29 January 2008 One Comment Print This Post  Email This Post

Seeing new places can be prohibitively expensive. Traveling can seem like a luxury — something you’ll only have a chance to do in your retirement. But it’s worth finding a way to travel (and it is possible to do so cheaply). Many employers see experienced travelers — including those who just go for the fun of travel, rather than any of the opportunities below — as better equipped to deal with the global nature of business. It’s not even necessarily about being able to speak a foreign language anymore. Travel implies the ability to adapt to new situation, to operate without a safety net, to find opportunities, to make the most of diversity.

Volunteer Opportunities: There are organizations all over the world that will pay travel expenses for volunteers, from long-term trips, such as the Peace Corps, to short stays, such as with Global Crossroad. There are even opportunities for traveling within the U.S. An added benefit is that many employers now consider volunteer work an indicator of a good employee, especially those volunteering for long-term projects.

Educational Opportunities: While most educational opportunities require participants to pay fees, they often provide room and board at lowered levels, in order to make opportunities available for students. Many organizations also offer scholarships to help defray the cost for There are also many international companies offering internships in far off countries: you may be expected to work hard, but you may even get paid for it. Transitions Abroad has an extensive list of educational travel programs.

Employment Opportunities: Have you considered taking a job in another country? While you’ll need a work permit or visa, this paperwork is typically fairly easy to get if you already have a position lined up. Depending on your skills you may be able to find a comfortable short-term contract in a city you’ve always wanted to visit, or even a longer-term position, if you want. Not all jobs require foreign language skills, either! Monster has a portal for international jobs, which makes for a great starting point.

There are even ways to make your own employment opportunity. Entrepreneurs, freelancers and telecommuters — anyone who can earn money without physically being in the US — have the potential to pick up their operation and move to somewhere less expensive to live. If you can still land work paid on a New York scale (where $48,000 is an average salary), but pay bills on a Cambodia scale (where $290 is an average salary), you’ve got all the benefits of travel, plus an opportunity to live very comfortably, but still accumulate wealth.