How to Work and Travel at the Same Time

Do you want to change your life, make money and explore the world at once? Pack your suitcase! In this article, we will tell you how to travel and work at the same time.

How to Work and Travel at the Same Time

Today, more and more people are taking advantage of remote job opportunities and travelling without interruption from work — for periods longer than two or three weeks of vacation. Some people completely change their lives and become travel bloggers, talking about cheap tickets, finding a job abroad, tips for bloggers, travel insurance, and so on (like us). From the outside, it seems that these people live in travel, successfully combining trips not only with work but with family relations. And here is how it all begins: first, depending on your travel schedule and plan, you can take up some odd jobs along the way. For instance, if you travel to a country where they speak a different language, you can learn it before embarking on the journey. Upon your arrival, you can get a job as a translator or interpreter. You can also work as a tour guide as they are always in demand. We will delve into each of these options (and others) in more detail below. Please note, however, that this way of life may not suit you at all. Let's see whether it's your cuppa tea or not!

Our Guide to Remote Work and Travel

First of all, remote work is work for someone. No employer will pay money just like that. So regardless of whether you work in an office or remotely, you still have your tasks to perform. The bosses want to see the result and a responsible employee who is online when needed. Don't think remote work is lying in a hammock in a warm country and occasionally checking mail on your MacBook. If you manage to combine remote work and travel, that's very nice. But practice shows that you may face no access to the Internet, plus you need to think through a lot of other issues — organize a workplace, find a comfortable table and chair, choose the best travel laptop, and search for clients and the work itself at the same time.

That's why a lot of freelancers live in one place. They can go out on weekends, engage in CouchSurfing, even fly to bordering countries, but free travel isn't felt here. However, not for everyone. Someone quite often moves from place to place and feels relaxed with a constant change of scenery. Therefore, if you want to travel and not be in constant job search, you need to start your own online business, develop it, and hire staff. But even there, you will have to control all the work processes.

What Do You Need to Work Remotely While Travelling?

If you decisively set about searching for remote jobs, meticulously sifting through the required skills, education and experience, as well as having to conduct a thorough salary comparison simultaneously, then you're on the right path. Chances are good that you've already found cheap tickets for a flight to a warm country, and purchased travel insurance—but there are a few more steps you should take while you're at it. First of all, you need to take care of the availability and stability of the Internet connection, as well as a separate work area. Not all tasks can be done on a sun lounger by the pool — many require concentration. In addition, the success of remote work critically depends on the necessary software, even if you are travelling for work and your business trip will last no more than a month. In any case, you must have the minimum applications listed below. If you don't use any of them, productive remote work is impossible.

And so, you will need essential communication software to maintain constant contact with colleagues, clients, or partners. At any time, you may need advice from a co-worker, supervisor or talk to the client on certain issues. Moreover, when several employees are working on one project, they simply need the opportunity to discuss project details collectively. Next, you need to purchase a VPN to work while travelling. The use of a Virtual Private Network allows you to access website content limited to a specific region, protect your personal data and activities on the Internet when using public Wi-Fi. VPNs make it possible to use the Internet while maintaining privacy from anywhere in the world. And some days, you might want to sit back, relax and watch a movie or TV series on Netflix, only to find out your favourite ones are not available in the country you're currently in. Luckily, there are VPNs for Netflix out there to help you get around it. Additionally, if you plan on driving in a foreign country, it's crucial to obtain an international driving license to ensure legal compliance and hassle-free mobility during your stay. And some days, you might want to sit back, relax, and watch a movie or TV series on Netflix, only to find out your favourite ones are not available in the country you're currently in. Luckily, there are VPNs for Netflix out there to help you get around it.

Task managers are another must-have software when working on a trip. In order not to drive yourself into procrastination, it's critical to manage your time and prioritize. The inability to do these things causes chronic fatigue, lack of sleep, and, as a result, decreased productivity. It's especially felt when you work and travel at the same time, and the desire to see and try something new overshadows your work. In addition, you will need cloud storage, file sharing, screen recording software, and video calling applications. The rest is optional software, which is helpful, but many may not even use it.

What If I Don't Have Remote Job Opportunities But Want to Travel?

