How to Quit Your Job & Travel the World: 5 Steps to Start (All the Tips & Hacks You Need to Know!)

by Travel & Adventure, Working Remotely302 comments

Hi Aileen! I am one of your followers and I’m reaching out because I want to ask for your advice on how to travel the world. You have been living this dream of mine and your journey has been inspiring! I want to do the same soon and quit my job, but I have no money nor the confidence and know-how on how to start. I just really want to gain the freedom to travel the world, get paid at the same time, and just be… HAPPY. I know you posted a lot of travel tips, but I still wanted to reach out and say a personal message because you inspired me in so many ways!

Kim from the Philippines

Ever since I posted an article about the best travel jobs, my inbox exploded with messages from readers all over the world who shared their stories and griefs (just like this letter from Kim — thank YOU for taking the time!).

I’ve read through all of these emails and somehow… almost every sender’s sentiments have reminded me of my past 20-year old self who was overwhelmed with the desire to leave the corporate rat race to do more of what she loves; and yet, she felt ‘stuck’ to the standard 9-to-5 grind because she has no other choice for making a living.

That’s why please trust me when I say that I know how overwhelming it can be to aim and plan for such a HUGE life-changing decision; even more so when you are raised with a strict upbringing and/or come from a poor financial background (like me).

Nevertheless, I hope it gives you comfort to know that I am a living example of how a life of travel IS possible, no matter the unfavorable circumstances of one’s life. It will just be tough at first (oh yes sir, it will) but it is NEVER impossible, and I am here to help guide you to do the same.

So on to the golden question… HOW exactly was I able to quit my job and travel the world?

The short answer? With the help of the internet.
The long answer? Read on to know…

– – –

My Backstory

Before I go on to discuss how you can quit your job and travel the world, I think it’s actually imperative that I first share with you my background story in order to help you understand where I’m coming from (and that hopefully, it would further help inspire you to take the leap soon!).

After this section, I will start discussing the 5 important steps that will lead you to ‘FREEDOM’, so hang in there!

( — Click the ‘+‘ sign below to see the hidden section.)

My backstory from 2007 to 2012 (CLICK to expand this section)

…After a few months of preparation, it was finally April 2013.
I have been taking the steps to gain the lifestyle that I wanted, I had my resignation in, and finally: I was FREE!

Old and New Lifestyle
Out with the old, in with the new!

I started as a digital nomad: I offered various services online: graphic design, web design, SEO management, and online marketing.

These were all the things that I found interest in doing but never had the time to do so because of my 9-to-5 job. But obviously, with more free time as an online freelancer, I got to polish these skills further.

It’s also important to note that I wasn’t so adept in these areas at first because they were not taught to me in my college courses nor in the past corporate jobs that I had.

So how did I learn them all? All by myself, online!
As always, Google is your friend. There is a crazy amount of FREE online resources that you can take advantage of.

After a while, with my set of skills, I snagged a permanent contract with an online Swedish company that paid more than triple of what I earned before. But after a year with them — learning all their processes and seeing how profitable it was (an Amazon FBA venture) — I decided that it was something that I would love to do as a business!

I pitched the idea to a digital nomad friend that I had who was open to investing in ‘angel businesses’ and thankfully, he was interested. I proceeded to end my contract and dedicated my time to learning more about Amazon (while traveling around Asia and Europe).

Fast forward to July, we had a successful product launch for our own brand: Adalid Gear* — and the rest, as they say, was history.

(*UPDATE: As of 2020, I have sold off this business and explored other online businesses to date.)

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It’s important to note that even before this online business venture started, working online as a freelancer had already given me the freedom to travel the world and earn a living at the same time. But of course, having this business made my financial situation even more comfortable and secure. My journey made me clearly see that life has truly become such a blissful experience once I started doing what I always wanted to do ♥

I guess my past and the current situation is, somehow, a perfect embodiment of this quote:

“Do what you love to do. Forget the money. Because if you say that getting the money is the most important thing, you will spend your life completely wasting your time. You will be doing things you don’t like doing, in order to go on living doing things you don’t like doing… Which is STUPID! Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way.
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Just do what you love to do and you’ll see… the money will come. If you really like what you’re doing, it doesn’t matter what it is, you can eventually become a master of it.”
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– Alan Watts

So again… how can YOU make a similar lifestyle possible?

“Do I have to be rich?” NOPE.

Because I was NOT rich nor did I come from a rich family. They have never given me money for these travels either, and I have never asked money from them ever since I started working. (BUT, guess what…? I am VERY rich in love, support, and skills! -wink-)

But yes, you really DON’T have to be rich. You just have to take these steps in order to travel the world…

• • •

5 Steps: How to Travel the World

Step 1: Ask Yourself Some Hard Questions

Travel the World: Hard Questions

This step is crucial because even if I encourage everyone to quit their job and travel the world as I have, it is still and always important to be inquisitive and perceptive about this for as much as possible. How can you do that? By asking yourself these tough questions that are grouped in three (3) phases.

