When faced with the prospect of long-term travel, many people I have encountered have brushed it aside with an attitude of dismissal.
“That’s not possible.” “I can’t leave my steady job.” or “I can’t afford it.”
I would like to say a collective ARGH to all those people and tell them that it IS possible, you CAN leave your job, and you CAN afford it! That is, if you want it badly enough.
That’s always the catch, isn’t it? I’m here to tell you it’s possible. I’m not here to tell you it’s easy.
Making a commitment to travel is a choice that my partner and I have made, and we have worked toward making it happen - much like when people make a commitment to buy a home or have a family.
The first challenge we needed to overcome was how to make money to make long-term travel financially feasible. After much research, we both decided to take a TESOL/TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate. The course costs approximately $1000 (in Canadian dollars), and takes around 100 hours to complete. There are classroom, online, and hybrid options depending on your preference. I would suggest brushing up on your grammar skills and terminology before beginning! Having your TESOL opens up many work-and-travel options for you. What we have opted for if teaching English online. It’s actually kind of amazing – we can work anywhere in the world as long as we have a strong internet connection.
We used Dave’s ESL Café to find hiring companies and were very careful about where we applied (please use common sense and do not apply anywhere that asks for money for any reason!). The pay isn’t amazing, but most online English companies are extremely flexible when it comes to work schedules. We are currently living in Scotland because we feel like it.
This is just ONE way you can work AND travel! It IS possible, because I’M DOING IT!