Work and travel at the same time will help you get to know other cultures — learn how life is on the other side of our planet. If you are not a remote employee of some company, not a freelancer, or working on the Internet isn't for you, then there are a lot of job opportunities — from travel blogging to house sitting Greece.

Furthermore, if you want to feel stability from a permanent position and live in another country, then a full or part-time job abroad will suit you well. Many professions overseas require spoken English only. Sometimes, these options include benefits such as visas, air tickets, and accommodation. This way you work and travel at the same time.

Top Job Opportunities to Work and Travel at the Same Time ('Employed and Travelling')

Here's a list of the most common job types that allow you to work and at the same time travel, too. These are all employee-type jobs - if that isn't your things, if you're more interested in being self-employed whilst travelling, please scroll down, I have further ideas and options for you below.

#1. Teaching English or another foreign language

Teaching English as a second language around the world is really easy. You only need to get certified as a teacher - my partner completed the Cambridge CELTA in a month! (not because he's a genius but bc that's how long the course is lol).

Teaching English abroad is the most typical way to make money and immerse yourself in another culture. There are many vacancies around the world, believe me. Numerous enterprises are willing to offer you a position, pay for your tickets, accommodation and so on.

#2. Become a tour guide!

Learn the language and culture of the city you dream of working in. And go on a dream trip! Well-experienced guides are always in demand.

#3. Become an Au pair!

If you know foreign languages and are ready to work with children, then an Au pair program may be a good option for you. An au pair lives with a host family in another country, takes care of the children, and helps them with their studies. The salary is not high, but accommodation and meals are free. And as a bonus — you will have a chance to learn about another country's culture.

#4. Work on a cruise ship!

There are various jobs on a cruise ship: bartender, shop assistant, receptionist, chef, hostess, DJ, stylist, massage therapist, health worker, and many more. The list is endless. Working on a cruise ship is one of the most popular ways to work and travel.

Truth be told though: it is known to be a tough job. Long hours, very often a stressful work environment and days on end, or even months at sea. Not everyone's cup of tea!

#5. Home Office: Try Doing Your Current Job from Home

Sounds like a duh option (and if it's not relevant to you, move on to the next points), but I cannot tell you the number of people that describe their job to me, and I'm like "wait, yeah, cool, but, couldn't you just do that from home?". ASK YOUR BOSS. Lay out a powerpoint on how your job could be done from home. Come on, you're good at powerpoint! And even if it can't be done at home because you've got a hands on job like a doctor or a builder or a dominatrix etc, surely at least one day of the week could be done from home? Hello admin. And powerpoints. (I'm not sure why I just assume you're sat about doing powerpoints all day... and I'm not sure why I find my assumption funny. Okay, I had too much coffee this morning.)

Now, I'm not saying you should do your job from home forever (unless of course you really love it and your new home/work lifestyle), I'm just saying that doing the job you already know (and are hopefully good at), is a good way to start earning money from home without any investment. I mean, hello, you don't have to invest in any training? And think of all the time you'll save cutting out the commute. Yey.

How to Earn Money While Travelling or From Home (Self-Employed Options)

Many of us wonder: "can I make money from home?" "Is that even a thing?" "I don't want to invest though." And, ultimately: "How can I earn money from home without any investment?" I hear you. As someone who is greedy and frugal, I always wanted to know the way to make money online with little to no investment. And, despite having being doing it for the past seven years, people are still surprised to hear that I do earn money from home (and also whilst travelling), and I did it without any investment. So I suppose it's time to share my secrets with you. So this post will answer these questions and, more importantly, give you some ideas as to how you can start weaselling your own way out of the rat race!

#1. Photography (e.g. Stock footage or Wedding photographer in resorts)

All newly-weds purchase the services of a photographer, including those couples who have a ceremony abroad. If you are a professional and have good equipment, in addition to your work fee, you will have paid tickets and accommodation for several days on some sunny island.

#2. Start Freelancing & Doing Odd Jobs Online!

