Doing IM While Traveling The World

You could offer a service right now and travel. Maybe it would be hard going place to place, but if you jumped on a plane to South East Asia you could live somewhere cheap and get by on $500 per month.

The cost of living is actually cheaper in other parts of the world than here in the US. But if you want to constantly travel you may have to do your best to cut costs and save extra income

Wow, when did WF turn into a travel advisory? Another quality thread in the MF :rolleyes:

Firstly, you wouldn't be crazy to travel while earning $2000 per month. I have spent less than this every single month in 6 months in Thailand.

I will be completely upfront and tell you I spent just £3,500 in 6 months (that's just under $6000 - less than $1000 per month!!) I am with my boyfriend, and being with someone else helps with some costs.

Now I have stayed in Thailand for most of the time, apart from a month in Laos, but I've moved around a lot, buying lots of bus and train tickets and seeing loads of different places. If you stay put somewhere for a while in Thailand you can rent a place for a few hundred USD per month.

I'm sorry but this isn't great advice. Just because this person couldn't expand a business, doesn't mean you can't. Travelling has pushed me more because it's given me so much more motivation to get new income streams and systems up and running to build my business to even better levels. I actually get more done than I used to - before I went I had loads of time to waste. Plus, even if I'm building it more slowly, I don't even CARE! Why? Because I am doing amazing things!!

There are plenty of people who make work + travel a lifestyle. The two are not mutually exclusive. Just google "location independent" or "digital nomad". And yes, working when you travel isn't going to be the same as a 2 week vacation. If that's what we wanted, we'd stay at home and just go on short vacations instead. It becomes a lifestyle and it takes some getting used to, but it's possible. Maybe not right for everyone, but a lot of the people in this thread saying no are saying it for reasons that don't really make sense.

Expenses? Well we have that covered with cheap countries, IF you have an interest in those countries.
Visas? Easy in SE Asia. Just takes a little bit of money but perfectly affordable.
Connection? Thailand has good internet! There are always issues, and sometimes power cuts, but generally Thailand is pretty developed.
Health? There's plenty of affordable insurance.
Accommodation? You can stay in great places for $25. MUCH cheaper if you go more basic.
Any other questions? There are ways around them! If you want it you want it, if you don't, you listen to the nay-sayers and give up on the goal.

Don't let people take a dream away from you. It might not work for everyone, and it might not be right for them, but if it's right for you then you can do it. You can book a flight right now if you want to. I'm 100% sure you can do well on $2000 pm in SE Asia.

That said, I am so glad I have a savings cushion. I haven't had to use it yet, but it's here if I need it.

I will second this - as someone who has had to move 10 times or more in the past 3 years.

Unless you have a really solid set up, such as some regular paid workers who you can rely on to cover basic tasks, a home base that someone can monitor mail etc from, and more autopilot income in place.

Getting and maintaining clients can be really tricky - so a lot of this depends on your long term business model.

I suggest you save your money, and just travel for a few months and then get back to a home base where you can really work.

Not sure why you are asking... you already have it made....

CB products can have short or long lifespans. Here´s what you can do if it seems to be a stable earner.

Work a dayjob to cover ALL you living costs. Save every penny of the 2000 monthly CB bucks for a full year. That's 24 grand. Use 18 grand to travel - take it easy and it should easily keep you on the road for 6 - 9 months. Put the final 6 grand on hold as backup.

While you are away, your CB thing will hopefully have made you another 12 - 18 grand which you will need as personal running cost money back home while you develop your next product. I agree with the others, don't expect to be very productive on the road. Do the work at home (be super-productive).

Utopian scenario - but closer to reality than many seem to think. The problem is you need to be young and do this kind of stuff before you settle in to the daily reality of mortgages and family. You can do it when you retire too

Be aware that "traveling whilst running a business" and "going on holiday" are 2 different things.

Try and head for somewhere like Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Cebu, Manila, Davao, Bali, or Saigon.

Lots of solo entrepreneurs and start-ups there living of hardly anything and trying to grow businesses. Personally, I'd go with Chiang Mai if you aren't quite making a ton yet.

$500 will afford you a comfortable life, easily.

The issue with this (and I know from personal experience) is traction.

My moves were the result of my significant other and his job, but every time we would get somewhere and I'd come up with my plan on how to proceed, it would take time to meet people long enough to gain their trust we would up and move again before I could actually get some real work done for them.

Before going to your next location, you'll really need to scope it out to see if it is going to be conducive/beneficial toward your business goals - not just travel where you want because you think it will be "cool."

1st and foremost; don't let anyone kill your dreams. If you want to do it then do it.

