“Quit your job, sell your stuff, travel the world.”
It’s a tale as old as time, and has been covered so extensively across so many travel blogs and websites, it’s honestly starting to become a bit repetitive. After all, is it really that simple?
The answer? Yes, it is…for a while. Then, it becomes not-so-simple.
Ask any frequent traveler what their travel/”normal life” balance is like, and you’ll probably receive one of these common answers:
- They quit their job to travel “indefinitely,” until they run out of money. Then, they’ll either go home and return to their normal life permanently, or they’ll begin a cycle of bouncing back and forth between saving money at home and spending money on travel
- They’re working some sort of remote freelance or English-teaching job while traveling (probably a low-paying job in a low-cost country)
- They have the standard 9-5 job at home with limited vacation, and travel when they can
I know people who follow all of these patterns, and make them work very well.
But none of them have worked for me.
The problem for me is that NONE of these lifestyles would ever be sustainable for me in the long-term.
My adventurous urges are, quite frankly, much too strong to be contained by a 9-5 job with 2 weeks of vacation. In all honestly, I would probably lose my mind if I was forced to admit defeat and limit my travel enough to fit this type of schedule.
On the flip side, I’m not so nomadically-inclined that I’m comfortable with living out of a suitcase for the rest of my life (oh, and there’s that whole fiance bit to think about!).
The good news? I’ve found another way.
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?
I too have my own “quit my job to travel story,” although mine had a twist ending: when I told my boss I was quitting my job to go traveling, she asked me if I wanted to work remotely instead.
This was the event that opened my eyes to the possibility of remote work; of traveling long-term while also making a steady income.
I won’t lie, it was great having an excess of incoming funds as I backpacked around Central America. As for the parts that weren’t so great?
- Telling my new friends from my hostels, “Sorry, I can’t go to the beach/go volcano boarding/go on that hike with you all today, because I need to work instead.”
- Battling the mind-numbingly slow internet connection in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras as I attempted to get work done.
- Having a full-blown panic attack when Utila experienced a complete island-wide power outage the day I had a project due, and I missed a work deadline for the first time ever.
Thus, I learned that working while traveling wasn’t quite all that it was cracked up to be.
Yes, technically I was employed and traveling at the same time…but this new job set-up came with many new challenges, frustrations, and annoyances that were perhaps worse to deal with than those I had left behind at my full-time, location-dependent job.
Not to mention, this backpacking stint in Central America taught me that while I love the occasional multi-month trip, long-term travel with no end in sight doesn’t quite align with my other life priorities (i.e. my career, my fiance, my friends and family at home, and my desire to have a home base to return to).
So, when I returned home from Central America at the end of 2015, I decided to try something different: I became a travel agent.
Long story short, this lasted all of three months before I realized that working as a travel agent involved WAY too much blurring of the lines between business and pleasure. After all, travel is my passion ; booking cruises and airline tickets for strangers with travel styles that were so completely different than my own made it all seem so dull, clinical, and uninspiring.
…In other words, the subject of travel suddenly felt more like a job and a chore than like something I truly loved. Which is exactly what it had become.
Which leads me to today.
Today, I have a set-up that doesn’t quite have the “obvious” appeal of working while traveling or working in the travel industry.
My job description doesn’t sound glamorous or exciting; I simply have a flexible job doing what I’m good at: content creation.
Actually, I have three jobs doing what I’m good at. Without going into too much detail, I work part-time hours at an office job here in Houston where I do marketing and social media work, and I also have two ongoing writing gigs, which I do remotely.
All of these jobs are contract-based, and since I’m not a full-time employee, I don’t receive any benefits like healthcare and paid vacation. However, I work from home every Friday (meaning it’s easier than ever to dedicate long weekends to travel), and all three of my employers are extremely flexible regarding the amount of time I take off to travel.
So yes, on the surface, my life and my career are extremely normal, in every since of the word. I’m employed, I have an apartment and a car, and I’m newly engaged and planning a wedding.
But…
I’ve also made sure that this lifestyle allows me to carve out plenty of room for travel when I need it. I’m not in career that only allows for two, three, or even four weeks of vacation per year. I’m also not wasting precious hours abroad glued to my laptop.
