Do you love travel? Do you feel as though you never have the time and money to do as much of it as you’d like? Sure, you could take your two weeks of vacation each year and try to do a big trip in between squeezing in more local expeditions on weekends. But what if you could make travel your lifestyle, spending weeks or months each year on the road? This is possible, and you don’t have to be rich to do it. Ordinary people make it work, and the tips below can help you join them.
Assess Your Ambitions
What appeals to you? This may change over time but think about right now. Do you want to get a camper van, RV, or trailer and drive around the country? Do you want to split your time between two main locations, spending the summer in a place that is relatively cool, and the winter in a place that’s relatively warm? Or do you want to leave the country to travel in Europe or South America or all over the world? Are you aware of any common travel challenges you may face with each option? Being as specific as possible about what you envision doing will help you make other decisions as you move forward.
Money
Assuming you haven’t inherited a huge fortune or already built a business so successful that you never have to work again, how to fund your travels can seem like your biggest obstacle. Essentially, you need to either be able to work on the road or create enough passive income so that you don’t have to work at all or at least so that your work obligations are minimal. One of the best ways to do this is through real estate, and there are many advantages.
Buying a property can give you a home base if being on the road 365 days a year doesn’t sound appealing. There are also tax benefits to an investment property. You can review a guide to the tax deductions that are available to homeowners and real estate investors to use when you file your taxes. You can make other types of investments that generate income as well but having a place that you can rent out is one of the most straightforward and reliable approaches and is a good way to get started.
Working
There are many ways to integrate work and a travel lifestyle, starting with more traditional routes such as working for an airline or cruise ship. Joining the foreign service is very competitive but will have you rotating in and out of different countries every few years. There are also certain professions where skills in high demand can get you jobs in many different countries, including teaching and nursing. Yet another possibility is working for yourself in a profession that you can do remotely. You could also negotiate remote working with an employer although this may come with some limitations regarding how long you are away from the office and what time zones you need to observe.