Long-term travel is different to everyone. Some think 6 months is long-term while others think years. Have a read about our personal preferences and why we think we have found the best way.
Our entire goal is to see the world and by the end of it have enough money to put a deposit on a house. It sounds too good to be true really but there are some crazy good opportunities out there with endless possibilities.
Read More: Where Will The Next 5 Years Take Us
This isn’t another one of those posts that are going to tell you to sell all of your stuff, quit your job and book a one-way ticket. We realise that travel is not accessible for everyone, and it’s also not everyone’s preferred choice either.
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Some people would rather go to work at a job they enjoy, come home to a cosy house and eat a home-cooked meal accompanied by some good wine, than sleep in a creaky hostel bed, get bitten all night and get food poisoning from local street food. I get how a different life appeals!
However, if you are in a position to travel and you’re able to leave your current life behind, we recommend travelling long-term!
We started in China teaching English. Whilst we were in China we used it as a hub to travel South East Asia; China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Bali. At the same time, we were paying off all of the combined debt we accumulated at university, and a car and saved roughly £10,000.
Read More: Your Complete Guide To Teaching English In China
Now we are in Australia looking to accomplish a similar feat.
These cuties were just hanging out in the grass next to the road! Firstly I have to advise that this is not a quick travel solution. Many of you out there want to go away for a month or two and cram as much travel in as possible. Whilst this is a very popular way of seeing the world, we don’t think it’s the most effective.
For example, you’ll have to save money whilst working in your home country. The majority of our readers come from ‘western’ countries so you all know how difficult it is to save whilst paying high rent and high bills.
So let’s say you save for a year to go on a month-long journey of South East Asia, a cliché among us with a travelling spirit. You’ll definitely have a good time, no doubt about it. You’ll go back home with some of the most valuable memories of your entire life.
You might have taken a safari in Sri Lanka, camped under the stars on a paradise Cambodian island, cooked new foods in Bali or even learnt a new language whilst backpacking China.
Maybe you’ll end up with some beaded necklaces and some big elephant pattern linen trousers.
But you won’t go back with any money.
So wherever we go we get a job.
Long term travel.
Read More: Is travelling A Hobby Or An Exciting New Way Of Life?
We migrate.
Those three sentences are enough to put most of you off. I understand why. We are going to be travelling for around 9-10 years if we see and do everything we want to do.
For some of you, the reasons are instant and understandable, children being the most prevalent. Taking young children around with you hopping from country to country is going to make it significantly harder.
Jade’s brother has just had his first baby. Beautiful little bastard. Jade knows she will miss him growing into a child.
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All of my siblings have now left home and all of us live far away from our mum. I worry constantly about my mum being lonely and sometimes have a sense of guilt associated with that, even though she would be the first to tell me to shut up.
The list goes on and I’m sure everybody has their own reasons. I’m not here to tell you that they are wrong. I’m writing this to try to persuade you to push through it.
We are currently in Australia working in a hotel/restaurant in the outback, getting paid a weekly wage each and all food, bills, drink and accommodation are included. We don’t spend a penny. Honestly we have been lucky as our employer is very generous. But there are plenty of jobs that offer a similar deal. I haven’t put our particular wage on here out of respect for our current employer but have a quick look online and you’ll get an idea.
Read More: How To Get Outback Jobs In Australia
We are working in the outback experiencing a completely new style of living and constantly meeting new people and characters, especially in the bar.
We plan to do that for 6 months. Then buy a camper van and travel for 6 months. Say we spend $2000 a month and we sell the camper at the end for slightly less. I foresee we still have AU$10,000 left.
So we will see more of Australia than any person with a job back home could possibly see. We experience the culture and the people first hand. And we come back with more money than we started.
It happened in China and it’ll happen again.
This is our idea of travel. This way of thinking is what we try to explain to so many people we meet along the way. The majority of the time people look impressed by the idea but you know the time committed to travelling scares nearly all of them.
I’m not here to judge, I’m not even here to motivate, you won’t get a video of me on the top of a mountain preaching on how to change your life.