– – –

∙∙ Phase 1

  • What exactly am I unhappy about with my office job?
  • What would it take for me to be happy here? Or is my happiness elsewhere?
  • Have I taken every action possible to try and make my job be better for me?
  • “If nothing is working out no matter what I try, what problems am I expecting to solve if I quit my job and travel the world?
  • Is it really my dream to travel the world?
  • What do I ultimately want as a career or lifestyle?
    .

YOU definitely have to ask yourself these questions and actually answer them. After all, you have to make sure that quitting your job is something that YOU want, and to travel the world is what YOU’RE passionate about — or else, you’ll just end up hating your life again (which is a cycle you MUST avoid).

You also have to ensure that you are not using this as an ‘escape’ or a ‘fad’ you just want to jump on when in fact, what you might actually just need is a different kind of job, field, boss, or company.

  • Do some self-reflection. If you are troubled about some internal or external issues in your life, remember that you’ll be carrying those with you when you set out into the world… and if you don’t handle those issues NOW or at least address them, it could create a snowball effect that could affect you while you’re on the road. So as early as now, try to understand yourself as a person so you could see if you can handle the lifestyle change you’ll be doing.
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  • Make some mental notes. Remember that though a traveling nomad’s life is exciting and fulfilling, it will still involve a great deal of hard work and responsibility — it could even be the same level of effort or even more than the current work you’re putting into your office job. The only upside is that you’ll finally be working on something that’s for yourself, and not for others or some big ol’ corporation.
    • Hard work because you’ll really have to start on something from the ground up.
    • Responsibility because you have no one else to rely on but yourself and all decisions will be made by you alone
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  • Be sure. It will also take commitment, consistency, and motivation on your part in order to quit your job and travel the world. So as I’ve said, it’s important to ensure that this is your own desire and purpose to grow and experience. You should never do this for someone else or for appearances because that will just make all of this meaningless.
    .

RELATED READ: 5 Important Things to Know First Before You Quit Your Job to Travel the World

Think about all of these things very well, and if your answer remains to be…

“Yes, I don’t want to work a 9-to-5 job anymore because I want to have the freedom to work in my own hours and in a setting that’s beyond the confines of an office cubicle. To travel the world is also my passion, so if I could combine these two, the happier I will become and the closer I can be to my dreams. I want to make this happen.”

…then that’s great! Next up:

– – –

∙∙∙ Phase 2

  • Am I prepared to sacrifice things to achieve what I truly want?
  • Do I really know what I’m getting myself into?
  • Do I know anything about the life of non-stop travelers or working nomads?
    .

For the latter questions, somehow, you have already tried to answer them because of the simple fact that you’re now reading my blog — so yay, good job!

But other than my blog, try to read other blogs of traveling nomads so that you can see the different kinds of lifestyles that they lead depending on the jobs that they do. I say this because there are just SO many different types of working nomads out there. Obviously, I am asking you to do this so that:
~ You can see your possible options
~ You can lower down any expectations that might be overly-romanticized
~ You can find out what your daily routine or life might be if you follow the same path

If you ask me, I categorize remote workers or nomads into these groups:

  1. Corporate Nomads – Those who are allowed by their companies to work from home. Before the whole 2020 pandemic, I have also heard of people who get to work for half a year or have a 6-month leave, go back to the office — and repeat.
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  2. Traditional Nomads They have the good ol’ conventional traveling careers that enable them to travel the world (e.g. tour guides, a cruise ship crew staff, flight attendants, pilots, etc.) The downside to this, however, is that it still requires a lot of hours (sometimes fixed).
    .
  3. Offline Nomads – They start a life of travel by jumping from one country to the next depending on the local opportunities available. These can be jobs or activities on the road (big or small like volunteering, etc.) in order to earn just enough every day. This usually works best for budget travelers and is often the first starting point for those who want to travel the world.
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  4. Digital Nomads – They depend on technology or the internet to make a living (e.g. freelancing, blogging, online shops, etc.). These kinds of nomads typically earn a good amount of earnings for doing in-demand online jobs, so you’ll usually find them glued to their laptops, if not traveling.

RELATED READ: The Ultimate Guide on How to Become a Digital Nomad

  1. Phase Nomads – Those who just graduated from university and are intending to travel the world for only 1-3 years — just to take advantage of what they can do with their youth (sometimes called a gap year). Afterward, they go back to their home country to get an office job.
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  2. Rich Nomads – These are the ones who have a lot of money saved up from the start and they use it to launch their traveling journey (the money may be from an inheritance, from a high-paying career, from selling every possession they had, etc.). They may or may not work anymore while traveling, but most of the time, they don’t.
    .
  3. Chill Nomads – They may be a different kind of nomad before but currently, they are earning more than the average (and mostly passive income too) due to a successful business start-up or reputation. They don’t work as much and they often travel from one place to another at a slower pace in order to take in a country’s culture and lifestyle for a longer or indefinite period of time.

RELATED READ: 5 Job Types That Allow You to Earn as You Travel

Of course, depending on your skills or circumstance, you can be any of the above at the start of your journey! And as you go on, you can turn into a nomad that is a mix of, let’s say, a digital and chill nomad (like me).

