I’ve been extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to live abroad for so many years and while I feel like I’ve been on holiday the whole time, the reality is that I’ve been working abroad.
One of the biggest misunderstandings of long-term travel is that you need to be rich. The reality is that most of us aren’t rich and don’t have a lot of money in the bank. If you’re willing to slow down a little, settle in abroad, find a job and save money, you’ll be able to continue travelling for as long as you want. And if I’m going to be completely honest, this is the best type of travel and the most memorable!
So how can you afford to travel?
It’s simple, find work and earn money while you’re travelling.
Of course, it’s going to be hard to afford to travel if you don’t work. I mean you wouldn’t even be able to afford to live at home if you didn’t work, would you? Why would you think it would be any different while living abroad?
What are the different types of work you can do abroad?
Generally, they fall into 4 different categories:
Local Jobs
These are the jobs that you find once you arrive in a certain country or city. They usually involve either printing a CV and handing it around town or applying online for different jobs.
In the past, this has been the method that I’ve used to find many different jobs abroad. I would recommend looking into getting a Working Holiday Visa so that you’re eligible to legally work in a foreign country.
Work for Accommodation
If you aren’t able to get a working holiday visa and legally get paid to work abroad, then working for accomodation is a great alternative. In exchange for free accommodation (sometimes food and pocket money aswell) you work for a few hours a day to help out. This can involve anything from farm work to working in hostels.
Check out Work Away to get an idea of the type of work offered.
Online Work
Being able to work online is every long-term travellers dream! The dream of being able to make money from your laptop anywhere in the world get’s a lot of people excited. The reality is, you’ll have to invest some time to building your skill set if you want to start making money online.
This article will show you how to start making money online in less than a week!
Travel Jobs
If you want to make travelling a part of your life, then why not consider a travel job. These jobs generally involve travelling to different places around the world while working.
Now that we understand the different types of work overseas, we can have a look at ways to earn money abroad in 2016:
1. Hostel
One of the most common ways for travellers to save money while travelling is to work in a hostel. In exchange for free accommodation at the hostel, they can work at the reception desk and/or provide basic cleaning services. This is a great option if you plan on staying in a certain city for a few weeks or months and don’t have working permits. Because you aren’t getting ‘paid’ you can legally work in the hostel.
The best way to find a job in a hostel is to be friendly with the staff, be fun and tell them you’d love to become a staff member.
Type: Work for Accomodation
Income: $0-$10 an hour
Resources:
–Job Availabilities in Hostels Around the World
–What to Expect Working in a Hostel
2. Au Pair
If you’ve ever been a babysitter or looked after children in the past, then being an Au Pair might be the perfect job for you. The role of an Au Pair is to help look after a families children and teach them your native language. Rather than a simple babysitter or nanny who comes and goes, you live with your Au Pair family and help out. This is typically a sought out job for girls.
This can be a well-paying job in many areas around the world. I’ve met a few people that have been paid more than $5000 per month, plus free accommodation and food.
Type: Work for Accommodation
Income: $5-$30 an hour
Resources:
–Au Pair World
–Smart Au Pairs
3. Volunteer
One of the most rewarding experiences that you can have while travelling is volunteering. Whether you’re helping look after endangered species or teaching others less fortunate than you how to read, volunteering will change your life.
Be careful: There are various volunteer programs abroad that make you pay to be a part of their program. A lot of these programs are nothing more than a scam and a way to make money.
Type: Work for Accommodation
Income: $0
Resources:
–How to Volunteer Abroad for Free
–Free Volunteering
4. Resort Jobs
If you love partying and don’t mind living with others, then resort jobs can be amazing. From the mountain tops to tropical islands, there are many different types of resorts all over the world. Generally, you are offered free accomodation, free food and a basic wage.
Type: Work for Accommodation/Local Job
Income: $10-$25 an hour
Resources:
–Club Med
–Are you Cut Out for Resort Work?
5. Farm Work
One of the most popular ways for travellers to make money on the road (especially in Australia and New Zealand) is to work on a farm. These jobs can be anything from picking potatoes to driving tractors. Unfortunately, this type of work generally doesn’t pay very well, although many provide free accommodation and food in return for your efforts.
