How to Afford Long-Term World Travel pt 2 – How I Do It

hiking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal – Himalayas

How to Afford Long-Term World Travel

pt 2 –  How I Do It

The most frequent question hopeful world travelers ask me is how I can afford travelling the world, especially long-term. This seems to be the major question asked not only to myself, but to many other travel bloggers and long-term world travelers. As a result, I’ve started this series to answer this important question.

In part 1 I explained the three basic components to affording world travel. If you’re trying to figure out how you, too, can travel the world, I highly recommend reading pt 1 first in order to understand the basic principles of how such a lifestyle is possible before delving into the specific details about income sources.

teaching scuba diving in Thailand

As for how to earn an income while traveling the world, there are dozens and dozens of ways to achieve that, including passive income sources, jobs (working for other people/companies) and working for yourself. Ask 10 long-term travelers how he/she earns a living and you’ll get 10 different answers. Each of us long-term travel addicts has had to figure out on our own how to keep traveling.

I’ll be answering the question of how to earn a living while traveling over the course of several posts in this series, as follows:

pt 2 – How I, Lash, have been able to afford 14 years of world travels

pt 3 – Concrete Examples of how other travelers I’ve met are earning a living

pt 4 – Concrete Examples of how other travel bloggers are earning a living

pt 5- List of potential ways to earn a living while traveling

pt 6 – How to minimize costs while traveling

This being pt 2, I will now explain exactly how I’ve been able to afford traveling the world since 1998.

This post is a long one, so I’ll give you the short, quick version and the long, detailed version. If you want to skip the long version, be sure to at least catch the ‘LESSONS TO LEARN’ at the bottom of the post.

visiting a village near Sapa, – Vietnam

SHORT VERSION:

Step 1: Teaching English in Japan and saving money to travel the world. 1991-1997

Step 2: Invested my money and lived off the interest. Mid 1998-2000

Step 3: Finding different kinds of work out on the road. 2001-present:

* Cutting hair in Bali. 2001

* Modeling and performance work in Bali-  2001

* Export/import gig. Bali-Thailand-Japan- . 2001

* Working Crew on Survivor TV Show-  2002

* Lived off savings from working on Survivor-  2003

* WWOOF volunteer gigs in Australia-  2003

* PADI Dive Master and Instructor-  2004-2010

* Cutting hair in Shanghai, China-  4 months in 2008

* Attempt at web design-  2008-2009

* Worked at a rock climbing school in Thailand-  4 months 2009

* Selling paintball tickets in Manchester, England-  3 months 2009

* Running my own bakery / cafe / restaurant in Thailand-   2009-2010

* Travel blogging, author, travel writer-   2011-present

LONG VERSION:

Lash teaching kids Engilsh in Osaka, Japan

Step 1: Teaching English in Japan and saving money to travel the world. 1991-1997

Before I graduated from university I had already decided that I was going to go travel around the world. I hadn’t figured out HOW to manage that, particularly financially, but I did know without a doubt that’s what I was going to do.

About that time a friend of mine moved to Tokyo, Japan and began teaching English. He repeatedly wrote to tell me how much money he was making in the Land of the Rising Sun. So I decided that moving to Japan to teach English would be an excellent way to save money to travel the world. As a bonus, I’d essentially already be starting my travels by living overseas in Kyoto.

So that’s what I did. I moved to Kyoto, found a teaching job and set about diligently saving money for my big travel plans. It took me six years, but once I reached my goal of $50,000 US, I quit my job and left Kyoto in 1997. After a six-month visit with family and friends Stateside, I set out on my solo world travels in May, 1998.

Riding an elephant in Laos

Step 2: Invest my money and live off the interest

Before I left Japan I had started investing my money in mutual funds. During my 6-month preparations in the US, I researched the topic of investing in much more in depth and plunged the rest of my savings into my chosen mutual funds.

The stock market was soaring in the mid-late 1990s, so by the time I set out on my world trip, I had $6000 per year in interest to live on, without touching the principle. That was more than enough for me to cycle-tour through SE Asia on a budget of $400 US per month.

Those were great travel years. I was living entirely off passive income. I didn’t have to work or worry where money was coming from. I simply traveled: cycled, island hopped, camped on beaches and in national parks, staying in guest houses and budget hotels, ate local food and explored the cultural arts of the countries I visited.

That interest income lasted for 2 years. The 2000 stock market crash put an end to my wonderful investment interest income. Luckily, I didn’t lose much of my principle either. I just let it sit in the funds for several years to regain its original value.

However, that was the end of my passive income. Very sadly and reluctantly I had to work again. DAG! Suddenly, while out on the road traveling I had to find some way to earn a living.

