If you are anything like me, a life of travel seems amazing. However, a life of travel is often synonymous with a life of leisure, wealth, privilege, you name it. It’s not recognized as something “normal” people can attain, and for good reason.
Travel is something we save up for, it’s something we splurge on, it is a privilege. After all, we only have a few weeks a year that condone travel, and between family events, holidays, and sick days, it’s no surprise that many people don’t get to travel at all, let alone make it their lifestyle.
So you’re probably wondering why I’m saying it’s possible for you. It seems like something you’d hear from a Kardashian or a trust fund baby who doesn’t understand that other people have to work.
But it is within reach… at least for the people willing to sacrifice for it.
The first thing I want to dispel is the false belief that a life of travel innately means a life of leisure. Perhaps it’s the American viewpoint on travel that fuels this idea. Most of the time, a week of travel costs upwards of $1,000 per person when accounting for food, lodging, transport, and tourist expenses involved. Travel is a coveted thing, a delicacy.
We need to expel the notion that travel must be a luxury, and we definitely need to dispel the idea that two weeks of PTO is good enough.
What if travel was just… normal?
There are ways to travel far more frequently than what’s normal, for longer periods of time, and without requiring wealth. For those willing to make the biggest leap, a life of full-time travel is possible for those with the independence to do so. And, there are a myriad of ways to make money while living this way. Depending on your situation, it might even be a raise.
If Your Goal is Simply to Travel More Often
A paradigm shift is needed if we want to “normalize” travel. We need to stop thinking of travel as a luxury, but a normal part of life. In that same vein, we need to change the level of luxury and pampering we expect during travel.
Will you get to travel for months out of the year if you expect all-inclusive resorts and fancy dinners? Of course not. If you want to travel more often and for longer periods, be thrifty. Travel in groups, road trip, camp, and buy groceries instead of eating out. You will travel more once you stop thinking of travel as a delicacy.
Another thing to consider is what I call the “working vacation”. This is a vacation where you don’t take PTO and work remotely (if your job offers it) to either go on vacation when you don’t have PTO, or to go on a longer vacation than would be possible using your PTO.
Of course, it’s not ideal to work over your vacation, but sometimes it can be an extremely easy way to extend the length of your trip and increase the frequency with which you can jet off to new places. Working vacations are how I got to spend a month in Costa Rica, two weeks in Seattle, three weeks to visit family in St. Louis, and countless other small trips throughout the year.
Another great option is to find someone who will give you free housing in exchange for work. Make sure your friends and family know you’re always down to petsit and house sit while they’re gone! If you don’t think any of them would be down, the website workaway.info is great for this. To learn more about that site, keep reading. 😉
The quote, “Ask and you shall receive” and, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” are paramount in your work life if you want to travel more. I’ve taken multiple multi-week trips simply because I’ve asked my boss if I could, and stayed receptive to ideas they had to make it work. If you already work remotely, this might not apply to you. However, if you’re like me and you work hybrid, then there is likely flexibility.
Just discuss it with your boss. Your boss may have a way to “game” the in-office requirement, or ask you to “bank” days in the office (i.e. if you work 3 days a week in-office, you could work 5 days a week for two weeks so you have “saved up” 4 days that you can spend out of office).
In-person hourly jobs with no PTO are a different beast, but there are still options out there. When I’m in Montana, I’ll have a fully in-person job so it is virtually impossible to do my regular responsibilities while away. However, I’ve leveraged my more “corporate” skills to allow it. I offered to do social media management and website design if I’m ever remote. My boss loved it and even said he’s done it with other workers before. I never would have even known about this possibility if I didn’t ask in the first place.
The lesson to all of this is: you can likely find a way if you really try.
If Your Goal is to Make Travel your Lifestyle
The first lesson I learned when planning my full-time travel is this: a life of travel is not one of privilege but of sacrifice. Worthy sacrifices, yes, but sacrifices nonetheless. As I gear up to make the switch, I am constantly reminded of what I’m giving up: my possessions, a comfortable salary, time with my family and friends, and stable housing. I know that I will earn less, own less, and have more worries when it comes to finances and stability.
Aside from my salary, my job also gives me benefits like dental, medical, 401k, and other mental and physical wellness resources. The money itself is tough to give up, but it is even harder at times to know I’m giving up my benefits, at least periodically. It’s worth it to me because of the benefits of feeling free and living adventurously.
If you’re going to live a life of travel and can’t work your corporate job anymore because of it, you’ll have to find a way to make sure you are protected and healthy. Look into healthcare.gov, or other individual plans to see which one works best for you. There are resources for people who need to work without benefits or become self-employed for full-time travel.