Type: Work for Accommodation/Local Job
Income: $0-$18 an hour
Resources:
–WWOOF International
–Paying and Volunteer Farm Work Jobs World Wide
6. Flight Attendant
Being a flight attendant is the first job that most people think of when looking for a travel job. While this seems like one of the most glamorous jobs, it’s actually quite difficult. With a tough application process, a long training period and constantly dealing with unhappy customers, becoming a flight attendant definitely isn’t for everyone.
Type: Travel Job
Income: $20-$35 an hour
Resources:
–Flight Attendant Careers
–What it’s Really Like to Work as a Flight Attendant
7. Cruise Ship
There are many different jobs you can do on a cruise ship including cooking, deck hand, performing, engineer and more. These jobs generally offer free accommodation, food and travel insurance. If you don’t mind spending long periods of time on a ship and like travelling to exotic places, then working on a cruise ship might be the perfect job for you.
Type: Travel Job
Income: $15-$30 an hour
Resources:
–How to Get a Job on Board Cruise Ships
–What it’s Actually Like to Work on a Cruise Ship
8. Travel Writer
If you’ve ever thought about travelling to different locations around the world, staying in fancy hotels and resorts and writing about your experiences, then travel writing is a great option. While it’s not an easy industry to break into, writing articles online can help you afford to travel for years to come.
Type: Travel Job/Online Work
Income: $10-$200 per article (plus free travel)
Resources:
–How to Make Money Writing Articles Online [The Ultimate Guide]
–How to Become a Travel Writer
9. Tour Escort
Big tour companies such as Contiki and Bus About hire tour escorts to lead their groups on trips around multiple countries. There are opportunities to lead tours all around the world. Most of these companies expect a minimum commitment of 1-2 years and don’t necessarily pay very well for the amount of work you do.
Type: Travel Job
Income: $15-$30 an hour (plus free travel and accommodation)
Resources:
–Contiki Jobs
–Become a Tour Escort
10. Tour Guide
Different to a tour escort, a tour guide generally does tours in one location. Whether you take a hiking tour of a certain region, a city tour or a museum tour, there are plenty of options. Pick where you want to live, learn about the cities history and landmarks, contact the local tourist office and apply for a job.
Type: Local Job
Income: $10-$25 an hour
Resources:
–Lead Adventure Travel Tours
–So you Want to be a Tour Guide
11. Busking
If you play an instrument, busking is an easy way to make money from anywhere in the world. While you won’t earn a full-time wage, busking allows you the freedom to play whenever you want, and earn enough money for food and cheap accommodation.
Type: Local Job
Income: $0-$25 an hour
Resources:
–Rules for Successful Buskers
–How to Make Money Busking
12. Tutor
If you’re looking for a way to make money using skills that you already have, then I suggest looking into tutoring. You can either tutor face-to-face or online via video. Though you won’t become a millionaire overnight, you can earn enough money to fund your full-time travel life.
Type: Local Job/Online Work
Income: $5-$20 an hour
Resources:
–Talk Online With Others for Money
–Become a Tutor Online
13. Teach English
One of the most popular ways for foreigners to make money while living abroad is teaching English. English is a language that is in high demand and there is a lack of good English teachers in many countries. If you’re looking for a job that pays well and offers a great experience interacting with locals, then teaching English overseas is the way to go.
Type: Local Job/Online Work
Income: $10-$20 an hour
Resources:
–How to Get an English Teaching Job Overseas
–10 Ways to Teach English Abroad
14. Bartender/Server
The main way that I’ve funded many years living abroad has been through bartending and waiting tables. Once you have experience in this industry, you can work anywhere in the world and fund your travel life overseas. If you like earning decent money and partying with locals then working as a bartender is perfect.
Type: Local Job
Income: $10-$25 an hour
Resources:
–Learn How to Travel the World With Bartending
–How to Easily Find a Hospitality Job Abroad
15. Chef
If you have experience working in a kitchen, you’ll be able to find a job almost anywhere in the world. Good chefs are always in high demand and luckily there are restaurants all over the world. While this is a well-paying job, you will have to work quite a lot and may not get as much time to travel and appreciate your time abroad.