All in all, it’s best that you open your eyes to these possible realities so you can see what can happen OR what may apply to you. It can also help manage your expectations and squish any unrealistic views.

To illustrate this further, let’s say you currently have a high-paying corporate job. Surely a new nomadic lifestyle wouldn’t replace your current salary right away especially if you choose to do volunteering that is often paid lower than most travel jobs (if that were possible, then everyone will be doing this in a heartbeat!)

So yes: to maintain and start a life of travel is NOT always as glamorous as you think. It’s not like everyone instantly goes to 5-star hotels once they become a traveling nomad — or even if they do (because they’re rich in the first place) the adventures, experiences, and stories are the real golden treasures that NO money or 5-star whatever will ever compare.

That being said, if your heart is truly set on this journey, let’s now proceed to the last phase.

– – –

∙∙∙ Phase 3

  • What’s holding me back from taking this leap?
  • What excuses have I built up in my head?
  • What is actually the truth behind these doubts?
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I need you to list down ALL the excuses you’re thinking of that are possibly holding you back from being totally immersed in your goal. Why? Because chances are, those excuses are invalid and are only holding you back.

Possibly, some of the things that you’ve been thinking of are:

“I can’t afford this change, I don’t have any money or savings”
Actually, you can. If this is really your dream and it’s something you absolutely desire, you can always find a way. (Take it from me who was almost living through cup noodles for every meal just to make ends meet). Of course, words are shallow but I’ll actually discuss how you can manage your finances later on in this post. So please, don’t let yourself use this excuse — even more so if you managed to get the latest iPhone for yourself in the past months (see how you actually have the money?)

Alternatively, there’s a touchy topic regarding privilege. We obviously don’t have the exact same life circumstances and your situation could be far worse than mine back when I was still starting.
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A sample concern is: “What if I’m supporting my siblings or parents?”.
I can understand how difficult of a situation this can be since it’s a common occurrence, for instance, in Asian countries like the Philippines (in fact, to this day, I am still supporting my parents). But still and the same, there’s a viable option for you: finding a better job where you can compete and gain a salary that’s not within 3rd world standards — which is what I’ve done and achieved.
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So I know that YOU can do something similar given that I’ve managed to do so with maddening perseverance and hard work. But of course, I acknowledge the reality that this post will likely NOT cater to those who are poverty-stricken; nevertheless, I am obviously catering this to people like YOU who at least have the chance to access the internet which is a vast area where you can gain a LOT of opportunities to uplift your life’s situation. After all, access to the internet alone should already show you the reality that with such ‘privilege’, you CAN already turn your life around if you dearly will it so. Take it from me, as well as from the number of successful nomads worldwide!

“I’m afraid to travel alone.
Actually, when you travel the world, you are NEVER alone. You’re bound to meet people along the way. You’ll be making friends on the road who can turn out to be your best friends for life. So take this as a challenge for yourself. Don’t underestimate yourself before you actually get the chance to try it out; besides, you’ll be surprised how strong and independent you can actually be! Plus, it’s not so scary to travel alone abroad as long as you stay street smart and know where to go. (For a start, you can try going on a small solo trip for a couple of days to some nearby city, just to get a feel of this, and I’m pretty sure, you’ll be fine.) Besides, the world isn’t such a scary place at all like what the media portrays it to be.

RELATED READ: Solo Travel Tips

“I’m taken right now. I can’t leave my bf/gf.
Then take this leap together! If you do, the two of you can save together and it will make things easier and more achievable. However… I understand that some partners wouldn’t have the same dream. Why not try to make them read blogs like this and maybe they’ll find out that it’s what they want in life too? But if it’s not, I guess it’s time to make some sacrifices. And if you’re still young, I strongly advise that you don’t give up your dreams just for someone else’s benefit or request.

I’m too old… It’s too late. I also have kids.”
Nope. It’s never too late. I may seem arrogant for saying this because I don’t have kids yet unlike you; however, I’ve seen a LOT of successful married and older nomads that made it a point to work remotely and travel the world. They were in their 50s, 70s, or more, and their kids are traveling with them too! Most of them have tried traveling around in a van, or just simply jumping from one country to the next while home-schooling their kids. To put it simply: they found ways! Sometimes, we are just making up these excuses in our heads when in fact, everything is almost possible if we just take the initiative to try and see.

“I don’t think it’s the right time.”
Newsflash: there’s NEVER a right time. You just DO it and make time for it. It’s as simple as that. We are never ready for anything anyway — may it be love, studies, moving to a new place, or pursuing to travel the world. It just happens if YOU let it happen.

For more sample excuses, read: Top 15 Common Travel Excuses That Should NOT Hold You Back!

I hope that these have addressed some, if not all, of your doubts. This last phase just basically boils down to these 2 ideas of how you should never let yourself be boxed into any of your preconceived notions, and how you should never undermine your ability to take on new things in your life. YOU are a lot more capable than you think!