So maybe you've now decided to earn money from home without any investment by doing your current job from home, and my work here is done. But for those that can't do their job from home or don't want to, where do you start? Well, by closing your eyes and thinking of a skill you have, or better yet something you enjoy doing. Know that someone, somewhere, is willing to pay you for that skill or passion. Seriously. Luckily we live in a time where it's easier than ever to connect to those buyers, thanks to the internet. Many, many websites out there like Fiverr, Upwork, Craigslist and more are just waiting for you to sign up and show your skills.

I personally recommend Fiverr, (purely because that's where I started earning money from home, and, yey, there's no investment needed). What is Fiverr? Fiverr is this platform that let's you sell any kind of skill for five dollars, and, once you get enough good references, you can up that five dollars to as much as you like. Any kind of skill? You ask. Well, okay, not anything, but many things I myself found particular success from:

• proofreading (perks of being a native English speaker, but actually, in my experience if English is your second (or third etc) language, your English proofreading skills are probably already better than mine... utilise!); 
• translating from German to English/ English to German (perks of once having a German boyfriend you might assume... na, perks of working really f-ing hard to learn German)
• holding up signs on pretty beaches with messages for random strangers (slash being a 'model')
• teaching English one-on-one via skype (or rather, listening to people tell me very deep personal secrets about their lives, often stuff they'd never told anyone about, whilst I patiently listened and corrected them on their pronunciation #lifeisstrange)*
• reviewing ebooks and anything else people wanted reviewing that I could do remotely (don't review actual products, they take ages to ship and mostly those kind of people want you to review without seeing the product which is hashtag notcoolbrad)
• correcting people's maths homework (perks of having a maths degree that I paid 20 grand for and never used)
• And more!

*Teaching English I found particularly interesting, you can of course do this offline too, but many places require an English degree, I think it's a great idea to trial being an English teacher online before you decide to make the commitment to get said degree.

Fiverr can be bad, of course, and there are many alternatives like upwork and freelancer. Fiverr was just the one I personally had success with. In my opinion, Fiverr isn't the place where you will earn money from forever, it's just a stepping stone to get you there. Either it finances you whilst your 'bigger projects' are taking wing (see next point) and/or it gives you a great little platform to trial a new job before you actually commit to making it your career forever.

For example, I once thought that I wanted to be a translator. So on Fiverr I tried it. I had some great projects (e.g. a book about the existence of the female orgasm), and I had some shit projects (e.g. a very very boring and repetitive lawyer report). But even with the great projects (which were exclusively book translations) all it taught me was that I'd rather be writing my own books (possibly even about the female orgasm) than translating someone else's. My point is, utilise your skills. Many jobs can be done online as freelance nowadays, if yours can't what about your skills - what do you like doing? Let’s say you like designing. In that case, you can print your designs on clothes and sell them online. There are several websites that can help you with it. You can click here to learn more about it. Whatever you like doing passionately, you're probably good at it and there's probably someone out there waiting to buy it from you!

#3. Write about Your Passions: Start a Blog!

After a year of blogging, I wrote a list of how long my Fiverr jobs took me to complete, how much they paid, and how much I was being paid per minute; next to it I wrote a list of how long my blogger jobs took me, how much they paid, and how much I was being paid per minute.

By the time I finished the list I quit all my jobs on Fiverr. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do Fiverr (clearly, like look at the above ramble I just did on it). I'm just saying, use Fiverr until your blog takes off (which on average takes about a year). But definitely start your blog right now. Cause the earlier you start it, the quicker it becomes valuable. Like seriously. Okay, not right now, finish this blog post first ;).

How do you make money as a blogger?

• with affiliate sales (where you get commission every time you sell someone else's product),
• with sponsored posts (where you get paid to fairly review and then, if it's good, promote someone else's product), 
• with book sales (both your own and others), 
• merch sales, 
• advertising 
• and so much more. 

You could be making a killer as a blogger. You could be working from anywhere, you could be making money passively. Without any investment* This was my dream. And even though I couldn't believe it when it actually happened, it happened.

