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The fact that my husband and I have no home to go back to, nor do we currently consider any particular country our home (although we are originally from the UK), generates interesting responses from most of the people we meet on our travels.
One of questions which sits right on the tip of the tongue but usually goes unasked, possibly for fear of seeming impolite or vulgar, is this: “How do you earn money while you travel?”
Some of the common income-generating activities of vagabonds such as TEFL/TESL or casual and temporary labor didn’t promise to earn us enough cash on a long term basis, so before we left we considered the different types of business which would allow us to work remotely and be location independent.
Here is a list of some of the obvious and not-so-obvious ideas we came up with that could earn you a living whilst traveling permanently:
Very few are businesses you can set up successfully (profitably) without a bit of research, experience or knowledge and it isn’t always easy running a professional business and servicing clients whilst traveling; but if you would like to consider an alternative career outside of a cubicle which allows you to work from wherever you choose, then it can be done and we’re doing it right now.
By the way, if you’re still curious about what we do to earn money…I run a coaching and consulting business and my husband is an illustrator and graphic designer.
November 15th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
These are all viable job prospects - another you might consider adding to your list is short-term consultancy work with multinationals, or international or multilateral organizations.
As a writer I had great luck with UN and NGO groups during my three-year RTW trip. I also met others along the way who put their skills to work for large international companies - accountants, office managers, translators, other writers… Many skills are in demand.
Some of my jobs: a translator for labor negotiations in Algeria, communications consultant in Laos, construction camp help in northern Canada - and there were many more. None of these jobs lasted more than three months, so there are plenty of short-term opportunities out there, often just by knocking on the door.
November 15th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
These are all viable job prospects - another you might consider adding to your list is short-term consultancy work with multinationals, or international or multilateral organizations.
As a writer I had great luck with UN and NGO groups during my three-year RTW trip. I also met others along the way who put their skills to work for large international companies - accountants, office managers, translators, other writers… Many skills are in demand.
Some of my jobs: a translator for labor negotiations in Algeria, communications consultant in Laos, construction camp help in northern Canada - and there were many more. None of these jobs lasted more than three months, so there are plenty of short-term opportunities out there, often just by knocking on the door.
November 15th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
I travel full time and have set up a business of online reservations. I can manage on the road and earnings are interesting.
Nice article!
November 15th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
I’ve heard of more than a few long term travellers using the rent proceeds from leasing their home to fund their expliots. If your home is in an exspensive enough area, you should be able to travel in style and have a propert manager do the heavy lifting.
November 18th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Lea Woodward always produces a thought provoking article and this one is no exception…..thanks for getting the thinking going again
November 19th, 2007 at 5:56 am
A really great article and also really motivating to know other people are out there doing it! I left Australia about 5 months ago and have landed in Israel. The bit I am still trying to work out is payment for work.. can anyone offer me any help re taxes etc? I have been offered some work with an American owned company.. is it all legit to transfer money into my Australian Bank Account? I cant seem to get any answers… would be interested to hear anyones thoughts??
November 23rd, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Hi,
Thanks for the interesting article. I’ve been traveling with my husband for the past year now and though I am a painter/Illustrator/graphic designer, I have been trying just now to help us finance our trip with writing, but finding places that would pay for it is difficult.
You’ve said your husband is an illustrator and he is making money in his profession during your travels. In that case, would you please point me to the venue that he uses to get work? I would really appreciate it
Thank you, and my mail is stanyslava()gmail.com
January 30th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
like the tips