi man, your article has inspired me. Always wanted to travel for a while but never got to really do it. I’m about to graduate from college and want to go to the caribbean (islands or beaches mostly) when i do. Just wanted to know from your experience, what’s the nicest and most calm place to go, and at which time of the year (so as to avoid hurricanes and that matter). Sorry if i’m bothering you, it’s just that you seem like the right kind of guy to ask these things to.

Hey Bart – No bother at all! With the Caribbean, my personal favorite is the island of St. Kitts as it’s such a laid-back, relatively inexpensive, beautiful place to visit and the local people are some of the most hospitable I’ve met on any island. Some other favorites for me are St. Maarten, Dominica and Tortola. Another option is to visit the Caribbean coast of Central America which will cost much less money and still give you that Caribbean feel, especially if you stop off in places such as Caye Caulker, Belize and Roatan, Honduras.

In terms of weather, the hurricane season lasts from June 1 – November 30, however, it might be worth traveling during that time as you’ll find that it is the low season and prices, especially for accommodation, will be much cheaper. And while hurricanes do occur, I personally don’t think they occur enough to use that as a deciding factor when traveling to this region. I’d much rather have the empty beaches and cheaper hotels!

Hi! Your experience sounds amazing and something I hope to emulate. I was wondering about safety, I guess you worry about it less since you’re a guy. What’s it like for females who want to go out and do this? Do you have any types about avoiding unwanted attention and staying safe while in an unfamiliar environment? Traveling with a friend would be ideal for me, but do you find going it alone is more freeing and fun? Thanks for the great post and timeline!

Hey Sunny – In general, I would say that females need to exercise the same common sense that they would use at home. While it does pay to maintain an extra awareness, the fact that there are thousands and thousands of solo female travelers out there in every part of the world is a sign that the risks are much less than one would imagine.

Here’s a good post on the topic that one of my good friends – Jodi from Legalnomads.com – just wrote the other day: https://www.legalnomads.com/2011/09/the-solo-female-travel-experience.html

I think you’ll find that to be much more useful than any information I could provide 🙂

Hey Earl! I think it’s awesome that you get to travel so much. I’m sure there is an abundance of people who wish they were you…. Hopefully as soon as I’m out of college I’ll be able to go to Europe for awhile, at least a summer. But I wanted to let you know that your website has definitely inspired me to get out there- some of my financial fears have been pushed aside thanks to you! Hope all is well in your world 🙂

Thanks so much Lexxie and if you stay focused on your travel goals, I’m sure you’ll get over to Europe soon enough! The financial worries are a reasonable issue but hopefully, by the time college is finished, you’ll have gained the confidence to take that step anyway, especially after hearing about how others have managed to survive without much in their bank account.

Earl, this is awesome. I appreciate the documentation of dollars and time spent here and there. I’ve always wanted to do an 6-12 month excursion of the Eastern continents (Relative to me that’s; Europe, Asia, Africa) but have incurred some serious expenses with a home so my movement has been put on hold. It’s really cool to read/see others experiences though, I’m looking forward to my time!

Thanks so much Toby! And I’m sure that eventually, once you have your expenses under control, you’ll get out there for some traveling. As soon as you board that flight, you’ll feel that the wait was well worth it in the end!

Cool article. wish I could live that way

Your story is inspiring. I am so glad I stumbledupon it. 🙂 I did some traveling while in college (England, Scotland, and Belgium) and traveled to Costa Rica a week after I graduated. I have since started a family and career, but I intend on doing so much more traveling when my boys get older. Thanks for the stories you’ve shared. I wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors and travel!

Hey Stephanie – I appreciate the comment and I think it’s wonderful that you want to do some more traveling in the future. I’m sure you’ll be back out there soon enough 🙂

There are plenty of more places to explore!

ive been wanting to travel like this for a while just have to figure out some basics and how to get started, but one thing i always wondered, where do u do laundry at? is it luck and you just find a laundry mat in the town or what?

Hey Matt – Laundry is quite easy while traveling. In most countries, especially in developing countries, there are plenty of small laundry shops that will do your laundry at a very cheap price. Also, many hotels, even budget hotels and hostels, offer cheap laundry service. And finally, if all else fails, I just buy a packet of detergent and wash my clothes in the sink or shower wherever I am staying. I don’t carry many clothes with me but I’ve never had laundry issues at any time!

Hi Earl, this is Earl…lol did you sell all your possessions?…my wife may not let me sell our house…plus our dogs might not want to travel…would love to travel again though…..did a lot of traveling in the US Air Force…..keep on truckin’ my friend!

Hey Earl! I didn’t actually sell all of my possessions because I really didn’t have any when I started traveling. I began my adventures right out of university and so I had yet to buy a house, furniture, car, etc. It’s just been me and my backpack ever since…with a couple of boxes stored at my mom’s house!

Hey Earl, glad I stumbleuponed your site. I have a few questions for you. (having not looked around your site before, I apologize if these have been answered before)

Do you travel with friends/family or by yourself?

If by yourself, do you consider yourself to be a sociable person?

I love the idea of the nomad lifestyle, but I don’t know if I could comfortably go into random areas of the world by myself and survive for a few months.

Hey Jacob – Thanks so much for the comment! I usually travel by myself and I wouldn’t say that I’m the most sociable person on the planet. However, I love talking to new people and so I won’t hesitate to start up a conversation with anyone while traveling. Also, there is a unique and automatic bond between travelers and so whenever I come across other travelers while overseas, it’s very easy to start talking to them.

It might seem daunting to head into strange areas without knowing anyone but that’s the beauty of travel. Once you arrive, you start interacting with locals and other travelers and you will rarely feel alone!

Awesome! That’s very encouraging to hear. Thanks for the quick reply and I hope your travels keep treating you well. 🙂

I am in complete awe of everything you have done! I hope I can do the same some day soon… just trying to earn a degree first! I’m curious though… how did you become an English teacher in so many different countries? Do you have to be able to speak the native language to teach English there? Thanks!

Hey Shannon – You definitely don’t need to speak the native language to teach English. Generally, your students would already have a basic understanding of English and you would be required to teach only in English in order to help the students learn faster. Of course, once you arrive overseas, if you can pick up the basics of the local language it will help you adjust but it is almost never a requirement to get a teaching job.

And I appreciate you stopping by my site 🙂

I love your site. My sisters and I have always wondered HOW people do what you do!! Now for the guts to do it…………………..

Cool article, but question with all the travelling and saving, I mean what kind of life are living, what are the accommodations like, what do you eat, and most importantly have you ever fallen significantly ill?

I cant imagine you are living in comfortable rooming, or that you are able to eat finer foods. Am I right or wrong?

Hey George – To answer your question, the kind of life I am living is the exact life I want to be living 🙂 I have never fallen ill apart from a two-day stomach illness one time in India 10 years ago, I eat amazing local foods wherever I go and I usually stay in budget hotels, which are quite comfortable. These are not luxury rooms but I don’t want to stay in luxury hotels. I prefer to stay in cheaper places so that I can spend my money on more important things. It’s not like I’m sleeping on the streets and I certainly don’t eat bread for every meal. Actually, here’s a link to a post I wrote which has a photo of the 2 Bedroom apartment I was just living in for a while in Mexico, complete with modern kitchen, huge living room and beautiful swimming pool ( https://www.wanderingearl.com/broken-bones-handcuffs-other-goals/ ) These are the kind of places I stay in 🙂

Basically, I am not traveling in poverty at all. Sure, I don’t eat fine foods but I really don’t want to eat fine foods. I much prefer to eat at local restaurants, eating the meals that local people eat which are absolutely delicious in almost every country I’ve visited.

So I’d have to say that you’re wrong with your assumptions. Of course, you may want to travel in more luxury in which case you would need more money to do so. But traveling in luxury is not my goal and I couldn’t be happier with my lifestyle!

Sorry didnt mean disrespect just that I wanted to get a better idea of the actual level of comfort. Your explanation about eating at local places makes sense, also it makes sense once i realized that cost of living is much lower in many of the places you stay. More power to you.

One final question I ask very cautiously is what about being robbed or raped (I am a girl name is Georgina) . My biggest fear is being raped in one of the more third world countries (sorry for not being pc) you frequent.

Hey George – Don’t worry, I didn’t take it as a sign of disrespect at all 🙂

In terms of safety issues concerning female travelers, in general, you will want to use the same common sense you would use at home. Just because you are traveling in a third world country does not necessarily mean that you are at an increased risk of such violence. And while there are some countries that are significantly more challenging and daunting for female travelers, I’d say that the majority of countries would require taking the same safety precautions as males. Of course, being a male, I’m not the best of people to offer advice on this topic.

A good friend, Jodi from LegalNomads.com, just wrote an interesting post on the matter the other day. I would have a read as this might provide you with some more useful information:

Solo Female Travel Experience

Hi Earl, thanks for posting my entry. Georgina, feel free to reach out to me as well and ask any questions you might have. There’s a contact form on my site, and I’d love to hear from you!

Hey Earl! Very glad I stumbledupon your website! I was just wondering when is an ideal time to become a nomad? After college? Love your story and best wishes in your future endevours!

Hey Colin – There really isn’t any ideal time to start a nomadic lifestyle and I think it depends on what your goals might be. In some cases, having a college degree will help you find higher-paying work while traveling but some people are just interested in earning enough to survive for a while. If you really think you want to travel for a significant amount of time, then the degree would be useful as it will give you that extra boost of confidence that you can obtain a good job to support your adventures!

You are incredible! I stumbled upon this site as well…. I want to be like you one day. Hopefully soon.

Thank you so much Carol and welcome to the site!

Thanks for this post! very inspiring

I stumbled upon your site. It’s absolutely inspiring!! 🙂 And what an interesting way to live life. I can’t imagine what kind of adventures you experienced while on travel. I currently live in Ghana, West Africa. Have you ever thought of exploring this part of the world?

Hey Joyce – Thank you for visiting my site and I just read about your travel history, which is quite impressive I must say! As for Africa, I am planning to spend some time over there and I am just waiting until the right moment. I want to make sure that I have several months to explore Africa properly and hopefully that will happen just after the New Year! Will you still be in Ghana for a while?

Hey Earl, Yes, I’ll be in Ghana for a while. My current work requires me to be based here. If you’re ever in Ghana, do hit me up!

Excited to read about your travels about Africa once you start!

Great idea to outline like this. Wow. You’re a true nomad. This might seem silly, but it’s hard to imagine someone thinking to live off of online projects before blogging became the “in” thing. You were a groundbreaker!

Thanks for that Abby! I definitely wasn’t the first to start working online but there certainly has been a major increase in awareness of such opportunities over the past few years. I’m just glad that a good friend of mine suggested I read a book that opened my eyes to the world of online income 🙂

I just came back from two years in Argentina, on the cheap, and I had a blast. Keep traveling, keep moving, keep living the dream! -MJL

Hey Mike – Thanks so much for the comment and well done with your two years in Argentina! So are you staying at home now or are you heading off to someplace new???

i envy you. it would be difficult in my case, having a philippine passport. need all those visas..

Hey Jillian – It definitely might be a little more challenging but it’s not impossible! I’ve met several Filipino travelers who have managed to spend significant time traveling the world 🙂

Jillian, I’m a Filipino and currently living in Ghana, West Africa. I started my travels in 2007 🙂 and yes visas are a challenge, but I agree with Early, not impossible! I’ve been to parts of the US, London, the Netherlands, Belgium, Dubai, Burkina Faso, Singapore, Malaysia.. next stop for 2012, will go to Germany and other parts of Europe!

Simply Amazing! How did you manage relationships, Sexlife, and family life? Did you face any dangerous situations? I have more questions, I will email you. Also where to buy ur books and other stuff. I hope, it would have lot of ur experiences and tips. Please post all your products on sale. 😉 Would like to contribute something for your next travel.

Hey Yuvraj – I really appreciate your comments and those are definitely good questions! Feel free to send me that email and I’ll respond to every question you may have. As for my eBooks, they can be found at my WanderingEarl.com/travel-resources page 🙂

hey. nice work. but what comes after nomadicity?

Hey Raphy – That’s an excellent question to which I do not have an answer. When the day comes where I wake up and decide that such a nomadic life is no longer what I want, then I shall start thinking about it and make the necessary adjustments. Until then, I plan to make the most out of my love of travel!

Hi! First of all, love your page and lifestyle 🙂 I was wondering, how hard is it to get a job as an English teacher in Asia? Will they only take native speakers? I’m an English major, but obviously not a native speaker.

Hey Dora – It’s quite easy to get a job teaching English in Asia, especially if you have a university degree in English. As for not being a native speaker, this can make it more difficult, although, if you are able to get an interview (either in person or on Skype), you’ll have an opportunity to show that you have the language ability necessary to teach. Without them seeing you speak in person, your chances will be much lower so again, the key is to convince them to interview you.

Just came across your site. It’s so inspiring that you have been travelling for 12 years. I hope to do the same soon. It’s just so scary to make the first step as it’s such a big world out there.

Thanks so much for that Katy! I know very well how scary it can be but I can honestly tell you that once you take that step, you’ll join plenty of other people who have never regretted making the decision to travel 🙂

I wanted to go overseas to the middle east and hopefully do some teaching English there so that I could earn enough money to stay in the region and do some traveling also. I am hoping to go to either Egypt or Jordan.

I am not sure if you would know the answer to this question, but when you were in the middle east how difficult did you think finding teaching English jobs were… I know in a place like Korea it is very easy to find a teaching job, would you say this is the same for the middle eastern countries..

Hey Sarah – I can’t speak for every country in the Middle East but I do know that there are opportunities to teach in both Jordan and Syria (especially in the northern city of Aleppo where I met many people teaching and was even offered a job myself) as well as throughout Turkey. It’s of course not as easy as a place like Korea but there is enough of a demand to make it a worthwhile region to try and do some teaching.

Hey Sarah , I am from Egypt . If you are a native english speaker then yes its easy to find an English teaching job .Especially if you came in july or august you can apply in international schools which gives a lot of money if not there are language centers . feel free to contact me if you need help .

I’m really impressed dude!

Hi , this is my first time reading your articles, you are truly my inspiration of traveling around the world with a little of money in my pocket. Ive seen you have traveled all arround the world but you are missing great places you should consider , for example, i recommed Ushuaia (Argentina), algo you should try ” El Perito Moreno” in Argentine too. Los Cabos, Yucatán, Cancun, SianKaan, in México. Río, Brasil; The Falkland Islands. I have been there, there are places you are totally missing. Im From México. Consider going to America Latina !! im gonna keep reading all your posts. (my english isnt that good, but i keep trying to get better every single day) take care! and keep writing !

Hola Maria! Thank you for your comment. Actually, I have spent A LOT of time in Latin America, especially Mexico. I was living in Mexico for most of the past 2 years 🙂

Also, I have traveled through Central America as well as Argentina and Chile. Of course, there are still more places to visit and I’m sure I’ll get there soon enough.

Que tengas un buen dia!

[…] How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel | Wandering Earl. […]

Hello Earl,

That was a very informative article but there are in my opinion some problems with it.

1) Some of these numbers don’t really add up: Spent 2 months in Boston working as a high school substitute teacher Saved $2500 during this time $2500 is quite a large amount of money… In savings! As a substitute teacher… Over here, as a high school substitute you only get … I don’t know… at most $250 each month. If you would come and visit here, there is no way you would afford the money to fly back to U.S. (The flight costs about $1200). You would need to work probably about 2 years to have a one way flight.

2) While I agree that you require much less money to travel the world than people normally think,… It’s still not so easy. I noticed that a common theme through your early travels was to hire yourself as an English teacher. This is very convenient for a native speaker but not so easy to accomplish for someone who is not from an English speaking country. Of course, later in life you chose to do some other things but this was after you had quite a bit of experience traveling. This is rather sad because as a native English speaker you hardly need any qualifications, but as a non-native it probably gets much harder to get hired.

So my question is, if you would be forced to go to another country and you would need to work there but not as an English teacher, what would you do?

3) A second question is this: having a nomadic life basically destroy any and all chances of intimate personal relationships. Of course, one night stands and so on probably greatly increase, but there is no chance to raise a family in this manner. You know… a deep and meaningful relationship with another person, or something like that. How do you reconcile this?

Hey Mihai – Thank you for the comment and I’d be more than happy to answer your questions. First, the numbers do add up as I am writing how “I” have been able to live my life of travel. And in my case, when I was a substitute teacher, I was paid about $140 USD per day which, after my expenses, does add up to $2500 in savings.

As for teaching, that is not really a common theme as I have only done it a couple of times and not for very long at all. And of course, teaching English is much easier to do if you are a native speaker, however, English is not the only language that people want to learn. When I was just living in Mexico, there were foreigners living there who were earning money by teaching such languages as Mandarin, Russian, Italian, French, Japanese and Arabic. So, with a little creativity and by perhaps choosing a destination with a large number of university students, there are opportunities for native speakers of other languages to earn money teaching.

If I was forced to go to another country to work, I would do what I am doing now, earning money online. But there are opportunities to work on cruise ships, sell timeshares, work in hostels or bars under the table, teach scuba diving, etc. The idea is to be creative. If you read through some of my other responses to comments on this post, you will see that I mention travelers I’ve met who managed to find incredible ways to earn money. This includes a female traveler who set up a business in South America by getting other travelers to sign up for certain excursions and then she received a great commission in return. There are others who have built simple websites for small businesses overseas or showed budget hotels and guesthouses how to attract more people with social media. I can’t stress enough how important creativity is when trying to work and earn money overseas.

As for your final question, it all depends on what a person wants out of life. Not everyone has the same goals when it comes to relationships and having a family. And that’s a decision everyone has to make on their own. I’m not being forced to travel so if I wake up one day and decide that it’s time to have a family, then I’ll stop traveling and do just that. Also, I have had meaningful and deep long-term relationships over the years. Every relationship faces challenges and mine simply face a different set of challenges. But it’s definitely not impossible like you believe 🙂

How can you say it takes very little money to travel the way you do, then list a timeline that clearly states you worked to save thousands of dollars to fund all these excursions?

Hey Richard – Well, of course I am going to work, just like everyone else needs to. I don’t say that I’m traveling the world for free. Travel does cost money, but it costs much less than many people think. The point is that over the past 12 years I’ve spent about $84,000 USD to live and travel overseas virtually non-stop. That works out to about $7,000 USD per year which is not very much money at all and far less than what most people would spend living at home.

And just about anyone can land the jobs I’ve had over the years which means that such an opportunity for long-term travel is not dependent on anything other than determination and a bit of creativity.

Here’s to nomads! I’m a nomad of 2 years, with many more in store. I work on cruise ships as well, and work mostly in theater while on land. Theater is a great industry to travel with, since I work on tours all over the world, and get quick work that doesn’t tie me down.

Hey Kim – Thanks for the comment and for sharing your idea about working in theater! I never really considered that to be an option for those who want to work and travel at the same time. You won’t find me acting on stage any time soon but I have no doubt this is useful for many others 🙂

Wow thanks for the interesting read. I hope one day I can say I’ve been travelling that many years straight, that is the goal anyway. Teaching in Korea now, but I’ve got that all to common problem or student loan debt. If it wasn’t for this I’m positive I could accomplish many years of consecutive travel.

Hey Joe – Teaching in Korea is a great way to start off, although I do know how student loans can get in the way. With that said, there are still ways to achieve your travel goals and I have met plenty of travelers who have been deep in debt but have still managed to find a way to explore the world. A couple of good sites to check out would be ManvsDebt.com and ToddsWanderings.com, both of which are run by people who have managed to achieve their goals despite having debt.

Either way, I certainly appreciate you leaving a comment and I hope all is well over there in Korea!

wow! I am REALLY impressed!, I just came from my first trip to europe as a backpacker (3 weeks ago), and I am still tired!, I don’t know how you do it, I only did a 1 month trip and I’m still recovering! I admire you for traveling so much, keep going …what you are doing its amazing…who knows maybe some day I’ll try to do the same.

Good Luck from Dominican Republic :).

Thank you for the comment Marielle! And yes, it can be exhausting to keep on traveling. This is why I’ve started spending about 4-5 months per year living in one place (such as Mexico) in order to give myself a break 🙂

i really envy you!, putting that a side, i hope you can continue doing this for a really long time, i just dont have the cojones to do it, at least not yet, very inspiring stuff, i desire much success to you and all your online projects!

I would like do the same, but first I must finish college

[…] & General Working Abroad How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel Earl explains how cruise ships, English teaching and online ventures have helped him keep wandering […]

Thanks for the reply — currently sticking two fingers upto the stereotypical daily grind that everyone endures.

Any recommendations for things to do in and around Singapore (off the beaten track?) .. moving in a month

Hey Sim – Well, considering that Singapore is quite small, you’ll have a chance to explore the entire place I’m sure. My recommendations mostly revolve around the Little India section given my India addiction. I highly recommend a meal at the Gokul Vegetarian Restaurant (even if you’re not vegetarian you will thoroughly enjoy a meal here)!

Do you feel the pressures from everyone around you to “settle down” or ever feel you have to justify your life choices because they dont fit in with societies depressing version of “real life”?

Hey Sim – Well, in the beginning, when I first started traveling, I definitely felt the pressure as everyone thought that I was simply passing through a phase or they thought that I was wasting my life. However, once I managed to prove that a life of travel does not have to be a phase but that it can be a real lifestyle, where I can earn money, create things and achieve my travel goals at the same time, the pressure began to lift. And everyone who knows me is aware that if I wake up one day and suddenly decide that I want to settle down, that is exactly what I’ll do. But until that day comes, I plan to continue wandering the world.

An important point is that one has to spend the bulk of one’s time travelling in less developed countries, where the cost of living is low!

@Agagooga: While it is true that traveling in less developed countries does help keep the costs low, the fact is that most of the world is less developed!

Earl I loved this article!!

I’m currently in my last year of high school and planning on doing a year or two abroad (and more in the future of course!) and the whole money seemed to be a reoccuring issue. Great to hear that it’s possible! But actually I have another question – I happen to be vegan. Do you think this would be a big obstacle with my travels?

Thanks!! 🙂 Rachel

Hey Rachel – Thank you for the comment! As for your question, while it may be a little more challenging in some countries as a vegan, nothing is impossible. There are other vegan travelers our there, many of whom have visited countries all over the planet. I think it will just take a little extra planning and research to ensure that you’ll have options wherever you go!

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[…] a friend wonderful post explaining in detail how he has traveled for over 10 years as well at Wandering Earl (yes, people with Wandering names have to stick together) I decided to post my own […]

I “stumbledupon” this page. Until this moment I was unaware how fortunate I am in my life of travel. I’m a seismic worker, and have worked most of the States and internationally. All my travel is paid for and receive per diem as well. I work at least 45 days straight and return home for a 2 week break. Having been in this profession almost 6 years I have discovered I don’t HAVE to go home every break…as long as I have money for a room I can go wherever I choose! The down side is they choose where I work and for how long. I have seen and been able to experience many things. Ahhh! The life of a gypsy lol.

Hey Heather – Seems like you have quite a nice setup yourself with your work/vacation schedule! And I don’t think the ‘down side’ is too terrible. After all, sometimes the actual destination doesn’t matter as much as our willingness to interact with people and create our own adventures, so wherever you end up on your vacations, I’m sure it is always still worth it!

I take engineering contracts all over the world. There are many job sites that exist for travelers. The best for me are out of the UK. The US is very limited in promoting work travel! Especially international. Its a shame, so much can be learned from the cultural interactions.

OMG!!! Just reading this, I’m worn out. How you’re not worn out is beyond me. 🙂 This is my first time to your blog and it was this post that got me here. Dude, I’m impressed. Thanks for sharing!

Hey Terri – Ha…I must admit, I’m a little worn out, but not enough to stop me from continuing my travels 🙂 Thank you so much for visiting my site!

I enjoyed reading your blog, I get here through the “Stumble”.

It is possible to do what you do when you do not have a relationship or children. So I say to all who enjoy this life, enjoy while you are young and have no commitments.

A tip for those who like to travel and enjoy the beach. Learn to make good pizza, and thus unable to find work in bathing areas and monitor the summer in various countries.

(from Lisbon, Portugal)

Great article, sounds like you have had some wonderful life experiences. I have to ask though, any plans to travel in Africa? I spent 6 months in west Africa back in 2007 and had the best time!

Hey Ashley – I very much want to visit Africa. I’m just waiting until I’ve finished working on a few projects as it would be quite difficult right now for me to travel to a region where I would have to worry about not being connected to the internet for my work. But once these projects are complete and I can take it a little easier…Africa here I come!