Feel free to take some time in internalizing all of these questions because by following through all these 3 phases, you will be achieving a better sense of direction and clarity for properly aligning yourself to the dream life you’ve envisioned.

Once you’re all done with this, you’re now ready to take on the 2nd step!

• • •

Step 2: Reinforce Your Desire to Travel the World (& Make it a Constant)

Wanderlust to Travel the World
  • NOTE: This step, along with #3 and #4, can all be done at the same time!

As you might have noticed by now, INSPIRATION played a huge role in ushering me to this new chapter of my life! In fact, DESPERATION played a crucial part too.

Now, tell me… when you first thought of pursuing the decision to quit your job and travel the world, what were the emotions that you felt?

Please identify those, and once you do, I am strongly encouraging you to keep those emotions — it doesn’t even matter if there were negative emotions in the mix because fear, for example, could be a strong and helpful ally if you use it to your advantage.

Most people would think of fear as a bad thing. In most cases it is true, but in this situation, you can rather use it as a good thing: as a strong driving force to make you fear, for instance, that if you don’t go after your dreams, you’ll end up being a miserable and spiteful old person who is full of regrets.

You see, I strongly believe that even if you are someone who works hard and smart, such qualities are not enough for pursuing your dreams if you do not also have a strong emotional drive.

Everyone has an idea of what they need to do, but without the strong desire or feeling of urgency to do something so badly, they won’t feel the urge to get up and to actually do things. So I say nurture those feelings, use them as fuel and hone them to make you move and act every day.

Nurturing these emotional ‘drivers’ is also helpful as you pave your path because you’re sure to encounter a lot of other situations and emotions that may try to deter you. But surely, I also acknowledge the fact that it can be hard to stay motivated — so what can you do to keep that ‘fire burning?

– – –

∙∙∙ Join Communities & Network with Like-Minded People

There are a lot of FREE and paid communities out there that can give you in-depth advice and support on how to quit your job, travel the world, and work remotely.

Of course, I am already here to act as your guide, BUT I am not knowledgeable about EVERYTHING so you still need other people’s collective or specialized advice. For example, let’s say later on you figured out that you want to teach English overseas; certainly, you shouldn’t be asking me about this since I haven’t tried that out yet. So how can you find relevant groups?

Google, my friend -wink-.

But I did say that I am your helpful guide, so here are some great nomad communities to start with. Some of these websites are also a great way to connect with nomads that might already be in the city you’re in; so take the time to talk or even meet up with them!

Alternatively, if you can spare some extra money, I highly suggest hiring a dedicated mentor or coach who can help guide you. Besides, an expert or experienced person’s counsel wouldn’t hurt and it’s definitely going to be one of the best “investments” that you can do for yourself!

If such is not possible, you can try connecting with another person who is on the same path as you are and he or she can serve as your ‘transition buddy’. Basically, the both of you can enter a mutually beneficial relationship where you will do weekly catch-ups or monthly meetings, and by sharing each of your progress on a regular basis, it will help motivate the both of you to stay on track of your goals.

– – –

∙∙∙ Draw Knowledge & Inspiration from Books or Movies

Other than inspirational people, inspirational books also helped me during my transition.

One of my favorites is Tim Ferris’ book: The 4-Hour Work Week which has been on The New York Times Best Seller list for 4 consecutive years and has sold over 1.3 million copies. (He is also a digital nomad himself).

Why do I love this book? Though it has superfluous parts that have to be taken with a grain of salt, it still gives you a lot of resources and ideas on how you can maximize your life for remote work in the long run. Tim also has a way with words to really inspire you to get out ‘there‘, so I say take it and read it nonetheless!

Basically, you have to keep this in mind: ALWAYS jump on every opportunity and resource that will feed your mind with excitement so that you can fall head over heels in love — over and over again — with the idea of freedom, doing a job that you enjoy, and working for yourself or your dreams.

Feel free to use vision boards or visual triggers as well. These can be quotes that you put on sticky notes attached to your walls, a photo of your dream destination by your desk, or even a wallpaper photo on your phone so that whenever you lay your eyes on it, you’ll be reminded of the dream you want and the hustle you’re doing.

RELATED READ: The Best Travel Movies That Will Inspire Wanderlust

Of course, additional resources are podcasts, blogs and vlogs, like what I mentioned in point #1. You can also try watching this amazing inspirational video.

– – –

∙∙∙ Keep it Under Wraps

This totally depends on you but if you ask me, it’s best if you keep your plans of quitting your job to travel the world as a secret to those who are close to you — if you rather choose the opposite, then make sure that you are surrounded by people who are supportive and understanding since it would help greatly in motivating you to consistently push for your plans.

This kind of decision is crucial for handling internal and external pressure; some people work well under it, whereas some don’t and you need to know where you stand. After all, you’ll be dealing with a LOT of stuff from now on (not just limited to stress and naysayers) and you need a sound mind or environment for as much as possible that will help keep you motivated!

So in order to keep your mind in the game, you must carefully pick who you interact with.

