I have spent the past 3 years living nomadically and I have been fortunate enough to see many amazing places around the world. Though I definitely do not live glamorously, I am able to live comfortably. But of course, I need money to fund my travels so I have had to find work along the way. With a background in hospitality work is usually never too hard for me to find. I have worked in bars, restaurants, I have cleaned rooms in hostels in exchange for rent, and I have worked in very remote resorts. But as an American Citizen I am very limited to what countries I can obtain a visa that allows me to live and work in their select country. Actually, Australia and New Zealand being the only two. But before I get into traveling overseas I want to focus on my home country, The United States.
I spent several weeks in Nepal
Being Nomadic in the USA
The United States has many opportunities for part time work. The USA also hosts some amazing National Parks. Most of these parks have restaurants, hotels and other services that regularly require seasonal workers. Most of these resorts also provide accommodation and meals (with a weekly reduction from your paycheck ). Room and board being provided is a great benefit. It gives you a nice stable place to stay for a few months and help save money for your next adventure. In my experience in working at some of these resorts they are usually always looking for people to hire and a lot of times their is the opportunity for overtime and extra hours if they are short on staff.
When I travel I try and stay away from big cities and try to find remote work in National Parks so I can spend my off days exploring and doing photography. I worked in Yellowstone National Park for 7 months working in a restaurant. This was such an amazing experience. I spent my off time taking pictures and exploring the park. I was able to save a good amount of money working so when my season was up I was able to go to Taiwan for a holiday.
An Elk in front of the employee housing in Yellowstone
Remote resorts are great places to save money. Due to being remote, towns are usually miles away so impulse buying and going out all the time is not an option. And when the resort provides room and board it is usually at a cheaper rate than what you would pay to live in a city, so they money saved can just add up up. Not to mention the experience of remote living, though not for everyone, is an amazing experience within itself.
A great website to find remote work in the USA is coolworks.com. They post a lot of seasonal jobs for remote areas, National Parks and other resort type hotels. The jobs range from dishwashers to tour guides. The website breaks down jobs by state so I use it to see what is available in the locations I want to spend a season, then I apply and hope for the best.
Backpacking Australia
While Australia is very expensive to travel to, if you are under 30 years old, and don’t have any dependent children, you can apply for a working holiday visa (visa #462). The working holiday visa allows you to live and work in Australia for 1 year. The visa can be extended for up to 3 years if you complete the appropriate work. Acquiring a work visa for Australia is a great way to be able to see the country and also make money to help fund your travels. Australia always has a need for hospitality workers and the pay is very good. ( $22.50aud an hour for bar work). But cost of living is expensive so the high pay rate goes mostly to cost of food and living expenses. But you will still be able to live comfortably and save money as long as you don’t spend every night at the pub.
I arrived here in Australia over two years ago with barely any money. I spent 2 weeks looking for a job then finally found a full time job at a remote holiday resort in the Red Centre. I spent 6 months working there and was able to save enough money to buy a car and start road tripping around the country.
I eventually had to find work again and ended up getting a job in Albany by just going into a random bar and asking if there was any work available. The Australian job market is both dependent and accustomed to foreign workers so they are more than willing to hire a worker for just a few months time.
Another good advantage about living and working in Australia is that Asia is just a few hour plane ride away. You can work for several months in Australia and save money, then travel to Asia for as long as you can afford, then heard back to Australia to work and save more money. I was able to save money and do a 6 week trip to Malaysia, Thailand, India, and Nepal. Flights to Asian countries are relatively cheap from Australia. After I arrived back to Australia I hit the road again and traveled until i needed money and found more restaurant work in Far North Queensland (where I currently am located)
Road trip around Australia
Conclusion
So the way that I have made money while traveling is to find seasonal or part time work in hospitality. Almost anyone can do what I have been doing and be able to have an experience of a lifetime.