HEY….YOU ARE THE COOLEST! QUESTION: WHEN YOU TEACH ENGLISH IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY, ARE YOU FLUENT IN THEIR LANGUAGE? DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMAND OF THEIR LANGUAGE? THANKS………

Hey DR – Thanks for the comment! When I taught English in Thailand I could not speak Thai at all. Basically, this is rarely a requirement as most of your students will already have a decent command of English and you’d be expected to teach your classes completely in English as well. I did learn some Thai while I was in Thailand but I was never fluent and never had any problems teaching.

Hello, I “stumbled” upon this site as well and I was wondering do you have a degree that helped you get those cruise ship jobs? I’m asking because I’m a Recreation major. Great Web site! I’ve only been to UK, Alaska, and Mexico. I wish I could have the life you lead!

Hey Annalynn – Thanks for visiting the site! I had a Sports Management degree which came in somewhat useful in terms of getting a job as a Tour Staff on board cruise ships. With a Recreation Degree (along with your travel experience, which is more than enough to get into the industry), that would be helpful for applying for such positions as Cruise Staff (Entertainment Department) as well as Tour Staff (Shore Excursion Department). I took the latter route and could not have been happier with my choice, especially because it gives you the opportunity to land a Tour Manager job, which is one of the best positions you could have.

I don’t want to sound like a salesman but here’s my page where I talk some more about working on board cruise ships and I also offer a useful guide to getting such jobs: https://www.wanderingearl.com/travel-resources/work-on-cruise-ships/

Let me know if you have any questions!

Hey man it’s amazing how much time you have travelled all over the world. on a few months I’ll be living at Playa del Carmen it would be awesome to chat a while and what recommendations would you give me, because I also want to travel to so many parts. take care.

Hey Alvaro – I appreciate the message. I’ll actually be leaving Playa del Carmen in a few days and will probably be traveling to another part of the world over the next few months. However, if you have any questions about Playa, please feel free to let me know. Just send me an email and I’d be more than happy to respond!

Hey, great article! I love to travel and I want to see the world, and a little knowledge know can be put to good use later in life. Did you learn the country’s language in order to teach English? Or, how did that work? Also, how difficult is it to get a good position at a cruise ship (or any at all), and does it provide any skills for future careers, later, after all the traveling is done?

Thanks, Scott

Hey Scott – When I taught English in Thailand, I did not learn to speak Thai beforehand. That is rarely a requirement as you will most likely end up teaching students who already have some knowledge of English and you’ll be expected to speak only in English while teaching your classes. As for working on board cruise ships, it’s hard to say how difficult it would be to get a good position because it obviously depends on many factors 🙂 I don’t know your work history, education background, travel experience, etc, but I do recommend having a look at my guide on how to find work on board cruise ships: https://www.wanderingearl.com/travel-resources/work-on-cruise-ships/

This will definitely give you all of the details you need to give you the best chance possible of landing an excellent position on board a ship! And yes, you will definitely gain valuable work experience to use later in life. As an example, I managed a team of up to 15 people, was responsible for a weekly budget of over $1,000,000 US in revenue and worked with hundreds of people in the ports of call around the world (great way to network). So it’s not just a party job!

How are you able to work in foreign countries without a work visa or whatever. Isn’t there laws and things regarding that? I’d love to do something like you’ve done someday but am slightly concerned at the idea of finding work legally. Thanks

Hey Ryan – Apart from teaching English, none of my other work requires a work visa. And when I taught English, I just tutored students on my own instead of teaching at a language institute, so I sort of bent the rules a little 🙂

But working on cruise ships doesn’t require any working visas and what I do now, running several websites, does not require working visas because I am not actually working in or earning money in a foreign country. All of my work is online so I can do it from anywhere with only a tourist visa.

Thanks for the information, I didn’t know some jobs don’t require work visas, I figured they all did. Good luck with your travels

It is great to see someone who has actually achieved what most of us just dream about. Seems like i have just wasted a short life confined in my material world and forgotten my passion for exploring cultures and people. I would love it if we could set up a global expedition and gather enthusiasts like us all from over the world to travel together. By the way i am from Pakistan and if you ever happen to visit here again i would love to show you the real Pakistan 🙂

Hey Saad – Thank you so much for the comment! And I like the idea of a global expedition where people from all over the world share an adventure together. It would be quite an experience!

And thank you for the offer of assistance in Pakistan. I will say that my first visit to your country was very rewarding and my memories are only positive ones, so I’m sure I’ll make it back there at some point!

So the moral of this post was: get a job on a cruise ship, you make bank! Haha, just kidding. Earl, you are truly an inspiration to me. I really have always wanted to travel the world and see all there is to see, but I didn’t think it would be possible for me to do it. There is a quote that I love which says, “not all who wander are lost.” I think that fits you perfectly, and it makes me want to start planning a trip now!

Hey Halee – That’s an excellent quote, from Tolkien of course. I actually have those words on the desktop of my computer 🙂

I hope you started planning a trip. Once you start planning it is difficult to stop, which is, of course, a good thing as it means you’ll be out there traveling the world at some point!

hi, this is son inspiring! my whole life I’ve always wanted to travel but I always thought you had to have a lot of money to travel overseas. I am only a sophomore in college but I really want to start traveling. I’ve always been to scared to do it and about what my parents would say. how did you start? what was your first step? and how did you find all the volunteering opportunities? if you could help me out I would really appreciate it. I wish you the best of luck.

Sincerely, Maria.

Hey Maria – I appreciate the email! Your questions are good ones and the best answer I can give would be to check out my “Getting Started” page here: https://www.wanderingearl.com/getting-started/ I think you’ll find what you’re looking for in those posts 🙂

As for the volunteer opportunities, there are places to volunteer everywhere. It is quite easy to show up in a country and find a volunteer position as many countries, especially those in the developing world, have so many organizations with such a high demand for volunteers. All it takes is finding a place you want to stay or a cause you want to work on and asking around or checking the internet. My experience in Calcutta was at the Missions of Charity, which is the organization made famous by Mother Teresa. So that was an easy one to find!

thanks for sharing it just goes to show that you can go an awful long way with a little improvisation, deterimination and the right attitude. Being pprepared to make sacrifices, work when necessary (which provides further experiences) and ‘rough it’ at times it is possible to achieve a great deal indeed. You inspire many.

Hey Iain – I appreciate the comment and I think the qualities you listed are much more important in helping one find ways to travel extensively than any other factor. Without creativity and determination, nobody, regardless of nationality, will make it!

Hey Earl, just “stumbled upon” your website and its a like an energy booster for me. Iam planning a trip to Latin America in six months time. Is it a good place to be for a photographer and back packer specially when you dont know the language and also when you are a Pakistani?

Hey Azmat – Latin America is great place to travel as it offers a wide variety of countries that each offer a completely different experience. And as for photography, it’s just as good of a region as any 🙂 My suggestion would be to try and learn some Spanish, at least the basics, either before hand or once you arrive. While it definitely isn’t necessary, it will make life much easier for you and most likely lead to some interesting experiences since you’ll be able to communicate a little more effectively.

Hi Earl, really interesting life you have there. Just a thought, most countries require some form of working visa for you to be able to work in the country. Do you not have any issues with that at all when you traveled and decided to say…teach to supplement dwindling income? I come from Singapore and although i have one of the safest passports in the world, i still require a working visa to work at McDonald’s say in Australia…

Hey Mae – Thank you for the comment. I only taught English one time and that was at the start of my travels. When I did teach, I set up my own operation with a friend and we taught students informally. So we did not get hired by a language school. Our classes were independent and we were paid directly by the students. While this is not really legal, it was one way that we were able to teach without needing a visa. Here’s the post I wrote on how I taught English: https://www.wanderingearl.com/how-to-fund-your-travels-with-creativity/

As for my other work, nothing has required a work visa either. Working on cruise ships does not require me to obtain any visas and now that my work is all on the internet, I do not need work visas because I am not actually working or getting paid while I’m in another country.

Thanks for the clarification, appreciate it. All the best Earl! =)

Earl- Just “stumbled” upon your website and can I say, it is so inspiring to read about all you’ve done. I left high school last June and then in February I left for a three month trip starting in Cambodia, moving through Laos, and ending in China (all the while following the course of the Mekong River). Had the best time of my life and reading this article just makes me want to go back even more…. Thanks for reminding me how much I love Asia/traveling and can’t wait to read more of your stuff! 🙂 Alexandra

Hey Alexandra – I appreciate you reading through my site! And I’m happy to know that you’re another travel addict 🙂 Your trip along the Mekong sounds very unique. That’s such a great way to travel, to pick a route based upon a river. It sure is a different way to see Asia than following the more well-trodden traveler route. And I’m sure you’ll get out there again and have some more adventures soon enough. As you know, once you get a taste of travel, it’s hard to let go!

Hey Earl! nice, I would love to live my life like that! Just turned eightteen but I will make a big trip soon 🙂 Now in six weeks I am leaving to India and Nepal, and I wonder how much money I should save for 7,5 months. Now I have about 3000 euros, but still a festival coming and I start to worry about if I will have enough (I will just travel and who knows about volunteer-work). You have been there a few times as I can see, how much did you spend? If you have some travelling tips for me, a girl on her own, I will be very pleased if you could help me 🙂

Keep up the good life!

Hey Lorin – Thank you for commenting and that’s excellent that you’re headed to India and Nepal soon!

Usually, when I visit that region, I spend about $600 – $800 USD per month. However, I will say that I often stay in budget hotels that cost me around $10 USD per night. There are plenty of other options (and good options) for accommodation that will cost you less than that, as low as $5 USD per night. Also, if you spend time in the cities, you will spend more money than if you spend time in smaller towns and villages and of course, the more you move around (usually by train), the more expenses you’ll have.

The good thing about India when it comes to travel is that you could just walk outside of your hotel everyday without a plan. Every day will be an adventure as you explore lanes and markets and wherever it is you end. Everywhere you look you will see and learn something new and have experiences unlike any other. This of course, does not cost much money at all. On the other hand, if you wanted to spend your time visiting the most important sites, you can expect to have higher expenses as you’ll have to pay all of the admission fees. So the key is to find a comfortable balance of random exploration and visiting the sites that are most important to you.

In the end, you could spend as little as $300 or $400 USD per month if you really wanted to. It would be extreme budget travel – cheapest hotels, 3rd class train rides, street food, etc. – but it can be done.

As for being a girl traveling on your own, just be aware of everything around you. Use simple common sense in order to avoid being put in a situation that will make you uncomfortable. Another tip would be to seek out other travelers, especially other solo female travelers who might prefer to have a travel buddy to spend time with. You don’t need to go everywhere together but it does make it easier, at least in the beginning, to know that you don’t have to walk around on your own everywhere you go. And assuming you are starting off your adventure in Delhi or Mumbai, you’ll have little problem finding other travelers around. Just visit any of the hotels or cafes in Paharganj (Delhi) or Colaba (Mumbai) and start chatting to other foreigners!

I hope this helps but if you have any other questions, feel free to send me an email and I’ll do my best to offer some assistance.

heyy, im 18 and have been intrested in seeing the world! There is so much to see! i plan to stay in the US and travel around, out west and such, then go to other countries.. ive been talking with a teacher i had when i was in highschool, he’s 29, and has done so much with his life! he’s big on traveling/camping with little money. he’s been over to europe and out west. hes always camping and exploring.. he’s helped me see that theres so much to life and so much to see! im going to college but i plan on going on little adventures on my free time.. im going to be an elementary art teacher and plan on having my summers off to travel:) I just wanted to tell you that i found this page on stumbleupon and really enjoyed reading it and all the comments and seeing that there are alot of people that want to see the world as much as i do:) you remind me so much of my teacher, i hope to beable to acomplish as much as you both:) thanks!

Hey Nicole – Believe me, there are thousands upon thousands of others out there who not only want to travel the world as much as you do, but who have also figured out ways to make it happen. Everyone finds their own method to make it work and I have no doubt that someone as motivated as you seem to be, will also figure out a way to ensure that travel plays a large role in your life!

Hi Earl, your travels sound awesome. I’m especially interested in your latest style of travel involving running your own business while you move around the world. If you have any tips or advice on this, let me know. I really appreciate your site. Thanks, Jeff

Hey Jeff – Thank you for commenting! It has been an interesting couple of years now that I’ve been working online, spending half the year in one place working and half the year backpacking around. I’m sure I could offer you some advice but I would have no idea where to start as I could write pages upon pages about how it works. If you have any specific questions, please don’t hesitate to send me an email and I’d be more than happy to answer them as best I can!

Your nomad stories are great inspiration for my future adventures! Cheers.

Much appreciated Joel!

Hey man, you truly are an amazing inspiration. I myself have a passion for traveling regardless of how much money I have. I would love to chat with you one day

Hey Athena – As you might have gained from this site, I’m a firm believer that one can travel well for very little money so I certainly do hope you get out there and do some exploring! And if you ever have any questions or just want to say hello, feel free to send me an email. I’m always up for communicating with others who love travel as well.

[…] ‘How can I afford my life of constant travel’ by Wandering Earl […]

I have a simple question. I think the travel you engage in is most frequently driven by ideological liberalism — an openness to experiencing new things and desire for knowledge unbound by your natural culture. Liberalism would also suggest that you are privileged to be able to travel, and that that is unfair given other people’s socioeconomic states. I think it’s great that you’re teaching people how to travel on a budget, and I think it’s great that you have a positive impact on the people you travel to see. But do you ever feel that way, like you’re traveling to see people, as if they were in a zoo? If we agree that a desire to obtain knowledge is vain, can you morally afford to spend your life indulging in your selfish escapades while seeing firsthand how much others could benefit from the price you pay for them? I know it’s blunt, but none of this is meant to be antagonistic or insulting. I am caught in the dilemma I describe above, and I would love it if you could weigh in.

Hey Tyler – Thanks so much for the comment and that certainly is a valid question you ask. My answer would be this. I don’t travel to see people. I travel to meet and interact with people that I ordinarily wouldn’t have had an opportunity to meet and interact with. One goes to the zoo to observe. There is a huge difference as a zoo contains animals that we want to look at because of how different they are from us. I interact with people when I travel because I know how similar they are to me. It really is my goal to show that people all over the world have the same goals in life. Travel helps us realize that most of what we believe about other people is just a collection of assumptions and misunderstandings, dangerous ones, ones that often lead us to hate and even kill our fellow citizens of the world. Breaking down these misunderstandings is a vital part of improving life for everyone on this planet.

And using the socioeconomic argument is difficult because that is assuming that the people in the countries I visit are somehow in a worse state than I am simply because they do not have access to as much money. During my travels I have found this to be a false belief as some of the happiest people I have ever met lived in regions that are much poorer than anything you and I would ever experience. And while in some cases my money could possibly be used in better ways to benefit other people, I personally feel my mission is important enough to continue traveling as I do.

Everything we do in life can be debated. One thing I’ve learned is that we can always be doing more good. But I’d rather spend my time doing some good than endlessly contemplating (because it is an endless debate) which method might possibly produce better results. All of that time contemplating such things could have been spent doing some more good.

Just because someone is alive doesn’t mean they are living.

About a month and a half ago I saw a post on a message board called “50 most important landmarks of the world.” Several I’m sure you have seen, several I had never even heard of, and sadly only 2 had I seen. One of the landmarks listed was Half Dome in Yosemite National Park in CA, as seen here: https://www.pxleyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/landmarks2/47.jpg

I started thinking. I’ve always wanted to climb a mountain, which Half Dome may not be, but it is in my book. I’ve always wanted to stand on a ledge, thousands of feet up. As a kid, I always loved exploring the woods, so why not a national park? The list of 50 must see landmarks also listed the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco…which isn’t that far from Yosemite.

27, sitting at my desk, looking at the picture, imagining standing at the top looking out into the valley…something just snapped. Research started and within a couple weeks I had planned a full 7 day vacation for myself to SF and Yosemite. I’ll literally be on the top in 31 days on 8/31. I figured this trip would calm down that sudden want for adventure that hit me.

You know the question, “What would you do if you won the lottery?” I had thought that through before and my answer was always that I would travel the world, and see everything. While doing so, I would take pics, videos, and make a website tracking my journey. I never did look into google to see if anyone had done this yet, but it honestly was an all original idea I had.

4 days ago at a message board, someone posted the exact text of this blog along with a link. I learned two things. First off, someone had already stolen my idea. 🙂 Second, I learned I don’t need the lottery to do what I would do if I won the lottery. I can’t get this site out of my mind. I’m blessed with a job that pays decent, and I can take off a month if I wanted to. I don’t know where I’m heading on my next vacation, but you’ve inspired me. I’m really liking the idea of Playa del Carmen for a month on a grand.

Good luck on your travels, and THANK YOU!

Hey Earl, I love all the spots you chose to travel too, and I’m planning on travelling a lot after college. One question though: how do you travel such vast distances with such little money? Airfare to Europe and other places costs upwards of $1000 for a one-way ticket, and it seems like you take long plane rides a lot.

Hey Alex – Thank you for the comment! To be honest, I don’t really have a specific method for flights but I seem to get great deals most of the time. Last year I flew from NYC to Istanbul for $300, Damascus to Bangkok for around $230 USD and then Bangkok to Melbourne for around $275. And I booked all of those within two weeks (within one week for two of them) of my departure date. I think the key is to be flexible. My dates are always flexible and even my departure airports are flexible so this gives me more options. Also, it pays to search the internet for budget airlines operating in the area you want to visit. There are so many airlines out there that will never come up in a regular Kayak.com search but that offer excellent deals and should be looked at. So I usually type in “budget airlines Asia” for example in order to find a list flying to and within Asia and then I start searching these airlines.

And in the end, my flight expenses are kept to a minimum!

You really love India! It’s good to see the agenda for your last 12 years, and also how you remember the amount of money you earn on every experience.

What happens when you are too old to work and because you never saved money you have no retirement? You also have no kids to take care of you because you never settled down. Are you worried about any of this?

Hey Shannon – Thank you for the comment! Although, I never said I wasn’t saving money. In fact, I’m willing to bet I’m saving more money than most of my friends who are working 9-5 jobs back in the US, so I’m not really worried about retirement. And to be honest, I’d rather live life to the fullest now and make the most of my time on this planet. Not everyone wants to settle down. And when I’m older I doubt that I’ll regret having spent my life exploring the world instead of having sat in an office 🙂

Hey Earl, I am graduating college this year and I want to plan an epic trip abroad when I graduate. I lived for 3 months in Athens last year and had an incredible time. I am having a very tough time making up my mind on what I want to do. Do you have a favorite trip by chance? I would just love to hear any suggestions you may have. Thanks!

Hey Greg – I have endless favorite trips by this point as I honestly love almost everywhere I travel to 🙂 I think the key is not to worry too much about your destination. Simply pick a region of the world that interests you and visit. There are so many places to explore that you just need to pick one and go for it or else you could spend years trying to decide where to go! With that said, regions such as Southeast Asia, South America and even here in Mexico where I am now are all places that are worth consideration, as is Eastern Europe and even the Middle East. Again, it’s hard to narrow it down as your destination should be one that calls out specifically to you and everyone has different interests.

Great Post. Just yesterday I began doing research on how the American lives in Paris (this is now my dream). I was reading things such as needing to make sure your health insurance is covered up to a certain amount, etc. things I didn’t know. My question to you is: While you got these seemingly amazing temp jobs with the cruise ship- Was it hard to get the job? I’m reading, esp for Europe that they are citizens first, EU second, then the rest of the piddlers such as myself.

Hey Jessie – Getting a cruise ship job doesn’t require you to live anywhere else and your nationality doesn’t play much of a role at all. If you know exactly how to get a cruise ship job, then it’s not that difficult to do. My recommendation would be to have a read of this page: https://www.wanderingearl.com/travel-resources/

This is a page about the guide I actually wrote that shows people exactly how to get such a job. So far it has helped many people get into the cruise industry as it provides you with every detail and step you need to know in order to make it happen. Once you have a read through that page, send me an email if you have any questions and I’d be more than happy to help out as much as I can

I have a love/ hate relationship with this blog. Honestly everywhere you go makes me incredibly jealous! However. This post has made me realize that traveling is attainable, even to a full time nanny with little money in the bank account on the best of days. So today is a love day for you Wandering Earl. Keep traveling so that I can live vicariously through you for the time being, okay?!

Hey Olivia – Haha…I’m happy to hear that today is a love day! And it’s even better to know that you’ve realized that your travel goals are possible to achieve 🙂 There are actually many people who have ‘nannied’ their way around the world as well, so that is always an option too to consider. And I’ll keep traveling if you keep reading, but it would of course be better if I ran into you one day out there in the world as well!

Very inspiring! I dream of traveling after graduating with my bachelors, but the only problem is I will have a pile of student loans which will need payed back. Despite my plans on joining Americorps for two years (NCCC and Vista for those who know the programs) I still worry that I won’t be able to live/travel simply because I will still be in so much debt. I know I am not alone, have you discussed this situation with anyone? If so, how did they manage travel and paying back debt?

Hey Hannah – I also had student loans when I began traveling but I ended up deferring the payments for 2 years (which you can usually do if you spend time overseas). This gave me some time to start earning money and once I began working on board cruise ships, I began paying back my loans. It all depends on how much money you have to pay back of course but whether you are living at home and working or if you are working while traveling, there really is no difference. So you might as well choose the option that you really want and find a way to make it work!

hey Earl you amzing …same thing i want plan when i have lot of money and retire after 40 year and make a lot of money and then ..Roam the whole world and explore every area of the world …

Thank you for commenting Randhir! I hope you stay focused on your goal and get a chance to explore this incredible world of ours! Once you start roaming it’s quite difficult to stop…

I loved your post! I also wanted to comment on your picture of “Italy” though… that looks like Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. Is it? If so, you were exploring the very place where I fell in love with travel. I studied there last year and my apartment was down the side street that’s hidden behind the statue in the photo… but oh, the things I would do to go back. Thanks for the inspiring post and especially for a photo that may have just made up my mind! 🙂

Hey Becca – Yes, that is a photo of Piazza Santa Croce! And I can see how that place would cause someone to become a travel addict 🙂 And it must have been unreal living right around the corner. So are you heading back????

I will definitely be returning! I’m not sure exactly when, but I’d like to get there perhaps next summer when I can get the time off. Ideally, though, I’ll be touring Europe when I next stop at my Italian home.

Living in Florence for three months was honestly the best experience of my entire life. Just think about all the tastes and smells and sounds you heard while you were there… now put yourself there as a resident rather than a tourist, and it’s so easy to see how I fell in love with the place. There was nothing like walking down the cobblestone alleys, across busy piazzas, and then down and across the Arno to class everyday. I practically had to pinch myself to remember that it was my real life!

Anyway, Earl, thanks for the inspiration! Maybe I’ll see you in my travels 🙂

Thanks so much for your posts! Thanks to many blogging nomads like yourself, my boyfriend and I took the plunge this past March 1st, and are LOVING IT. I didn’t find yours til right before we left, but it’s inspiring all the same. We left with $1,000 in our bank account (that’s for BOTH of us), found one way tickets from NYC-London for just $225 each, and have had absolutely no trouble providing for ourselves along the way. It’s actually much less stressful than ‘real life’ was back home, and we find ourselves with much more free time to truly just enjoy where we are at.

Wanted to encourage everyone out there – it’s just like Earl says. Now that we are actually abroad, making money is no issue at all. We were planning to be gone for 6 months, hoping for a year. Now it looks as though we can extend it into the foreseeable future of 2-3 years. We got a position via Helpx.net working at a hostel for all our meals and accommodation. On top of that, I got a job washing dishes at a local cafe and babysitting for locals who needed a night out. Kurt got a job mowing lawns and helping landscape. We will actually leave Ireland with much more money than we came with.

I would say anyone with any amount of skills at all can succeed just like you did. It’s definitely not the life for everyone… but for those who crave it, just do it already!! I wasted 3 years of my life pining after travel, when I could’ve started way back then! Keep up the good work Earl, we love keeping up with your posts.

Hey Dayna – I appreciate the comment and thank you for sharing your experiences, which I must say seem to be going quite well for you guys! You’re another example of people making it happen and it shows again that the most important step is to just to buy that flight ticket and go. Once the journey begins, anything is possible.

So congratulations on your adventures and that’s excellent that you are thinking about making it a 2-3 year trip. Perhaps I shall see you out there somewhere at some point during your journey!

