In this series, we’re exploring the various careers of world travelers, and how they make ends meet financially while living abroad. Yes, financially sustainable full-time travel is possible!
Miguel is from the Basque Country (Spain) and lived in Barcelona for many years. He always loved to travel and when he lost his job as an architect due to the crisis in Spain, his new life began. He has been traveling the world ever since with no plans to stop. He likes to visit exotic countries and hike off the beaten path routes, and shares his adventures at Travelsauro. Miguel finances his travel lifestyle with a combination of keeping his expenses low with volunteering, and managing his blog. Here’s more on how he does it!
How long have you been living/working on the road, and where have you traveled to?
I’ve been traveling the world for the last five years visiting the five continents, but I spent most of the time in Africa, Asia and South America.
Please describe what you do for income.
In the beginning I used to travel with my savings and doing some seasonal work, but after I started my blog (Travelsauro), I now travel with a combination of the money I make out of the blog and some volunteering jobs where I don’t spend any money and I get accommodation and food.
(See also: How to Get Free Accommodation Around the World)
How many hours per week do you work on average?
Travelsauro is quite new (six months online), so I worked pretty hard during the first few months, maybe 8-9 hours a day like a regular job. But now I think that I work around 25 hours per week depending on where I am and how the connection is.
How much money do you make?
All the money that I make out of my blog comes from affiliate sales and since the site is pretty new it’s not much yet. I have some articles about backpacking gear, hiking gear, hiking watches, etc., and some of them are doing quite well on google and pinterest. I’m making around $400 per month but that’s gradually growing so I guess it’s gonna be a good amount in a few months.
Besides that, I’ve done some seasonal work in bars, hostels and I even worked as a bricklayer and painter once in Rio de Janeiro. Working as a painter in Rio I was making around $1,000 per month (which is enough to live in Brasil).
Do you make enough money to support your lifestyle?
Sometimes I’ve made enough money to keep traveling and sometimes I have to do something extra like volunteering in hostels. I really like that; you just need to help out for a few hours a day and you get free accommodation and food in exchange.
I’ve done a lot of volunteering lately and it really helped me. I wasn’t spending any money and I was making some money out of the blog at the same time so it really worked.
What do you like most about your career and lifestyle?
I love that I can visit a city and if I like it I have the freedom to stay and enjoy the city as long as I want. I love being a nomad!
What are some of the challenges you have with this career and lifestyle?
Well, sometimes I think about how my life would be having a family and all those things and I think it’s a bit incompatible with this lifestyle.
What is your vision for the future of your lifestyle on the road?
I’d like to keep on this life for a few more years. There are a lot of places out there that I want to explore but I guess that I’ll need to settle down somewhere one day…or not! I don’t think much about the future to be quite honest.. the present is quite exciting already…so let’s enjoy it!
Any advice for the aspiring traveler about living and working on the road and managing finances?
Whatever you do, do it with passion and enjoy doing it…Otherwise, what’s the point?
A lot of people think that you have to be rich or something like that to be a long-term traveler; it’s not true! We all can travel in our way!
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