HELP!!! I Gotta Get Out of the States!

[athenstroutbum]

Sorry about the urgency of my newb post, but I have been lurking for a bit and am really getting the travel fever.

a) I really want to travel overseas, but after rent/bills/gas expenses in downtown Atlanta GA...I can only sock away 300 or so USD a week at my job. It seems like some of you guys travel for months at a time, hitting tons of countries etc...how do you guys get $$$$????

Anybody want to talk about budgets? How much did it cost ya to go to Australia for a month or backpack around the EU for a summer? Can you really live for a long while in central/south america or africa on the strength of the US dollar?

B) How do you guys keep costs down? working in foreign countries? I would assume that i could travel for a bit in south america or africa for cheap, but if I wanted to stay a few months in Oz or the EU i'd have to get a job. anybody done this? i'm not going to spend tons of cash on one of those BS visa services...but has anyone else worked at anything in a large foreign city?

any thoughts would be appreciated...esp. concerning $$$$!!!!!
thanks-

[foofiter]

Welcome to the boards fellow ATL'er. I am actually in Rio right now kickin it. $300 a week? wow thats a lot! 1200/month. You could work 6 months and be good to go.

The best way to stay out of the USA is to teach english somewhere. Brazil I know needs it as does Turkey and almost all of SE Asia.

I am sure others will chime in as well.

Oh, and welcome again

Foo

[Elizabeth]

Welcome! I would love to be putting away $300 a week! I am saving practically every cent I earn (part time afterschool type job) but its only coming up to $100ish a week. I figure I will have been working/saving for one year before I graduate high school and take off.

I am going to keep costs down by using hospitality sites (like couchsurfing) which cuts down on accomodation. Also if I am brave enough I might try hitchhiking. There is this duo - Kinga and Chopin who hitched the world for 5 years with only $600 dollars between them and they survived only thru the kindness of strangers. I have to track down a copy of their book. So its possible.

There's also the hobo traveller who has an internet blog. He's been on the road for 9 years.

Like Foo said...teaching English is good. In some places like SE Asia you can make enough to get by and live comfortably enough but I hear in some places like Saudia Arabia you can make a killing. Just read the middle east section at Dave's ESL cafe.

[florencia9699]

LOL that's a lot!! i manage to save 300pesos which is about 100US$ A MONTH!!!! ... so you're on the right track my friend!!!

[athenstroutbum]

thanks for the tips so far----

---all of you taking these huge trips in the Itineraries/MeetUp section, what's your budget like? I already plan to stay in hostels, work somewhere, camp when in the country etc., but I'm trying to do more research on how much cash one might need for a long trip...anywhere. Thanks and much love.

[LiveFreeorDie]

If your interested in spending time in Oz, I would recommend you research their working holiday visa program and see if you would qualify. You can spend up to 12 months in Oz and work in various types of positions. Here is a website to get you started:

Live in Australia - working holiday

I don't really know about whether Europe has something like this, but I have never heard of it if they do. The other options for extended trips are spending your time in low cost countries as mentioned previously, Central/South America, Southeast Asia, China, etc. Those countries are low cost AND offer numerous opportunities for English teaching if that is up your alley. Good luck!

[MeTurk]

If you have Irish parents or grandparents you are automatically a citizen and can come here and draw the dole.

There is a website out there somewhere that offers fairly cumby jobs around europe but I think they usually come with accomidation. I just don't know what it's called.

Sign up for couchsurfers too, it'll cut down on costs allot.