Hello, I just wanted to ask a simple question, Why are you drawn to traveling, are you unconsciously search for something in your life. It may be a dumb question but I just want to know.

Hey Ayan – The reason I am so drawn to traveling is because I want to learn about the world first-hand. I truly believe that this is the best method to eliminate the misunderstandings and assumptions that exist between cultures that lead to hatred, inequality and war. You can read more about my motivations for traveling on my Travel Philosophy page here: https://www.wanderingearl.com/new-breed-of-explorer/

hi thanks for sharing your life and formula of earning and spending on your travel… you are genius man… you just crossed that line which many of us scared of crossing… i m sure.. every place you visit and stay.. brings up a new world, new people, new life style, food culture and many more things… we simply do = work – earn – travel – work but in your case = travel – work – earn – travel

Hey Arun – Thank you for the comment. What I’m really trying to do with this site is to show that anyone who is interested in changing that equation does have an opportunity to do so. It does take a lot of courage in the beginning to take that first step, but rarely does anyone regret putting travel as their top priority!

WOW. 🙂 Your blog actually moved me enough to leave a comment! 😀 You are truly an inspiration. I’m SO glad i “stumbled upon” this website! I definitely fall into the category of people who LOVE traveling but have planted themselves and let the roots grow deep. =\ I fell in love with the world when I studied abroad in England for a summer in college, and had the opportunity to travel cheap around the rest of Europe on the weekends! Since then, I’ve done my best to fly wherever I could, whenever I could; but that gets hard when your work and play don’t mix. Now, I’m in grad school looking forward to a life of the daily grind with spurts of vacations once every year. ARGH! (Oh well.) But hey, keep doing what you’re doing my friend, and enjoy it! Because we are all living vicariously through you. 😉 I did have a question though.. Because you’re constantly traveling AND working, and internationally I might add, how does the whole system of paying taxes work for all of those super knowledgeable and amazingly inspirational people like you? 🙂 Good luck and safe travels!!

Hey Lizellebelle – Thank you for deciding to leave that comment! The important thing to remember is that you can change paths at any time. So even if you enter the daily grind for a while and decide that it’s really not for you, it’s never too late to take advantage of other options that are out there.

As for taxes, I pay them as any normal US citizen would. There are some rules where if you spend 330 days of any year outside of the US a portion of your income is exempt from taxes but in general, my income is all taxable. Also, my income comes from US sources and is deposited into US bank accounts so as a result, it is almost as if I am in the US earning a living.

Thank you again for stopping by the site!

Hmmmm.. Makes sense.. So it IS still possible eh? Thanks for the info. Take care!!

Earl, thanks for taking the “non-profit” time to promote extended travel. Although it’s not for everyone, the word should get out to all young people (actually everyone) about how it’s done and what it costs, so they can make up their own minds weather it’s do-able for them or not. I traveled around the world for 2 years back in ’88-’90 with my wife on $10,000 per person per year; that’s $833 per person per month for everything! I know with inflation, it’s more now. I was 38 when we started and called it my “midlife retirement”. Well, I’m now ready to retire again and I’m getting ready to do it again. I’ve done the math and with my experience, $1,500 per month will be more than enough! I’ve signed up for your Blog and will be traveling with you vicariously! Vagabonding is my style too. I enjoy the security of the insecurity of travel as you never know what’s around the next bend. I’ll soon be doing it until either my body or head gives out, whichever comes first. Happy Trails and good luck!

Hey Steve – Thank you so much for your comment! First, I think you are completely right. This lifestyle is not at all for everyone and despite the rewards it has given me, I don’t want to promote this lifestyle as the only way to live. But for those who are interested, I agree that they deserve to know that it is possible and how they could make it happen. As you have discovered, $1500/month is enough to travel without worrying about too much at all. And with experience, it becomes easier to find ways to save money and make that $1500 last even longer.

Congratulations on your decision to head out there into the world once again! Not knowing what’s around the corner is exactly what keeps me addicted as well. I simply can’t stay in one place knowing that there are a world of possibilities out there. All it takes to discover them is to pack my backpack and head off on another adventure.

Thank you for following along with the blog and safe travels!

Hi Earl…it’s a big planet with many wonderful places and people, as you are well aware. But, there are some “not so wonderful” people too. Could you speak about your safety and precautions taken as you travel? Bravo and Bon Voyage!

Hey Jim – Thank you for the comment. If you don’t mind, I’m actually going to add your question to my ‘Travel Questions Answered’ series where I answer reader questions that might prove helpful to others as well. I’ll add the question/answer in my next installment which should be within the week!

hats off man… im sure this post will inspire people to go for what they want…

Well, its easy for you cause you are American, try being from another country and getting jobs anywhere you go.

Hey Cristina – Thank you for the comment although I’d have to disagree with your statement. None of the work that I have done has been easier because of my nationality, except for teaching English (but this was the least paid job I’ve had). On the last cruise ship I worked on, there were 11 American crew out of 1300 crew members on board and my team alone consisted of people from Bulgaria, India, South Africa, Italy, Ukraine, Philippines and Argentina. On any cruise ship you’ll find that at least 75% of crew members are from the developing the world. As for earning money on the internet, anyone can do this and nationality plays no role at all. As long as someone is willing to learn how to do it then it doesn’t matter where they are from.

Earl, I read through a lot of the comments, but not all of them, and this is my first time visiting your site. I’m 19 going on 20 and I’m unemployed and living with my mom. I have always wanted to travel and I’ve been to several places on the typical “family vacation,” but I want to just get away from the chaotic, egotistical, city-living life in the United States.

I was a multi-sport athlete in high school but I tore everything possible in my knee while playing football and I have gotten out of shape since that happened. I was wondering if living the nomad lifestyle would be hard for someone in my situation?

Also, I live in Colorado so working on a cruise ship is a bit more difficult, considering I live a mile above sea level. What can you tell me about getting a job on a cruise ship? I’ve always wanted to do that but I wanted more of an income so I just forgot about that idea.

How important is it to know the languages of the countries you are visiting? I took 4 years of spanish while in school and I speak better french just because my girlfriend talks to me in french sometimes.

Hey Stephen – Actually, working on board a cruise ship has nothing to do with where you live as you would ‘live’ on the cruise ship during your contracts. For example, my last contract required me to fly to England where I got on the ship and then the ship went all over the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Northern Europe for 4 months and at the end of my contract, the cruise line flew me home. As for getting a job on board a cruise ship, have a look at the guide that I offer that shows people exactly how to apply and get hired: https://www.wanderingearl.com/travel-resources/work-on-cruise-ships/

With languages, it is more important to have a willingness to learn than it is to have actual knowledge about a particular language. After all, I’ve been to 70 countries but I don’t speak 70 languages 🙂 You just learn a few of the basics before you arrive and do your best to learn more during your travels. You’ll find that locals often appreciate it when foreigners can say even just ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ in the local language!

As for living the nomadic lifestyle, of course you can make it happen. I’m a firm believer that anyone can make it happen as long as they have the determination and creativity needed. Also, it is important to note that the nomadic lifestyle is not one particular lifestyle. There are ‘nomads’ who are constantly moving around and there are nomads who live in one place for 6 months and then move on to another place for 6 months. And that’s just two examples out of hundreds of possibilities! So all you need to do is determine which kind of lifestyle you want to try and go from there…

Hopefully this provides some guidance for you but if you have any further questions, just send me an email!

Thank you for that information. I’m so excited to read that guide. Even if I decide not to travel on my own, getting to work on a cruise ship would be an amazing opportunity.

I am so glad it rains in Colorado all summer or I would have never stumbled upon your blog using the ever addicting StumbleUpon website.

I have told all of my friends to visit your site and everyone is just as excited as I am.

I really appreciate that Stephen! And working on board cruise ships is an amazing opportunity that I feel not enough people take advantage of. It opens up an entire world of opportunities, even if you only work one contract on board.

As always, let me know if you ever have any further questions!

what kind of citizen ship or visa do you have to have in order to work in so many different places, and what kind of education do you need to be so employable?

Hey Bridget – I am a US citizen and the visa rules for every country is different. When I taught English in Thailand, I did not do it officially and so I did not have a work visa. When I worked on board cruise ships, I didn’t need a work visa because they operate by different rules. And as I travel, I simply obtain the tourist visas I need, some of which can be obtained upon arrival and others which I need to obtain from an embassy before arriving. As for education, it all depends on the type of work you’re looking for. Many English teaching jobs in places such as Asia require a college degree but there are plenty of other ways to earn money out there that don’t require that level of education. There are just too many opportunities out there to give you a straight answer as each opportunity may require something different.

Ever thinking of coming down to Trivandrum ( Thiruvananthapuram), Kerala, India, do let me know if i can be of some help. Keep Going buddy.. Good & adventurous work..

Hey Narendran – Thank you for the comment and offer of assistance! I actually have been to Tirvandrum a couple of times during my visits to India and I’m sure I’ll be back again during a future trip as well. I shall let you know 🙂

Dear Earl, Great! So really hopping to see you when you come down here. Good luck & God Bless in all your ventures..

Earl, wonderful site with invaluable information for even the most casual traveler! Having just happened upon your blog literally two days ago my question might have been asked countless times so please excuse me if ask something repetitive. Was wondering if you could touch on how you manage health issues and how you stay healthy while traveling. Also do you see a time as you get older where this could become an problem continuing this style of travel? Again, wonderful stuff!

Hey Rob – Welcome to the site! If you don’t mind, I’m going to answer your questions in my next “Travel Questions Answered” post which will be put up on the site in a week. They are good questions and I think many people will be able to benefit from the answers 🙂

Hey dude, I’m pretty sure that you can land a teacher’s job (or any other, for that matter) easily in most places because of the colour of your skin, even though you may not have the requisite qualifications. No offence; just stating this as a matter of fact.

I’m an Indian and work in the oilfield in the Middle East, and have met many a white skin, who has absolutely no knowledge of the job, but yet manages to make it big, with his glib talk. Mind you, the man doesn’t even know how to spell simple words correctly.

My take is that it would be difficult for a brown or black skin to manage what you have done. What is YOUR take on it? Be honest.

Hey Arnold – Thank you for the comment and I completely understand your thoughts. It’s a tough question to answer as I’ve certainly met plenty of non-caucasians on the road who are living a similar lifestyle as me, working and traveling all over the world. To be honest, people of any skin color would have an equal opportunity in getting work on board cruise ships as the majority of crew members on any ship come from countries in Asia and Central/South America. As for working on the internet, obviously it wouldn’t be different for anyone either.

In terms of teaching English, perhaps skin-color would play a role in some countries. Again, I’ve definitely met people of all skin colors who are teaching English in countries around Asia but of course that doesn’t mean it isn’t more difficult for some people. Also, keep in mind that I didn’t teach English at a a language school. All I did was put up advertisements at the local university in Chiang Mai, Thailand advertising my services and then interested students called the phone number on the sign. Anyone could do this as nobody actually hired me. I know that the students I ended up teaching in Thailand would not have cared what skin color I was. All that they wanted was someone who could speak English and teach them how to do the same.

My honest opinion is that I’m sure skin color plays a role in many positions and that certain opportunities are more difficult for non-caucasians to take advantage of as a result. But I don’t think that it would have been much more difficult for a non-caucasian to have done what I’ve done as I’ve basically created my own opportunities along the way. The freedom to do that is open to anyone…

Thanks a lot Earl, I really appreciate your honest opinion.

Hey! I have constantly thought about spending the rest of my life traveling so I look at a lot of others doing the same thing. I noticed that all of these nomads have websites and make money off of that. The problem that I have is that I know absolutely nothing about running a website or making money off of one. How do you make money off of a website that just talks about you traveling? How is there a product to sell in that? I can write reasonably well but I would have no idea how to get a contract to travel write or sell my stuff to anyone. Any pointers on writing and websites?

Hey Kait – Thank you so much for your comment! This website is actually not a direct money-maker for me and it is not my goal to turn it into a direct source of income. My main source of income comes from other websites that I run as well as a few eBooks that I have authored and now sell online. Others earn money by creating a popular website and then attracting advertisers who will pay to insert advertisements or links onto that website that redirect back to their own site. So the more popular a site is, the more they can charge advertisers for such placements.

To be honest, your questions would require a book’s worth of an answer as there are literally thousands of ways to earn money online. However, it’s not as easy as just reading a book and then following one set of steps. There’s a lot of experimentation and learning involved and there’s never a guarantee at all that any money will be earned. When I started out I just did search after search online until I found a few ideas that I felt I could work with. Once I narrowed it down to writing eBooks, I then researched this specific method and went from there.

If you can write well, you could check out a website such as Elance.com where you can offer your writing services as a freelancer. If you want to learn more about earning money from a blog, you could check out the posts on a site such as Problogger.com. It’s difficult for me to give direct advice because what might work for you is probably completely different than what works for me!

Earl, I strongly suggest you develop a relationship with our god, Jehovah, and His son Jesus Christ before your passport expires.

This was a very interesting post, I can appreciate the lifestyle. I am a fellow traveler, though attempting a fairly different sort of project.

I have one question, though. You mentioned substitute teaching in Boston for a couple of months. I move from city to city in the US, and I’ve looked into it, but in every city I’ve been in, it’s always seemed like a considerable hassle and time is needed before you can get into that. Was that the case for you? I usually work retail or wait tables, which is a great way to make money and meet people, but I think subbing could be a fun/interesting experience. Thoughts?

Hey Lyttleton – When I was a substitute teacher, the process was quite easy. I just showed up at the Education Department office in Boston, obtained the application packet, filled it out and submitted it along with a Massachusetts police check. About a week later I was called in for a 15 minute interview and a few days after that I had my first assignment. It certainly was an interesting experience although most new substitutes are placed in the schools that other long-term substitutes don’t want to be at so it can be quite challenging at first.

And what an interesting concept for your own travels. I love the 10 cities in 10 years idea!

Thanks for the info, I’ll keep it in mind when I head to Seattle.

[…] 9, 2011 in Travel Posted on June 24, 2011 by […]

Thank you soo much for breaking it all down!! I’m back in the US for a few months while I get certified to teach English and head to Asia to work. I’ve tried to look for a decent job at home and so far no good, which only proves I should get out fast. You got me curious about working on a cruise ship too. Any tips??

@Superxicana: Working on a cruise ship is an excellent option and one that I promote to many people considering the long list of benefits that such work provides. As for tips, have a look at the website for the eBook I wrote about How to Get a Cruise Ship Job . The application process can be quite confusing and complicated if you don’t how the system works and I created the guide so that anyone can have all of the instructions and details they need right in front of them. This allows anyone to apply for cruise ship jobs almost instantly.

Once you have a look feel free to let me know if you have any questions at all!

Hey, really loved this post. Have a few things to figure out first but hope to eventually live this lifestyle. Very much admire your independence and moxie.

Re-blogged on our site – https://www.globetrottingtips.com/anywhere/how-i-can-afford-my-life-of-constant-travel

Thanks for sharing!

I appreciate that Taryn. Just stay focused and I’m sure you’ll get out there into the world before you know it!

Thanks for this post, I am leaving for Ecuador in 2 months for 2 months and then hope to continue traveling after. I love the idea of working on a cruise ship on a contract basis. I have a lot of hospitality experience with planning major events and festivals. Do you have suggestions on how to break into the field and land a contract job on a cruise ship?

Thank so much! Jaime

Hey Jaime – Actually, I’ve written an eBook that shows you exactly how to land a job in the cruise industry. The main reason I wrote this eBook is because it is quite difficult to figure out how to get a job without knowing how the industry works. So this guide gives you the step-by-step instructions and details you need all in one place. Have a look at the website and let me know if you have any questions!

https://www.wanderingearl.com/travel-resources/work-on-cruise-ships/

So this really doesn’t apply to everyone, I’m sure I could travel and make it by, but you make it sound so easy, you obviously have a teaching degree and teachers are needed everywhere so it must be really easy to find work.

Hey Dan – Thank you for the comment. And actually, I do not have a teaching degree. Teachers of the English language are indeed needed in many countries around the world and the demand is so high that the only requirement to become a teacher is to be a native English speaker.

Thank you for this post. I’m new to the travel blogging world, and I often wonder how you and others have come to live life on the road. Very informational and inspiring to us newbies.

[…] to cheer myself up by reading posts from travel bloggers about how they’ve made “away” their everyday. It helped a […]

[…] 4. Most Helpful Post How I Can Afford My Life Of Travel […]

Love this highly useful information since I really want to live for months or even years as a nomad traveler but money constraint still haunts me until now. Thanks Earl! Very inspiring indeed!

Hey Bama – It is perfectly understandable that money is what stops anyone from traveling. It takes a while to realize that it is not as big of an obstacle as most people think it is, so just keep on reading about other people who have made it happen and one day, money will no longer be holding you back!

This is amazing and inspiring..I hope to be doing this same thing some day. You should visit the Caribbean…Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados..etcc

Hey Kelsie – Thank you for the comment! Actually, I’ve spent a great deal of time in the Caribbean already, especially during the 4+ years I worked on board cruise ships. Barbados is one of my favorite islands, as is Dominica, St. Kitts, St. Maarten and Bonaire. There’s really not an island I don’t like in that part of the world 🙂

I just had to check this out! I keep promising myself that I will travel but always make money an excuse. I need to print this out for more constant inspiration!

Hey Hajra – Money is almost always the top excuse that holds people back from traveling. Hopefully after reading a few posts you can see how traveling often requires LESS money than most people spend during their normal routine at home!

And that’s not a bad idea to print this post out. The more you read it, the more you remember that your goal is possible!

This is a gem of a post Earl. Great to see it mapped out so clearly for people to see what is possible. It’s not always as easy as you make it look in regards to getting jobs, and building an income online, but the possibility is there for those willing to dive in.

@AdventureRob: I absolutely agree that a good deal of hard work is needed in order to get jobs, earn online income, etc, although I also think that the hardest part of the entire process is actually making the decision to head off into the world. The possibilities will appear but only if one takes that first step, which is a step most are afraid to take.

I appreciate the comment and good to hear from you!

Thanks so much for this post and the inspiration here. My wife and I are planning indefinite travel beginning next march. I wonder if you would be willing to share a bit more information on your Internet revenue? Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Safe and happy travels to you.

Hey Ryan – Thanks for the comment! I’d love to share more insights about my internet revenue although that will have to be in a separate post given the amount of information to discuss. However, it really is a complicated subject to tackle considering that there are thousands of ways to earn money online and what has worked for me certainly is not going to work for everyone.

For now, if you have any specific questions about online income, please feel free to send me an email and I’d be more than happy to give you some more information.

I was introduced to your website when I kept asking my friend “how does everyone do it? I want to do it, too!!” And I am so glad that I now have such a detailed answer. Oddly enough, I am currently teaching English in Costa Rica and want to travel more from here, but dont want to be committed to a job for an entire year. Your timeline gave me hope to go for the dream of travel and not choose ‘option B’.

So can I ask another question that I am sure you get asked a lot – have you found a place you could see yourself living in forever?

Hey Julia – Your question is a little tricky 🙂 I’ve found plenty of places around the world where I could see myself living for a long time, however, I currently have no interest in living in one place forever! I could easily spend six months here in Mexico or in India or Turkey…but that’s about my maximum amount of time before I start wanting to be somewhere new….

Maybe it will change one day but I’m not so sure!

Thanks for posting this. It was interesting to see the timeline and what all you have done!

This is a great post and I appreciate the transparency. I took a year off to travel and despite not being that careful with my budget, I was surprised by how little money I was spending. More importantly, I was also surprised at how much my lifestyle had changed, and how things that used to seem really important no longer mattered (except for always having the newest iPhone, I was no longer pining to keep up with the latest and greatest [fill in the blank]).

Hey Kris – You just perfectly summmed up the change in mentality that helps make extended travel possible. It becomes more worthwhile to spend money on a bus ticket or a week on an island or to fly to a new country than it is to purchase another product that we don’t really need. Once that change in mindset is made, the possibilities are endless!

Wow comments come in fast! I remember reading this yesterday and there where none and now over 100. I love the break down and just reading this made me want to purchase the ebook about cruise ship jobs. I looks like a lot of money could be made from being a tour manager.

@Bluegreen Kirk: Good money can be made as a Tour Manager, as well as in a bunch of other positions on board. It’s definitely a myth that all cruise work is low-paid and involves terrible working conditions.

And yeah, the comments did pile up on this post, which is great as I hope it really motivates others to get out there and make their travel goals reality!

until i read this post I still think getting money online through selling e-books & affiliate marketing is funny. but if you are the living proof, Earl there’s nothing wrong with learning more about this from you. Love your blog, glad that you’ve visited Indonesia!

@gabybali: There’s definitely plenty of people out there making a living in the exact same way. No shortage of examples at all! And yes, I have been to Indonesia. The time I spent on Sumatra included some of the most memorable travels of my life!

Earl, I think you and a couple of others have set the standard for teaching others how to travel around the world. Like others, I am amazed at how much you made on cruise ships. Working the QE2 must have been awesome! Honestly, in reading all the stuff you have done that is the one that jumped out to me.

In some ways, I envy those who can do this. It’s not that it can’t be done by other people but the most likely candidates for being nomads are typically single, young, flexible, and in their 20s. Throw someone who is older in there, it makes it a little more difficult. It could be done for a couple as well but it gets a little more difficult supporting two people. However, add a family in there and it gets even more difficult. Having a job, as boring and frustrating as it can be (trust me – I know), can be a good thing.

I know there are a few families out there (like soultravelers3) that are out there doing this. However, have you met any other families living the lifestyle you live? For me, I want to reach out to those families who just want to travel and I want to inspire them to do that. However, any advice or tips for families wanting to do this ( from your encounters with other families)?

Hey Jeremy – Working on the QE2 was awesome 🙂 It was such a classic ship, with it’s own distinct personality. Despite the leaky ceilings, despite door handles falling off and ropes and pulleys being used to set the gangways, every single crew member on board loved being on that ship!

As for the other part of your comment, it is of course more complicated the more people that are involved. Having only to look after myself makes things much easier. Over the years I have heard about and met plenty of families who are traveling long-term, from FamilyOnBikes.com to GotPassport.com to AlmostFearless.com. Many others I’ve met haven’t had blogs but there was a family of six I met in Nicaragua who had been traveling around the world for 2 years straight, a family of four I met in Indonesia who were traveling around the world indefinitely and even a family I met in India and who had been traveling and living around Asia for a few years already at that point. It’s more than possible.

And most of the families I’ve spoken to all mentioned one important thing. They all said that it was vital for them to receive input from all family members, regardless of age. The change in lifestyle had to be the decision of the entire family as did all of the important decisions that came along with such a change. The family I met in Nicaragua would ask their children where they wanted to visit or live next. And they would take turns traveling to the places that their children wanted. This way, the lifestyle never became boring to any of them and kept every member of the family interested in the adventure at all times. If everyone is invested in the lifestyle, many of the challenges that would otherwise present themselves, apparently disappear.

That seems to be good advice to me. And it seems to work as the families that I meet while traveling almost always have such positive energy. What an experience it must be for children to learn about the world first hand from such an early age!

this is totally cool! It just goes to show that you don’t have to be a rich or loaded entrepreneur to travel.

In fact, the travel lifestyle is a LOT cheaper than the normal grind of keeping fort (car payments, credit cards, house/rent, bills) if you can take the first courageous steps to unravel yourself from it!

I think the entrepreneur / “location independent” lifestyle definitely helps with travel/funds but being a full-time business person (I like to call it the entrepreneur on steroids) has its disadvantages too, because you spend most time working on building your business than travel experience, though you may be working from a beach to do so.. 😛

I guess I would like to have some sort of balance of both.

Hey Janet – I didn’t mention it in the post but you’re right, traveling is often significantly cheaper than life in the ‘real world’. And that’s possibly just by rearranging one’s priorities and how they spend their money. That’s really all it takes.

As for the business/travel balance, I’ve now found a good way to achieve a healthy mix. I’ll typically travel around for 2-3 months and then follow that up with a 3-4 month period where I live in one place, renting an apartment and catching up on work. This way, I spend half the year working less and traveling more and the other half working more and traveling less. So far this has worked out perfectly for me.

Good stuff Earl! Do you ever get bored of traveling though? I just came back from the other side of the world, and after 10 days, all I wanted to do was enjoy the comfort of my own home!