Since then I’ve tried many different jobs and entrepreneurial ventures to allow me to continue traveling. Here’s what I’ve done:

Thai crew with Ruby and myself on Survivor Thailand

Step 3: Finding different kinds of work out on the road

Starting  in Bali…

In late 2000 I visited Bali for the 1st time. I instantly fell in love with it to the point that I started trying to figure out ways to stay & earn an income there. It’s the only time in all my travels that I’ve felt that way about a place, aside from Singapore.

So in early 2001 I returned to Bali and tried a variety of ways to make money. I called on my previous professional skills and also tried out a brand new entrepreneurial venture: 

preparing to perform a snake dance in Bali at a resort party

Work 1: Cutting hair

I had put myself through university with my first career: hair design. In Bali I decided to use that to my advantage. I put signs up in strategic places where westerner expats and travelers frequent (popular cafes, restaurants and bars) offering hair cutting services by a professional American hair designer. I gradually got more and more customers, but it wasn’t enough to entirely live off. Cutting hair work usually takes quite a while to build up a clientele, so I wasn’t surprised. But it did help pay for some expenses.

Work 2: Modeling and performance work

I’d grown up as a ballet dancer and had performed in small dance companies in the US and Japan. More recently, I’d learned fire spinning and had been performing it in Thailand. As a result, in Bali I was able to join a small performance company that entertained at resort events, parties, new attraction openings and so on.

I did some fun gigs. Most notably, my colleague and I were the very first two people to officially go down the largest slide at Bali’s Water World. More exciting for me was performing dance at Hard Rock Hotel’s main lobby / bar.

I also got a few small modeling jobs, purely by chance. The TV crew were looking for people with tattoos and/or piercings. That was me. :)

Selling my merchandise at a 3-day trance festival in Japan

Work 3: Export/import gig

South Bali is filled with westerners and Japanese who buy Bali’s very inexpensive goods or else design their own clothes, shoes, swimsuits, handbags, jewelry, or home interiors then have them made in Bali’s extensive factories. They export their merchandise back to Europe, US and Japan for huge profits.

That gave me the inspiration to try it myself. I bought hundreds of select pants, sarongs and hip-bags. I also had two unusual bags manufactured, based on a local friend’s own design. I shipped them all to Japan.

Next I went to Bangkok, Thailand and bought up several hundred trendy T-shirts and shipped them along to Japan as well. Finally, I flew to Japan, settled myself in Kyoto and picked up all my merchandise at the post office, where it was being held for my arrival.

I spent three months selling everything at Kyotos’ various temple flea markets and at Dance Festivals all over Japan. In the end, I sold 90-100% of most of my merchandise. The rest I flew back with me to Bangkok, where I marched around the city, selling most of the remaining stuff to small shops in the tourist areas.

On most counts I’d say the venture was successful. It paid for my 3-month trip in Japan, a quite expensive country. And I had enough profit left over to travel through Nepal for one month.

However, it was a lot of work hauling my heavy merchandise all over Japan. And it was extremely stressful for me as my very first import/ export venture. Every time I headed off to a flea market or dance festival, I never knew whether I’d sell all or zero. I never knew if I’d make enough money to cover the costs involved or if I’d have to pay out of my own pocket.

But it was mighty fun. I would have done it a second year except…

here’s me driving my ATV on Survivor Thailand

Work 4: Working Crew on Survivor TV Show

While cycling and island hopping in southern Thailand, I literally and unexpectedly got picked up off the beach to work on Survivor! I’d never even heard of the show before. But I did speak Thai. They hired me as a Thai translator for the production’s Unit Department. I’ve written a series of posts detailing my amazing experiences on crew: Survivor Thailand

Later that year I was hired again to crew Survivor Amazon.

The pay was quite good. All our food, accommodation and minor medical expenses were covered. And the crew are pretty much working all the time. As a result, we didn’t spend any money. Most of our earnings went into savings. So…

Here I am in Sydney with my then German boyrfriend

 Work 5: Living off savings from working on Survivor crew

I was able to travel for one year on savings from working Survivor, along with a bit of interest income finally coming back in from my previous investments. I also did two WWOOF gigs in Queensland:

WWOOFing in Kuranda / WWOOFing at Sanctuary Retreat

 Work 6: Training and working as a PADI Dive Master and Instructor

By 2004 I needed to find a new way to earn a living. I’d been considering becoming a dive pro ever since I started my world travels back in 1998. Along the way I’d talked with dozens of dive pros at shops around SE Asia and in Australia.

Back in south Thailand in 2004 I did all the dive courses up through Dive Master and promptly began working as a dive pro. I loved it! After working one year as a DM in Thailand and Malaysia, I took the PADI Instructor’s Course, became a PADI Instructor, and began teaching scuba diving.

From 2005 -2010 I taught diving in Thailand, Malaysia, Bali and the Philippines.

