You know you are a traveler when just the thought of a clear beach or high minarets or even a dense tropical rainforest makes you go weak in your knees. But travel doesn’t come cheap today. First, it is the flights and hotels then the restaurants and then fares, tips, and shopping. Moreover, it’s not just money you need, but to carve out time which is scant for most working professionals today. If the occasional trip on a long weekend is not enough to quench your wanderlust, a job change might just do the trick for you.
Yes, you read that right. If you think travel is an indispensable part of who you are or want to be, there are ways you can explore the world and still not live on debts or financial misery.
Here are sound 6 ways to earn a decent living while you travel
1. Freelancing
Freelancing gives you the freedom to work when you want to. A number of jobs today, like content writing, research, analysis, proofreading and designing among others allow people to work remotely. Given its advantages, the freelancing work is competitive. To make sure that you are seen in that group, start by creating a portfolio of your best work in your chosen area. You can upload these work samples on websites like work and fiverr etc., and set a good competitive rate for your work to enable yourself to win gigs.
A smart thing to do while choosing projects is to opt for gigs in the developed world. This way, when you travel to more adventurous parts of the world like south-east Asia, you can benefit from the exchange rate by earning high-value currency and spending it in countries with lower costs of living.
2. Tutoring / Language guide
English today has become a global language with people in most countries requiring its use in their daily lives. Be it in Asia like China, India, and Japan or Africa or South America, people today are eager to become linguistically diverse. Many educational, non-profit and government institutions in such countries host exchange programs where people from other countries come and teach natives English. In return, you get a stipend, and can even get accommodation and food in some cases. A cool part of this job that you can learn while you work. With some dedication and hustle, you can pick up languages where you go and work on them using online resources to be able to teach them to people in other countries where you visit. Since most language courses last for a few weeks only, this job would allow you to shift base before it gets too boring for your nomadic energy to contain itself.
3. Consider WWOOFing
If you have ever been inspired to live in the rustic countryside and work with people who grow their produce, wwoof.net is the place for you. WWOOF connects you to farms across the world. Generally referred to as WWOOFers, as a hire, you are required to work for about 4-6 hours up to six days per week, in exchange for food and accommodation. Through this organization, you can apply to volunteer with hosts all around the world and choose from among thousands of farms that offer everything from working on a vineyard to weaving. Currently, WWOOFing is possible in over 60 countries which can allow you a once in a lifetime experience to live on a farm.
4. Part-time
Another option is to try and negotiate a part-time working arrangement with your employer. While not all firms may be willing to support a travel streak in their employee, many companies do currently allow remote part-time work in order to retain good talent. Not just this numerous recruitment consultants today provide temporary and part-time work opportunities given the high demand for talent in functions like content, design, marketing, analysis, programming, etc. All you’ve got to ensure is that your work quality and diligence are to the company’s liking and to be able to bask in the sun and climb treacherous mountains, all while earning your wage.
5. Photography
If you have ever worked in a media-related company, consulting firm or any company that invests in PR and marketing, chances are that ripe that you spent considerable time trying to find a beautiful picture to go with what someone has written. You can cash on this need by investing in a good quality camera for your travel that will not only store memories of your fun adventures but also help you earn your living. Different cultures, situations, and environments across countries can be ideal for you to build your website of diverse photos that you can sell. You can upload your photos on sites like gettyimages and shutterstock you get a royalty every time someone buys your photos.
6. Be a Collector
Most people around us love to buy things that we know are the specialty of one geography in the world. Whether it is Brazilian crockery, Swiss chocolate, US gadgets, Japanese fans, Australian nuts and leather, English tea and hats or pieces of clothing from around the world, there are tonnes of things that you and me are always looking to buy but can’t because making a trip to the destination is unfeasible. You can be the antiquarian who sources these local products from far and wide and sells them online. Ensure that wherever you go, you buy the locally made high-quality stuff and carry them in attractive and sturdy packaging which can be sold online at sites like eBay, Etsy or even your own. Beyond this, you can even make your online store international using services like Shopify and sell the products in other countries too. Once you get into the business, you can request preferences from visitors to know what more to pick up from your travels in the future.