With a bit of trial and error, I’ve finally figured out what my perfect balance of travel and “normal life” is:
- I like having a home base, but having the job flexibility to travel when I want to.
- While I don’t mind working a bit on longer trips, I appreciate being able to limit my work schedule and just relax when traveling on shorter trips.
- I like that travel is my passion and my hobby, not my job.
- I like the feeling of watching my career progress and grow, and knowing that I am working in a career that I want to stay in for many years to come (rather than just having a job for the sole purpose of making money).
The ultimate goal for me would be to eventually transition my job to 100% remote, and right now I’m operating at about 40% remote. But hey, it’s a start!
UPDATE 1/11/17 – I now work 100% remotely as a freelance writer, marketer, and social media media writer/coordinator!
In other words, I’ll probably NEVER be a full-time traveler or permanent nomad. I’ll also probably NEVER go back to the standard location-dependent 9-5 job. It doesn’t have to be one extreme or the other; there are options in between.
The most exciting part of finalizing realizing and (at least partially) achieving this ideal lifestyle is that I can totally see the sustainability of it all. I can see how the balance that I’m building between travel and normal life today will help me to be happy five, ten, twenty, and thirty years down the road.
Sure, my priorities may shift and my ideal travel/normal life balance will more than likely change, but I have a strong feeling that I’m on the right track.
In other words, you can live a “normal” life and make time for the travel you want.
In case you’ve never visited my “About Me” page before (go on, give it a read, I’ll wait) I wanted to share this little excerpt that I wrote more than a year ago about my main purpose for writing on this blog:
I know that there may be many people out there in similar situations–dreaming of seeing the world and experiencing foreign cultures, and wondering if they have to abandon the things and people they love most in order to fulfill those dreams.
For that reason, I am very happy to tell you that it IS possible to have both.
With careful planning, budgeting, and prioritizing, it is possible to have both adventure and stability, love and independence, and excitement and normalcy.
This blog is the story of my endeavor to balance a “normal” lifestyle with an adventurous spirit. My hope is that my travels and stories will inspire others to see more of the world, without feeling required to give up the comforts of home in the process.
This sentiment is true today more than ever before. It’s taken me more than a year of trial and error (and yes, multiple failures) to figure out what truly makes me happy in a career, in travel, and in a lifestyle. I’ve taken some risks and ultimately relied on my intuition to guide me in many cases, but it’s paid off: I’m finally truly content with the work I’m doing, the life I’m living, and the travel opportunities that stand before me.
Of course, not everyone is the same type of person that I am, and what works for me may not be what works for many other people. The goal is to figure out how to make travel fit into YOUR lifestyle, based on YOUR priorities, goals, and values.
And you know what? It’s totally possible.
Here’s how to find your own travel/lifestyle balance.
- In your heart of hearts, do you see yourself traveling for as long as you can without coming back to a home base? OR do you see yourself having a home base and taking shorter trips as frequently as you can?
- What is your motivation for travel? To “get it out of your system”? To look back on your life without regrets? To do something crazy and different, just once? To learn about the world? To explore new hobbies and experiences? To bond with your travel companion(s)? Your answer could help you determine if you “need” to take that one big round-the-world yearlong trip, or if you’d be better off taking more weekend or week-long trips.
- Realistically, does your career path allow you to work remotely (even just on occasion) or take extended amounts of time off to travel? If yes, this is definitely a sustainable way to either increase your travel frequency, or the length of your trips (or both!). If no, would you consider taking a leave of absence from your job to go on one long trip, before returning to work?
- What are you willing to sacrifice to achieve your ideal travel-lifestyle balance?
- Whichever route you choose, can you make the money you need to fully support yourself in your chosen lifestyle?
Ultimately, the key to finding your dream balance between travel and “normal” life is to realize that there’s no right answer, or right path. Want to move abroad permanently? Make it happen! Want to take a year off from work to travel and have fun? Do it! Want to work remotely while traveling slowly? You’ve got options! Want to travel half the year and live at home half the year? Go for it! Want to take three week-long vacations each year? Negotiate it!
Be creative, know what you want, and leverage your skills and resources to build the lifestyle you want from the ground up.
