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International currency. Photo: epSos.de / Flickr
A common lament I hear is, “I’d love to travel. But it’s just too expensive.” How much money do you really need to travel year-round? Would you need $50,000 year? Maybe $100,000?
Nora Dunn from The Professional Hobo answered that question in her classic article: Travel full-time for less than $14,000. In many first-world cities, that money wouldn’t even cover the rent for a small apartment. Or even pay for university tuition in the United States.
She does a deep dive into all the costs of vagabonding. Along the way, Nora reveals all of her tricks and strategies. The great part is that the story isn’t just about getting more from your money; it’s about getting as much personal growth from your journey as possible. She talks of volunteering and participating actively in the communities she enters, and how that changed her.
Naturally, there are some big upfront assumptions. You’ve gotten rid of your house and car, as well as eliminating most of your debt. Still, it’s practical inspiration.
Do you find travel cheaper than living at home? Please share your experiences and budgets.
March 2nd, 2012 at 8:43 pm
Granted we were only gone for 3 months, but in San Francisco, the meager unemployment insurance I had been on covered about 1/2 to 2/3rds of our monthly expenses. On that same UI, we lived quite comfortably in SE Asia.
During our travels, we met a number of retirees who similarly could not afford much in the US on their pensions or social security, but in Thailand they could own a decent sized home, property, and live quite well.
Is traveling cheaper? It depends on where home is and where you go!
March 3rd, 2012 at 2:05 am
Our budget for one year of traveling was basically what we would have spent on our rent in Chicago alone. So although we aren’t making as much money, we are spending drastically less
March 4th, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Unless you’re planning to live it up in Western Europe or Japan, you can easily travel for long periods for far less than you spend on monthly expenses at home. As mentioned though, if you keep your mortgage, your car, and the insurance for both, the equation changes substantially unless you’re renting out said house while you’re gone. Or doing a home exchange… Generally you need to be able to make a clean break without all the things that are tying you down financially.
March 7th, 2012 at 1:26 pm
I intend to travel by bicycle, with a tent, sleeping bag and stove. My anticipated budget is £15 a day, and many cyclists who have done similar trips would say that’s a lot. Which is about half of what I pay in London for some very cheap accommodation and food alone. Of course I’ve made some investment in gear (bike, tent, tools etc). But travelling for 4 or 5 years should even that out a bit. Altogether I’ve budgeted about £28,000 for 5 years of travelling with about £2,000 worth of gear upgrades along the way. I couldn’t survive on that in London. Not unless I camped under a tree in Hyde Park.