Type: Local Job
Income: $15-$35 an hour
Resources:
–Chef Jobs Abroad
–Catering Jobs Abroad for Chefs
16. Blogging
The ultimate dream for a lot of travellers is to start a successful blog. It normally takes years to start making money from a blog, but if you start today and have a long term vision, you’ll be able to fund your travels through your blog.
Type: Online Work
Income: $500-$4000 a month
Resources:
–How to Start a Travel Blog [Step-By-Step Guide]
–6 Things to Know Before you Start a Travel Blog
17. Freelance
The quickest way to start making money online is by freelancing. Whether you’re a writer, graphic designer or know how to code, there are millions of different jobs for freelancers online. If you think you don’t have any skills that you can freelance, consider SEO writing because you can start making money in a couple of days.
Type: Online Work
Income: $5-$50 an hour
Resources:
–5 Steps to Start Making Money With SEO Writing
-Find Jobs on Upwork
-Find Jobs on Freelancer
-Find Jobs on iWriter
18. Vlogging
Putting up video blogs every day to sites such as Youtube can take a lot of time. However, if you enjoy shooting videos, editing them and sharing them with the world, then vlogging is the right option for you. Unfortunately, in order to get paid, you generally have to monetize your videos through Youtube which means you need to get a lot of people watching your videos.
Type: Online Work
Income: $100-$5,000 per video
Resources:
–How to Start Vlogging on Youtube
–How to Create Kick-ass Travel Videos
19. Virtual Assistant
Being a virtual assistant involves completing organisational tasks for someone from organising their calendar, to setting meetings, to doing research on a certain topic. This isn’t the most glamorous job and usually involves doing some mundane tasks, but it can be done online and means you can continue travelling for as long as you want.
Type: Online Work
Income: $5-$15 an hour
Resources:
–How to Become a Virtual Assistant
–Find Jobs on Fiverr
20. AirBnB
If you have an apartment or house and plan on keeping it while you travel, consider renting it out. By using websites such as Airbnb you can rent out room/s in your place for some extra travel money. This can help you earn a bit of extra cash while your on the road.
Type: Online Work
Income: $20-$100 a night
Resources:
–Rent Out Your Room
–Get Paid for Your Pad
21. Photography
If you know how to use a camera, chances are you can make some money by selling your photography. While this is a very competitive business, if you follow the right strategy and commit to improving the quality of your photographs then you can make a nice living.
Type: Online Work
Income: $1-$500 per photo.
Resources:
–Top 15 Sites to Sell Your Photos Online
–Travel Photography Course
22. Poker
Funnily enough, I was able to fund my second overseas trip through the money I made from Online Poker. To be honest, I got lucky, and unless you’re good with numbers, have patience and are willing to lose sometimes, then online poker might not be for you. That being said, having the ability to be anywhere in the world, take out your computer and start making money from poker is pretty cool.
Type: Online Work
Income: $0-$100 an hour
Resources:
–The biggest Online Poker Website
–How to Fund Your Travels Playing Online Poker
Conclusion
The reality is that there are plenty of different ways to make money while you’re overseas. Although not all of them will suit your needs, I know that you’ll easily be able to make money using one of the methods I’ve mentioned.
To be honest, the best type of travelling is when you’re able to stay somewhere for a little while, settle in, work and interact with the locals. In this way, you get to experience other cultures first hand.
I hope that you’re now inspired to start planning your next trip overseas and understand that you don’t need to save a lot of money to make your dream of travelling a reality. All you need to do is find a job on the road, save for a little and continue travelling.
Have you ever worked abroad? What type of job did you have?
I’m so excited to be on the road again in a few weeks… but i’m pretty sure I’ll run out of money at some point! These tips are so useful Don’t think I’d be any good at poker though! haha
I know the feeling, I love being on the road, but running out of money is tough!
Im a construction worker with little skill or desire to work on a computer. I want to move to mexico. Preferably in a smaller city. Not sure if I have enough skill to go on my own or the pay is enough as a construction worker in Mexico to make a living. Any idears?