Take the time to survey the people who are close to you, especially your family. If you think you’ll be met with negativity when you expose your upcoming plans, it would be a great decision to keep everything a secret. Besides, it sometimes works best if you only announce your plans at the time that your travel fund or backup plans are already taken care of so that you can have a stronger case to present for making your loved ones understand your goals.

RELATED READ: How to Convince Your Parents to Let You Travel

Right from the start, however, be aware that NOT everyone would understand what you’re planning to go through. Most of them will think you’re crazy, while some might be secretly waiting and wishing for you to fail.
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…But ultimately, you should NOT care about what others think. You do NOT need to seek anyone’s permission either. These are important life skills that you should try to develop by now.

Just think about it: instead of wasting your time minding other people’s thoughts, you should just focus that energy on quitting your office job to travel the world!

Much like what said in point #1, you must remember this at all times: you are doing this for yourself and NOT for others. This is also YOUR life, not theirs so they have NO say in how you decide to live it.

• • •

Step 3: Start Planning for Your Future Lifestyle

Plan for World Travel and Remote Work

“But… what if I just really want to quit my job NOW? Can I just plan later?”

Of course, that’s TOTALLY fine!

Besides, the most important thing in all of this is for you to actually GO and do something about your dreams — and quitting your job is the first crucial step to that. (So, cheers!)

…however, if you’re like me, I did NOT have the luxury to do such a rash choice. I needed to be a bit more conservative with my decisions and to do things one at a time. Why?

  • I was earning a really small income and I was broke. Thankfully, I had no debts, but I still had responsibilities that I had to keep on addressing such as bills to pay and parents/siblings to support.
  • I needed more time to learn some new skills for the kind of remote work that I wanted (graphic and web design). I also needed more experience to develop a good portfolio for potential clients.
  • I also lived in a third world country. With the ‘power’ of my passport, I can’t just buy one-way tickets with no prior plans or costly visas to take care of first.
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Remember how we talked about excuses back in step #1? These were my top 3 excuses.

My solution in addressing these excuses? To be patient, to hustle, and to bide my time.

So basically, I still stayed in my office job for a while but I had a clear plan: to start working on the side so that I can start, run and grow the online work that I wanted to do. My goal? To earn more than triple my office salary (which was basically my target location-independent income).

From then on, I started to sacrifice hours of my free time as well as weekends in order to offer temporary free services (just so I can build a portfolio and gain positive client testimonials). When I had enough, I started pitching for jobs until I eventually gained a stable online employer that paid more than what I was earning at the office. After some months, I reached my income goal so I passed my resignation. At that point, I was working from home so I started to have more time for myself which also meant more freedom to develop my skills and to find more work — this gave me the chance to finally start saving for my travel fund too. In no time after that, I started to travel around Asia and eventually to Europe.

So overall, you can quit now and plan afterward, OR plan now and quit afterward.
EITHER works.

The important thing is that you still make a plan.
You should NOT jump in on this blindly.

With that said, you need to choose your savings plan as per your level of comfortability.

  • OPTION 1: Save a bare amount of money for emergencies only (e.g. travel insurance, a plane ticket back home, etc.) and then earn the rest doing remote work/business. (This is the highest level of spontaneity. This often happens for those who live in a big continent like Europe or the USA wherein they can just hop on a car to cross borders, get to the next city, etc.)
  • OPTION 2: Save just about enough money and then earn the rest by doing remote work/business/ (Some people simply pick one country and base their travel fund on that alone; they have the idea that they will just work on the next cities along the way.)
  • OPTION 3: Save ALL of the money you need to travel comfortably, with the option to not do remote work/business, or to just do it later on when your fund runs out or as needed. (Some nomads make plans for 6 months to a year or more).

Now that you’ve chosen the kind of savings strategy that you want, the next thing you have to do is to calculate the approximate amount of money that you need to save AND/OR earn per month in order to survive through your future nomadic lifestyle.

How to calculate your target savings and future income? By doing research for every factor below…

– – –

∙∙∙ Destination(s)

Do you plan to jump from one country to the next in a frenzy?
Or do you want to base yourself in a new country for 3 months or so at a time?

No matter your decision, I suggest that you do NOT plan your itinerary in too much detail. There’s nothing wrong with doing that; but going by my past experiences, it is best if you just have a rough idea of things so that you can remain to be flexible.

  • List out your ‘candidate’ cities and pick your first destination
    A lot of people say that you can live like a king on just $1,000 a month in Southeast Asian countries — and that’s true. I live in the Philippines and if you steer clear of big cities (e.g. Manila and Cebu), you can definitely live comfortably from that amount alone. In that same thought, if you live in a country like mine, it makes more sense to aim for countries with the same cost of living instead of haphazardly jetting off to expensive western countries.
    • Nomad List is an amazing website built by digital nomads and it lists all the details that you need to know for every city in the world: the cost of living, the weather, the internet speed, and so much more.
    • For the cost of living, it’s a good practice to add more than what’s stated because chances are, some locations can be surprisingly more expensive in reality.
    • As you continue to travel the world, try to aim for smaller cities or towns to avoid higher daily living expenses (e.g. instead of staying in Manila, try living in Palawan or Siargao instead).

