Every year, thousands of young Brits up sticks and fly off to the expat hotspots of Mainland Spain, the Mediterranean, the Balearics and Canary Islands. With plans to stay for one, three, six months or longer; finding work is the main objective. If the intention is to become a full time nomadic traveller, how are they going to keep the wolf from the door?
Travel Blogging:
Forget it, unless you already have a substantial following on social media, or you’re a trained journalist.
Travel blogging is everybody’s ideal way to finance travelling the world, but it takes time to build a following and attract the advertising that monetises your blog. That said, whether you enjoy short city breaks, or countryside weekends in the UK or Europe, start a blog about your experiences. Hone your writing skills and build a following for when you decide to burn those bridges and take the plunge. It can be a fabulous way to finance your travelling.
Bar, Restaurant and PR work:
Over 20 million holidaying Brits contribute to the European economy every year. To keep them all happy, large numbers of British expats are employed by bars, restaurants, hotels and excursion companies. Expat communities, no matter what the nationality, tend to be tight-knit. Book two weeks cheap accommodation at your chosen destination, seek out a bar frequented by local expat workers, and make it known you’re looking for work. It won’t be long before you begin to get tipped-off about different vacancies for English speaking workers in the area. Once working, you can begin looking round for long-term accommodation, which is considerably cheaper than using holiday apartments.
Backpack Australia:
Australia is a favourite destination for those who wish to take a year or two out. A visa is needed and the age group is 18 to 30. Highly organised, with backpackers’ hostels advertising different jobs in the area, you could be working in vineyards or market gardens one day and on sheep or beef farms the next. An Aussie backpacking visa is good for up to 24 months. With the country’s massive landmass, once you’re into the backpacking lifestyle, that 24 months just won’t be enough.
If you’ve decided working online is how you’re going to earn your daily bread, common sense says get some practise in before you throw laptop or notebook into your rucksack and walk out the door. Here are a few ways you can earn online, without having to spend all that time building a following.
Online Copywriting:
There are some excellent opportunities to work as a freelance copywriter on the net. If you have a reasonable grasp of the English language you could be writing blogs, fashion reviews, product descriptions or travel articles for some of the big name online companies. Once your work is accepted, it’s money in the bank. As a plus, while you’re freelancing for an internet content marketing company, there’s nothing stopping you offering original travel articles to the big online travel publications. Be prepared for a few knock-backs, but it the likes of Lonely Planet show interest in your work, you know you’ve arrived.
Forex Trading:
If you’re a seasoned holidaymaker, you probably already know about looking round to get the best exchange rate for your sterling currency. Forex trading is just that – speculating on the movements of one foreign currency against another. Companies such as CMC Markets give you the opportunity to gamble on the movement of over 300 currencies. Not for the faint-hearted, if you enjoy a flutter, this could be for you but be warned; it’s as easy to lose money as make it.
Become an Affiliate Marketer:
Okay, I’m cheating a little with this, because you stand a better chance of success if you already have your own blog, even if your following doesn’t run into the thousands. There are a large number of ecommerce companies such as Amazon and eBay you can approach to become an affiliate, and it doesn’t cost a penny. You pick the products you want to advertise, and get a commission when someone uses your link to purchase an item from the company. So, you want to travel the world. Blog about how it took purchasing three pairs of hiking boots before you found the ideal pair, which just happen to be advertised on your blog. Done properly, affiliate marketing can prove extremely lucrative.
Enjoy your travels.