Hey Sam – So far I have not become bored of traveling. I’m honestly at my happiest whenever I’m in a new country and as a result, I feel more comfortable when I’m on the road. Also, now that I travel slowly, I spent several months in one place from time to time, which gives me a chance to enjoy the extra comforts of having my own place while still interacting with and learning from a new culture. That’s my ideal setup 🙂

SO COOL. I seriously admire the way you live your life, good on ya! I’m planning to take three months after high school and go to Australia on a working-holiday visa. Tips?

Hey Elizabeth – Your plan sounds like a good one to me! The working holiday visa scheme for Australia offers such a great opportunity. As for tips, I would recommend researching quite a bit and choosing a handful of places in Australia that seem most appealing to you. The country is huge and it will be impossible to see everything, especially if you want to work as well. So the best thing to do would be to pick a few places to visit, travel slow and enjoy the time spent in each of those places instead of rushing around trying to fit everything in to one trip!

Hey Earl, What a fantastic post and inspiring to many, I’m sure. I think from personally when I have asked you before how you do it, with so much confusion – it’s not that I don’t believe you or anything.

I think it’s more of the case that the individual will never know until they actually get out there and see the possibilities for themselves. Great story and I am extremely jealous of the culinary options you must have taken advantage of! 😛

Hey Anthony – I agree with you. It’s easy to read stories about what others are doing, but sometimes, that’s still not enough to convince someone that it’s all possible. The only true way that one can become convinced is to step out there into the world and start finding those very same opportunities that other long-term travelers have already been taking advantage of. Once they see for themselves what they can achieve, nothing can get in the way of their goals!

And food is definitely a huge part of my travels. You’ll be experiencing culinary wonders of the world soon enough 🙂

I spent three and a half months in Australia on a working holiday visa and thought it was the best idea ever… I could travel around and stop to work whenever I ran out of money. There were also lots of hostels that offered room and board in exchange for a few hours of work (I stayed for two weeks at one hostel, doing this… five hours to work, the rest of the day to play…).

Now, if you could provide advice on how to live this lifestyle with a husband and two little girls… 🙂

Hey Bonnie – The working holiday visa for Australia (or even New Zealand) is an excellent way to travel and earn some money at the same time. The possibilities are endless once you get that visa as there’s nothing better than legally working overseas. It certainly removes many of the challenges travelers face when they try to get under the table jobs in countries where they can’t obtain a working visa!

As for how to make it all happen with a spouse and children, I unfortunately don’t have much experience in that. I do know that it’s possible based upon traveling families I’ve met over the years but that’s a whole different ballgame than only having to look out for myself 🙂 If you do figure it out, I hope you’ll write a guest post for me so that we can share your secrets with others!

Hey Earl, it’s been a while since we have met up online 🙂 Great post and very clear. It’s basically the same system I’ve been following since I left the US in 1999, just with different jobs (teaching is the same, but instead of cruise ships on in the international development scene). I get asked quite a bit how I can possible afford my lifestyle and maybe I need to lay it out like you have as well. In fact I’m in Japan explaining to my parent’s in law how my life is possible. They seem to forget each day. Everyone here is scratching their heads wondering how I have 2 months to just sit in Japan to be with my (now born) son and wife 🙂 It is a great life!

I’m a bit slower on the online money making as I’ve been putting my efforts other places, but I still comfortably earn over $1,000 a month from my sites. It really helps to have this during the ups and downs of contract work. Keep up the great work inspiring people to get going.

Hey Toddy – It certainly has been a while. Congratulations on the birth of your son! It looks like I have some catching up to do 🙂

I know exactly what you’re talking about. No matter how normal a life of travel becomes to us, it still seems completely bizarre and mysterious to many others. But you’ve found your way, I found mine and other travelers have found theirs as well, offering no shortage of proof that such a lifestyle is more than possible. And like you said, you get to enjoy the benefits, even if others don’t understand how.

Congratulations again Todd! I’m really happy to hear of your wonderful news!

Hey Earl, this was a great post. Really. Awesome to see how others get to do this, and it’s actually giving me ideas has of how I will be able to achieve something similar. I will look out for you book for cruise ship jobs, sounds great. I’m leaving for a two year trip around Latin America next year, but after that who knows where I might end up. Maybe on a cruise ship for a while…..

Thanks again

Thanks so much Norm! And congratulations on your upcoming 2-year adventure. Spending that amount of time on the road is bound to lead you to many unique opportunities that could keep such a traveling lifestyle going. Of course, now that you know about the benefits of working on board cruise ships, it would be pretty much impossible for you to not achieve your goals. Good things will happen once you get out there…

Hey Earl, You are an inspiration mate. We are currently working really hard to create a lifestyle of travel, through our online efforts and also a bit of work along the way. Maybe they should have you as a panelist at the next TBU or TBEX!

Hey Anthony – Much appreciated 🙂 In all honestly, I would love to be a speaker and share my experiences with others in the hopes of motivating people to get out there and travel the world. Who knows, maybe it will happen one of these years.

And you guys seem to be well on your way to creating the lifestyle you want, so perhaps we can all be panelists at some point in the near future!

Earl, I am always curious about successful sites, I usually combine estimates from Quantcast and SEMRush to get the best estimate, but nothing comes up for Quantcast. In SemRush,I know those stats are not correct but it shows traffic pushed up around the one year mark. Did you see a surge of traffic come around the one year mark?? I am continuing to see the same pattern again and again with mine and others, that the traffic really picks up at the year mark. It’s sort of like Google releases and starts to put trust in your site around this mark. Like I say to people first starting out ” Never Fear, Wait A Year”

I know thats not want people want to hear, but it’s the truth in this game. They expect for dollar bills to come flying out in the screen in 4 months, give up and call the IM a con mans game. The work we put in now, will show up in a year’s time.

Hey John – To be honest, I don’t follow stats too much at all so I’m not too sure of when my traffic began increasing. My style has always been to concentrate on content as I simply believe that if this site can help others achieve their travel goals, the visitors will arrive. I’m sure there are equations out there and it does make sense that Google takes some time to trust a website but I’m not really sure how it all works. Like anything though, immediate results are difficult to achieve so it is important to realize that hard work today might take some time to actually pay off!

A helluva lot of disciplined saving and frugal living and planning it all out before you go broke seems to be the formula here. It seems to be working for you!

Nice one Earl. The timeline is similar to my own since 2000 but just with different jobs and an extended break in Hawaii to get a degree (and yes, I managed to get surfing as a legitimate part of my curriculum).

The main point I see is that the journey doesn’t stop just because you pause for a while here or there. As long as the prize is travel and you keep your eye on it, it just keeps going.

I love your response to those who say they want to begin (you tell them they already have). That’s the ultimate truth, every journey actually begins with the desire and it is only then that we take that first step with our feet that Lau Tzu so wisely told us of.

When you make it to Morocco or wherever I might be – you are certainly welcome Earl. ~Vago

Hey Vago – Many people think that starting a life of travel requires making some incredible plan or going through a long list of preparations when in fact, all that is required is making the decision to go for it. And once that thought enters someone’s head, the adventure has begun indeed. Sure, some people might end up turning around at some point, but for those who realize that they have already taken the first step, each following step becomes infinitely easier.

It certainly would be great to meet up somewhere. I’ve yet to make it to Morocco so perhaps that shall be the place.

By the way, well done with turning surfing into an educational requirement!

I can see a lot of resignations being handed in and plane tickets being purchased in the next few weeks because of this post!!!!

Really is awesome to see if listed like this.

Hey Forest – I guess I should have put in a disclaimer at the end of the post. I don’t want companies knocking on my door angry that I convinced their employees to quit and take off into the unknown!

Ha ha, at least you are not easy to find!

Great post, Earl. You’re officially my favorite travel blogger now. 🙂

Wow, that is quite an honor Vishal. Much appreciated.

Lunch is definitely on me if we ever cross paths! That’s not a bribe of course 🙂

Great post Earl! While I’m always well aware that travel isn’t very expensive, I’m always curious when it comes to the full time travelers how the manage to afford it! Thank you for sharing this information!

Hey Aaron – Before writing this post I realized that there was a bit of a ‘mystery’ as to how many of the long-term travelers out there survive on the road for so long. So I figured I would try to explain how I’ve been able to make it happen as best I could. I’m glad to know you found the information interesting!

This is a terrific insight into how you’ve managed to sustain this for so long! I’m planning on teaching in Korea next year so I can continue to travel – I’m not sure if I could do it for 12 years like you have done, but I know I don’t want to lead a conventional life and this shows that you don’t need to be wealthy not to. Thanks for sharing, and I’ll continue to read so long as you continue to write 🙂

Thank you Megan! I definitely plan to keep writing so I look forward to interacting with you some more.

Being wealthy is definitely not a requirement to travel the world, a fact that I know is hard for some to believe at times. Teaching English is always the best example as it allows any native English speaker to find work and live well overseas. All a person needs to do is apply!

On a side note, I also prefer the Golden Temple over the Taj Mahal 🙂

Very awesome stuff, Earl! Where in Playa do you live? I lived there in 06 on Calle 6 Norte and Avenida 40. Worked at the Royal Hotel (the big white one next to the Gran Porto). Hope all is well with you. Keep rocking!

Hola Grant! At the moment, I live near the corner of Avenida 25 y Calle 20, one block away from the La Mega supermercado. It’s not too far away from your old neighborhood 🙂

Any plans to come back down here? I assume you enjoyed your time living/working in Playa as I don’t hear of too many people who don’t enjoy it down here!

Awesome Earl! This was really nicely laid out, clear, and easy to follow. You’re so right, there are so many different angles and methods of earning while you continually travel or live abroad. It really mostly takes the pursuit of goals and some determination to make it happen.

Hey Mark – Determination is key. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who desperately wanted to travel the world and who then failed at that goal. The reason is that if you believe it will happen, you’ll be open to all of those different angles and methods of earning money that you mentioned. And once a person gets a taste of the opportunities out there, there’s nothing left to stop them!

Proof that a little cleverness with money goes a long way!

Hey Liv – Cleverness with money is the perfect way to describe it. All one needs to do is change the way they spend money in order to discover that a little amount can lead us straight to our wildest goals!

this post is giving me itchy feet… damn it.

@Heather in Lapland: Sorry about that 🙂 At least you’re already experiencing someplace different. Actually, you’re in one of the most unique regions of the world, so I’m quite sure that many people would love to be in your shoes!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for posting this. There are a million and one ‘How to afford long-term travel’ posts out there, yes, but rarely are they so clear cut and encouraging as this one. So again, thank you 🙂

That means a lot to me Naomi, and I’m happy to know that you found the post to be encouraging! My main goal really is to prove that what I’ve managed to accomplish is something than anyone else can accomplish too. No special circumstances are needed. Just a flight ticket and a determination to succeed!

Great post! I’m sure there will still be people who say “yeah, but. . . ” but we all know that is just excuse making because they’re too afraid to take that 1st step.

Hey Talon – That fear can be powerful and sadly keeps too many people from enjoying a more fulfilling life. And people can always make excuses, but that doesn’t change the fact that achieving a goal such as a life of travel is really as easy as saying you’re going to make it happen! I hope you’re continuing to enjoy the rain over there on Cozumel 🙂

Yes, yes, and yes. 😀 Articulate and backed up by your track record. I think often many people don’t see because they do not want to see. What if it’s not all like we’ve been told/taught? 😉

I look forward to following your journeys and exploits when I’ve time between mine 😉 😀

Thanks so much for sharing

@Maplemusketeer: I appreciate your comment! You bring up a great point. It’s often much easier to make excuses than it is to face up to the fact that we do have other options in life. We force ourselves to believe that there is no way we can achieve our goals when deep down, we know that nothing is really stopping us. And this is such a shame as we all deserve to live the lives we really want.

I shall have a look at your adventures as well and again, thank you for following along with mine!

Thanks for sharing your journey. Working on yachts is pretty lucrative too. That’s what I did for about three years and loved it. I met quite a few working on ships as well. It’s pretty easy to save up while working with free room and board. Congrats on living life on your terms 🙂

Thanks Jerri!

I’ve heard that working on board yachts is another excellent way to earn money and I’ve actually had quite a few people ask me how to get such a job (I must admit that I’m not really sure myself). As you mentioned, any job that pays you while providing you with free room and board is a job to consider as there is no better way to save money than to be in an environment in which you incur minimal expenses! The fact that you also get to travel around while being paid is just another bonus 🙂

Great post Earl. You show just how easy it is. We’ve done it for 14 years the same way. Just make it a working holiday. Earn money while you enjoy a different country and then travel on your breaks and in between countries. That is why we are big advocates of working holiday travel. You don’t have to save nearly as much, you can earn and spend the local currency and save enough just to get you to the next place. There is no easier way to do it!

Hey Caz – I think it all comes down to people believing that there is only one way to do something, including travel the world. It is easy to think that one must work online and be earning some incredibly high income in order to achieve such a goal and that there can’t possibly be other options that would allow someone to travel for 10, 12 or in your case, 14 years! But that’s obviously not the case at all.

Working holidays are a great way for someone to travel for as long as they want and all that’s required is enough money to fly to your first destination! Most people could come up with that amount.

I believe our lives are only as complicated as we, ourselves, make them or allow them to be – I believe we only don’t do what we allow fear to keep us from doing. Kudos to you – resourceful and not letting fear hold you back.

Hey Maria – Fear is exactly what keeps most people from achieving their goals, despite the fact that most of what we fear is nothing to fear at all. And the key is to break through that fear once, to take that step and realize that there really was nothing to be afraid of. Once that happens, we suddenly feel as if we can accomplish anything and we are ready to take the necessary steps to do so!

So the message is, cruise ships are an awesome place to work! It’s definitely inspiring to see all the places you’ve been.

Hey Scott – That is definitely one of the core messages 🙂 I’m telling you, I can’t recommend working on board cruise ships enough to anyone looking to obtain some freedom in life!

What an inspirational post Earl – it’s so interesting to see it all laid out like that, even though I knew the basics of how you’ve been able to travel. I look forward to hearing more about the train challenge. I know it ends in Asia and we’ve decided to spent the winter there so maybe we’ll finally cross paths?

Hey Erin – Hmm…that seems feasible to me. The challenge does end in Vietnam at the end of September and I’m currently working on trying to decide what to do after it is over. It seems like a waste to end up in Asia and not stick around for a while. Do let me know when you think you’ll be over there (and where) and hopefully, like you said, it will FINALLY work out!

I now know it is possible to travel long-term on very little and even earn a little along the way. But I still find it interesting to learn specifically how others have done it, especially someone like you who has been living this lifestyle for so long. Thank for sharing!

@The Travel Chica: Well, that was my goal… to show that long-term travel does not require a huge pile of cash! I also believe that the more stories one reads about how others are achieving their own goals, the easier it becomes for that person to find a way to achieve their own. That was a confusing sentence but I hope it made a little sense 🙂

Thank you for your comment as always!

Wow, that is awesome!

I think it is really interesting that you actually made money while you were traveling. Most people think that it will cost a lot to travel.

Also, as with other digital nomads, I have noticed that the point where it really becomes sustainable is when you create a product like an ebook. That is why I am working on one right now.

This would be a great post to feature in your sidebar as a “Start Here” category so people can have a jumping off point instead of getting lost in the current posts. Just a thought.

I’m enjoying the posts…

Thanks for that suggestion Hugh! I’m actually going to do that right after I finish replying to the comments.

About the eBooks… earning money online is definitely a good option, although I will say that there is infinitely more work involved than most people imagine. But like with anything, if you’re determined to succeed, all you need to do is continue learning and working hard. Eventually, you’ll make it happen!

Thanks for this wonderful summary post. I didn’t send an email and wasn’t wondering that much, but this just makes a lot of sense.

It’s great to see your journey and the reality that establishing a nomadic life is not dependent on how much money you have or have saved. Right now I’m working hard (some online projects) and planning my own nomadic life as I start a RTW in exactly 8 months.

Thanks for sharing your journey because it helps us, the ones that are about to take that step on taking a location independent lifestyle, that it is doable.

Hey Norbert – That’s so good to hear and eight months is not far away at all! Congratulations on making the decision to start a nomadic life 🙂

I like that you threw in the word ‘hard’ when you described how you’re working on your online projects. Hard work makes all the difference as it is important to realize that merely going through the steps is not enough to create a successful online project.

So nice to have it all spelled out like that – great post!

And yes, there are tons of ways to fund a traveling lifestyle – my own was to start my own little international tour company (specializing in Belize and Costa Rica – back when few had even HEARD of Belize.) I surely didn’t get rich, but it afforded me a most free-spirited lifestyle for 20 years and the ability to skip off to most any corner of the world whenever I liked.

And even now – retired, I still bring in a passel of rubles as a freelance site designer, and will soon head off for yet another global adventure – becoming an expat and teaching English in Vietnam!

In short, as you so brilliantly spelled it out:

The only thing stopping you from traveling the world is… YOU! (and your utterly lame excuses why it’s supposedly impossible)

Hey Dyanne: Thank you for sharing your experiences with us! It’s just more proof that determination and creativity are more important factors than a full bank account when it comes to living a life of travel. I really love that you’ve done such a variety of work over the years. And now you’re off to Vietnam to continue living the life you want…

Your story is quite inspirational for anyone who is still not convinced that long-term travel is possible!

It’s often pretty hard for some people to believe that it isn’t as impossible as they think. That doesn’t mean it’s easy though.

The key is consistently working for it, as you have clearly done!

Hey Matthew – It certainly does require a great deal of hard work to achieve such a goal. I won’t deny that at all.

I just want others to understand that the word ‘impossible’ is used far too often for situations that are actually very possible. And in terms of long-term travel, while it does require that hard work, that’s about all that’s needed to turn such a crazy goal into reality!

Working on a cruise ship sounds like a good way to make money and visit other countries. Never really considerd doing that before. But I’ll be quiting my job in only a few weeks time, and move to Asia. And hopefully turn into a constrant traveller as well 🙂

Hey Tijmen – Cruise ship employment does surprise people when they learn how profitable it can be. It’s always a good option to consider. Although, moving to Asia in a few weeks doesn’t sound so bad either. If there’s anywhere in the world to start a life of travel, Asia would be it!

Earl, I’m digging this post. It’s cool you put so much into this travel gig. I have been traveling for a few years now, but living in every place I end up. It’s been good good good. At the end of the year I’ll be peeling out for a year or more of indefinite bumming around. Lots to learn. Perhaps we will be in touch!

Hey David – It would be great to meet you out here somewhere! Where will you bumming around to?

And I also like the idea of living in places instead of just passing through. Actually, similar to you it seems, I prefer a healthy mix of both!

Earl, I found this post very interesting. I’ve often sctratched my head and wondered how some other bloggers are able to make it happen. I appreciate your candidness and honesty, given that money is such a personal topic. Having had the opportunity to witness your lifestyle firsthand, I can say with confidence that you are living the dream! 😉

Thanks Cam (and a late Happy Birthday as well!). Money is a difficult topic to discuss but I felt as if there weren’t enough posts out there that offered a closer look at exactly how someone made their long-term travels possible. Hopefully this did the trick!

As a loyal reader and a part time traveler myself, I have started the process into online income as additional sources of revenue to my normal day job. I found huge inspiration from a friend I met in Playa del Carmen who introduced a whole new world to me that I didn’t know existed, i.e. ebooks and affiliate marketing.

Maybe you can actually describe the process of getting these additional sources of income working for you (if you haven’t already in previous posts that I may have missed). How do you get an affiliate account with say eBay or Amazon, or any other company? Do you need to have a working website or business in place before you can start that kind of partnership? Some blogs like WordPress don’t support coded links that are needed to earn income via affiliate marketing. What are your suggestions in these areas? Are there costs involved in setting up these affiliate accounts?

For ebooks? Let’s assume you have an ebook you want to publish. What is the process in getting that online book to readers? Do you contact eBay, Amazon, or independent ebook websites? What is this step-by-step process? How do you handle the transactions? Do you do everything yourself or hire out third party company to handle everything?

I think if you show people the mechanics behind how you earn the income, then more people can follow in your footsteps. I like to use an old biblical phrase turned modern for this situation. Since I am a homebrewer, I like to say, “Give a man a beer, he’ll drink for the day. Teach him to brew beer and he’ll drink for a lifetime.”

Salud, Bryce

Hey Bryce – Those are all excellent questions you ask and of course are ones that I can answer. I have jotted down your comment and will work on creating a post that provides such information. The problem is that I could write 500 pages in response but I’ll do my best to provide as useful an overview as possible!

I’ll try to get such a post up within the next couple of weeks…

In the meantime, happy brewing!

Great post. It sure does get confusing when you’ve been to so many countries. Plus the memory starts to go once you hit 30yrs. ha ha…. only joking.

Hey Amelia – Yes it is all one giant jumble at times. I really had to sit down for a long time to create this timeline. I was checking emails, my passport, work papers from the cruise ships, etc. just to figure out where I was and when!

What an amazing nomadic life! I did not realize working on cruise ships could be so lucrative, or you could have so many weeks off. I am going to read your ebook about it to learn more.

I can’t start a traveling lifestyle until I finish university. You mentioned you did some teaching – did you have a teaching degree? How did your own education affect how and when you traveled?

Hey Patricia – Few people realize the benefits of working on board cruise ships. It’s such a great combination of good pay, world travel and long vacations!

With the teaching English, I did not have a degree, but I also didn’t teach in a school. Here’s a link to my post that describes how I went about setting up my own teaching operation in Chiang Mai: https://www.wanderingearl.com/how-to-fund-your-travels-with-creativity/

And in terms of my own education, it’s difficult to say what effect it had. It certainly helped me get the position of Tour Manager on board cruise ships. Apart from that, I’m not too sure it really made a difference. But with that said, I’m happy that I finished my university degree!

This is incredible and inspiring, Earl! I traveled the world last year with a missionary organization and it was the most unbelievable opportunity of my life. It taught me so much about helping and loving others, especially those in the poorest places. But one thing we were forced to learn (living on an extremely tight budget of between $4-10 USD daily) was that you can make do with anything, anywhere. Living tight was a challenge, but one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Now I am incredibly resourceful and looking forward to traveling extensively again. Thanks for the inspiration!

Hey Shannon – That sure does sound like an amazing experience you had! Living on $4-$10 USD per day is one way to quickly learn how to survive with very little. But more importantly, it helps you realize that travel can still be rewarding and fascinating without spending a ton of money. As long as you can get to your destination and cover your basic expenses, you are putting yourself in a position to explore and learn about a particular culture. Spending $50 to see a monument is not nearly as important as sipping tea with a local, something that can be done for pennies!

That’s amazing. It really is about having the guts isnt it. You’re my hero.

How did you make $2500 last 12 months?! Please fill us all in. Referring to 2001.

Hey Rob – In 2001, I spent 3 of those months as a volunteer English teacher in the mountains of India where my room and board were covered. Also, during the 3 months I spent in Thailand, I taught English once again in Chiang Mai while staying at a friend’s apartment. And in Australia, I also stayed with friends in their apartments, which kept my expense to a minimum. And finally, my flights to/from Asia were free with frequent flyer miles 🙂

I’ve updated the timeline now with these additional details!

Thanks for sharing, thats amazing! I always wondered how people do it, mystery solved.

I like your style Earl. I left New Zealand 7 years ago with $2000 “spending money” (I thought this was a lot ha!). But it was ok because my strategy has been to work abroad and slow travel.

Then I started working on cruise ships 1.5 years ago. But I don’t make close to what you make – maybe I need to shop around! (How many months is each Tour Manager contract?)

I should get my head about online income while I’m still on vacation!

I think the basic lesson is people should consider work AND travel. It’s more rewarding. And just simple common sense budgeting skills helps, eg. cooking instead of eating out…

Btw, just now realized why the Tour Manager on my last ship would burn through so much money when we were on land – haha!

Hey Roy – Haha….Tour Managers tend to do quite well 🙂 And they tend to get spoiled as well by all of the tour operators who wine and dine them every time they step foot into port!

Hey Roy – Yes, choosing work AND travel instead of work OR travel makes a huge difference. The two do not have to be independent of each other at all and in fact, when they are combined, the experiences tend to be even more rewarding.

As for Tour Managers, the contracts are generally 4 months for most cruise lines, with 6-8 weeks off in between contracts. Four months always seemed like the perfect amount of time spend on board a ship. I really have no idea how others in different positions can handle 8 or 10 month contracts all the time!

Wow, didn’t realize working on the cruise ships could be so lucrative. No wonder you wanted to spread the word via ebook!