My Three Favorite Ways
There are three main job categories for full-time travelers: remote corporate work, seasonal work, and self-employment. I’ll break down each one below and what I view as the benefits/risks/drawbacks of each option.
- Remote office work: This style of work is ideal for people who like corporate office work, 9-5 schedules, and the above-average pay and benefits often associated with corporate life. You will live with more stability, and get to keep a lot of the luxuries people with corporate jobs enjoy.
- Housing: You have a lot of options for housing.
- Monthly stays at Airbnb’s are often cheaper than the night-to-night rate because of a “long-term stay discount.” You can hop from Airbnb to Airbnb for slightly more than the cost of the average apartment, except you won’t have to worry about lease agreements, furniture, Wi-Fi, or utilities. But beware! Check the reviews. You do not want to spend hundreds or thousands on an Airbnb only to realize their Wifi is out, or the owner is a creep.
- Another option is the infamous Vanlife! I would love to try this out at some point. The benefits are that you own your house, you get to design and build it, and you get to get up and go whenever and wherever. However, space is always going to be an issue, and if anything ever goes wrong it’s on you to fix it.
- The final option is to try to find free/cheap housing. See if friends and family are comfortable with you couch-surfing or staying in a guest room! This will be cheaper than an Airbnb for sure but don’t allow it to strain your personal relationships.
- Another option is to go to Workaway.info to find a place that will host you in exchange for work around their house/help with a project. A lot of workaway hosts need ad-hoc help for creative projects, and are willing to give housing and food for anywhere between 10-40 hours/week.
- Needed Amenities: If you work a remote job from a remote location, you’ll need an amazing Wi-Fi connection. Starlink or similar companies are the industry-standard in this arena. If you’re being hosted by someone, make sure they have great Wi-Fi. If you work a 9-5, your boss likely isn’t going to be pleased with you needing to reschedule a meeting because your connection is spotty.
- Other Tips: If you want to make this style of life cheaper and less isolating, invite people along! See if your friends or significant others want to tag along for a week in your van or split the cost of an Airbnb!
- Housing: You have a lot of options for housing.
- Seasonal work: Have you ever wanted to work for a national park, ski resort, or other outdoor recreation company? You can! You might even be surprised at how much money you can make while doing it.
- Housing: If you work for a seasonal company, you have two options for housing most of the time: 1. get your own housing, or 2. use the housing they offer you. Most seasonal jobs accept that their employees might need housing and offer it to them at either a steep discount or for free. For example, most ski resorts offer dorm-style apartments with a roommate for around $400/month – pretty nice if you don’t mind a roommate! Many also offer couples housing if you’re interested.
- Needed Amenities: You’ll need to look deep into what benefits, wages, and positions these companies offer. It’s easy to get lost in the weeds, but companies like coolworks.com do a great job organizing your opportunities well. Also, make sure that the housing options allow for the comforts you need (Wi-Fi, private bathrooms, closet space, parking, etc.). Your comfort for the next few months is in their hands!
- Other Tips: Most of these opportunities are with large private companies. Look them up on Glassdoor and Reddit to see how people like them, how their wages compare, and if there is anything you should look out for.
- Self-Employ: I won’t go into this very much because it’s SO varying. If you want to be self-employed, then you need to take a leap! Figure out what housing option above works for you, or maybe even take on a seasonal job at the beginning to keep money coming in while getting your business off the ground. If you have a passion, you should go for it,but do it responsibly! Dreams can work if you have the right fallbacks, safety nets, and risk-averting protocols in place.
Full-time travel for people who still need to work takes sacrifices; but they are sacrifices worth taking if freedom and adventure are non-negotiables for you.
If you’re interested in what I’m doing to adopt this lifestyle, check out The Otherwhere Blog Series!
And, if you want a more instructional manual for the resources I use, check out the Field Guide.
Are These Worthy Sacrifices Worth it to You?
Unless you have a substantial trust fund, prioritizing travel will take a few sacrifices. Your trips will look different than your friend’s once-a-year all-out trip where they stay in nice hotels and eat fancy meals. But your travel can be more sustained and more fulfilling.
The lifestyle of vanlifers and national park workers is not as glamorous as it may seem. Shoving an entire house into a space smaller than some people’s kitchens is hard. Most vanlifers also shower and go to the bathroom outdoors, two feet away from their bed, or at nationwide gyms. However, when you get to wake up to the same beaches they do, or the same mountains, lakes, deserts, and prairies, then it becomes worth it.
Most full-time travelers are simply vagabonds who decided that the rat race of corporate America wasn’t for them. They craved being one with nature, seeing new places, and meeting new people. And they craved it enough to give up the cushy jobs, spacious houses, and nice cars that come with the alternative.
Simply put, they’re just people who thought the risk of leaving was worth more than the risk of staying put.
