You’re ready to get away. You want to travel. You have only one problem. You don’t know how you will up hold yourself while traveling without saving tons of money first. While you’re going to have to work on that money situation, here are a few ideas to get the ball rolling on how you can live abroad without needing to save every last penny…
Teacher Teacher
This will be far easier for native English speakers, but even if you aren’t, there are opportunities! English is a highly desirable language in the world, and therefore every non-English speaking country needs teachers. Native speakers with degrees will likely have a job a few minutes off the plane in some countries. It’s easy and you get paid.
There are some places that can’t afford to pay very much, and therefore can’t be as choosy when finding a teacher. So non- native English speakers who know English rather well are still hired. Don’t worry if you don’t know English enough, it doesn’t mean you can’t teach and make money. You just need to know another language. So for example when I was teaching English in Thailand, some of my co-workers were Chinese. They didn’t know English but they were fluent in Thai, so therefore they were able to teach Chinese in Thailand.
The point of the story is, if you’re bi-lingual, you can likely find a teaching job somewhere in the world.
Volunteering Ventures
Duh! This one is an obvious one. Volunteer to get yourself abroad. Don’t think you have the money to do it? Think again. You don’t need much if you volunteer. Many organization set you up with a place to stay, which is usually a large chuck of your budget. If that is taken care of, then you don’t need much else besides food and the ticket to get there. Sometimes your food might even be provided.
If you happen to have a green thumb, try WWOOF an organization dedicated to making our world more organic and sustainable. Other sites connect volunteers with people who need help with handy work around the house, a nanny, teaching, helping around a hostel or guesthouse, helping a small business get set up or grow and more. There is plenty that you can do, experienced or not. Not to mention, you will be giving back to a community or maybe a lovely family. Either way, it will be pretty rewarding. The experience and skills you can gain from these experiences should be enough for you to get a move on this opportunity.
Abuse the Internet
Have a knack for something that you can do over the computer? Hello! Take advantage of it. There are so many things you can do over the internet. I have a vision that working in an office will soon be obsolete. At least that’s my wish, working in a cubicle is cruel. Get your laptop and get on the plane. Do a Google search for freelancing websites and apply to a project that matches with your skills. Make the world your office, trust me, it’s awesome and easier than you think.
Photo by Children’s Organization, Jennifer B and Gideon
