I think perhaps the most asked question I get is “How do you afford to travel?” Every Friday for the next month, I will be sharing with you the ways that I can afford to travel! My biggest tip? Travel jobs are your ticket to see the world!
There are many reasons I can afford it, but perhaps the most prominent one is that I look for specific opportunities. And by that I mean things that will allow me to travel the world. It has allowed me to travel all over Europe and live in gorgeous Florence, Italy. And now, I’m looking forward to living in Thailand and traveling SE Asia.
So, I can’t stress it enough when I say,
Look for job opportunities where travel is possible.
Now, I lucked out with finding my last job because I kept in touch with someone I met while I was abroad. He had the job that I knew I might want someday. When he decided to leave Florence to head home, he offered to pass along my resume to his boss… A few months later I was in Florence working at a travel company. While there, my expenses were paid for and the trips I went on were for work.
Working at FlorenceForFun allowed me to work in a sales position, which is something that I’ve never been comfortable in. It also allowed me to visit a ton of places I have always dreamed of going to.
I won’t lie, it got a bit crazy at times. I was living in an apartment with seven other people, I barely slept and I worked a lot of hours for very little pay, but it was so worth it to me, because I got to see things that people my age and even people much older than me only dream of seeing.
What’s Next?
For my next adventure, I’m headed to Thailand to teach english. I’m going through the CIEE Teach Abroad program, and while it definitely isn’t cheap to go through a program, its definitely more helpful as they take care of finding you housing, placing you in a school and helping you obtain your visa.
I will be paid enough money to comfortably live in Thailand and I have saved enough to be able to travel all over SE Asia. A lot of planning has gone into this and I am so eager to leave in October!
I find that having a home base is something that makes me more comfortable while traveling. I was able to become familiar with local spots while living in Florence and I’m looking forward to assimilating into the Thai community that I will be living in!