*I say you can start a blog without any investment. And it's true, but if you want it to be successful I recommend investing just $10 on hosting. $10 will buy you a domain for a year and even if you don't have the time to do blogging 'professionally' in that first year, it's a good investment because a one year old blog is more valuable than a zero year old blog. Yes, even a one year old blog with no traffic (trust me). I bought my domain from HostGator and I've renewed that every year since (can't say fairer than that). I actually host on blogger (which all my blogger friends think is hilarious). But I'm a create of habit, plus a stingy one and blogger (unlike wordpress) is free. When you start getting into affiliate marketing Awin is definitely the way to go - they charge £5 sign-up fee, which you get back when you make a sale. I promote lots of affiliate through them like Trustedhousesitters - who pay like £15 a sale. Last but not least, I really really really really really really (did I make my point) recommend keysearch it takes all the guess work out of seo. I put off getting it for years and I kicked myself for not getting it sooner.

Some Extra Income Before Your Start Travelling Full-time (and a Gentle Reminder): You'll Probs Need to Sell (Most of) Your Stuff! (a.k.a. dehoard)

From the things around your house that you definitely don't need any more to the things you've always wanted to make and earn money for. And everything in-between. Ebay used to be the place to go to sell your physical I-no-longer-need-three-sets-of-china stuff, but nowadays Facebook market place seems to be ruling. When it comes to your art (be it music, paintings, ebooks, literally anything you enjoy making), why aren't you selling it? Are you afraid no one will buy it? No one will buy it for sure if you don't put it out there, at least give it a chance.

Do you not have the time to make things you enjoy making? How much time do you spend on Netflix/Social Media? Like worst comes to worst, if you're doing something creative that you love then you're practising good mindfulness, which is never a bad thing. Although I recommend that you start a blog to host your products from, it doesn't have to be THE way. Etsy is also a great platform for selling unique and cool things (it's also a great place for buying them too. And while you're in the mindset of clearing out your house of crap you don't need, you can also start doing that with your whole life, including your finances. Maybe you need your current job to make you thousands because your current lifestyle requires it.

But as someone who has lived on a beach and owns only what fits in a one rucksack and one small suitcase, I'm here to tell you that the most important things in life are fulfilling friendships, good health and nature and none of these things need cost a lot. Perhaps take this time at home to reflect how much money you really need to be making from home to live a happy, fulfilled life. And remember, time is the most important currency.

Wrap Up: How to Earn Money Whilst Travelling Full-Time

Today, we have numerous options to work and travel at the same time. If you don't like using a computer, freelancing, and remote work isn't about you, then feel free to buy cheap tickets, get travel insurance and go on an adventure. You can become a flight attendant, a photographer, a surfing or diving instructor, get a job at a hotel, and so on. It will help you get to know the world, other people and cultures, see the places you have long dreamed of, and visit Сornwall in winter. You just need to find a piece of the action for yourself or master a new profession in a new country. There are a lot of opportunities. Good luck!

Use your skills online to make enough money to cover your accommodation costs (if there are any), travel costs, insurance and food. Spend the rest of your time focusing on finding your way to become financially and geographically independent! One last tip: ultimately, you can make your home base mobile: a rucksack and a trolley bag, for example. I guess this is the end point of de-hoarding and minimising. Here's something people are very surprised to find out: travel is (often) cheaper than living at home. Of course this depends a little bit on who you are, where your home is and where you're travelling to. But generally speaking, for people who are from the USA, Canada, the UK, Western Europe, Australia or New Zealand life will be a lot cheaper for you if you live in South East Asia, South America or Eastern Europe. It's just a fact. Living costs are sooo much cheaper there! Keep that in mind.

But even if you are travelling to more expensive countries, I've got another tip for you: house sitting or couch-surfing will reduce your accommodation costs (mortgage or rent & bills) to almost zero by looking after people's houses and homes whilst they go on holiday - not just a great way to save money, but also a great way to have the peace and quiet you need to start building your own online businesses. We don't house sit that much any more, but this is how we started travelling.

P.S. If you're interested in starting travelling and saving money on accommodation right now, we recommend trying house sitting. We'd like to let you know that Trustedhousesitters.com was kind enough to provide us and our readers with a 10% discount -- click on the link to use it! Enjoy :)

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ABOUTME

We overland. We eat plants and fungi. We live outside as much as possible. We are all connected. A female travel blogger overlanding and writing about ecotourism, ethical and sustainable travel, socially conscious travel and housesitting. An online travel magazine since 2015.