RELATED READ: Best Countries in the World for Remote Workers

  • Research all possible travel costs
    • TRAVEL INSURANCE: You should never leave without this and SafetyWing is the best medical and travel insurance for digital nomads. It’s not only because of its amazing coverage and rates but also because of its flexibility (it can be purchased and renewed while abroad, etc.)
    • LICENSES: Do you need a driver’s license? Or an international driver’s license?
    • MOBILE CHARGES: Determine if you need to enable roaming services with your current provider, or if you’re just going to buy local SIM Cards abroad or bring along a pocket WiFi.
    • VACCINATIONS: Determine all vaccination requirements of the countries you plan to travel to.
    • FLIGHTS & TRANSPORT: A good tool for checking average flight costs is SkyScanner. I’ve been using them for years and they have never failed to give me the best flight deals possible. For other modes of transportation, Rome2Rio is an amazing website that shows the average cost for any route, may it be by bus, train, or car.
    • PASSPORT: If you still don’t have one, research the costs to apply or renew.
    • VISAS: Also take into account how some visas are needed to be acquired in your home country (especially for those of you who hold 3rd world passports like me). Other than that, it’s important to know as well whether some cities require their visitors to have an outbound ticket upon arrival — a lot of countries usually require this at immigration (so they can have the assurance that you’ll be leaving the country by the end of your stay). The widget below from iVisa is a great tool in determining all the fees you will need to take into account.

– – –

∙∙∙ Accommodation Options

Figure out where you’ll be staying in the cities that you’ve chosen from the previous section.

  • NOTE: One of the many reasons why most working nomads opt to stay in one place for a longer period of time is the accommodation costs. It’s a lot cheaper to get a place for at least a month, as compared to hopping from one hotel/hostel to another.
    .
    One of the things I usually did was to ask AirBnB homeowners if they could offer me their place for a month at a package deal. I’ve been an Airbnb host myself before, and I know how it’s sometimes more preferable to have a steady tenant than to handle multiple bookings every week.

If you check by my article here, I have also shared other methods for getting cheap and FREE accommodation: Couchsurfing, volunteering, house or pet sitting, etc.

Otherwise, you can try and ask a friend or relative — that’s living in a city that you want to go to — if they can possibly take you in for a while. But if you’re keener on staying at hotels, take note of the prices at Agoda, Booking.com, or HostelWorld.

RELATED READ: 52 Ways to Get Cheap & Free Accommodation Worldwide

– – –

∙∙∙ Personal Finances

Apart from your current savings, you also need to factor in these other things when you travel the world…

  • Outstanding debts
    Figure out how you’ll handle your student loans, mortgage, etc. — so make sure you take these things into account when calculating your target savings or new future income.
    .
  • Debit and credit cards
    Be informed of the bank fees for overseas withdrawals or transactions, and ensure that you have an online banking service. Take note as well of how you are going to receive your future income from your remote work, along with exchange rate fees that you’ll need to pay. Personally, I prefer using TransferWise because it has lower conversion and transfer fees compared to PayPal.
    .
  • Safety or emergency fund
    Apart from the costs of traveling, it’s always important to set aside an untouchable amount for possible emergencies as you travel the world (for example: you suddenly need to fly back home, you got into an accident, etc.). This is also why it’s vital to hold travel insurance so you can protect yourself.

– – –

∙∙∙ Necessary Gear

Another one of the many things that you need to take into account: the travel essentials or gear that you’ll be needing. This is not just limited to your luggage, backpack, clothing, etc. because you also need to figure out the items that you’ll be needing for working (a laptop, a camera, a VPN, etc.).

RELATED READ: Carry-On Packing List

– – –

∙∙∙ Figure Out Your Options for Remote Work or Business

Once you have factored in all of the related costs from the previous sections, you should now have an idea of the total fund that you need to save up for OR the target monthly income that you’ll need in order to live and travel the world — which now leads us to this stage.

We’ll talk more about this in step #4 but it’s already helpful to start planning for this as early as now.

  • Identify your skills: will you get jobs on the road or work online?
    DON’T underestimate what you know or can do. After reading my articles about the best travel jobs and the top websites for making money remotely, you must now decide what your current experience can be useful for, what skills you need to learn/relearn, and the work OR business that you will be doing to sustain your future travel lifestyle.
    • NOTE: Tim Ferris discussed in his book, the 4-Hour Work Week, a plan on how you can negotiate a remote work arrangement with your company. It’s not an option for everybody but it’s worth a shot if you want to keep the job that you love.
      .
  • Survey the market
    Look at the profiles of online freelancers (on sites like Upwork, Fiverr, etc.) to see how much they are getting paid for their work, how long have they been working, and how many projects they are getting on average in a month. Or ask the members of online communities to give you some insight into the remote work or business venture that you decided on. Of course, you won’t know everything from the get-go, but it’s always good to gain some more insight into your interests. It would also be great if you can find out…
    • How you can leverage yourself to earn more than the rest
    • How to gain more clients (by taking note of any best practices of existing working nomads)

• • •

Step 4: Put Your Plans into Action

Put Travel Plans in Action!