Hey Dave – Haha…exactly! Too few people ever consider such employment despite all of the benefits, especially financial, that it can offer. I need to start my own cruise line!

I keep telling others that ask, that the most difficult step is to make the very decision. If you are still unsure, it will feel like impossible for so many reasons. Once they are ready mentally, preparation is suddenly achievable.

Hey Dina – It is easy to continue creating excuses and perhaps that is a sign that a person is not yet ready to take the first step. I just hate to see those excuses keep piling up so high that people feel they are never ready and end up not achieving their goals in life. I wish more people would realize that they really do have the ability to make extraordinary things happen!

I always enjoy reading about how people support their habits. You have quite a story. Maybe one day I’ll pick up your autobio on a bookshelf!

Currently I’m working out a deal with my company to let me work remotely. Thankfully all I need to be a web dev is a good internet connection and a decent monitor. Once that happens, it’s permanent travel for me!

Hey Adam – Seems like you’re in the perfect position to join the world of nomads! Working remotely for a company back home is another option that allows people to earn money while traveling the planet but it’s rarely an option that many people consider. Of course, the fact that you’re about to make it happen is just more proof that there are endless ways to become a permanent traveler. I shall look forward to reading about your nomadic adventures!

Great post!

I think the answer to people not understanding previously is that they find your blog, read a couple of posts, but are too lazy to scroll back and find out how you did it, easier to wing you an email. One thing in life I’ve learned is that people only take in an average half of what you say to them – guess it applies to writing too!

Despite that, I’m glad to read this. The thing which really comes across to me is that you are not dependent on your job/career defining who you are. So many people feel that they are nothing unless they can say “I’m a teacher/bank manager/accountant/whatever.” It’s a dependency in this day and age which we have to learn to reject regardless of whether or not we want to travel, because jobs just aren’t forever any more. To have discovered this early in life is a huge advantage for you, and indicates a real sense of security and knowing who you are, plus a really positive attitude – where there’s a will, there’s a way – in a real sense. You truly have made a success of your chosen lifestyle, and I love the tone of this post – that you are practical and not preachy about it.

Hey Linda – It’s interesting because I often (okay, always) have trouble trying to describe who I am/what I do because of the fact that I don’t want to use a job to describe myself. In the end, I usually stick with Permanent Nomad as I feel like a traveler above everything else.

I have learned that dropping our jobs from our own definition of ourselves leads to a sense of freedom and a feeling of confidence in our ability to achieve our goals. When defining ourselves through our jobs, we feel that our lives are limited to the responsibilities and goals of that position and not our lives and as a result, we feel that all of our other dreams are impossible to achieve.

One of my friends got a job on a cruise ship for the summer. Came back and bought a huge piece of land with the money he had saved. Said he was not paying tax, food and drink was included and there was also tips. This helped him to save a lot of money. Looking at your article Earl, it seems you did well from the cruise ships as well.

Hey Natalie – That’s what happens. For most nationalities, the income crew members earn on board cruise ships is tax-free and more than enough to return home and buy land, a house or even start a small business. Of course, that depends on where a person is from but even someone from a western country can earn enough to create quite a nice little cushion in life. The fact that crew members have virtually zero expenses is a major reason why such employment stands out among others that involve travel as well!

A strong currency does help! But i do envy you! Keep travelling and keep writing!

@Bodhisattva: A strong currency certainly does make it easier… I’ll agree with you on that point. But still, it’s not impossible to achieve even for someone from a country with a weak currency 🙂

Thank you for visiting the site and I appreciate your comment!

Hey Earl, I really enjoyed this timeline! In terms of generating “online income”, well, that’s not really my style nor do I think it’s sustainable for everyone. BUT, I do agree with you that there are many OTHER ways to make money while traveling. I think it is best to incorporate a passion or something that one would do anyways to generate income and the great thing is, with complete freedom and time on the road, one can become the best of the best at their passion! I would like to know what you think of “busking” AKA street performing as a means of constant travel? I was surprised when I went to Paris last summer after graduating school that I played at the sacre coeur for a hour or two and people were wondering where to put the euros (I didn’t put a jar out or anything, just played for fun). I will be working this next year to save $40,000-50,000 and then take the leap and see if I can busk my way around the world! Thanks for any input!

Hey Andrew – Busking is definitely an option and I’ve met several people in random places around the world who were doing just that. They would generally stick around one destination until they earned enough money to move on to the next and then they just repeated this process across the planet. Of course, there are some countries where this wouldn’t work simply because the people are not used to giving money to street performers but in general, I have no doubt you could create a route that would be successful.

I love the fact that you and other commenters have given examples of other non-online methods of earning money while traveling! If only I could play an instrument I would be willing to try out your method as well 🙂

Thanks so much for this post, Earl! I’ve read most of your other posts about how you fund your travels, but this one spells it out in a very concise way that’s really easy to follow and be inspired by. This is proof that there’s no magic formula you’re using – just hard work and putting money in the bank to feed your travel addiction.

It also sounds like working on cruise ships is a GREAT way to save money relatively quickly. Though, I think I’d end up blowing all my earnings on motion sickness pills… haha.

Hey Amanda – That’s what I was trying to achieve with this post. There is no magic formula at all and the methods I’ve used to sustain my travels are quite unremarkable and basic. Hard work will lead you anywhere you want!

And yes, working on board cruise ships is more than great. Also, you have nothing to worry about as crew members receive sea sickness pills for free and if you’re really prone to seasickness, you can also go to the medical center for a free injection to cure you 🙂

I’m about to take the first step, as you read in my latest post. For me, this post is really inspiring (just like any other your post). Thanks for the inspiration and great advise! Now all I have to do is.. just keep walking!!! 🙂

Hey Juno – Actually, you have already taken the first step, which is to make the decision to change your life. So congratulations for that!

I really am excited to see where your path leads 🙂

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Home » Articles » How to travel the world for life (and work while you travel)

Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. ?

written by Benny Lewis

Reading time: 16 minutes

Published: Jul 10, 2014

Updated: Jun 29, 2023

How to travel the world for life (and work while you travel)

Today, July 10th , is my 32nd birthday! But it's also my 11 year travel anniversary .

Back in 2003 I left Ireland this day with no return ticket, and 132 months / 574 weeks / over 4,000 days later, I'm still on the road with no home or place I can call a base. Everything I own in the world weighs 23kg/50lb and comes with me.

On my 8 year travel anniversary, I wrote my site's most popular post ever by sharing the 29 most important life lessons I learned while travelling the world. And last year on my 10 year anniversary, I took those top-10 life lessons and presented them in a professionally edited video to summarize my travels visually.

This year, I'm doing something different and sharing my most practical tips on how you can travel the world (long-term) like I have, without winning the lottery (or having a mega savings). All throughout my travels – for over a decade – I've paid my way from money I earned while travelling .

So, how do I travel the world?

First, you don't need to save up money for years before you can travel the world. So many people make this mistake in mentality, and as a result they put off their travel goals for years unnecessarily. In fact, starting a travel lifestyle right now is well within the possibility of many people. I realize that there are exceptions, and some people might not want to travel the world long term like I do, so today I want to give you a heap of ideas for how to manage your own travel goals, whatever they may be.

I'll tackle four key points:

• How to lead a cheap travel lifestyle
• How to score cheap flights
• How to get the cheapest (and sometimes free) lodging
• How to work while you travel

If you're really serious about starting a travel lifestyle, I'll also share the best links for further reading on travel hacking. To get you started, you can't get better than checking out Nomadic Matt , since I learned a lot of the strategies I now use myself from his book How to travel the world on $50 a day .

(Oh yes – since it's my birthday, as a present request I'll ask that you share this post on your favourite social media site ( Facebook wall, retweet , Google+ share etc.) if you found it useful. Thanks! 🙂

How to travel the world for cheap

Before we discuss how to travel cheaper, it's very important to tackle how to live cheaper . This applies to you right now, even while you are settled.

If you have expensive habits now in your settled life, those habits will follow you into your travel lifestyle and rack up unnecessary expenses. It doesn't need to be this way.

So how expensive is your current life? Before you start travelling, track your actual expenses now and see where they go. Do you eat out a lot? Spend a lot on fuel costs? Does most of your money go to car or home insurance payments?

The good news is that if you start travelling for the long-term, you can live cheaper in part because you'll no longer need to spend hundreds of dollars of month to pay for your car, its insurance, its gas… and all the other major expenses that comes with leading a settled life. When you think about it, with all of these major expenses, leading a settled life is expensive!

But if you're finding that the biggest sticker shock comes from your lifestyle habits, then you'll have to make some tough choices.

Can you cut back on coffee, cigarettes and beer in exchange for extra cash you can put towards train tickets to the distant corners of the world?

Not everyone can, or wants to. But if you can save just ten dollars a day by living a cheaper lifestyle … just 10 dollars a day! … that's enough to pay the cost of your entire monthly rent for a hut on the beach in India or Thailand.

Think about that for a minute.

You might consider making other cheap lifestyle choices, like keeping a vegetarian diet and learning to cook from home. In a lot of countries, you can rely almost entirely on the use of public transport instead of a car, or get around on a bike. You can share accommodation costs by having room-mates. You can choose to be happy with the current technology and clothes that you have instead of updating them every few months.

These changes can increase the amount of your expendable cash dramatically .

After you learn to decrease the cost of your life in general, this will absolutely spill over into savings for your travel life. Then, I recommend you:

• Follow these 25 travel on the cheap tips from myself and Graham Hughes (who has visited every country on earth on a shoestring budget)
• Get rid of all your stuff. Use sites like Ebay , craigslist , gumtree , go to 2nd hand shops, the options are endless. There is no physical item that you actually can't live without unless it is the clothes on your back, food, or your means of earning money (for me, that's my laptop). This will both give you a financial boost and allow you to travel with all your posessions and not need to pay for storage or rent back home.
• Learn how to travel with everything you own carried along with you.
• When eating in a country, don't forget to try to get a place with a kitchen if you can (many youth hostels have one) and cook your meals. Otherwise, try to eat out at lunch time instead of dinner, since many places do lunch specials. Cities like Berlin and Paris have great “business lunch” options that offer several courses for just a few euro. Also, do indeed visit tourist sites, but leave the area when it's time to eat, since you'll be paying tourist rates. Find out in advance where the locals eat .

My number one biggest tip by far for how to travel for cheap is to learn the local language . This will save you heaps of money. I honestly feel this is one of the main reasons that I've been able to afford to travel so long – I've avoided paying the “English speaking tax”, and trust me, that tax exists pretty much everywhere that English is not the native language.

How to find cheap airfares

When your general lifestyle is less expensive, the next biggest expense people imagine is flights .

Flights, I'll admit, can cost thousands of dollars. But if you know where to look, there are several ways to make these dramatically cheaper than you think. Here are some rules to live by when checking out flights.

• Never go to the airline's own website. Instead, use “meta-search engines” while check and compare the rates for multiple travel sites at once. Also, try to book tickets around 3 months in advance, and choose flexible criteria – especially for the exact day of travel. See what the cheapest day is during the week or month around when you can fly. You can save hundreds of dollars by flying even a single day earlier or later! And try multiple searches on several of the following websites until you get the best results:
• www.skyscanner.com
• www.momondo.com
• www.kayak.com
• www.expedia.com
• www.hipmunk.com  [This site ranks flights by “Agony”, taking inconvenience into account]
• For long-haul, cross continental flights, use  flightfox.com. For $49 they can save hundreds or get you nice upgrades. Definitely worth it for many people. I got Lauren's return flight (from US to Spain to live with me for 3 months, then from Ireland to US for Christmas) for $450/€330, because of some strange rule where we added an extra leg to Canada 2 days after she landed in DC that she didn't even take. This website did the research for us in a way you wouldn't get on the above meta-searches.
• If your goal is to fly a lot, you can use “Round-the-world tickets”, which can cost about €3,000+ depending on the number of continents you want to visit. You can book through  airtreks.com  or flightcentre.com , but it's better if you can save miles through credit card sign-ups. This is more appropriate if you want to travel the world for a year and know where you want to go in advance. Using the above options and buying individual tickets still tends to work out cheaper most of the time though, and allows for more flexibility.

How to find cheap or free lodging

For those of you travelling very fast and moving around once every few days, travel will be more expensive, but you can reduce costs by getting last-minute prices on hotels on sites like laterooms.com ,  lastminute.com , hoteltonight.com , priceline.com ,  hotwire.com  (name your price – you won't know where you'll stay until you've paid).

I can understand why people think long term travel is not possible for them, when they think it's a $1-200/night hotel stay, but the fact of the matter is that long term travellers do not tend to stay at hotels .

Instead, we:

• Stay for free with couchsurfing , servas (reference letter required, mostly US senior travellers), hospitality club , globalfreeloaders ( I use Couchsurfing a lot for its search feature to find language learning partners too )
• If you speak Esperanto, Pasportaservo.org is like the above sites with the only catch being that you communicate with your hosts in a language you can learn in a few weeks ! ( Here's how well my girlfriend did with just an hour a day for 6 weeks )
• Use wwoof.org  (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms – about €20 per country membership – you work on a farm and get free accommodation, as well as the amazing experience)
• House-sit at housecarers.com ,  mindmyhouse.com ,  caretaker.org – This is more suited to stays of a month or longer; you get free accommodation in exchange for keeping an eye on pets, gardens, and other chores.
• Stay in youth hostels – as low as just $5/night in countries like Thailand, cheaper across Europe. Find your options on hostelworld.com or hostelbookers.com .
• For stays of a few days or a few weeks, I highly recommend staying in a serviced apartment. For mid-range budgets this is my go-to choice. Find your home away from home on 9flats.com ,  airbnb.com ,  homeaway.com , roomorama.com , or wimdu.com .
• Go camping! You are only paying for the space and can access water, electricity and other services as required in specialized campsites for a fraction of the cost of alternatives.
• Here is more on how I find accommodation while travelling

How to work while travelling

Most people think they have to save their pennies for months or years in advance until they have “enough” money to travel and live off of for a while. Unfortunately, this can only last you so long (unless you have won the lottery, in which case send a donation my way! 😛 ). The fact is that you can earn while on the road.

There are two ways to do this:

1) Get a job on-location

If you are an EU citizen you can do this automatically in any other countries in the EU. In most other situations though, you need to obtain a visa in advance.

As an Irish citizen, I got a J1-visa to work in America twice when I was a student (this was part of the 6 months of travel I did before my 11-years-non-stop travel, so I am actually approaching 12 years depending on how you count it…) I applied for this through the Irish organization USIT . They also offer Irish people working visas in many other countries. Your country may have an equivalent service.

In most other situations, you may have to see in advance what your options may be. If you are a student, your university most likely offers study abroad options, and definitely use your network of friends and colleagues to see if any of your fellow students have experience working abroad.

If you are looking for a job on your own, it is actually usually much easier to get hired by a company  before  you travel, and then have that company arrange the visa. This was a possibility for me the first time I went to the US, because I worked as a summer school teacher for a university, which was experienced in hiring foreigners, so I actually didn't need to arrange the working visa myself.

Finally, have a look at the country's embassy website and see what they recommend for working visas.

What work can you do on-location?

The easiest way by far that English speakers can work abroad is to do it as an English teacher . In countries were English teachers are in high demand, the school will arrange the visa and all logistics for you.

I've done lots of work as an ESL teacher myself, all based on an initial weekend affordable TEFL certificate I got from i-to-i , and then building upon my experience earned to get me higher paid jobs with time, eventually working for prominent schools like Berlitz and Wall Street Institute. I've also worked the following jobs on location, to give you an idea of your options (your options expand immensely if you learn the local language – don't forget to sign-up to my newsletter for a week long crash course if you aren't sure how):

• Youth hostel receptionist
• Store manager
• Photographer
• Basic office work
• Engineer (what my undergraduate degree was in – in this case I worked as an intern)
• Go Kart race controller
• Computer repair / on-site tech support
• Lots of English teaching
• On-site translator

You may find other work depending on your work skills and the opportunities available.

2) Get a location independent job

I worked on-location for my first years travel, but the catch was that my wages remained stagnant for all work other than teaching English, since I moved every few months and had to start over from scratch again.

That's why the future of many jobs (not all of course) is that they can be based online , and you can take them with you around the world!

Here are a few ideas:

• If you are good at languages, and willing to go through training for it, become a freelance location independent translator . I found my initial work on proz.com
• Teach your native language online . You can become a teacher on italki for instance and take your students with you wherever you go. My girlfriend did this for her first months of travel with me, and was working full-time with the work she got.
• Become an online coach – while I do this myself to help people expand the popularity of their websites and craft their language learning projects, there are many ways you can implement this. I once met someone who earned her living coaching people to give up smoking (her background was in psychology) over Skype!
• Write an e-book or sell a course online. My site fi3m premium supports this completely free blog (no spammy irrelevant advertising anywhere here – that's a really poor way to do anything but cover hosting costs) through a video course and resource database. I used to sell an e-book too. You can distribute this yourself if you put the time into creating a really high quality free site/Youtube channel/podcast or similar that sends traffic to it. You can also sell it directly on Amazon (self published) or through various other channels. Note that traditional publishing is not a good way to earn a living for most people – my book is an international best seller and this does not translate into money in my pocket because of traditional publishing logistics.
• Take a skill that you have and see if it works online. Here is a list of 64 ideas to work online depending on the skill. You can also see if job openings are available through various online advertising boards, or a job outsourcing site like Upwork .

What kind of working visa do I need?

The question of how you manage the logistics of working online is tricky because there are no international laws that govern such things. What many of us do is simply set ourselves up legally and officially in our home country – so we have a bank, and pay taxes there.

Then we stay in a country on a tourist visa – a grey line depending on where you go. I actually have a business visa while I'm in America right now, since its immigration tends to be the most strict about what I can and can't do here – this is despite the fact that I am not actually technically employed for any of my time here, but my book tour is business of sorts. In most countries though, a tourist visa is OK for online workers. (Disclaimer: Please don't take what I'm saying here as legal advice – I accept no responsibility if you run into issues!)

You aren't legally working in the eyes of many countries as you are not taking any money or employment from its citizens, only spending, as any tourist would. In case you are wondering, the “3 months” in my blog title comes from the 3 month visas I typically have as my limit in most places 😉

How do I set myself up as a business?

Whether you should operate as a freelancer or start your own business depends on too many factors for me to cover here, most important of which being the kind of work you'll be doing, but you can contact a lawyer in your home country if you are unsure.

You can receive payments directly to your bank account (when I was a freelance translator, my clients were European and bank transfers within Europe are free – working with American clients is a pain in the ass to be honest because they are one of the few first world countries that still insist on printing your money on dead trees, i.e. snail-mailing checks/cheques).

Another solution is to set up a pro or business paypal account, but keep in mind that you do pay fees for many transactions and withdrawals.

When everything is combined – working and travelling long-term is easier than you think

A really cool benefit of working location independently is that you can earn in a strong currency like the euro/dollar/pound and spend in a cheaper country where that money will take you really far. Leveraging currency differences is another thing that allows “technomads” to travel so extensively.

The combination of everything I've said in this post, namely

• SPENDING less through a minimalistic lifestyle
• Finding cheaper flights through a bit of research
• Finding cheaper or free accommodation, especially through slower travel
• Working online and earning in a stronger currency, while spending in a weaker one

Means that long-term travel is absolutely sustainable. I break some of these rules sometimes, like this year I'm travelling very fast on my book tour, and accommodation is much more expensive as a result, but flights are still cheap, we eat in as often as possible, we earn online, and we generally don't spend much otherwise.

This kind of fast-travel wouldn't be sustainable for me in the long-term, but we'll be back to three month stays later this year, and back to saving plenty for intensive periods like this.

Benny Lewis

Founder, Fluent in 3 Months

Fun-loving Irish guy, full-time globe trotter and international bestselling author. Benny believes the best approach to language learning is to speak from day one .

Speaks: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Esperanto, Mandarin Chinese, American Sign Language, Dutch, Irish

Have a 15-minute conversation in your new language after 90 days

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How To Live A Life Of Travel: Tips To Getting Started

Introduction

Traveling the world is a dream for many, but it often seems out of reach. However, with the right mindset, planning, and some smart money-saving strategies, it’s possible to live a life of travel and explore new places on a regular basis. Whether you want to take a gap year, become a digital nomad, or simply make travel a priority in your life, this guide will provide you with valuable tips and insights to help you get started on your journey.

Living a life of travel is not about being a tourist. It’s about immersing yourself in different cultures, learning from the locals, and gaining a deeper understanding of the world we live in. It’s about stepping out of your comfort zone, embracing the unknown, and creating unforgettable memories along the way. So, if you’re ready to embark on a life-changing adventure, let’s dive into the steps that will help you make your travel dreams a reality.

Step 1: Creating a Mindset for Travel

Before embarking on a life of travel, it’s important to develop the right mindset. Traveling requires a sense of curiosity, flexibility, and adaptability. Here are some tips to help you cultivate a travel mindset:

• Embrace the Unknown: Travel is all about exploring new places and experiencing different cultures. Embrace the unknown and be open to new experiences. Step out of your comfort zone and allow yourself to be surprised by what the world has to offer.
• Be Flexible: Travel plans don’t always go as expected. Flights get delayed, itineraries change, and accommodations may not always meet your expectations. Learn to adapt and go with the flow. Being flexible will make your travel experience much smoother and enjoyable.
• Embrace Minimalism: When living a life of travel, it’s important to pack light and minimize your belongings. Embrace minimalism and let go of material possessions. Focus on experiences and memories rather than accumulating things.
• Appreciate Cultural Differences: Each destination has its own unique culture and customs. Approach different cultures with an open mind and a desire to learn. Be respectful of local traditions and customs, and try to immerse yourself in the local way of life.

By cultivating a mindset of curiosity, flexibility, and appreciation for cultural differences, you’ll be well-prepared to embark on your travel adventure. Remember, travel is not just about ticking off destinations from a bucket list. It’s about personal growth, self-discovery, and expanding your horizons. So, start embracing the travel mindset and get ready for the journey of a lifetime!

Step 2: Saving Money

Saving money is a crucial aspect of living a life of travel. Here are some practical tips to help you save money and make your travel dreams a reality:

• Create a Travel Fund: Start by setting up a separate savings account dedicated to your travel goals. Allocate a portion of your income each month to this account and watch your travel fund grow over time.
• Cut Unnecessary Expenses: Take a close look at your monthly expenses and identify areas where you can cut back. Cancel unused subscriptions, reduce eating out, and make conscious choices to save money on everyday expenses.
• Research and Compare Prices: When booking flights, accommodations, and activities, always research and compare prices. Use travel search engines and websites to find the best deals and discounts.
• Travel Off-Peak: Consider traveling during off-peak seasons when flights and accommodations are usually cheaper. Avoiding peak tourist seasons can save you a significant amount of money.
• Stay in Budget Accommodations: Instead of luxurious hotels, opt for budget accommodations such as hostels, guesthouses, or even camping. These options are not only more affordable but also offer unique experiences and opportunities to meet other travelers.
• Cook Your Own Meals: Eating out can quickly add up, especially in popular tourist destinations. Save money by cooking your own meals whenever possible. Visit local markets and grocery stores to buy fresh produce and ingredients.
• Use Public Transportation: Instead of relying on taxis or rental cars, make use of public transportation. Not only is it cheaper, but it also allows you to experience the local way of getting around.
• Take Advantage of Travel Rewards: Sign up for travel rewards programs offered by airlines, hotels, and credit card companies. Accumulate points and miles that can be redeemed for free flights, accommodations, or upgrades.

Remember, every dollar saved brings you closer to your travel goals. Be disciplined with your spending and have a clear understanding of your priorities. By implementing these money-saving strategies, you’ll be able to make your travel dreams a reality without breaking the bank.