Hi Alex, its definitely a lot harder to make a living overseas if you aren’t willing to work on the computer because you then need to apply for working visas (or other visas that allow you to work). I’ve done this in France by getting a working holiday visa and working in local pubs and bars
Wow I never realised that there were so many possible jobs out there to do whilst you’re travelling! We mainly do blogging and social media advertising mainly on Instagram which earns us a steady income 🙂 Would love to try out Airbnb, but we are a little hesitant! An air hostess would be an amazing job for a few years! 😀
Thanks for sharing!
Thats great that you can make money through social media advertising on Instagram. I don’t know much about instagram advertising though. Anything you recommend checking out?
I would like to join you
If you’re prepared to roll your sleeves up and not afraid to get dirty, there is usually some sort of working option as you’ve suggested.
We too have utilised Workaway, and the opportunities are as varied as the countries in which there are options.
I agree, if you really want to travel and work overseas there is nothing stopping you. There are always ways to make money!
Pls how do I start
Great post, Lewi, with lots of ideas. But your estimation of what we travel writers earn is way low. I was recently paid $1,500 US for a travel piece. If only they all paid that well, but there certainly is a wide range of markets with an equally wide range of payments on offer.
Wow that is a lot of money for an article. The earning potential that I mentioned was merely an average of what someone starting out can expect to earn.
Hope the travel writing continues to bring you great success in the future!
Actually am from nigerial and I have interest in working abroad and don’t no what to do
Check out some of the other articles on my website about working abroad/online and you should be able to find some helpful advice.
This is a very complete list that shows if you really want to travel, there are many ways to achieve that goal.
It’s true there are so many to earn money abroad. Hmmm. Winning big at poker sounds like the most fun. Any expert poker tips?
Start on the small stakes, and don’t be afraid to go all in with your money if you have a good hand!
This is quite an exhaustive list of opportunities for someone looking forward to ways and means to travel. It is important to have a steady income to indulge in your passion for travel, However, I would suggest that one should select what the work one is really interested in as this will make it more interesting and not something that becomes a drag.
I actually agree with you Vyjay.
Unfortunately it isn’t always possible to work doing what we love doing, especially when living overseas.
Having a mixture of jobs that are online based and location based allows you to develop your skills while still interacting in a different culture.
This is a great article! If not for the advices but the motivation. I imagine someone who has just started their travels to find this inspiring and helpful 🙂 Wish I had read this when I just started my working holiday trip, would feel so much more secure about starting out.
If you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t really matter what you do…you’ll be able to earn money for traveling. All I know is there’s no easy quick way to earn–you’ve got to be willing to put in the effort and the time.
Or literally do your normal job else where hihi! I work in advertising and have lived in Asia and now in the Middle East. If any of you can – I recommend you to leave your country and live in another! Great experiences!
These are some fantastic tips for those who want to travel long term and looking for the best ways to afford that luxury! Personally I prefer to work a lot at home and then take long travel breaks. 🙂
-@FlunkingMonkey
Gosh, so many possibilities. And many appeal to me. Besides of course, being a blogger and travel writer. I would not mind being a tour guide too. Thanks for sharing all these.
I love these ideas! And I am already perusing one of them 🙂 I just love the idea to explore a new place while earning some money. Thank you for sharing!
I am inspired .viewing your reply.can u guide me.i am ready to work.
Its great to see a lit of so many possibilities. Some of these are really interesting. I am going to try out some in near future
If it is easy i have interested plz guide me
which specific way to earn money overseas are you interested in?
Wonderful content. I also earning money with travel blogging. good one Info.
I’m glad that you’ve been finding the content useful
I am agreed now to do the work.please sir guide me immediately.i am from india.
Very creative ideas and wonderful content. I really like your tips to earn money abroad. Thanks a lot for the amazing tips.
Glad you found it helpful!
It directly depends on what you want to get from your life. You can have a thousand of options but try only one.
Hi Lewi,
Excellent, I appreciate your writing style💖. I knew about To Earn Money Abroad but learned more from your article. You’ve given a lot of resources here that are very important to Earn Money Abroad.
Thanks a lot for sharing this knowledge.🙂
Anita Jacobi
Contributor, Careeriz
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