If you’re the kind of person who loves to travel, you’ve probably been thrilled to see the world start to reopen after nearly two years – and the worst of the pandemic – finally appears to be behind us. But if you’re also someone who has to work for a living (and that’s most of us!), you can’t exactly pull up your roots and start traveling the world as a nomad.
Or can you?
In today’s economy, it’s not only possible to make money while you travel – it’s actually pretty practical. You just have to be intentional about the opportunities you pursue.
Options for Making Money While Traveling
The nomad lifestyle isn’t for everyone. Many of us are totally fine with taking two or three weeks off each year and using those travel days to go on weekend excursions or the occasional trip overseas.
If you’re someone who wants more out of your travel and the idea of spending months at a time abroad appeals to you, you’re going to have to design a career and a lifestyle that would allow that to happen.
Having established that necessity, here are several ways you can make money while you travel.
- Find a Remote Job
The easiest option is to find a remote position in a line of work or industry you’re already in. For example, if you’re a project manager for a food manufacturing company, is it possible for you to go from working in an office to handling your tasks 100 percent remotely using email, Zoom meetings, and other tools?
If it’s a truly remote position, your employer shouldn’t care where you clock in from. You just have to recognize that you’ll probably have to work during a specific window of time that suits the firm, and that might not be practical if you cross multiple time zones around the globe.
- Become a Freelancer
Although a remote job offers some stability, it can also be restricting. (Someone else will probably call meetings, set your hours, etc.) If you’re looking for more freedom, this could be the perfect time to go out on your own and become a freelancer.
Freelancing allows you to take on work when you want it and perform on the terms that suit you. On the other hand, you will have to find your own clients and the work can be more sporadic than when you operate as a W-2 employee.
- Teach a Skill You Have
Do you have a specific skill? One great way to make money is to build a business in which you travel around the world and teach classes.
Whether you select creative writing, photography, painting, dancing, business leadership, public speaking, woodworking, or DIY home repairs, there may be a market for almost any skill. A bonus is that you get to spend more time doing something you love.
- Invest in Rental Properties
Perhaps you don’t relish the notion of spending all your travel time holed up in a coffee shop with a laptop. Are there ways to earn money passively so your travel can truly consist of travel?
The answer is yes – if you do it strategically. One option is to invest in rental properties wherever you’re currently located and use the cash flow from these holdings to fund a travel lifestyle.
Just four or five single-family rental properties in a healthy market could net you several thousand dollars a month. The key is to hire a property management company that can handle all the day-to-day tasks while you’re on the move.
- Become an Influencer
This is probably the most appealing option on the roster. But it’s also the least practical. Nevertheless, if you happen to have the personality and a fairly strong social media following already, you might pursue the goal of becoming an influencer.
To make it happen, it will be necessary to post a lot of content and you must be willing to engage constantly with followers, chase down partnerships, and grow. For perspective on this, you should expect to make roughly $10 per 1,000 followers per post.
That means if you have 10,000 followers, you might earn $100 for each post. If you upload content several times a day and attract suitable sponsorships, this could be enough to fund your entire lifestyle.
- Chase Seasonal Work
A final option is to chase seasonal work. Ski resorts are always looking for people to work full time during the winter months, and coastal resorts hire extra personnel during the warmer parts of the year. You could bounce around and pick up these kinds of jobs.
Embrace the Travel Lifestyle
The travel lifestyle is one that offers several distinct advantages as well as points of potential friction. It’s up to you to create the lifestyle you desire proactively by finding the appropriate jobs and money-making opportunities. Use this article as a foundation to get started!