Step 3: Planning Your Itinerary

Planning your itinerary is an important step in living a life of travel. Having an organized plan ensures that you make the most of your time and maximize your travel experiences. Here are some tips to help you plan your itinerary:

• Research Destinations: Start by researching different destinations that you want to visit. Consider factors like weather, culture, attractions, and safety. Make a list of places that align with your interests and prioritize them based on your preferences.
• Set a Realistic Travel Duration: Determine the length of your trip based on your available time and budget. Consider how much time you want to spend in each destination and how many places you can comfortably visit within your travel duration.
• Allow for Flexibility: While it’s important to have a rough itinerary, allow for flexibility in your plans. Leave room for unexpected discoveries, spontaneous adventures, and opportunities to extend your stay in a place that captivates you.
• Consider Travel Logistics: Take into account travel logistics such as flight connections, visa requirements, and transportation between destinations. Plan your itinerary in a way that minimizes unnecessary travel time and expenses.
• Prioritize Must-See Attractions: Identify the must-see attractions in each destination and prioritize them in your itinerary. This way, you can ensure that you don’t miss out on the highlights of each place you visit.
• Create a Balance: Strive for a balanced itinerary that includes a mix of popular tourist spots, off-the-beaten-path gems, and local experiences. This will give you a well-rounded travel experience and a deeper understanding of the destination.
• Consider Slow Travel: Instead of rushing from one place to another, consider incorporating slow travel into your itinerary. Spending more time in fewer destinations allows you to truly immerse yourself in the local culture and experience the true essence of a place.

Remember, planning your itinerary is not about creating a rigid schedule, but rather a roadmap to guide your travel journey. Be open to changes and be willing to adapt your plans as you go. With a well-thought-out itinerary, you’ll be able to make the most of your time and create unforgettable travel memories.

Step 4: Choosing Accommodation

Choosing the right accommodation is a key aspect of living a life of travel. It’s important to find a place that suits your needs, budget, and travel style. Here are some tips to help you choose the perfect accommodation:

• Determine Your Budget: Before starting your search, establish a budget for accommodation. This will help narrow down your options and ensure you stay within your financial means.
• Consider Your Preferences: Think about what type of accommodation aligns with your travel style. Do you prefer hotels, hostels, guesthouses, or vacation rentals? Consider factors like privacy, amenities, and the social atmosphere.
• Read Reviews and Ratings: When researching accommodations, read reviews and ratings from previous guests. This will give you insights into the quality of the property, cleanliness, customer service, and overall guest experiences.
• Location, Location, Location: Consider the location of the accommodation and its proximity to attractions, restaurants, public transportation, and other amenities. A central location can save you time and money on transportation.
• Check for Amenities: Determine what amenities are important to you. Are you looking for a kitchenette, Wi-Fi, a swimming pool, or a fitness center? Make sure the accommodation offers the facilities that will enhance your travel experience.
• Book in Advance: Popular accommodations can fill up quickly, especially during peak seasons. To secure the best options at competitive prices, consider booking your accommodation in advance.
• Consider Alternative Accommodation: Don’t limit yourself to traditional accommodation options. Consider alternative options like house-sitting, couchsurfing, or homestays. These can offer unique experiences and opportunities for cultural immersion.
• Ask for Local Recommendations: Reach out to locals or fellow travelers for recommendations on accommodation. They may be able to provide valuable insights and suggestions based on their own experiences.

Remember, the right accommodation can greatly enhance your travel experience. Take the time to research, weigh your options, and choose a place that suits your needs and preferences. By selecting the right accommodation, you’ll have a comfortable and enjoyable base to return to after your explorations.

Step 5: Packing Essentials

Packing efficiently and including the essential items is crucial to ensure a smooth and hassle-free travel experience. Here are some tips to help you pack smart and make the most of your luggage space:

• Create a Packing List: Before you start packing, make a comprehensive list of all the items you’ll need for your trip. This will help you stay organized and ensure you don’t forget anything important.
• Pack Versatile Clothing: Opt for clothing items that can be mixed and matched to create multiple outfits. Choose versatile pieces that can be dressed up or down and are suitable for different weather conditions.
• Consider the Destination’s Climate: Pack clothing appropriate for the climate of your destination. Research the weather conditions and plan accordingly, whether it’s warm, cold, or varies throughout your trip.
• Bring Travel-Sized Toiletries: Instead of carrying full-sized toiletries, invest in travel-sized containers or purchase travel-sized versions of your favorite products. This will save space in your luggage and comply with airline carry-on restrictions.
• Don’t Forget Travel Adapters and Chargers: Ensure you pack the necessary travel adapters and chargers for your electronic devices. Different countries have different plug configurations, so it’s essential to be prepared.
• Roll Your Clothes: Rolling your clothes instead of folding them can help save space and prevent wrinkles. This packing technique also allows for easier organization and access to your items.
• Bring a Daypack: A lightweight daypack is invaluable for day trips and exploring your destination. It can carry your essentials like a water bottle, snacks, extra layers, a camera, and a guidebook/map.
• Carry Important Documents: Keep all your important documents, such as passports, visas, travel insurance, and itineraries, in a secure and easily accessible place, such as a travel wallet or a document organizer.
• Consider the Baggage Allowance: Familiarize yourself with the baggage allowance and restrictions of your chosen airline. Be mindful of weight limits and dimensions to avoid excess baggage fees or having to repack your bags at the airport.
• Leave Room for Souvenirs: If you plan on picking up souvenirs during your travels, make sure you leave some space in your luggage to bring them back. Consider packing a foldable duffel bag or leaving some extra room in your suitcase.

Remember, packing efficiently is all about prioritizing the essentials and being mindful of space. By following these tips, you’ll be well-prepared for your journey, allowing you to focus on enjoying your travel experiences to the fullest.

Step 6: Navigating Transportation

Getting around efficiently and cost-effectively is essential when living a life of travel. Here are some tips to help you navigate transportation options in your destination:

• Research Transportation Options: Before you arrive at your destination, research the available transportation options. Consider public transportation systems, such as buses, trains, trams, and metros, as well as ride-sharing services or renting a car if needed.
• Use Local Apps and Maps: Download local transportation apps or use reliable online maps to navigate public transportation networks. These apps provide real-time information, route planning, and fare details, making it easier for you to get around.
• Get a Transportation Pass or Card: In many cities, transportation passes or cards can help you save money and simplify your travel. Look into options like day passes, weekly passes, or reloadable transportation cards for convenience.
• Consider Walking or Cycling: Exploring a city on foot or using a bicycle can be a great way to immerse yourself in the local atmosphere and save money on transportation. Many cities have bike-sharing systems available for tourists.
• Book Flights Strategically: When booking flights, consider alternate airports or nearby cities to find cheaper fares. Be flexible with your travel dates and use flight search engines to compare prices and find the best deals.
• Research Local Driving Regulations: If you plan on renting a car, familiarize yourself with the local driving regulations and requirements, including the need for an international driving permit or specific insurance coverage.
• Be Mindful of Scams: Be cautious of scams targeting tourists in transportation hubs. Research common scams in your destination and be aware of fake taxis, unofficial transportation operators, or individuals looking to take advantage of travelers.
• Ask Locals for Advice: Locals are often the best source of information when it comes to transportation tips. Ask for recommendations on the most efficient routes, when to avoid rush hours, and any local transportation hacks.
• Plan for Airport Transfers: Research airport transfer options, such as shuttle buses, taxis, or public transportation, to get to your accommodation conveniently and safely upon arrival.

Remember, efficient transportation can greatly enhance your travel experience by saving you time, money, and unnecessary stress. By understanding the transportation options and planning ahead, you’ll be able to navigate your destination with ease and make the most of your adventures.

Step 7: Immersing Yourself in Local Culture

One of the most enriching aspects of living a life of travel is immersing yourself in the local culture. Here are some tips to help you embrace and experience the authentic culture of your destination:

• Learn the Language: Making an effort to learn a few basic phrases in the local language can go a long way in connecting with locals. It shows respect and opens up opportunities for meaningful interactions.
• Try Local Cuisine: Food is an integral part of any culture, so don’t miss the opportunity to indulge in local cuisine. Sample street foods, visit local markets, and try traditional dishes to get a taste of the local flavors.
• Engage with Locals: Strike up conversations with locals whenever possible. Ask for recommendations, join local activities or events, or even consider participating in a homestay to immerse yourself deeper in the local way of life.
• Participate in Cultural Activities: Research and participate in cultural activities and festivals happening during your visit. It could be attending traditional performances, joining cooking classes, or learning traditional arts and crafts.
• Respect Local Customs and Traditions: Familiarize yourself with the local customs and traditions, and make an effort to respect and adhere to them. Be mindful of appropriate dress codes, etiquette, and cultural practices.
• Visit Off-the-Beaten-Path Places: Explore beyond the tourist hotspots and venture into lesser-known neighborhoods and areas. These off-the-beaten-path places often offer a more authentic glimpse into the local culture.
• Support Local Businesses: Opt for locally-owned and operated businesses, such as restaurants, shops, and accommodation. This not only supports the local economy but also gives you a chance to interact with locals and learn more about the community.
• Learn About History and Heritage: Dive into the history and heritage of your destination by visiting museums, historical sites, and cultural landmarks. Understanding the past can provide valuable insights into the local culture.
• Practice Cultural Sensitivity: Be sensitive to cultural differences and customs. Avoid any actions or behaviors that may be disrespectful or offensive to the local culture. Observe and follow local norms and practices.
• Document Your Experiences: Capture your experiences through photographs, journaling, or blogging. Reflecting on your travel experiences can help you retain memories and share them with others.

Immersing yourself in the local culture allows you to gain a deeper understanding of the destination and creates meaningful connections with the people and traditions. By embracing the local culture, you’ll create lasting memories and have a more authentic travel experience.

Step 8: Staying Safe While Traveling

Ensuring your safety while traveling is paramount to fully enjoy and make the most of your journey. Here are some tips to help you stay safe during your travels:

• Research Safety Information: Before heading to your destination, research safety information provided by reliable sources like government travel advisories. Familiarize yourself with potential risks, local laws, and any cultural practices to be mindful of.
• Secure Your Belongings: Keep your belongings secure at all times. Use locks for your luggage, invest in a hidden money belt to carry valuables, and be cautious of pickpockets in crowded areas. Leave unnecessary items and expensive jewelry at home.
• Be Aware of Your Surroundings: Stay alert and aware of your surroundings, especially in unfamiliar areas. Avoid walking alone in poorly lit or secluded areas at night, and trust your intuition if a situation feels unsafe.
• Use Reliable Transportation: Opt for licensed taxis or ride-sharing services when traveling. If using public transportation, be cautious of overcrowding and keep an eye on your belongings.
• Keep Important Documents Safe: Make copies of your important documents such as your passport, visas, and travel insurance. Keep the originals in a secure location, and carry copies with you while exploring.
• Stay Connected: Ensure you have a reliable means of communication, such as a local SIM card or access to Wi-Fi. Share your itinerary with family or friends and keep them updated on your whereabouts.
• Stay Informed of Local Scams: Research common scams in your destination and be aware of any new ones that may arise. Be cautious of strangers offering unsolicited help, overly cheap deals, or distracting tactics.
• Follow Local Laws and Customs: Respect and abide by the local laws and customs of the country you’re visiting. Familiarize yourself with any cultural or religious practices to ensure you show appropriate respect.
• Stay Health-Conscious: Prioritize your health and well-being by staying hydrated, eating safe and clean food, practicing good hand hygiene, and being up to date on necessary vaccinations.
• Trust Your Instincts: Your instincts are a powerful tool to help you stay safe. If a situation feels uncomfortable or unsafe, remove yourself from it and seek assistance or advice from local authorities or trusted individuals.

Remember, staying safe while traveling requires vigilance, awareness, and preparation. By taking proactive measures and being mindful of your surroundings, you can focus on enjoying your journey while minimizing potential risks.

Step 9: Dealing with Travel Challenges

Traveling inevitably comes with its fair share of challenges, but with some preparation and resilience, you can overcome them and continue enjoying your journey. Here are some tips to help you deal with common travel challenges:

• Stay Calm and Flexible: When faced with unexpected situations like flight delays, canceled bookings, or itinerary changes, it’s important to stay calm and be flexible. Take a deep breath, assess the situation, and adapt your plans accordingly.
• Have a Contingency Plan: It’s always a good idea to have a backup plan in case things don’t go as expected. This can include alternative accommodation options, extra funds for emergencies, and a list of local contacts in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
• Reach Out for Help: If you encounter challenges during your travels, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Seek assistance from hotel staff, local authorities, or fellow travelers. Many people are willing to offer guidance or support in times of need.
• Keep Important Contacts Handy: Save important contact numbers, both local and from your home country, in your phone or write them down. This includes contacts for your embassy or consulate, travel insurance provider, and emergency services.
• Stay Positive: Maintaining a positive mindset can go a long way in overcoming travel challenges. Remember that setbacks are a part of the journey, and dealing with them can lead to unexpected experiences and personal growth.
• Learn from the Experience: Every challenge can be a learning opportunity. Reflect on your experiences, identify what went wrong, and consider how you can prevent similar issues in the future. This will make you a more prepared and savvy traveler.
• Take Care of Your Well-being: Travel challenges can be physically and emotionally draining. Prioritize self-care by getting enough rest, eating nourishing meals, and engaging in activities that help you relax and rejuvenate.
• Stay Resilient: Travel challenges are a part of the adventure. Embrace the opportunity to develop resilience and problem-solving skills. Remember that overcoming challenges can lead to some of your most memorable travel experiences.
• Celebrate Small Victories: When you successfully navigate a travel challenge, take a moment to celebrate the small victories. Acknowledge your ability to adapt and overcome obstacles, and let it fuel your confidence for future adventures.
• Stay Persistent in Pursuing Solutions: Don’t give up easily when faced with challenges. Keep seeking solutions, exploring alternatives, and asking for assistance until you find a resolution. Persistence is key to overcoming travel obstacles.

Remember, challenges are an inevitable part of travel. By staying calm, flexible, and optimistic, you’ll be better equipped to handle any difficulties that come your way. Embrace the journey, learn from the challenges, and keep your sense of adventure alive.

Step 10: Embracing the Travel Lifestyle

Living a life of travel is not just about reaching your destination; it’s about embracing a way of life that prioritizes exploration, learning, and personal growth. Here are some tips to help you fully embrace the travel lifestyle:

• Stay Curious and Open-Minded: Approach each destination with a sense of curiosity and an open mind. Embrace the opportunity to learn about different cultures, traditions, and ways of life. Be humble and willing to challenge your own preconceptions.
• Embrace Spontaneity: Leave room for spontaneous adventures and serendipitous encounters. Allow yourself to deviate from your original plans and seize unexpected opportunities that may arise during your travels.
• Practice Mindful Travel: Be fully present in each moment and appreciate the beauty of your surroundings. Practice mindfulness by immersing yourself in nature, engaging with locals, and savoring the unique experiences that each destination offers.
• Document and Share Your Journey: Keep a travel journal, take photographs, or start a blog to document your travel experiences. Sharing your journey with others not only allows you to relive the memories but also inspires and motivates others to embark on their own adventures.
• Connect with Fellow Travelers: Seek out opportunities to connect with other travelers on the road. Join online travel communities, attend meetups, or participate in group activities. Sharing stories and experiences with like-minded individuals can create lifelong friendships.
• Give Back to Local Communities: Find ways to give back to the communities you visit. Support local businesses, participate in responsible tourism practices, and get involved in volunteering or sustainable initiatives that benefit the local environment and society.
• Embrace Minimalism: Traveling often requires living with fewer possessions. Embrace minimalism by focusing on experiences rather than material things. Adopting a minimalist mindset can bring a sense of freedom and reduce the environmental impact of your travels.
• Keep Learning and Growing: Travel is a constant opportunity for learning and personal growth. Embrace challenges, step out of your comfort zone, and push yourself to try new activities and experiences that will expand your horizons and broaden your perspective.
• Find a Balance: While it’s exciting to constantly explore new destinations, it’s important to find a balance between travel and rest. Take breaks, practice self-care, and allow yourself to fully appreciate and reflect on your travel experiences.
• Embrace the Unknown: Finally, embrace the unknown and embrace a life of travel with an open heart and a sense of adventure. Embracing uncertainty and stepping into the unknown can lead to some of the most transformative and memorable experiences.

By fully embracing the travel lifestyle, you’ll create a fulfilling and enriching journey that goes beyond mere sightseeing. Embrace the joy of exploration, embrace cultural diversity, and embrace the transformative power of travel. Let your travels shape you as a person and inspire you to continue exploring the world around you.

Congratulations! You have now gained valuable insight into how to live a life of travel and embark on unforgettable adventures around the world. By following these steps, you are well-equipped to pursue your travel dreams and make them a reality.

Remember, living a life of travel is about more than just visiting new places. It’s about cultivating a mindset of openness, curiosity, and flexibility. It’s about immersing yourself in local cultures, embracing the unknown, and seeking personal growth through transformative experiences.

From creating a travel fund and saving money to carefully planning your itinerary, choosing accommodation, and navigating transportation, each step plays a vital role in ensuring a smooth and fulfilling travel journey. It’s important to prioritize safety, stay resilient in the face of challenges, and fully embrace the travel lifestyle.

As you embark on your travel adventures, remember to keep an open mind, connect with fellow travelers, and give back to the communities you visit. Cherish each moment, practice mindful travel, and capture your memories to cherish and share with others.

Travel has the power to transform our lives. It broadens our perspectives, teaches us invaluable lessons, and allows us to connect with people and cultures from around the world. So, pack your bags, stay curious, and let your wanderlust guide you to new horizons.

Start living your dream of a life of travel and create memories that will last a lifetime. Happy travels!

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10 Tips For Living A More Adventurous Life

By: Author Robyn Robledo

Posted on Last updated: March 2, 2024

Ready to live a more adventurous life? Pretty much every day for the last 8 years, we have traveled to new adventure destinations to hike, climb, ski, bike, surf, and more. However, we didn’t always live an adventurous life.

We used to not even camp!

For the first twelve years of our marriage, our vacations always revolved around a condo in Hawaii. It wasn’t until our fourth child was born that I got the itch to start living a more adventurous life.

Our days now revolve around adventure. Best of all, by modeling an adventurous life, we are raising kids who are passionate about outdoor adventure, which means that they too are learning to pursue more self-growth, mindfulness, and purpose by living an adventurous life.

Living an adventurous life has created so much happiness and fulfillment in my life and I know it can for you too!

Living an adventurous life doesn’t mean you have to give up all your routine and creature comforts. In this blog, I’m sharing 10 things you can do to add more adventure without having to sell all your belongings or move into an RV like we did in 2015.

“Self-fulfillment, personal growth, and aligning with your purpose are the best outcomes of living an adventurous life!”

If you find yourself with a bad case of wanderlust but are scared to take the first step, here are 10 tips to help you add more adventure to your life and discover if the grass is greener for you on the WILD side.

Step 1: Desire, it’s a must

Do you have the desire to be adventurous?

Desire is the first ingredient if you want to be living an adventurous life.

When you set out with the DESIRE to see new things, to meet new people, to experience more, the universe will conspire to make it happen.

For me, the desire started as a curiosity .

I wondered… What do national parks look like? Would my kids would like hiking? What it would be like to spend nights around the campfire?  

That same curiosity is still the driving force behind all our travels today.   

Desire is the backbone for all accomplishments.   If you don’t want it, you won’t work for it.  

Conflicting desires, or lack of desire, can also become a major source of conflict in a relationship years down the road.  Take it from me, figure out your desires now, and talk to your significant other about them.  

Related : My spouse didn’t like travel at first.

Step 2: Start Small

Before we started camping, road-tripping, and traveling abroad, we just had bonfires once a week at Fiesta Island in the summer.

At the time, my kids were young, and just the excitement of packing the van with firewood, a barbecue, a chair, and food was adventurous.  

I honestly didn’t even have the desire at the time to be as adventurous as I am now.  

One thing just led to another and six years later I’m in Barcelona complaining about being bored because there are no waves to surf, rock walls to climb, or trails to follow.  

Getting to this point of adventure was only a matter of taking a lot of baby steps. It’s a journey of discovery and being willing to take detours and backtrack when needed.

Along our journey, we did a lot of weekend trips at local campgrounds and short weekend trips to the desert.  I look at my life a series of ninety-degree turns. 

One thing always leads to another and it wasn’t until many years later that my crazy obsession for road trips and waking up in a new location every day took root.  

Step 3: Push Yourself

Small steps are important, but you have to build on them and take bigger steps if you want to progress.

Seriously, for our first road trip, I rented a 35-foot Class A, handed Victor the keys, and said “We’re going to the Sequoias!” 

He white-knuckled it the entire drive up and was positive a bear was going to crawl into the RV window while we were sleeping and maul our children.

It was great for us though.

We learned so much about ourselves on that trip and quickly realized that we needed more nature in our lives.

If we had stayed in our comfort zone of only camping locally, we would’ve missed out on this growth and so many adventures that have taken place since then.

Step 4: Find a WOW Factor

Our first few road trips weren’t easy. Mishaps happen . They still do. But having that WOW f actor on your trip helps keep everything in perspective.

On one of our first long road trips, we blew a trailer tire at the top of a mountain. It took an hour to find out how to access the spare, then we blew another trailer tire an hour later right before Phoenix (no spares now), and barely hobbled to drop the trailer at a tire center in Phoenix at midnight.

It was exhausting, stressful, and a bit costly, but on that same trip, we camped on the shores of Lake Powell having huge bonfires under what felt like a million stars with bats zipping overhead, spent a day inner tubing and water skiing on Lake Powell, enjoyed our first trip to Zion, and rock climbed at The Pit in Flagstaff.

If we had just camped locally at the nearby beach, we would’ve had fun, but it might not have been enough fun to offset the stress and cost of two tires. 

Step 5: Get Off The Beaten Path

I’ve found t he more off-the-beaten path I can get, the more I enjoy my adventures .

Take hiking for example. The further we go off the beaten path or well-worn trail, the bigger the wow factor is. National Parks are a good place to test this. If you hike the easy footpaths, they tend to be very crowded. But as soon as you venture to the moderate to strenuous hikes, the crowds tend to thin and the rewards for your effort begin to rise exponentially .

Related : Best hikes in Idaho

Step 6: Rationalize Your Fears

We all are scared of something, myself included.

What if I get stung by a scorpion in Costa Rica? What if I fall while climbing? What if my kids get sick in Bali? What if I see a snake while hiking?  

I have all these fears and more. But what keeps me from not giving in to them is rationality .

I take calculated risks. I plan out scenarios. I play my odds.

And for a lot of things I just tell myself that if it’s out of my control, it’s not worth wasting energy worrying about. 

I know how hard it is though to do all that because I’m married to a worrier. He’s gotten a lot better, but he still gets nervous anytime we move–whether it’s halfway across the globe, from one state to another, or even one European village to another. 

He no longer gets nervous at places we’ve already been to and now asks to go back to these familiar places.

Assessing the risk is very important. You don’t want to start rock climbing on your own if you’ve never rock climbed before. But rock climbing on top rope with a guide is extremely safe .

Some of my all-time favorite hikes have a great deal of exposure (meaning you are close to the edge) but it would be extremely hard to fall off of these hikes.

The mind can play crazy tricks and it’s up to us to slow down those racing thoughts and pounding heart rates to assess the actual risk .

Tip: If you are afraid of heights, practice overcoming that fear without your kids around at first. One is because you don’t want to project your fears onto them. And two is that the thought of something happening to our kids brings out our worst primal fears and it will be hard to work on overcoming your fear of heights when you are worried about your child falling off. 

Related : Overcoming Fear: How to master your adventure mindset

Step 7: Set Yourself Up For Success 

When it comes to outdoor sports adventures like surfing or climbing, not only is repetition key but s o is setting yourself up physically for success .

Make sure you have a little sugar and protein. When you get nervous, you burn through your sugars very fast.  I recommend you have a cookie or bar in those situations, but make sure to follow it up with a fat or protein like nuts, jerky, or salami so you don’t get the follow-up low blood sugar either.  

Also, make sure you’ve gotten a good night’s sleep before you tackle a new activity.   I love ONNIT Total Human supplements.  It boosts your recovery and helps me get a good night’s sleep.  

If you find yourself getting low blood sugar or hungry very often, you might want to address your adrenal health and take some easy steps to feel better.

Related blog : Adventures To Do In Kauai

Step 8: Get in Better Physical Shape

Also, get yourself in the best physical conditioning that you can. It’s important to build an appropriate amount of strength, flexibility, and endurance for your next adventure. Plus, living an adventurous life can take a toll on your joints and muscles. Learning to manage those aches and pains will make it so that you can go on adventures often.

I wrote an entire book on how to get in shape to tackle bigger adventures. Download it for free now!

Download my book for FREE!

Ready to get stronger and tackle bigger adventures in the outdoors?   In this book I share with you the workouts, nutrition, and mindset strategies I’ve used to create a life that centers around playing & adventuring in the outdoors.

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Step 9: Try Different Elements 

If you still have trouble being adventurous, maybe you haven’t found your element.

