I have some concerns that I am addressing and I would like to hear what you have to say!
Here it goes. A goal I am considering is finishing college (this May) and working until my debts are paid up (15k student loans) and have $10,000 USD in the bank. At that point I want to quit my (very nice, well paying) job and travel the world for at LEAST 1 year. I will do whatever work I can find on the way and live the life of a wandering worker. My concerns lie here:
1. Career - How do you guys, that travel for months at a time, do it? I know that some are students and have the summer off. From a long term perspective, it will not look good on a resume if you have these 3 month gaps every summer. It looks like job-hopping. I am definately interested in getting into travel writing and other travel-related jobs but I am unsure where to look or even what kind of jobs are out there that would fit this need. I would love to live in the EU for a while since they have longer vacations that the USA (Germany is mandatory 6 weeks).
WorldWideMike: I would love to hear how you do it. I know you travel all the time and any input you could provide would be considered golden by me. Please do not say teaching English. That is definately not something I would enjoy doing. I would do it only as a last resort. I am not against moving out of the country to achieve this goal (in which case I will have to find info on getting visas/citizenship). I would just like to have the option of a career that I can come back to restart if the need arises. I would die a happy man if I was able to work/travel my way around the world for the rest of my life.
2. Retirement - If I spend every dime and minute on traveling I will be unable to save for my retirement. This is a secondary concern but it is important. I cannot rely on social security. It will be gone when I am 65. I must have some plan in place even if it means working later into life. I would like to hear how you heavy travelers are able to save for retirement (if at all).
3. Working Abroad: I have heard of a few under the table jobs and such but I am looking for experiences that you guys have had. Any places/areas that are especially good for under the table work? I am willing to stay in one place for a while if it allows me to accumulate money to extend my trip. I am interested in hearing about fruit picking, bartending, and almost anything else that I can do to earn some hard cash.
Sorry for the long post but I am trying to decide on this matter and wanna hear some input. Thanks guys!
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