2. Make sure you have 10K or more sitting in case you run into a tight spot.

3. let's clearly define travel. If you think you will be going from hotel to hotel 1 week or a couple of days per city I think you may wish to rethink your plan.

However, if going to one city in one country for 3 to 6 months and getting a short term apartment is what you are after so you have a good working home base then it's 100% doable.

As an example go to Arequipa Peru and stay 6 months. You can request a 183 day visa at the border when you enter. They rarely refuse and only give you 90 days. And if they do leave for 1 hour and recross the border for 3-6 more months.

Why Arequipa? You can rent a furnished condo (departmenta) in the Cayma district (the nicest area) for $300 a month including utilities. Food is some of the best you will ever eat and a 3 course lunch out is $1.50 (yes one dollar and fifty cents or 4.5 to 5 Soles). If you spend any more than 1k per month for everything including fun you're getting Gringo'ed (price jacked).

Stay 6 months and save 6k. Then you have plenty for your airfare to say Cuenca Ecuador where you can stay 3 months or apply for a K12 visa and stay for 6. They are just opening the visa office in Cuenca now so you don't have to fly to Quito anymore to extend your visa. Yes, I know you don't need a visa the 1st 3 months, but the 2nd 3 months you need both a visa and the extension (sounds weird but true).

Then if your IM biz is doing well at least 3k net and you're a man head to Medellin Colombia. I said if you're a man so need I say more?

Then to my fave, Montevideo Uruguay. Here again you will need 3k net but wow what a nice place. Parrillas on every corner, everyone drinks Yerba Mate, tons of great old world architecture, the people look like they are more European than SA by a long shot and Punta Del Este and Colonia are just right up the road (in opposite directions).
Be prepared for small apartments and paying a little more, but well worth it.

There is easily your 1st 2 years.

Have fun.

Patrick

Look into "International Living" ezine - it's for people who want to ex-patriate to other countries, and it has great advice on living conditions, and tips for making money abroad and/or online.

Don't have a link right now, but Google it...

I like this idea...

I like that picture above. It says a lot. I think if you live frugally you could travel places on 2,000 per month.

Wow, some amazing replies. I sure hope this thread stays active for a long time for the benefit for anyone wishing to start traveling. I already have enough info to begin doing some solid research.

FarangKing, your post was especially inspiring, thanks a lot. Ruth P and Azmanar have also offered some solid advice. Ruth, I've bookmarked your site and will be checking it out soon. Lots of great advice from other Warriors too, thanks a lot guys.

This is very tempting at the moment:

Agreed. What if something happens to your clickbank account? What if your site gets hacked? Or laptop stolen.. or anything.

Not saying you shouldn't follow your dream. In fact, this is also a dream of mine. I'd love to make a killing from my website and just travel and party all over the place.. but I agree that you should have another source of income, just in case you get into a hiccup..

Good luck

Travel?

What product would I come up with?

Travel guides.

You can explore a country, a region or a major city. Put together an ebook with plenty of travel tips, sights to see, maps, etc.

Put the guide on Amazon Kindle and move on to the next place.

Rick Steves has been doing it for years with published guides.

Been guilty of that myself, and trust me - years can fly by while you're waiting for the 'perfect time' to do what you want.

I've never moved around much, but I've traveled in the US all my life. My Mother liked to travel, then when I got married my wife also liked to travel. Our kids were always the ones in school who had 'been everywhere'. Almost every time one of my oldest daughter's teachers would mention some US city, travel destination, etc. she would look at my daughter and say "Don't tell me - you've been there?" She usually had :p

I hear so many people say "I would love to travel", but they live less than 100 miles from some major tourist mecca and have never been there! It's the difference between dreaming and doing.

Be prudent, make preparations, but don't let fear of the unknown stop you from steppin out! The daughter I mentioned above, for her 25th birthday took a 2-week hiking trip in Spain by herself. No worries! She was perfectly confident hitchhiking alone in a country where she had never been (in fact, she had only been off the North American continent once before then).

You can do it!

As an example of something you can get in Chiang Mai (and this is expensive at $200 per month) - Rooms & Rates: R.C.N GUESTHOUSE.com: Guest house in Chiangmai Thailand

It's right in the middle of the action in the old city.
Free Wifi in room
Fridge and Cable TV
Double bed and hot water in bathroom
24hr security
Free drinking water from machine
A short walk to everywhere.
Restaurants and food stalls with meals $1-2 minutes away.

I've lived there for about 3 months total and it's really nice.
Stalls with bags of fruit for 30c minutes away.

Not sure I'd go that direction - When you have your web properties on a paid hosting site (Hostgator, Bluehost, etc.) you have a staff of people to make sure the servers are up 24-7. You can't do that if you're in Thailand and your server is in Ohio. Can you afford a special trip back to the states to reboot your server?