Other bloggers who have nailed down their travel and “normal life” balance:
- Bridges and Balloons: Success! I found my travel-work-life balance (for now)
- Nomadic Matt: The Long Road Ahead: Finding a New Balance Between Work and Play
- A Dangerous Business: You Can Live a “Normal” Life and Travel, Too
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What’s your ideal balance between travel and “normal” life? What are you doing to make it work? I want to hear all about it!
Great article! This is a very true picture of what some long term travelers are doing. It is hard to find the balance between work and travel sometimes. I left my job last year to backpack through South America with my husband terrified that I wouldn’t get a job when I came back. When I did return I went right back to my old job before moving cross country. Now we have decided to keep traveling at different times throughout the year. Since my husband is a travel therapist we can sustain this lifestyle and we are happy with every decision we’ve made so far. Thanks for such an honest post!
Thanks Adriane! I love hearing about how other travelers find the balance that works for them. Sounds like your husband has a really cool job that works out well for you guys. I think the key to finding this type of balance is all about thinking outside of the box, which it seems like you guys have really done!
Great post! I think everyone has to find their own balance. I’ve worked abroad for a few years, thinking that would be my perfect life but I got tired of getting rid of all my things as I moved to the next location. Also in the first years of living abroad you don’t travel as much because the whole area is new. Now I bought a house in my home country and I have a full-time job. The things I’ve requested to make me more balanced is: a 36 hour work-week, which means 9 hours work per day and Friday off. This allows me to travel for long weekends all around Europe. I can buy up to eight weeks of holidays per year.
I’m not saying it’s the perfect solution but for now I’m loving the working and trip planning whenever I can 🙂
Dominique recently posted…Wadden Sea – Mudflat Hiking
That sounds like a great balance Dominique! Negotiating Fridays off is so smart, totally worth the 9-hour days the rest of the week I bet. And that’s a great amount of vacation time, too! You’re right, finding the right balance between work and travel is just a personal thing, and there’s so many ways to do it.
I would love to travel at about 40-50% of the time but my husband has the typical 2 week vacation time limit, and it’s hard for me to travel solo because of health issues. Thanks for your inspiration to keep trying to find a balance that works for me. 🙂
Ava @ My Meena Life recently posted…What You Don’t See in My Travel Photos.
I hope you find it, Ava! Who knows what the future holds 🙂
Wonderful post! I think so many people either travel to “get it out of their system” and then go back to a typical lifestyle, or they feel like they have to travel permanently in order to get what they want. But those two extremes aren’t the only options and they’re not for everyone. There’s plenty of in-between and alternatives, as you showed. I like traveling long-term, but sometimes I just want my own place to go back to. I like working remotely, but I also hate having to work while I’m trying to enjoy my travels. Finding a balance is important, and that balance is different for everyone. I’m glad you found something that works for you. I’m still figuring it out, but I think I’m headed in the right direction.
Courtney recently posted…New Zealand Adventures: 2 Months on the Road
I’ve definitely found myself on both ends of that spectrum (either viewing travel as a “quick fix” or as a permanent lifestyle) and totally agree that neither one is for me! I actually think that a balance somewhere in the middle is a great solution for many people, but it takes some trial and error to get it right for sure. I’m still kind of working on it myself 🙂
Great post, right in line with a lot the questions that I have been asking myself over the last couple of years–maybe it’s that “quarter life crisis” that you always hear about?
My gut feeling is that balance now isn’t what balance will look like in 10 years, so I try to keep my non-travel goals on the forefront of my mind as well.
Kate recently posted…9 Spectacular Things to Do in Sarajevo
That’s very true! I (hopefully) won’t have the same exact priorities and goals in 10 years as I do right now, so it’s important to keep your future self in mind too.
Really like this post! This idea that you can only either backpack constantly or work a restrictive 9-5 is just not true! I mean, I have to confess I have a 9-5 job but I have at least 5 weeks of holiday per year (in Germany) + crazy public holidays. There are ways around this either/or dilemma for sure 🙂 I don’t know if I could handle working three jobs simultaneously though! I have a hard enough time keeping my daily to-do’s in order 😉
Monica recently posted…50 things to do in Berlin (as told by locals)
5 weeks of holiday is a great compromise! Plus, living in Germany you’re so connected to so many other great destinations in Europe. And haha yeah, the good news about my jobs is that they’re all part-time so it’s *usually* not too crazy, but there are some weeks when I feel like they all pile on the work at the same time!
