Traveling can be an immensely rewarding experience: seeing the world and allowing yourself the opportunity to experience new cultures, meet new people and take in the sights and sounds of new places allows us to widen our horizons more than any other human activity. An intrepid spirit can be found in most people, but one of the main aspects holding us back is the limiting cost of undertaking trips, both from the perspective of the traveling costs themselves, and because it inevitably means giving up a job at home.
However, cost need not be the limiting factor you believe it to be if you endeavor to work during your travels. Indeed, there are a number of activities which can help sustain your thirst for new experiences. Here is just a taster of those possibilities:
Teach English as a foreign language
While teaching English requires certain certifications in some countries, in others you will be deemed qualified enough if you are a native speaker or if you have a good command of the language. This can be a tremendously rewarding role, and can sustain your living in some of the most remote parts of the world if you should so choose.
Keep a blog of your travels
This is a particular traveling favorite, although it can be difficult to monetize without sufficient knowledge of how online revenue streams work. However, a crash course and a dedication to detailing your (almost) every move can see you make a sustained contribution to our travel funds.
Photograph your way around
A bit like blogging, contributing photographs can be initially hard to monetize, but with a little push in the right direction and a commitment to deliver what is required, once again you can add a nice little living to supplement your cash in-flow.
Housesit
Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who will let you stay in your house for free as long as you can provide great references and are prepared to look after any pets, water the plants, and generally give the impression that the house is lived in to deter unwanted visitors. And there are a number of sites which promote this service too – just check them out to see for yourself.
Do hostel work
For free board and meals, manning the reception desk at hostels is a tried-and-tested way of sustaining a life in a far-flung place for as long as you want to (and for as long as your visa allows!) It’s also a great way of meeting new people too.
“This is a real go-to for many younger travelers who love the buzz of living in a hostel and are prepared to work some anti-social hours. Better still, you can often line up the work before you get to your destination, offering you a chance to sustain yourself immediately in your new destination,” says Mathilda Bellini, a blog writer at Brit Student and NextCoursework.
Freelance online
There are not multiple options for selling your freelance skills online, and this work can be completed 100% remotely, allowing you to complete it anywhere and everywhere in the globe you choose to be. Check out sites such as Upwork to see what skills potential clients are looking for.
Sell stuff online
It may take a little bit of effort to set it up before you depart, and you may need someone to keep an eye on logistics, but operating a business selling niche items such as native jewelry online can be a great way to earn a little bit of extra income whilst traveling.
Start an online marketplace
Similar to the previous role, except you can facilitate the buying on selling of particular niche goods. You don’t need to be tech savvy to achieve this either (although it will help!), just ask for a little advice to get yourself up and running before you go, and potentially live off the commission alone.
Become a tour guide
You may not be an expert, but with a little enthusiasm and a huger to learn, you soon will be. Many local tourist boards who regularly receive English-speaking tourists are desperate for English speaking guides to show around visitors, and this can prove a really popular way of making a simple living on some of the most famous destinations on earth.
Farm work
It may not be for the faint hearted as it often involves back breaking work in unkind temperatures, sometimes with the added possibility of dangerous and exotic animals popping up during your daily tasks. All that aside, farm work is an activity which enables you to experience the great outdoors is some of the remotest and most staggeringly beautiful places on earth. Plus, you’ll never complain about another day’s work you do in your life after experiencing what real work like this is all about.
“There are number of countries, such as Australia, that offer certain travelers the option of extending their visas if they undertake some roles that that the relevant government deems useful to the economy, and fruit picking in remote areas is one such roles,” advises Justin Saville, a travel blogger at Australia2write and WritemyX.
Conclusion
Every single one of these jobs is easily achievable, and for those more dedicated individuals, a combination of more than one of the above can lead to a pretty good lifestyle while living the life of luxury in the sun or immersing yourself in a totally new culture. The world is your oyster, as they say.
Writer and educator Martha Jameson can be found offering her insights at PhD Kingdom and Academic brits. She previously worked as a web designer as well as a content editor and proofreader, and can also be found on blogging sites such as Origin writings.
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