OK - I've heard this term several times now... (do I dare ask) what is "baller status"?

joe

On the contrary, I'd argue that renting an apartment for a few months is even more "traveling" than skipping through a whirlwind of destinations, never embracing the time it takes to truly enjoy or understand them.

In fact, OP, my official recommendation is to pick one destination and stay there for a year. Don't be a backpacker; be a world citizen who goes on short backpacking trips when you have time off your work.

Will it be difficult to focus living in paradise?

Of course it will. Does that mean you should ignore your dreams and stay safely put in a place that bores you rather than live somewhere amazing and inspiring? I say no.

That's like insisting someone turn down the opportunity to live on the beachfront in Hawaii while building their business even though they've proven they can afford to.

Focus is any IMer's main problem, no matter where you're located. I can find a party in my hometown any day of the week, but I still learn to control myself and get things done when they need doing. If you don't learn to tackle that challenge at some point, you're most likely going to fail no matter where you live.

For someone who figures out the focus "problem" (you obviously already have it somewhat figured or you wouldn't be making a consistent income), living in a foreign country and enjoying life to the fullest while building a business is very doable.

Easy? No. But certainly doable.

In fact, any review of the disadvantages and pitfalls is shortsighted without a look at the advantages. One major advantage is that with the exchange rates involved, you get a substantial financial edge by relocating there. Once you're making a decent amount of money, you can set a budget, live off 1-2K a month, and put the rest toward investments & savings.

You're already making 2K a month. If there's potential to see continued success with what you're doing, I say go for it (again, with a safety net already in place though). Allow yourself to go buck wild the first 2 or 3 weeks after you get there, and then force yourself to build a regular schedule.

Start by setting rules for yourself...

Designate a certain number of hours a day towards work - just as if you were at home working a job. Don't allow yourself a drink until you've put in your hours for the day, and on top of that, make an agreement with a friend that if you don't put in your hours for the day you have to pay them money.

Set goals and monitor them closely. Take weekends off so you can enjoy yourself and unwind. Get up early most days, and go to the gymn on a regular basis. Enroll in a language or martial arts class to further solidify your concrete, normal schedule. Start a small-time export business for additional side income, leveraging your location to the fullest while filling your time with yet another productive venture.

Get creative and do whatever it takes to stay on track while there. Heck, since you make your own hours already, you can work hard for 2 or 3 weeks at a time and then take a week off to go check out the sights and sounds.

Rinse and repeat, as they say.

If you're the type of person who craves adventure - who wants to live the international life and see the world - there will always be people to tell you it's foolish, you're crazy, or it can't be done.

A minority of us simply do what we want to anyways.

We'd rather live outside the box and find a way to make it work; if we did it any other way, we wouldn't be happy.

It's not for everyone...but there are people who have done it before you in a multitude of different ways. If you want it bad enough, just go pave your own unique path.

Wow, what a beautiful description. Chiang Mai sounds really appealing right about now. I think settling down for a few months is essential if I am to continue growing my online income.

Nice one mikesan, I hadn't actually thought about using my travels to find international talent. The Philippines is a great place for outsourcing. Going there physically, I could set up a group of loyal employees and then manage them online while I continue my travels. What an excellent insight :p

Hi,

There are many positions available in main China cities for English and French tutors. Mostly offered by private schools for young children and evening classes for adults. The pay range is about $2,000 to $3,000 a month. They are not too fussy about special certifications as long as the tutors are well attired, articulate and caucasians preferred with passports from US, UK, NZ, Ireland, Canada, France or Australia. Some providers are also looking for private tutors like 2 to 3 hours a day paying about $20 to $50 per hour, 3 to 4 times a week. Some for kiddy schools like 4 hours a day, 5 days a week.

Some friends from France are teaching in Thailand private colleges. Not sure whether they are getting the same level of wages as in China.

For China, just logon and register at Expats forums, you'll find the offers. After taking the positions, make a plan on how to use free times to explore as well as to manage IM biz. Here is an example.

The point is to earn money and support the foreign stay without eating-up the income from IM. At the same time, getting immersed in the local culture. And .. you'll never know the sort of network you'll be building up and the unexpected opportunities you'll be creating.

Ballin'...

Loving this thread. I'm doing pretty good as far as IM monthly earnings go and am looking to start living the 'international lifestyle' after being in the same place for the past two years. Lot's of great info here, especially regarding Chiang Mai. And for those of you who are not familiar with the term 'Baller' then I think that Dave Chappelle says it best
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMLRg8xSgjs

Eastern Europe (Ukraine for example) is cheap and there are a lot of nice towns there.