For me, I had no idea how happy being in the mountains was going to make me. I didn’t realize this about myself until I was almost 40.

Maybe you’re a water person or maybe you need snow. Whatever it is, make an effort to be in the element that makes you happy.

Step 10: Hire a Guide

Taking baby steps, having the right mindset, creating a wow factor, and being physically fit are all great ways to live a more adventurous life. But sometimes it’s nice to take the worry and pressure off by just hiring a guide. That’s how I got hooked on climbing. I was lucky to have the perfect guide who set me up for success and nurtured my skills safely and progressively. 

I may seem extremely adventurous but I’m not when I compare myself to most climbers and surfers. The thing is that I love the action of doing it more than the competitiveness of being the best or even really good . I’m not on strict training for my sports, but when I do them, I am giving it my all .

The cool part is that every year I do improve .

Join us for an adventure and wellness retreat and let us help you feel confident in the outdoors.

The most important part of living an adventurous life is to always improve your skillset.

It’s never too late to start living an adventurous life.

Last summer, in Maple Canyon, I met the camp host who was in her sixties and was shredded! She told us how she climbs 5.13 regularly and that she had only been climbing for 24 years, which meant she was about the same age I was when I first started climbing (38). 

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Home » Budget Travel » EPIC Guide to Full-Time Family Travel (2024)

EPIC Guide to Full-Time Family Travel (2024)

Can you really travel full time as a family? 

Spoiler alert: YES! 

Once you’ve seen the world and journeyed through the lessons that only travel can teach, life is never quite the same again.  It is hard breaking away and working against the status quo, but if you want this for your family you really can make it work.  

NOW is an exciting time to start traveling as a family.  More families than ever before are finding fun and exciting ways to travel together.  More people are working remotely and taking their children with them as they explore the world. 

Some take a year out and travel fast across the globe on family gap years. Others join fast growing culture of van life families, or relocate through jobs such as teaching to travel one country in depth.

…And then there is what we do, which is full time backpacking with kids . 

You absolutely can travel full time as a family in any way you choose, with just a bit of research and planning, and that’s where we come in. Throughout this blog, we’re going to tackle some of the big questions and share some of our best long term family travel tips and tricks to help you travel with less stress and more magical moments.

So let’s dive right in to it all–the good, the bad, and the magnificent! This is everything you need to know and more about long term, full time family travel.

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How We Began A Life of Full Time Family Travel

Having kids isn’t for everyone but if something inside you is drawn to the indescribable chaos, adventure and joy of making your own little humans, then you may be wondering if you have to choose between a life of freedom and starting a family. Is it possible to travel with young kids, on a budget, and have magical, family-enriching, experiences?

After 10 years of nomadic living as a couple , Pete and I nipped back to England in between our backpacking adventures.  We were staying in a friend’s attic.   I noticed I kept protectively placing my hand across my front, I felt a little different.  Almost on a whim, I bought one of those little sticks you pee on.  Taking the test felt a little silly and as I was about to throw it away, I noticed a second stripe appearing. 

Honestly, it wasn’t the Hollywood moment I had maybe been expecting, I didn’t know how to feel.  I headed back up to the attic to show Pete.  He didn’t know I was taking a pregnancy test, he had never seen a test before, so it took a moment for him to realise what this meant. As a smile appeared across Pete’s face, I knew everything would be ok.

Let’s fast forward to taking sensible jobs, getting a tiny terrace house, and learning how to do a ‘weekly shop’ at Aldi to the exhaustion and euphoria of keeping our new baby alive.  We fell for what everyone told us, and out of fear of screwing up our kid, for the first time in our adult lives, we jumped in line and tried to do all things adulting the way you’re meant to.

The longer we did it, the more empty and forced life felt.  We were trying to squeeze into a tiny box, literally and figuratively and nothing about it felt right.  Once you have learned there is more to life, how can you go back to the so-called norm and worse yet, bring up your children as though there isn’t a world of love, adventure, and enriching experiences out there?

It felt scary and we had no idea of what it would look like, but whilst Hudson was still a tiny baby we booked a flight to Kazakhstan — even though not everybody would consider it to be one of the most baby-friendly destinations …

We stuffed some nappies in a backpack, and set off on a 7-week trip that would be make or break. 

As we traveled overland through Kyrgyzstan , Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, hitchhiking, staying in yurts, and connecting with locals who were bemused and loved up to meet our baby, we learned more about being a family than we ever had before. 

Hitting the road as a family was one of our most challenging adventures, but it showed us what is truly important. We loved being around each other so much; as we adventured through new life experiences together, we genuinely grew closer as a family. 

Of course, we were super tired sometimes but parenting IS hard, and being out amongst nature, immersed in new experiences and cultures, energised us.  We would sooner be exhausted after a long day of hitchhiking followed by jumping on a horse to get into the rural mountains of Kyrgyzstan than the equally exhausting banalities of a domestic routine.

After returning from our first family adventure, we felt thrown back into a faux ground-hog-day-esque life where we barely got to see each other.  I remember the first time Hudson’s little eyes teared up as Pete left for work.  This triggered that initial question – “Is there another way to live as a family?”

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Is it Healthy and Safe for Children to Travel the World?

Is it possible to travel with kids as a responsible parent wanting to bring up happy healthy humans? Surely kids need a base and to go through formal schooling? We wrestled big time with our own and others’ expectations of what family life should look like. 

Once you have kids, the general consensus is to get back into a corporate job, ship your kid out to institutionalised care and learning and spend snatched bits of time together on weekends.  If you can carve out time to plan it, maybe even go on the occasional holiday together.

One of our biggest revelations has been that family IS the base and safe place for kids and creating the opportunity for young children to spend more time with their parents is absolutely a good thing.  Being a present, loving parent intentionally invested in your child’s upbringing is more important than where you choose to live.  We have seen consistently, deeply and truly that we are our children’s safe place and stability.

What is Worldschooling?

So what about schooling? …allow us to introduce you to Worldschooling. 

The idea of worldschooling is a relatively new and exciting approach to children’s education.  There is however a lot of controversy around defining worldschooling, but most would agree that in essence, it is using the world as your classroom; this has become true for us. You can explore epic destinations in depth and use them to genuinely connect with a topic and put it into a real-world context.

Much like homeschooling, there is no one established worldschooling curriculum, rather an exciting new movement of determined and innovative parents dynamically investing in their children’s education in a way that is true, good, and healthy for their children.  Much of worldschooling breaks away from the damaging ‘one size fits all’ approach to education.  Every family will differ in their approach depending on their children’s needs, stage in relation to education, and ultimately what they think is best as a parent.  

Some worldschooling families take the unschooling approach where they believe you learn through experience and need no formal approach at all.  Some stick strictly to their country’s national curriculum and use enriching travel experiences to bring it to life.  There are many alternative curriculums that can be tailored to your travels, some resources are designed for the parents to deliver, and others are designed for your child to learn online.

Parents worldschooling young children tend to use resources such as Twinkl , ABC Mouse and Reading Eggs to guide their child’s learning and even form lesson plans.  Parents worldschooling older children tend to gravitate and teach towards more formal curriculums such as IGCSE online (International GCSE) or MYP curriculum, both of which are excellent foundations for higher education.  Some worldschoolers don’t believe in working towards more formal education and will mentor their child more directly towards turning a particular passion into their vocation.

How We Make Worldschooling Work for Us

Personally, we are passionate about lifelong learning and love to approach education holistically.  Pete and I were both secondary school teachers prior to becoming digital nomads.  To be honest we’re pretty geeky.  Yes, we adore all the enriching learning experiences that could only come about through schooling whilst traveling, but we also have a passion for academia and love delving deep into all kinds of topics with our children. 

We are mindful of the UK’s national curriculum as we teach, but ultimately find there is a world of education beyond the syllabus and love exploring that as we travel.  Our dream is to equip our children to understand and access as much of the world as they want and need to thrive and find true happiness in whatever they choose to do as they grow up.

At first, the idea of worldschooling was overwhelming.  Our eldest was due to start formal schooling the year we set off and to be honest it was scary signing the papers to essentially say we would become responsible for his education.  Less than a year into full-time family travel and worldschooling, we feel it is one of the best decisions we have ever made and are excited to keep going. 

We have a 5 year old, 3 year old and are presently backpacking with another baby on the way.  We get to spend so much more time together and work out what truly works (and doesn’t work!) for us as a family.

How Worldschooling Fits in With Our Travels 

The beauty of it is that you choose. From hiking with kid carriers to hitchhiking in remote valleys, anything can be on the curriculum.  You can build a life and education that works best for your children.  One thing that surprises us most is how quickly you can get through the more formal subjects such as Maths and English when teaching your children directly.  This creates a lot of flexibility in your schedule. 

Many families tend to do more formal schooling in the morning and then explore where they are in the afternoon as a basic structure.  Based on location, interests and opportunities you can take days to learn by exploring the world firsthand. 

What most will only ever read in textbooks, you can go visit and learn about in person.  Remember that epic feeling of going on a school trip, where you actually leave the school for the day to really learn about something? You get to do that as often as you want. 

Thinking that your children need to be in formal education is one of the biggest barriers to full time, long term family travel.  It is something you will want to read more deeply into as you work out what is best for your children.  There are so many options it can seem overwhelming to get to grips with, but rest assured that it is absolutely possible to make it work. 

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What Full Time Family Travel Really Looks Like

Every family’s journey and experience will be unique.  Sharing travel stories and moments is what connects and inspires us as a travel community, so here is a little insight into our journey into full time family travel.

Following a season of giving away pretty much everything we own, we set off with only what we could carry on our backs.  We have one check-in bag for the whole family.  Choosing faith over fear we took that one-way ticket east in August 2021.  Though the pandemic was starting to calm down, we still found ourselves on an almost empty plane, escorted through airports with people in hazmat suits, crazy amounts of paperwork, and of course, relentless nose excavations.  

Most of the world was still requiring long, intense hotel quarantines, which we know have been intense for fellow travelers, but this is a good first example of where travel with kids is different. We knew it was just not an option to keep two wild and free bubs in a room for two weeks.  So we were stoked to get on Thailand’s unique quarantine program where after the first night, we were free to explore the island during the remainder of the 2-week quarantine.

Courage, Compassion, and Culture

We are now more than a year and a half into full-time family travel and we definitely made some mistakes along the way.  We thought we needed to adapt our travel style slightly and slow down .  It turned out we needed to adapt our travel style a lot and slow down A LOT.   We went from staying in a new place most nights and using overnight buses as accommodation to learning that one month of high pace backpacking followed by one month of slow down and plugging into a culture works well for us. 

This allows us to get to explore epic intrepid places as a family but also slow down before we burn out and really connect with a culture.  From living with a traditional tribal family in rural Vietnam to enjoying Island life in a small Thai village, the months where we stopped to live in a place have become some of our most meaningful travel memories. 

We genuinely learn so much about travel from our children.  I certainly wish I had learned to travel slower sooner, you may tick off less experiences, but the ones you do are more special and honestly, the kind you actually want to do.  As a family, you can’t waste time and energy going somewhere just because you’re ‘meant to’.  We never did this much before anyway, but when traveling with kids you weigh up even more carefully if it’s something you really want to experience as a family. 

We also find we connect way more with locals.  One of my favorite little travel moments was when our toddler scampered up into the bamboo hut of a Bajau tribe family because he saw a toy car.  Everyone just burst into laughter, no common language was needed–the giggles and connection were instant.

Babies are renowned for making up their sleep patterns as they go.  We have seen a lot more sunrises than we did pre-kids. One morning when our baby woke at 5, in an effort to give me a little more rest and keep my inner Medusa at bay, Pete took our early little waker for a walk and found himself with a mountain temple to himself for sunrise.

Coffee shop catch-up days have also become a key part of our adventures.  Until recently, we had no idea that this was even a thing for backpackers without kids.  How did we miss this?  I don’t care if it doesn’t sound cool or intrepid, I love these days.  Granted, we have to be really careful as to which coffee shop we choose, but when we find a kid-friendly one and have a much-needed catch up on work, schooling and life day, we feel rested and reset as a family.

Our kids have taught us to slow down and look for meaning in ways we would never have thought to before.  It may sound cliche but we honestly love seeing the world through their eyes.

People often ask if traveling with kids is exhausting.  The truth is parenting is exhausting and there is no escaping that, you might as well be somewhere beautiful.

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How We Afford Full Time Family Travel

This is one of the questions we get asked all the time.  The short answer is we saved hard while in England and now work online.  Over the years we’ve done a range of things, but now we’re doubling down on our family travel website .  I used to make quite a bit of money on social media, but took a step back from it before we set off to really think about what we put out there. 

We did a lot of soul searching and landed with ‘not wanting to make social media our main income’ as we want to keep it real, and often in social media, real doesn’t pay as well.  We decided to focus more on our family’s YouTube channel as you can capture the highs and lows, the big and the small things more honestly.  We chose to do this from the heart in the hope of creating a happy wholesome little corner of the internet where we can bring people into our journey as a family.  A few surprisingly viral videos later and it is also really helping with our income too.

Where in the world do you actually stay?

This is one of the biggest questions to work through and will look different for every family.  

If you get the balance wrong with this one, you’re going to whack through your money faster than you can imagine.  Finding budget accommodation for a family is so much harder than finding budget accommodation for solo or couple travel. 

We have picked up and worked out some great ways to get nicer, more spacious places to stay even on a small budget. Deciding where to stay will of course depend on the size of your family, your desired level of comfort, and how long you intend to stay, BUT along the way we’ve learned some tips and tricks on how to find the best hotels for kids that can help every family.  

Being flexible and willing to try and test what works for your family to begin with can really help you save money in the long run.  We have found that when we’re traveling faster, we’re happy to bunk into twin rooms together as it’s just somewhere to ditch bags and sleep whilst we go and explore.  We have had longer stints of doing this, but it does tend to be less restful and if we know we’re slowing down or need to get work done, we tend to book triple and quad rooms and even apartments so we can have that little extra space.

Quick top tip : ‘Family rooms’ often come at a premium price when they’re not much different from the hotel, guest houses, or hostels’ triple or quad rooms.  Always watch out for this.  Hotel booking websites are great for finding what’s available, but if you’re staying longer, contact them directly and make a deal, often they will include the kids for free if you do this.

Housesitting , Couchsurfing, Airbnb, and Vrbo are all great if you need more space and you can usually contact the host to work out deals and set up.  If you have younger children and a bigger budget ‘Tested by Tots’ is great for finding accommodation with all things toddler such as high chairs, potties and toys.  Hostels can be surprisingly family-friendly.  A private room in a hostel is usually cheaper than any hotel and this way you get community and all the perks of a hostel, but still the safety and privacy of a private room.  Always check the age restrictions, but mostly they are very welcoming to families.

From budget accommodation to splashing out on dream stays, finding genuinely kid-friendly places to stay can be a nightmare at times.  After years of trial and error, we have worked out some tips that can help every family find better accommodation as a family. Honestly, we really wish we had worked out a lot of this sooner.  It is something you really need to get to grips with, as much of it isn’t as obvious as you might think.

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Tips for Full Time Family Travel

It is always great to pick up tips and hacks for full time family travel, but ultimately, once you set off, you will find what works well for you.  Every family is unique as is every journey, but hopefully, these tips will give you some actionable tools to help boost your confidence if you are working towards traveling full-time family nomading.

Downsize to upsize

Downsize your possessions to upsize your world!

It has been the best feeling giving away pretty much everything we own to travel light.  The more you give away or sell your possessions, the more you realise you just don’t need them.  This is especially true of all domestic, baby, and kid stuff you are constantly sold. Make room to lighten up the kid’s backpacks .

Whether you are planning a family gap year or to actually set off indefinitely, try to get to a point where you own little more than you actually need.  I advise you to do this early in the process of preparing to go for two reasons.  Firstly, you probably have more than you realise and secondly, it’s great to get rid of loads of stuff and then live without it just to see you never needed it.  Just a heads up, It will always take longer than you think, so make this a priority.

Get some savings behind you 

It takes longer to save for long term travel as a family and you will probably want a bigger safety net if you’re traveling with kids.  Some save harder for longer and work out remote work as they go, while others establish their remote work before they set off.  

Surround yourself with a community that inspires you 

It is so hard breaking away from the norm and you will have some hard days that may make you doubt your decision to travel full-time as a family.  This is why we are big believers in building connections with other traveling families and surrounding ourselves, where we can, with inspiration and community.  A great way to kick start this is to get to know some epic and inspirational family travel bloggers that are making it work. 

Choose the perfect starter country for your family  

So whilst you COULD jump in at the deep end and backpack across Kyrgyzstan on horseback, there are so many other countries that are better to find your rhythm and build your confidence in. 

Some of the best budget starter countries for family travel that offer adventure, culture, beauty, great food and just enough convenience in terms of travel and basic family necessities are Thailand, Indonesia (Bali), Morocco, Costa Rica and Greece.  Our number one pick for many reasons would be Thailand.  But you really need to know where to go and how to make longer-term family travel in Thailand work for you.

Try some bigger trips whilst you still have a base  

If you are longing to travel full-time and long-term, give it a test run before you set off. Pick a country slightly out of your comfort zone and travel it on a budget you know you could afford longer term  Go further than you have traveled before each time, and rest assured that while flying with kids might take some getting used to, it only gets easier as you go along. 

Snacks  

Wherever you are in the world, most parents would agree on the necessity of snacks in surviving travel with kids.  As an adult, you can just about push through hungry and skip meals, but that’s just not an option with kids. 

Often you can find yourself arriving late and unable to find any open restaurants, so having a stash of things you know your kids will always eat is essential.  We almost always have a big bag of oats, seeds, dried fruit, and UHT milk in our backpack.  We also now spend more time stocking fresh food before long journeys, anything to keep the hangry at bay.

Don’t go too cheap on insurance

We’ve often scrimped on this in the past or only really focused on a decent medical for the absolute worst-case scenario.  Please don’t do this if you’re traveling with your family.  If something happens with your kids you need to know you’re well-insured. 

Travel insurance is more complicated for families and you will need to do a bit more research to work out what is right for your family.  There are a great range of travel insurance options but as you’ve probably started to notice it’s always a touch more complicated to get it right for a family.  Get into the small print and make calls if you’re unsure before you take out a policy.

I know I have said it before and I will say it again, mostly just because I need to remind myself, too.  Whatever your travel pace was pre kids, slow it down.  I mentioned that we love a good catch-up day.  Catch-up days (and even just chill days) are so important for families, scheduling them in helps to avoid travel burnout .  It will take time to find a pace and rhythm that suits you and your family, try not to overdo it to begin with.

Stay connected

Staying connected with friends and family has never been easier.  Zoom, Whatsapp, Facetime, Messenger–there are loads of great options.   If you are trying to stay connected with not-so-tech-savvy relatives, have a few practice runs before you leave.  Pick a time and regularity that works well for your relationships. 

It can also be a nice touch to take photos of loved ones to help your kids keep that connection.  Letters and postcards with little updates from your kids hit different in a digital world.  We found they can be a nice way for our kids to consolidate their experiences and, of course, equally nice for far away family members to receive.

Take turns, dream team!

A huge part of making this work is developing a team dynamic within your family.   Do everything you can to be on the same page as your partner and within that, make space for both of you to have your alone time.  On the most essential level, we find we need to make work time for each other, where one of us has a day with the kids whilst the other works. 

We both work a lot in the evenings at this stage, but independent work days are essential too.  It’s important to keep very clear and open communication between each other,  no holding resentment, absolute honesty over everything.  Everything works better when you lead with kindness and understanding.

You can also support each other by building in time for each of you individually to recharge in your own way. Loving each other this way is healthy for each of you as individuals, as a couple AND it helps you sustain a healthy and happier family dynamic as you travel.

Getting Insured BEFORE Setting Off As a Family

ALWAYS sort out your backpacker insurance before your trip. There’s plenty to choose from in that department, but a good place to start is Safety Wing .

They offer month-to-month payments, no lock-in contracts, and require absolutely no itineraries: that’s the exact kind of insurance long-term travellers and digital nomads need.

SafetyWing is cheap, easy, and admin-free: just sign up lickety-split so you can get back to it!

Click the button below to learn more about SafetyWing’s setup or read our insider review for the full tasty scoop.

Final Thoughts on Full Time Family Travel

You’ve got this!  If you are passionate about travel and believe it is the best way to raise your family, you can and will make a way for it to work.  We are big believers in pursuing what you truly love and the rest will fall into place.

Increasingly, there are more brave and intrepid families heading out into the world to find shared experiences together.  The opportunities for bonding, memories, laughter and life skills is truly unparalleled. 

Long-term family travel may take longer to prepare for and longer to work things out, but if you are prepared for more poops and giggles than you thought possible, go for it.  Traveling with your kids, whether it be Disneyland with toddlers or an off beat adventure helps you grow as a family and shows you the world is filled with more love and kindness than you ever thought possible.

Life doesn’t end with children, it begins.

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When I started reading this article, the first question that crossed my mind was, “How do the kids attend school or be educated if they’re always on the move?” But clearly you have a solid answer in what you describe as ‘worldschooling’.

Thinking about it, it is not surprising that worldschooling works well, particularly after online learning became popular during the pandemic with plenty of resources on the web today. But is data cost not an issue when you are buying data for internet access while on the move?

Still, I like the idea of ‘the whole world as their classroom’, where children can visit amazing places and learn about different subjects in real-life situations. As you mentioned, it’s a nice change from the usual “one size fits all” approach to education.

Cheers, Femi.

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After traveling in a van for 2 weeks, I saw how the lifestyle could be cheaper than my Denver life

• I lived and traveled in a campervan for two weeks.
• I wanted to explore the US, but I also wanted to see if van life was something I could do full-time.
• The trip highlighted how life could be more affordable — but only if I worked at it.

It was my third gas station Icee within my first week of traveling by van , and I knew that if I did van life full-time, I'd have to cut the habit.

Not just for the sake of my sugar levels but for the sake of my wallet.

While a $4 Icee doesn't seem like much, it adds up. I quickly realized that these small costs — eating out, gas station snacks, souvenirs — are where van life can get expensive.

At the same time, I saw ways that the van-life movement can be a more affordable way to live.

Like most cities, Denver isn't a cheap place to live

Last October, I left my apartment in Denver for a two-week van trip exploring Southwest America in a rented Ram ProMaster. My route included six states, a handful of national parks , and stops in small roadside towns.

I've long romanticized the choice to live out of a vehicle and explore nature, so while I wanted to see new parts of the country, I also wanted to test-drive the lifestyle .

My desire to ditch my belongings and live in a van has only grown in recent years as I've watched the cost of living rise, too.

Apartments.com reported that the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Denver was $1,681 as of March. Although that number is slightly lower than last year's, Axios reported that Denver's year-over-year inflation rate was the second highest in the country last summer.

It's not just Denver that's feeling these increases. The cost of living is high in major cities across the US, and it's only getting more difficult to find cheap rent .

Plenty of nomads I've interviewed cited expensive rent as the reason they considered living on the road in the first place.

Brittany Newson , for example, said she was living in San Fransico and spending $1,300 to rent a room in a house with four other people. She told BI that she remembers thinking, "There has to be a better way." In 2019, she moved into a renovated school bus.

I've felt that strain firsthand. While I pay a bit less than average for rent, I'm spending more on groceries, paying more than financial advisors recommend I should for my apartment , and I'm thinking twice before eating out these days.

So finding a lifestyle like van life, which includes adventure and potential savings, sounds too good to be true.

Living in a van eliminates some costs but adds others

Throughout the two weeks on the road , I spent less than I normally would on certain things. I also spent more in other categories.

I added 3,000 miles to the van's odometer, making gas one of my most expensive spending categories. Over two weeks, I spent $660 at gas stations. If I took on the lifestyle full-time, I would travel slower and spend less. However, it'd still likely be more than the $75 I budget for gas in Denver each month.

Multiple nomads have said gas is their new rent when living on the road. Zach Nelson , for example, told BI that he got a solid deal from an old boss for the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter he lives in today. Now, gas is one of his few expenses.

"Other than car maintenance and insurance, the only thing you really pay for is gas and food," he said.

When it came to food, I spent about the same on groceries as I do living in Denver. I shopped for the trip at Costco and Trader Joe's and spent less than $150 with plenty of food left over. I also spent about the same eating out.

As for accommodations, this felt like the cheapest part of the trip. I splurged on one night at an RV resort, which cost about $60. I also spent $25 to sleep in Joshua Tree National Park and a similar rate for a nearby campsite. Most nights, though, I found free public land or a free parking lot outside a Walmart or Cracker Barrel . Altogether, I spent less than $170 on campsites.

