>I want to travel—a lot. I want to learn new languages. I want to meet amazing people. I also want to design and build things
It's cool if someone can do this, but who can afford to, especially in their 20s?
It's cool if someone can do this, but who can afford to, especially in their 20s?
I spent 2 years driving from Alaska to Argentina and repeatedly had people ask "Who has the time and money for that".
It's a myth that travel is expensive.
I managed a hostel in Ecuador for 5 months, and I would say the average backpacker was spending $10,000 USD / year to travel the world. And I mean the entire world. The vast majority of backpackers are somewhere in the 19-35 year old range. Though there is a good smattering of > 55 too.
$15,000 USD / year and you travel WELL - i.e. no shared rooms, lots of alcohol, 'fancy' restaurants etc. etc.
I know hostels are not popular in North America, trust me though, once you get out of there you'll catch on quickly.
For reference, I spent $13,000 USD / year TOTAL on my drive, which includes all expenses for the Jeep. Gas, parking, shipping from Panama->Colombia, insurance, etc. etc. Driving gets much cheaper per person when there are two of you (though to be clear, I was solo).
http://theroadchoseme.com is my blog of the drive, if you're interested.
I'm about to set off on a 2 year drive around Africa in my Jeep, I'm aiming to spend less than $20k / year. (Africa is more expensive to drive due to visas, price of gas, paying for secure camping, etc.)
Speaking from experience here.
I'm Australian originally, and grew up with Troopies and Defenders. If I wanted to do it in a Toyota or Landy, I would. But I don't.
I'm not doing it in a Jeep because it's the most popular vehicle :)
Let's say you've just graduated with a bachelors in computer science, and have a job offer for $70k. By going on this road trip for a year, you've lost $85k, $70k from not working, plus the $15k it actually cost you, not to mention interest on any loans taken out for school.
$10,000 may not sound like much when you make more than 10x that per year, but remembering back to when I was 20, $10,000 was a fortune that would have taken forever to earn.
Nobody takes home their entire "income". You need to deduct taxes, rent (which you won't be paying on the road), food (which comes out of the $10k, so it should come out here), transport to/from work, entertainment, etc. etc. Essentially, you need to deduct every single cent that is spent.
I traveled for 3 straight years from age 22-25, then did that 2 year drive from 27-29. $10k is not that much money, even for a 21 y/o.
(also, as an aside, I don't make anywhere near 10x $10,000 now)
Have you found a trade off between networking with people "out there" and the fact that you are not "home" and accumulating contacts/experience? I could see how this kind of long term exploration could either help or hurt your job prospects for your entire life, or help if you met the right people.
edit: rephrased a bit better
The first solution is maybe not doable for everyone, but if you can, it makes travelling so much easier. Consider that OP now lives in Germany. He can hop on a train and get to hundreds of destinations for relatively cheap and in a short amount of time.
The second one reduces the percentage of money spent while travelling on transportation. It doesn't really matter if you stay 2 days or 2 weeks at a destination, it's probably going to cost you the same amount. By extending your stay, you're getting more enjoyment/experiences for the same up front cost.
- Move somewhere with sane and/or regulated PTO policies[1]. This is a huge plus in the EU. In Germany, I get about 34 days paid vacation days per year (including federal holidays), and that's even considered a bit low by German standards. It's enough for me to seriously consider never working full-time in the US again. And don't get me started on so-called "unlimited" vacation policies in the US. (As a corollary, if I ever do work as a normal employee in the US again, a proper vacation policy will be on my list of must-haves.)
- As much as I love trains, flying is usually quite a bit cheaper for most of the places that I want to travel to in and around Europe. Long-distance bus lines (think Greyhound) are also extremely cheap now that the market's been deregulated.
- The main disadvantage (and one that people should take into serious consideration before moving overseas) of course is that I'm so far away from family. Even with so much vacation time, it's pretty difficult both financially and logistically to make it home more than once per year.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_statutory_minimum_empl...
Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_holiday_visa
For example, as an American, you might be eligible for a two-year working vacation visa in Korea. The requirements vary, but you typically only need two-way airfare and a modest amount of cash to prove you won't become a hobo. :-)
Interestingly, it's supposed to be available in all EU countries, but I haven't found much information about it that's not specific to Germany, so it's possible that they're still rolling it out in other countries.
And more locally at that age I did hitch-hiking trips when on uni holidays, sleeping rough often. It adds challenge but sometimes it leads to the best adventures and you get around. I wont deny there is some increased risk, personally having one rather scary encounter with a crazy person but that's also part of the adventure of travel anywhere you want to go off-track. And it's amazing how much help people will offer if they see a young person trying to see the world on the cheap.
I feel it's very doable if you have the right expectations. To me the biggest barriers seem to be believing its possible, sacrificing lifestyle for the saving period and then not partying your cash away on the trip.