It’s a wonderfully fun job. BUT it’s not easy to find work in new places. And the pay is incredibly low, especially given the amount of work required and the high level of responsibility looking after people’s well being and lives.

The pay is enough to survive on, but certainly not enough to save for the future. And since it was so difficult to find work in new places, a diving career was ironically preventing me from traveling! I ended up in the same two places over and over again, year after year.

So I began looking for a new way to earn a living.

my 1st career at hair designer – Pittsburgh – Pa

Work 7: Cutting hair in Shanghai, China

While teaching diving in Boracay Island, Philippines, I met a young Australian hair designer who owned his own shop in Shanghai. He offered me a job and a place to live. I went.

The biggest thing I learned is that I do not want to cut hair full time! That lasted four months before I returned to Bali to teach diving again.

Meanwhile, I took a web design course from a Dutch man living in Shanghai.

 Work 8: Attempt at web design

While in Bali I practiced web design vigorously and tried to earn money by designing websites for small dive shops and businesses. I quickly learned that small independent shops want websites designed for free or next to nothing. And web design is so learning-intensive that I would have to learn a LOT more before I could design for larger companies who were willing to pay for websites.

I set that skill to the side.

Work 9: Working at a rock climbing school in Thailand

A German friend of mine owns a successful rock climbing school in Thailand. She hired me to work at the shop for one high season.

While there, we discussed the idea of me opening a cafe or bakery in an empty bar / cafe on her property. I decided to go for it. But before that…

paintball chicks

Work 10: Selling paintball tickets in Manchester, England

While working at the climbing school, I met up with a South African guy who recruited me to work in his company in England. He assured me a room in a company house and high earnings.

What the heck? I flew myself to England and worked for three months selling paintball tickets. Worst job in my life! Read the full gory details: My Bizarre Summer in Manchester, England

Hanging out with some of my staff

Work 11: Running my own bakery / cafe / restaurant in Thailand

One of my teenage passions was baking. And while teaching diving in Thailand I’d seen a British woman run a successful bakery. I knew that a bakery would do well there.

So I escaped from England, went to the US for a few months, practiced and perfected my baking recipes, made extensive business plans and headed back to Thailand. A British guy I knew went in on it with me. We hired a Dutch chef. I was the baker. We set up and ran a full time bakery / cafe / restaurant.

It took off quickly and was a huge success all season. It was the only place that European and N American climbers could get freshly baked bread, muffins and cookies and where they could eat high quality, authentic western meals.

Quite unfortunately, towards the tail end of the season I ran into some immigration / work permit issues and had to close it down. Bummer.

So much for that great venture. 

book signing – St Petersburg – Florida

Work 12: Travel blogging, author, travel writer

Later that year I returned to Bali for one more dive season. When I arrived it dawned on me that I should write a guidebook to cycling around Bali. I’d cycled the whole island myself already, knew the best places to stay, eat and visit. During my 6-month stay I also decided to write a guidebook to hiking in Bali. I did the research for both books while there: hiking, cycling and taking extensive notes.

I returned to the US for Christmas 2010 and stayed the following year with family while I wrote my two guidebooks and got LashWorldTour started in earnest. I worked for 1 ½ years, without any income, living off my former savings, before I started earning a living from my blog and writing.

And this is where I am today. Traveling the world once again, writing, photographing and blogging as I go.

Here are some insights I hope you will take away from my experiences earning a living while traveling the world:

 Lessons to be learned :

1. There are dozens of ways to earn a living in countries all over the world

2. You can use your own personal skills, training and knowledge to create your own work niche or find jobs

3. Observe what others are doing and perhaps try it yourself

4. You can always find a way to earn a living. Figure out what you could do and try it.

5. Many opportunities will unfold as you go. Those opportunities will only happen if you’re out there, not while you’re sitting at home.

6. Do something you love. It will be a lot more fun and last longer

7. Take some risks

8. If you don’t work within the laws of the countries you’re in, you’re at risk of legal ramifications

9 You can’t plan out 20 years beforehand. Just get started and figure it out as you go.

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I hope this post will inspire you hopeful travelers to get out here on the road and follow your dreams.

Be sure to read  pt 1: The Three Components

And catch the rest of this series, coming up weekly. 

Thank you for reading my own personal story.

Cheers, Lash

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If you want to learn everything about how to travel long-term, I highly recommend Wandering Earl’s latest book:

How to Live a Life of Travel

You might also enjoy:

How To Afford Long-Term World Travel pt 3 – How Other Long-Term Travelers Do It How To Afford Long-Term World Travel pt 5: List of Income Sources While Traveling How to Afford Long-Term World Travel pt 7 – Minimizing Costs on Transportation How to Afford Long-Term World Travel pt 8 – Minimizing Costs on Entertainment