Totally vibing with you, blonde. 🙂
Read two of your posts and clicked like an old computer mouse.
The first one was about your “struggle” with anxiety (not much of a struggle anymore, more like a cheatsheet – hence the quotes). GAD guy talking here…I can easily relate!
The second one is this! At the beginning of my career I wanted a full blown sprint to advance as high and as quick as possible – so 0 travel. The second part was a “career stale”, travel oriented stage in which I leveraged my expertise for a good paying, 100% remote job, which actually gave me a big headache because I constantly had to miss out on all the fun while traveling because I had to nail a deadline. Total buzz kill!
Luckily enough, I think I finally nailed it. I made a huge leap forward in my career with a new job (think of it as being promoted from “the paper copy machine guy” to “the engineer that develops paper copying machines”) and it has all the goods to balance both career and travel wishes: a very nice salary that arrives on time, a very nice office in my town where I can go basically whenever I feel like it (the HR people were actually like “you can ski 6 months/year and swim in the ocean the rest 6 months/year; we don’t care as long as you make the deadline”), all the benefits that you could want + small but nice perks, at least 2 high profile conferences/year in awesome places – next stop: Tokyo – at which apparently I have to give some speeches an presentations (GAD?!) and a vibrant small business/”profitable startup” environment with a team of young, adventurous prodigies. I start Monday and I’ve never been so excited about a job!!!
Hope to run into you at some point!
Safe travels,
Edy
PS: I just reread my post in search for mistakes and couldn’t help but notice that it sounds kind of “braggy”. It is not! It is a real life testimonial of the fact that 9-5 and adventurous lifestyle are not mutually exclusive. I hope everyone can land a job like this. The job market is changing anyway so it might as well go down this “template”. I know a guy that works for IBM and he has an even more adventurous lifestyle than I do, packaged with even more “career security” than I have. 🙂
So awesome, thanks for sharing! I love hearing about how other people have found the balance that works for them – sounds like you totally nailed it. I definitely think that more and more jobs are going to start offering flexible and remote options for employees. There’s so much work that really can be done from anywhere in the world, and if it boosts employee morale and reduces turnover, why wouldn’t employers want to take advantage of that?
Love this post Kelly! We have had very similar paths. I got my first taste of long-term international travel and was sure i could do it forever. but then i realized it wasn’t quite for me. I love traveling, but I love having my fiancé, my dogs, and my family to come home to. without those things in my life, travel would be really unfulfilling to me. I feel like i finally have the balance I need and desire to have both roots AND wings!
I totally agree, having a home base and some stability definitely makes travel MORE fulfilling for me. Thanks Carrie!
I totally dabbled in the travel agent world for awhile and HATED it. I still have my license but basically only use it for family trips or helping out friends. I did not like working so many hours for such paltry commission! And like you allude to, it made travel not so fun anymore.
YES, ugh, the commission!! When I first started out, I thought I would be okay with the low commission because “at least I’d be doing something that I loved.” NOPE. Way happier to be out of there!
This is exactly what I want!! I just find it difficult to find remote job opportunities that are not only part time/project based. I also have a background within marketing/communications. Any tips on where to look for remote opportunities?
Thanks.
Best,
Diana
https://weworkremotely.com/ can be a good source for finding more full-time positions! I actually have several consistent part-time contracts which I really enjoy. I work with around 5 clients right now, and I like that the work always varies. Totally get what you mean though about wanting something more stable/full-time. Good luck!!
THANK YOU for writing this!! Its so important to recognize that not everyone wants to travel full-time or be home based full time. It’s truly so nice to hear from someone who is finding the balance! Cheers 🙂
PS, I’ve stayed at that hotel in Ometepe! Absolutely wonderful 🙂
Ahh thanks Heather, glad you can relate!! 😀 Couldn’t agree more!!