You now have a rough estimate of the travel fund that you need AND the remote work that you plan to do. So now, it’s time to…

∙∙∙ Start Saving

  • Save a portion of your paycheck
    Keep away a certain percentage of your salary and put it in your travel fund. Always remember that every deposit that you make is a step closer to your dream lifestyle — and all it takes, what it just really takes, is a sense of discipline on your part.
    .
  • Change your spending habits
    One way you can go about this is to track your spending and set budgets by using apps like Money Lover.
    • Where is most of your salary being spent on?” Is it from eating in expensive restaurants during lunch break? Is it because of your shopping sprees whenever you feel stressed out from work? Go ahead, list everything, and once you’re finished, identify all of your unnecessary costs and cut them out.
      .
  • Sell or rent your possessions
    • Some people have done the extreme, like selling their house or apartment in order to jumpstart their dream lifestyle and travel the world. This definitely sounds like a plan… but if you’re not ready to do that or if you still want to have a place to come back to, renting out your place on AirBnB, for example, is a great option.
    • Be a minimalist. Get rid of the stuff that you won’t be needing or might only stay unused for months or years (such as your car, clothes, furniture, etc.)
    • If you need a place to store valuables that you can’t part with, don’t pay for a storage place. Try asking your parents or friends if they can keep your stuff in the meantime.
      .
  • Eliminate or lessen your bills and debts
    Look at your recent credit card statement and list out all of your recurring and outstanding financial obligations. Slash out those that you don’t really need when you start to travel the world.
    • Ditch your Amazon Prime, Netflix subscription, etc. (don’t be afraid to ask a favor from a close friend if you can be registered as a ‘family member’ on their Netflix plan).
    • Talk to your loan provider and ask for other ways or plans to manage your repayments.

∙∙∙ Start Working

You’re going to kill two birds with one stone on this one. I’m not talking about your office job because you’re already doing that… what I am rather talking about are side hustles or even a second job so that you can reach your fund goal faster and start to travel the world sooner.

In fact, if you can already begin the future remote work that you plan to do, the better it will be!

So if in case you want to be a digital nomad, this is the perfect time to start developing your profile or reputation online. Start proactively looking for jobs wherever you can, and start doing work whenever you have free time.

With this, not only will you save faster for your target savings, but you will also be fueling your future of working remotely.

Like I mentioned before, this is actually what I have done. Right from the moment that I decided to quit my job and travel the world, I started to work online on the side whenever I had some time off from my corporate job.

– – –

While you are putting all of these plans into action, always remember what I said back in step #2 — stay motivated.

Besides, it might take some time to reach your target savings, so it’s likely that you might lose your focus. PLEASE DON’T LET THAT HAPPEN. Keep yourself inspired, daydream about your new future, and always remember your goals. Remind yourself at all times what you are working for: your freedom.

Though when you finally reach your targets, it’s finally…

• • •

Step 5: Time to Quit Your Job and Travel the World!

Quit Your Job and Travel the World

It’s time. Your travel fund is ready, your plans are accomplished.

What’s left to do…?

QUITTING. YOUR. OFFICE. JOB.
START. TRAVELLING.

You’ve finally reached this stage so go and celebrate by booking that ticket or hitting the road.

Enjoy, travel the world to your heart’s content, and have the best time of your life!

You’ve earned it.
You really did!

And while you are traveling, remember these:

  • Be flexible
    I know that I made you plan for the cities that you’re going to when you start to travel the world; however, I only asked you to make a rough itinerary. After all, it’s possible that you’ll need to change your initial plans as you go along in your travels. So don’t go crazy trying to fix yourself into your schedule. Relax. Chances are, you will be loving a certain city or country too much that you might decide to stay there longer than you wish, and that’s perfectly alright!
    • TIP: All immigration counters in any country would often require “proof of onward travel” or basically, proof of a return ticket back to your home country or to any other destination aside from the country you’re entering to. If you don’t have concrete plans yet AND if you want to be flexible with your travels, booking a flight ticket is extremely costly — but thankfully, presenting a “flight reservation” usually already works. To get this, I recommend purchasing it from OneWayFly; you can get your flight reservation in just a few hours at only $16~!
      .
  • Don’t pressure yourself
    As you travel the world, there will be moments when things won’t go your way — and that’s totally okay! Sometimes you’ll even get lonely, you might also get frustrated or depressed because of the change of scene etc… but hang in there. There is much for you to gain out there and you’ll learn to tackle these feelings as you go on.
    .
  • Stay vigilant
    Stay safe and be ‘street smart’. Always be aware and careful of your surroundings. Inform your loved ones back at home where your next plans are. But ultimately, there’s no need to fear too much — foreign countries and people are not so scary as you think.
    .
  • Take advantage of countries that are visa-free
    When planning for your next destination, check the visa-free countries that are applicable to your citizenship because visa fees and applications are a pain, if not costly. For example, if you’re from the Philippines, try going to South America. They have countries there that are visa-free for Filipinos such as Brazil and Colombia to name a few!
  • Try to learn the language
    It’s a great way to impress and befriend locals, as well as a useful ‘skill’ when you’re lost. Ultimately: it will completely transform your travel experience!