The largest expense would likely be the cost of the van itself. For this trip, I received a media rate from Native Campervans for the van rental. If I did this full-time, though, I'd purchase my own vehicle.

If I was willing to rough it, I could purchase a used bus, van, or car for a few thousand dollars. On the other end, a new Mercedes Sprinter van starts at $71,000 before conversion.

Realistically, the price would be somewhere in between for me. If I wanted to purchase a Ram ProMaster in Denver, I'd likely spend about $27,000 for a used model, according to TrueCar . If I planned to live in a van for about three years and snagged a solid interest rate, I'd pay about $900 a month, according to Bankrate . Hopefully, I'd make some of that back by selling it afterward.

If I calculate the cost of a van loan, campsites, and gas, that still is less than my $1,500 rent. But only by a few hundred dollars.

From the nomads I've spoken to, how much you want to spend is truly up to the individual. Some families have saved tens of thousands of dollars by buying and renovating a school bus instead of a house. Other van dwellers have shared how unpredictable maintenance issues have drained their emergency funds .

I experienced ways that living in a van could be cheaper than my lifestyle today

There are hidden costs that come with van life . You often have to pay for showers, clean water, and emptying your van's gray water tank. Vehicle maintenance issues can arise, and my car insurance would likely be higher than I pay today.

But I'd also eliminate costs with van life. I'd no longer worry about electricity, gas, or water bills. I'd cancel my expensive climbing gym membership and pivot to the outdoors. And I'd spend less on clothes since I'd have nowhere to store them.

Plus, my day-to-day activities would be cheaper. I'd save money by swapping my Sunday brunches with Sunday hikes and nights at the movie theater with evenings stargazing.

I'm not saying van life is necessarily cheaper than city living, but I am convinced it can be if I work at it.

For now, I'm waiting for auto loan interest rates to plummet and am searching for an affordable used van before I make the leap.

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10 Best North Carolina Resorts for a Beautiful Country Retreat

Find your new-favorite vacation spot in the mountains of the Tar Heel State.

More Travel Ideas to Help Plan Your Next Trip

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Fearrington Village, Pittsboro

Fearrington Village was the first Relais & Châteaux property in North Carolina and remains a standout in the state. Foodies in particular will find a lot to love: Fearrington House Restaurant offers fine dining via a seasonal, prix-fixe dinner menu, as well as afternoon tea . For casual fare, try The Belted Goat , which serves breakfast favorites like buttermilk pancakes and picnic-friendly lunches like chicken salad. Spring through fall, wood-fired pizza is served outdoors beneath the oak trees at Roost Beer Garden . The village's gardens supply many of the ingredients for the restaurants, as well as beautiful walks for visitors.

Omni Grove Park Inn, Asheville

This historic Asheville resort has been welcoming guests for over a century. There's something for everyone here, with indoor and outdoor pools, a 43,000-square-foot spa , and 18-hole golf course designed by Donald Ross. Resort dining options are abundant too and include the Sunset Terrace where guests can take in views of the Blue Ridge Mountains with a glass from the award-winning wine list.

Plan Your Trip

High Hampton Resort, Cashiers

From canoeing Hampton Lake, to a newly expanded pickle ball program , to the Tom Fazio-designed 18-hole golf course , there is plenty to keep guests out enjoying the mountain air at High Hampton . With several restaurant there's a lot to eat, too, including southern fare created with regional Blue Ridge Mountain ingredients at The Dining Room (beer enthusiasts will also appreciate the long list of local brews at The Tavern ). Rustic-luxe rooms are easy on the eyes, and offer cozy nooks for curling up with a good book at the end of the day.

Cataloochee Ranch, Maggie Valley

If you love horses, you'll love the recently renovated, 700-acre Cataloochee Ranch , where guests can saddle up for guided rides through Smoky Mountain National Park. Visitors can also try their hand at archery or axe throwing , cast their reels during a fly-fishing excursion , or find a new favorite hobby during a pottery or leatherworking lesson at the Barn Studios . Take in the views from the property's perch on Fie Top Mountain from Switchback restaurant, where Chef Jeb Aldrich serves up Appalachian cuisine with a European Alpine influence.

The Swag, Waynesville

Nestled on 250 acres, The Swag lures visitors with sweeping views of the Great Smoky Mountains (the resort even has its very own entrance to the National Park). Visitors can take in the scenery on guided hikes , during a soak in the pool , or on a picnic with gourmet provisions. Unwind in guest rooms with private balconies, patios and, in some, outdoor soaking tubs , or around the fire pit with s'mores and a cocktail.

The Greystone Inn, Lake Toxaway

Originally built in 1915 by Savannah heiress Lucy Armstrong Moltz, The Greystone Inn has been welcoming hotel guests since 1985 to its beautiful perch on the shores of Lake Toxaway. Water activities like canoeing and paddle boarding are available right from the inn, and a cruise around the lake on the handcrafted, mahogany boats is a staple during a visit. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served overlooking the lake , while guests can unwind in the evenings with seasonal cocktails at the Mansion Bar .

Snowbird Mountain Lodge, Robbinsville

This all-inclusive lodge in the Great Smoky Mountains is an ideal jumping-off point for outdoors lovers, with on-property hiking trails offering views of the sunrise and sunset, and complimentary canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards supplying ways to navigate Lake Santeetlah. Back at the lodge, a four-course meal is served each evening, craft cocktails are mixed at Fireside Bar, and books from the lodge's library are read by the fire in the great room. A robust calendar of events and workshops offer more reasons to go.

Skyline Lodge, Highlands

Skyline Lodge's Hiking Concierge will set you on the right path—literally—during a visit to this Highlands hideaway. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright protégé Arthur Kelsey in 1929, the lodge was revamped in 2021 and includes Oak Steakhouse, which hosts the Under the Stars, On the Rocks guest chef dining series. Modern accommodations and a spacious courtyard with fire pits round out the appeal.

Half-Mile Farm, Highlands

This adults-only, luxury country inn set on 14 acres offers lots of ways to relax, from sipping drinks poolside to canoeing around the property's private lake to biking Half-Mile's trails. Hit the trails to nearby waterfalls, then soothe sore feet with the Hiker's Heaven treatment at Serenity Spa . Start each evening with complimentary hors d'oeuvres are served in the Main House from 5 to 6 p.m., then head to J. Henry Farmhouse Tavern for a burger or salad, or head to Main Street in Highlands for a meal at Half-Mile's sister hotel, Old Edwards Inn & Spa .

Chetola Resort at Blowing Rock

Options for outdoor enthusiasts abound at Chetola Resort , like Orvis-Endorsed Fly-Fishing , clay shooting and archery at the sporting reserve , as well as onsite hiking, paddle boating, and lawn games. A robust activities calendar with family-friendly choices like movie nights and scavenger hunts—as well as a kids menu at Timberlake's restaurant—make it a good choice for groups with little ones.

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What I Can't Live Without

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What Taylor Hill Can’t Live Without

If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts — like their hair spray and electric toothbrush. We asked model Taylor Hill, who recently launched her pet brand,  Tate & Taylor , about the “magical” moisturizer , Stanley-cup dupe, and book series she can’t live without.

This is my favorite moisturizer . I found out about it from a makeup artist on set about five years ago. I was working with them for three days straight, and they put a little bit of this on my face every single day. Usually, I start to break out or get dry by the third day, because someone’s using products on me that I’m not used to. By the end of the third day, I was like, “What is that magical stuff?” They even noticed. They were like, “Wow, your skin is looking good. I think your face really likes this product.” I’ve been using it ever since. It seems thick when it first comes out of the container. Once you start massaging it in, it absorbs really quickly and thins out. The thickness is because it has zinc in it. It’s a skin-barrier repair cream. It’s great if you’re dealing with acne and healing scars, sun damage, or you overused a toner. I use it nightly, because I feel like it restores my skin best then. When I wake up in the morning, I literally feel like my skin is saying, “Hello, good morning!”

I am obsessed with this. I’m a big texture person. How a lip product feels when you initially apply it is important. This one’s creamy and has more of a buttery consistency. I love that it’s not sticky, but it’s still shiny and gives that glossy effect. The tint is perfect because I don’t have to carry around a lip liner and three lip products in my bag. Maybe in the morning I’ll use a lip liner with this on top, but throughout the day this is all I need for touch-ups. I specifically like it in espresso, which I’m currently wearing. I love warmer nudes and deeper colors for my skin tone. I’ve tried other lip products in this color range, but this one is the best. Even if I put on a little bit, there’s still quite a bit of pigment, but it’s not so much that I can only lightly dab it on. I can put a really thick layer on too and it still looks good.

For the longest time, friends were telling me to read this series. I read a lot of books, and it took me a while to get to this because I kept saying I’d start it after this book, and then I’d pick up another one. Then, before my honeymoon, I realized I needed to bring more than one book because we’d be gone for three weeks. I ended up bringing this series, and it took over my entire life. I read all five books before I was even back. They’re kind of big books, so they seem a little intimidating. But it’s a great story. It sucks you right in. If I could go back and reread them again for the first time, that would make me so happy. Anyone who’s looking for a book and wants to get into a series should read this one. It’ll change your life.

I love Béis, especially for travel . I think they do it really well because the founder, Shay Mitchell, travels like a crazy person, like me! The backpack is great. There are all these amazing compartments, and it’s so well-thought-out. I could give you a whole little tour. I have mine right here. In the front pockets, I have my headphones, deodorant, lip gloss, and glasses. In the bigger main compartment, I have my notebook and a big book. It fits a lot. And then there’s the back zip, which is where I put my laptop and iPad. It makes it easy going through TSA, too, because it’s all compartmentalized.

Everybody has the Stanley cup , but that thing is $65 or something. That’s crazy. And then I hear that it leaks. Apparently, people drive with it in their cup holder, they go over a bump, and then water gets everywhere. No, no, it can’t be doing that. So, I found this Simple Modern one. It’s a similar makeup to the Stanley cup, and it was $30. If you knock it over, water will come out because it has a straw. It’s not completely leak resistant. But I think it’s better because there’s a silicone thing around where the straw goes, so it hugs the straw better. I really like it, and I bring it with me everywhere. I walk around my house with it, and it does help me drink water. As Tinx says, it’s my “emotional support water bottle.”

These are great, and you can get them from anywhere. I have a couple different types from different brands. I just throw them in my bag. They don’t add any extra weight to my suitcase , but they can add so much to a training session. Normally, I use them for legs. I put them either around my ankles or my knees and do glute bridges, squats, or walking movements. That really helps work the muscle. It’s like a sneaky way to add weight to a workout without adding weights. It makes it more difficult and challenging for the muscle to pull instead of lifting something heavy.

I love anything with salt and vinegar or pickles. I’m a salty person. I saw these already cracked pistachios at the airport in the salt and vinegar flavor, and I was like, Oh, there we go. That’s for me. It’s a healthier snack that you can take on the go. It just hits that salty craving for me.

A friend of mine, Sanne, makes this. She’s a Dutch model. She is amazing and has a fitness company. I’m always asking her for recipes and health advice. She started this matcha company, and it is incredible. It’s great quality. On the pack, it tells you exactly how to make it, like that you have to boil your water to only 70 degrees so it doesn’t burn the tea leaf. The best matcha latte I’ve ever had is when I make it with her matcha at home. It’s much less bitter than when I’ve gotten it at a coffee shop. If I need something, either first thing in the morning, after lunch, or an afternoon pick-me-up, that’s my go-to with a little almond milk.

I love Khaite. I love everything it does. It’s an amazing brand. I saw that it did a collab with Oliver Peoples, and I liked that these frames are smaller. I have a small head, and the distance between my eyebrows and nose is quite small. Big frames go over my entire head and I look like a fly. I really love these cat-eye ones because it’s a small frame and you can still see my eyebrows when I wear them. I’m very specific on where eyewear sits on my face, and this just works for me.

I travel so much, so I like wearing comfortable things to the airport. I do still like looking put-together, though. This brand does a great job of making things that look really cute but are still a sweatshirt and sweatpants . The matching set feels more like an outfit. It’s like I’m wearing pajamas but I look more put-together than just being in my pajamas.

I’m really grateful that I have this in my house to remind me of my dog, Tate. I have all these little mementos throughout my home. This portrait’s very special, and people come over and are always like, “Oh, Tate. We love him. We miss him.” It’s also a really good gift for someone who has a pet or maybe recently lost a pet. It’s quite meaningful, and can make your home feel more personalized.

This is hands down one of my favorite products as a dog mom in New York City. I use it on a daily basis. When I bring my dog on walks, we’ve been caught in the rain, stepped in a puddle, stepped in God knows what. I have this sitting by my front door. It’s a no-rinse foaming cleanser. It has a little scrubber on the end and you just pump it. It’s almost the consistency and texture of a foaming face wash. It comes out of this little scrubby, and you just take their paws and pump it and rub it on them. Then, you can take a towel or a wipe, and you wipe the rest of the residue off. It’s an antimicrobial treatment, so it’s like a hand sanitizer in a way.

The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments , rolling luggage , pillows for side sleepers , natural anxiety remedies , and bath towels . We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.

• what i can't live without
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Today’s Top Clicked

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• All Michigan

Lovable Michigan Travel Deals: Gaylord golf packages, historic inns and island stays

• Updated: May. 09, 2024, 10:30 a.m. |
• Published: May. 09, 2024, 8:08 a.m.
• Tanda Gmiter | [email protected]

Spring is undeniably here. The trees are leafing out, the first wave of the season’s colorful flowers are up and demanding attention. And because we’re more than a quarter of the way into our calendar year, that means you’ve got some vacation time ready to burn. Where’s your next adventure?

We’ve got some ideas after looking at the travel deals that are landing in our inbox. Want some wild beauty? Head up to the Keweenaw Peninsula and find a charming mansion that’s opening its doors to guests very soon. Golf some award-winning Gaylord courses nestled between two stunningly gorgeous Up North river valleys. Want to feel a little posh? Snag at spring deal at one of Mackinac Island’s well-known hotels or B&Bs.

We’ve got all the details here. Happy planning!

The Gaylord Golf Club is just one of the spots in the Gaylord Golf Mecca area that has spring deals. Photo provided by the Gaylord tourism bureau. Visit Gaylord

Find a Sweet Deal at Gaylord’s Golf Mecca

Sixteen courses spread across one of the most beautiful Up North adventure areas: That’s the Gaylord golf scene. And while courses there already are getting busy, as we noticed on a recent trip, there are deals to be had with mid-week and weekend golf packages. Most are based on double occupancy, so bring your bestie. The Gaylord tourism bureau has a whole webpage dedicated to area golf deals. You can find that here. We’re sharing one of the specials that let you stay at the Baymont by Wyndham hotel, then sample different courses in the area:

Here’s the deal: “ 2 Night Stay at the Baymont by Wyndham , 3 Rounds – 18 Holes (w/cart), Gaylord Golf Club , Michaywe Pines , and Otsego Resort The Classic . Grab a hot dog and chips at Michaywe’ Pines and Gaylord Golf Club , and get a $10 food voucher per person: Choice of Big Buck Brewery, Pine Squirrel , or Alpine Tavern . Price is per person for double occupancy. $269.90, until June 3rd, 2024. To make a reservation, call Stephanie Everling – Sales Coordinator – 989-470-8310 [email protected] "

Why is the Gaylord area known for golf? It’s not only the award-winning courses, but the amazing Northern Michigan views, tourism staff said. “With the highest overall elevation in Michigan’s scenic Lower Peninsula, the Gaylord area offers stunning views and challenging play with several courses built into the Pigeon River and Sturgeon River Valleys. The terrain ranges from dramatic valleys with rolling greens to classic parkland-style courses, all suited for the novice or championship player.”

An upper balcony room at the Larium Manor Inn. Photo provided by Brockit and Visit Keweenaw. Brockit Inc.

Larium Manor Inn Reopens for the Season

Ready to stay at a restored Edwardian Era mansion in the U.P.? This spot on the Keweenaw Peninsula is full of vintage charm - and it’s not your typical hotel stay, which is fun. Our friends at the Visit Keweenaw tourism group are highlighting this “Spring Reopening Special” from the Laurium Manor Inn.

The Inn staff recently posted on social media “With the start to our 35th year since we opened in 1989, we have decided to run a special to get the season going for the first week we are open starting on Friday, May 17 and ending on May 23. During this period all 9 of the rooms we have open in Laurium Manor will have a discount of 35% off your second night in the same room for a 2-night stay. This includes the full buffet breakfast.”

Harbour View Inn on Mackinac Island. Photo provided by Harbour View. Harbour View Inn

Mackinac Island Deals & Packages

Did you know there’s a webpage devoted to travel deals and special savings all revolving around Mackinac Island? It’s true. From the big resorts like Grand Hotel and Mission Point to the Main Street hotels - even the cozy B&Bs and condos - there are always deal bundles for the season. Some include savings on lodging. Others toss in ferry tickets to sweeten the deal. You can find a big list of them on the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau’s website here.

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The three 'best places to live in Greece' according to British expats who enjoy a 'low cost of living' and 'beautiful' weather

British expats have many dreamy destinations to choose from in Greece

By Solen Le Net

Published: 10/05/2024

Greece and all its islands boast unparalleled natural beauty and an enjoyable pace of life

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With two mainland peninsulas and countless islands to choose from, British expats are sure to find a dreamy destination in Greece.

The southern European nation is often described as one of the best places to live in terms of overall natural beauty and pace of life.

There’s a lot more to the country than meets the eye, and British expats living on the island have shared why.

In a recent YouTube clip titled "The Best Places to Live in Greece", UK nationals Tanya and Andy shared their thoughts on Chania, Thessaloniki and Athens.

The stunning weather in Greece attracts visitors from across the globe

The pair bought “a small old house in Greece and are renovating the house” themselves, giving them valuable insight into the best places to live.

Drawing from authentic data sourced through a poll among 10,000 residents in the ‘Living in Greece’ Facebook community, they offered a rundown of the top seven places.

The list, they claim, is not just another rundown of the tourist spots on the island, but offers valuable insight into those who call Greece home.

It included popular hotspots like Kalamata, Piraeus, and Mykonos, but Chania, Thessaloniki and Athens secured the top three places in the poll.

The Greek capital was voted the best place to live by the majority of respondents because it is bursting with historical significance and bustling diversity.

“24 per cent of people [in the poll] said Athens is the best place to live in Greece, of course, it’s the capital city and it’s got all of the famous Greek buildings in it," shared Andy.

“Number two is Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece, it’s kind of relaxed, it’s got great cultural diversity, it got all the facilities and options that you could possibly imagine, and it’s on the coast.”

The city also flaunts great seafront views and great access to beautiful beaches, according to the content creator.

The third best destination, according to the poll, is situated on the northwest coast of Greece; it's Chania.

The idyllic spot is on the vast island of Crete, which boasts a 650-mile coastline and peaks reaching heights of over 8,000ft.

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Greece has scores of destinations to choose from

Writing on Quora, visitors have previously shared that “the natives are friendly, the weather is great, the cost of living is very reasonable and the pace of life is relaxing”.

“I love Chania, it’s beautiful,” shared Andy. “It’s got a fantastic harbour, it’s got some great food. It’s got the great architecture and is great to walk around.”

Another European destination that "ticks a tonne of boxes for the perfect location to settle in" is Portugal , revered for its idyllic climate and laid-back tempo.

Portugal owes its high quality of life to several factors, including an unbeatable healthcare system and low cost of living, expats have claimed.

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7 monsoon travel spots in Asia you will regret missing!

Here, are the 7 best monsoon travelling destinations in Asia to add to your bucket list.

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Monsoon is the season of romance, a time when the rain-kissed surroundings fill our weary souls with exuberant energy. If you are a nature admirer and a traveller at heart, this is one of the best times to explore Asia. Countless spots become more attractive during the rainy season, so, with some prior planning, you can make the best of the holiday season ahead.

Here, are the 7 best monsoon travelling destinations in Asia to add to your bucket list. 

Sumatra, Indonesia

A walk in the pouring rain of Sumatra is pure bliss. Get yourself a "monsoon therapy" with its lush green trees, vivacious jungle, and cascading waterfalls. As the largest island of Indonesia, the place offers a breath-taking travelling opportunity. The refreshing rain doubles the amusement of hiking, trekking, and sightseeing.

Your adventure travels must include Lake Toba. It's an exhilarating sight to view the monsoon shower accentuating the emerald green grass and trees along with the translucent streams and fountains.

If you are a nature and animal lover, jungle trekking at Bukit Lawang is a must. Get the ultimate rainforest experience as you walk across the densely grown trees and spot adorable orangutans.

Tonle Sap, Cambodia

Do you love boat rides? If so, embark on the thrilling journey of Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. The enormous water body, vivacious greenery, and nearby simplistic floating village life make it an iconic site to explore life.

During the rainy season, rainwater overflows the Mekong River, which reverses the flow of Tonle Sap and swells up five times its usual size. Gliding across the rhythms of ebbing flows lets you peek into the lake's diverse ecosystem. It is blanketed by stringent plains and animated forests.

The homesteads and structures on the side lanes are firmly built on stilts. They remain firm amidst the water flow and account for no threat to these lakeside homes, churches, and restaurants. So, witnessing life around the shores is sure to heighten your perspective on life.

Munnar Hill Station, India

Sometimes all you need is an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. That's when a trip to the Munnar Hill Station in India would be the perfect choice! Monsoon elevates the romantic charm of this picturesque landscape. The earthy fragrance, vigorous tea plantation, cascading waterfalls, and mystical landscapes encapsulate Munnar's true beauty.

Munnar offers a sprawling view of the horizon of tea plantations. It is a real treat to see clouds assembling to shower and bring out the green hues of the tea leaves. You can take a breath of fresh air at the gorgeous Attukal Waterfalls, Lakkam Waterfalls, and Cheeyappara Waterfalls.

Besides, there are thrilling activities for adventure lovers. River rafting and paragliding over the misty valleys will take your breath away!

Apart from that, trekking through the rain-bathed forests will soothe your heart and soul. 

Annapurna Circuit, Nepal

This popular trekking route is world-renowned for its exquisite and verdant trail. It starts from Beshi Bahar and trails up to circle the Annapurna Massif. The monsoon rain transforms this barren landscape into vibrant greenery and a majestic atmosphere.

Although it's a 15-to-20-day trek, there are lodges in between that make the hike all the more convenient. Trailing up the diversity of landscapes will let you encounter lowland farming areas, dense forests, terraced fields, and high mountain deserts.

The Annapurna Circuit is less vulnerable to landslides due to its geographical positioning, especially in the north around the Mustang region. It rains mostly during the night which enables you to stay dry and active during the day.

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Located at the Northwestern tip of Pahang, Cameron Highlands is one of the most sought-after hill stations. The majestic beauty of the place peaks the green vibrancy during monsoon.

The mesmerising tea plantations of Cameron Highland are sure to elevate your wonders. Boh Plantation is one such prominent tea plantation that produces high-quality tea. There's a Mossy Forest that provides a surreal view of the green moss covering the ground, boulders, and trees.

If you are a hiking enthusiast, you must trek to Gunung Brinchang, the highest peak in the area.

Yakushima Island, Japan

If you are fascinated by the ancient natural treasuries, you must visit this place. You can see some of the oldest living trees, more than 1000 years old, which are called "Yakusugi". Besides, the island's cedar forest dates back to the feudal age and is currently a world heritage site. Their supreme beauty will teleport you to a bygone era.

If you are stressed, indulge in the splendour of Okonaki Falls, a roaring, 88-meter waterfall on Yakushima Island. It encapsulates the rhythm of the island. Besides, as you further explore, brace yourself to adore the turtle nesting sites during the monsoon months. 

Ratargul Swamp, Bangladesh

Sylhet's Ratargul Swamp is one of the prominent freshwater marshland forests that you cannot miss. It is situated near river Goain and linked with the Chengir Khal in Gowainghat upazila of Sylhet.

Monsoon is the best time to experience the Ratargul Swamp. As the shower swells the natural water body, it enables travellers to navigate across its wonders. Curtained by the meandering exuberance of Koroch and Hizal Tree, the calm boat rowing offers a mystical experience.

Ratargul Swamp features a diverse ranging wildlife species of birds, snakes, monkeys, lizards, and insects. The submerged tree is a marvellous sight visited by travellers across the world. The transparent water bodies allow a view of the bottom-most layer.

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