I would only suggest doing it for one year to see how much more you see working in a foreign country.
You might just get hooked.
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What do you think of our plan? Do you do a similar thing? Do you totally disagree? Let us know in the comments below!
Comments
I think this is awesome! But you’re right, it’s a big decision! All of the “what ifs” start to run through your mind, but you have to weigh your options and do what is best for you. Can’t wait to see what your journey unfolds!
Thanks! It’s definetely not something you can decide to do with a click of a finger. Are you travelling aswell?
Fellow slow traveler here Kev. We do 1 month stays minimum, up to 6 months in some spots. No better way to experience a place, versus checking it off of a bucket list, which is not traveling but ego-induced silliness LOL.
Me and my wife are full time, pro bloggers so we take our mobile sources of income with us and enjoy the trips. We also do long term house sits to save while we earn. Cool combo. House sitting in NYC as I write these words from the Upper West Side in a posh neighborhood.
Love your take guys!
Ryan
It’s amazing you can take your work with you, we are still coming through so are not at your level just yet. I do think ticking things off a bucket list doesn’t truly allow you to experience a country however I do think some people either don’t have the luxury we do or they simply don’t have the desire. I love it though and it’s good to know other people are doing the same thing!
I love this article! You make a great point about how to leave with more money than you got there with. And you definitely get more of a feel for what life is really like where you are! I used to do this around my home country, the United States, and loved it! I moved to different states for a year at a time and really got to know where I lived and see lots of other places on weekends and vacations. Now I work full time with loads of vacation time and do a couple week long trips and a long summer trip each year. I still get to travel, but also have a ‘normal’ life. I am planning to take a year off very soon and am excited to travel the world full time! Maybe I will incorporate some work like you guys do. Like you said, maybe I will become hooked!
That sounds amazing! How long did you state hop for? Eventually we will stop and go back home but not for some time yet. However I am worried we will do exactly what you are doing and decide to leave again haha. I suppose there are worse things to worry about 🙂
I did it for a few years and loved it! I got tired of the nomadic life and the jobs I was doing and decided to have a more “stable life,” which is overrated. I wouldn’t mind going back and forth between the two lifestyles 🙂
I know what you mean, every now and again something will go wrong because of the situations you are putting yourself in. Going back and forth would be good but i can’t see how it would be possible due to having to get a job back home for short periods of time. Employers might start to turn you down due to holes in the CV.
This is an amazing article! It’s great to know there are other people out there who prefer long term travel to speeding through countries. Living in a country vs. sight seeing is a completely different experience. I just moved away from 5 years in South Africa (I’m Canadian) and am moving to China soon. Loving your blog!
If you can do it then we really think it’s the way forward. I rekon you’ll love China! If there is anything we can do to help then let us know.
Exactly the way I travel, too! I actually don’t enjoy travelling that much the other way. Short-term travel feels stressful to me, with not nearly as much reward. I’m about to head to Beijing for a year, where you both started out 🙂 really enjoyed reading your blogposts, thanks for all the advice and inspiration! Safe travels X
Exactly! A holiday is nice but to be able to explore a place for much longer feels so much better. Have a great time in Beijing! We’re also returning in February – can’t wait!
Whilst ‘migrating’ & working somewhere is a great idea – for those who may be over 30 it can be difficult- and is something to keep in mind – unless you have a job to go to and in some countries this is not so easy.
We have travelled extensively and recently spent a year travelling with our 8 year old, looking for somewhere new to live/base ourselves. We’re currently in the UK working for a while – whilst we decide where to next. We took our son trekking in the Himalayas, through Scandinavia, Finland, Germany and spent a couple of months in the alps in France. The education that he received in the time off from school, to my mind, has been much more educational!
Good luck with your travels – life in the Aussie outback sure is a different experience to the UK.
You’re right, that is true for some places like Australia. And of course, not everyone’s passport allows them to travel as extensively. But we say that if you can find an opportunity, take it and see where it leads you! Your adventures sound amazing – I bet your son learnt so much!!