RELATED READ:
How to Learn a New Language for FREE or on a Budget
Best Translation Apps for Travel

.

  • Make friends, network/socialize, try a LOT of things, and eat a LOT!
    Indulge in the joy and “luxuries” of traveling! Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with a stranger when you travel the world. Go ahead and socialize with locals and fellow travelers. Soak in all the culture and be open to new experiences — and when you do meet all these people, remember to be understanding. A lot of them will have different views, customs, or habits, so it’s important to refrain from making quick judgments. But actually, you will learn this yourself because I believe that travel makes you look past the black-and-white side of things. It’s a natural effect: the more people you meet, the more understanding you become of others’ quirks and flaws.
    .
  • Try to look for other ways to gain a more stable income for yourself and to secure your future: THINK LONG TERM!
    Amidst all the fun, try to always keep this in mind so that you can live a more sustainable life of travel (forever!). Of course, you are now finally living your dreams — but don’t stop there. Keep this at the back of your mind because I think it’s imperative that the next step to this is for you to aim for a profession or business that will grant you passive income that will last you for the rest of your life.
    • In my case, I managed to find a way to make an Amazon online business of my own. You can do something similar, or you can set up your own services such as offering online courses, setting up a company that teaches English abroad, building your reputation as a dance/yoga instructor, etc.
      .
  • Consider starting a travel blog
    There are a LOT of benefits to blogging. Other than the fact that you can earn passive income, you can also meet a lot of like-minded individuals! You could even have the chance to partner up with big travel brands, hotels, and resorts to further help you fund your travels!
    • …Don’t know how to start one? Don’t worry, just read this guide that I made:

RELATED READ: How to Start a Travel Blog

• • •

How to Travel the World : Steps, Tips, Hacks & Resources

Overall

I tried to be as detailed as I could and I really hope that this detailed guide on how to quit your job and travel the world helped answer all of your doubts and questions.

But I am seriously just so proud of you for taking this step. And I’m absolutely excited about the journey that’s ahead of you! (Please keep me updated on your progress.)

And like always, please remember that quitting your job to travel the world is NOT impossible. You really don’t have to be rich; you don’t even need to be ‘lucky’! Because I’m neither of the two.

I always believe in this quote: “Lucky is the word lazy people use to describe people who work hard.”

I don’t consider myself lucky.
I made this lifestyle happen.
I had to persevere and be resourceful or strategic.
I had to make changes and sacrifices to get to where I am today.
I had to make do with the little resources that I had in order to make it day by day.

…and you can do the same! Definitely!

IMPORTANT NOTE: I talked a lot about how I didn’t enjoy a 9 to 5 job. Please be mindful that I am saying that out of MY own experience since my past just happened to be a discovery of how that kind of profession wasn’t a fit for me.
.
So of course, I wholly recognize the fact that there are some people who enjoy their corporate/office jobs. I know some of my friends who do! Some people also enjoy just staying at home as a stay-in mom, etc., etc. and in NO way am I putting them down; because in a sense, they are just doing the same thing that I am doing: pursuing things that they love to do.
.
I wholly respect their kind of work and lifestyle but it’s just not my preference; therefore, this post caters to those who are going through the same path or mindset that I had back in 2011 and are now wanting to make a change in their life given how they have the same passion as me.

Now, to end this entry, I leave you with this amazing quote in hopes that it would keep you motivated in making the MOST out of your life.

Making a big life change is pretty scary. But you know what’s even scarier? Regret.

As cliché as this might sound: we only live once.

So it’s a waste of time and effort to do work that we hate or dislike, purely for the aim of just making money. Please try to make the steps of abandoning conformity and fear. Don’t hesitate anymore. Don’t mind what society or what other people may say. This is your life. NOT theirs. So take control and make that change.

It’s time to JUST. DO. IT.
(Hi, Nike.)

• • •

Have you seen my latest vlog?

How I Afford to Travel the World (Vlog)

About Me

About Aileen : Sidebar

Hey there! I am Aileen Adalid.
At 21, I quit my corporate job in the Philippines to pursue my dreams. Today, I am a successful digital nomad (online entrepreneur, travel writer, & vlogger) living a sustainable travel lifestyle.

My mission? To show you how it is absolutely possible to create a life of travel no matter the odds — and I will help you achieve that through my detailed travel hacks, guides, resources, tips, and MORE!

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CURRENTLY BASED IN: The Philippines

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302 Comments

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  1. Alex

    These are great tips. Travel does often seem so far out of my realm with kids and a full time job. It’s fun to read your journey!

    Reply
  2. Sarah

    Thank you for this inspirational guide.

    Reply
  3. Nikhil

    You are inspiration for many other travel bloggers out there. Amazing life journey.

    Reply
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