Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yaya]

Take a Year off to Travel the World

By Katherine Tom, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Travel
June 6, 2007

Ever dream about quitting your job and taking off to parts unknown? It's easier than you think. With a bit of careful planning and research, taking an extended vacation can be surprisingly affordable. The secret is to target areas where daily living expenses are lower than those here in America. Even with the weak U.S. dollar, that still leaves a huge portion of the globe to explore. Let�s assume that a typical San Franciscan spends $1,000 per month on rent, $150 on gas, and $150 on utilities. Even without factoring in food and entertainment expenses, that gives them over $43 per day to play with � more than enough to live on in Southeast Asia, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and Africa.

But what about airfare? Since plane tickets are one of the most expensive parts of traveling, it's actually cheaper to stay longer in each destination. Around-the-world tickets may seem like a bargain at first glance, but many require you to lock down your itinerary in advance, and the joys of long-term traveling are often about seeing where the road takes you. We think it's better to book only your major flights (getting in and out of the U.S.) and rely on local transportation (bus, low-cost air carriers, camel) during your journey.


Top Five Secrets of Long-Term Travelers

The hardest part is deciding to go

Guess what? It's far easier to make excuses for staying home than it is to actually jump on a plane and head halfway around the world. Once you've made up your mind that this is something you want to do, the rest is just details. Most people cite money as the main obstacle to taking an extended vacation, but the next few secrets show that traveling the world can actually be cheaper than staying home.

Those little luxuries add up

Think you can't afford to take off for a year? You'd be surprised. Instead of blowing your cash on small indulgences like that morning latte and cable TV, start saving towards the big luxury of an entire year off. Set up an automated deposit into your savings account (most banks provide this service for free). You're far less likely to spend money that you never see. Consider this training for your future downscaled life on the road.

You don't really need all that stuff

One quick way to get cash is to sell your things. Sell enough stuff, and you can also cut down significantly on the cost of storing your belongings while you're out of the country. Hold a garage sale, or take advantage of online marketplaces like eBay.

Staying longer can save you money

As we mentioned earlier, staying longer in each destination can actually
end up costing you less, and you'll get a true taste of what life is like for the locals. Hotels are out of the question � you'll burn through your cash in a few weeks. Consider subletting an apartment, staying at a hostel, or even CouchSurfing. As always, exercise good judgment � it's not worth saving a few bucks to stay somewhere that feels unsafe.

Know what you're getting into

Taking a year off may sound like a dream come true, but it's important to recognize that there's a tradeoff. You won't see most of your friends and family for a while, you'll temporarily step off your career fast-track, and you'll most likely be roughing it in hostels. But when all is said and done, you'll have a year of priceless memories to look back on.

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-19743364

[sojourner1]

I like this idea. I am wondering about flexible airline tickets to allow you to not be on a set schedule in SE Asia after a teaching contract. Who knows, becuase it is cheap where you might get by on $500 or less a month, I might stay for a 6 months instead of one. Having flexibility on when you fly places is key since you don't know before hand how long you want to stay here and there. I have been waiting a lifetime for this great trip I have in mind in 6 months from now...

[waltjocketty]

I'm actually planning on backpacking from Eastern China to London over a period of 5-7 months next year. You can take buses and trains nearly everywhere, but the only problem I might encounter is when I get to Western India. I don't want to go through Pakistan (and Israel is in my passport), so I guess I might buy a plane ticket from India to Turkey or Egypt (if Egypt will allow me in at the time). Does anyone have any experience traveling westward from India? I would appreciate it greatly.

[stealth_fighter]

[waltjocketty]

I'd rather not fly, though. Of course there are flights. I'd rather not fly, though. and was wondering if anyone has experience going westward without flying, or maybe going north, around the top of afghanistan, iran, iraq, and syria, and eventually ending up in Turkey or Greece? Or if anyone has taken boats across to Africa, that would be helpful, too.

[Masta_Don]

This is the plan after Korea. Which is great since Korea is such a honeypot.

Korea->Russia
Transiberian Express->Moscow
Moscow->Europe to meet up with a friend who I can crash with
Europe->West coast of Africa, Morocco to around Niger

Hope the money holds out.

[ajgeddes]

[paquebot]

For anyone interested, there is a book out there called "Size of the World: Once Around Without Leaving the Ground" by Jeff Greenwald that is about his decision to circumnavigate the globe without flying. (however, he also spends a lot of time complaining about losing his girlfriend)

It's not my favorite travelogue, but it does mention some of the difficulties in travelling between countries. Also, his decision is to go eastward from the United States, which I think might be the opposite of what posters here intend to do. Anyway, thought I'd mention it for anyone curious.

http://www.amazon.com/Size-World-Jeff-Greenwald/dp/034540551X

[mcgeezer]

it sounds like a great idea!
what about visas?
a lot of these countires require visas to enter...how would you go about getting a visa when travelling from country to country? Would you get them in advance?
Just curious cause i wanna do this too!