I’m just back from a great week on the sunny isle of Tenerife. It’s one of the places my partner and I like to head for in mid December when the UK weather is usually horrible. The difference in the last couple of years has been that as I now work online, I can work and travel abroad whenever I choose. I don’t need to choose a time that’s convenient for an employer or a traditional business. All that’s needed is an internet connection and I can work from anywhere as needed.
One of the big advantages in having this freedom is that it keeps an income coming in while we look around places we might want to settle in future. It takes the whole – what to do for income to work and travel abroad – question out of the equation.
Travel and Work abroad – constantly
What we also tend to do is to always find a self-catering place with expat owners. Not only are these people who have an interesting story, they are also used to living full time and running a business in the country and area we are visiting. Usually they are more than happy to chat about their journey and experiences living and working abroad. Priceless info for anyone, like us who aims to work and travel abroad.
An online affiliate business is a great solution for anyone wanting to travel or to relocate permanently to another country as it can be run from anywhere but there are other possibilities too. If you talk to expat holiday rental owners they will tell you that they pay quite large commissions to 3rd party advertisers to get bookings for their holiday homes and BnB’s for example.
If they new more about digital marketing they could not only increase their profits by avoiding commission payments, they could also more proactively promote the business and get more enquiries too. So even if you are looking to establish a traditional business abroad, or already own one, a foundation in online marketing skills could be of huge value. There could also be consulting or freelance digital marketing opportunities there for those looking to work and travel abroad
Work and travel abroad – no need for a base
This last trip got us both thinking about the whole working and living abroad question in a different way. Until now we have always been thinking about settling in another country – France in fact. But aside from finding it difficult to decide on a region (we love most parts of France) we also love Italy and the Canaries. But with the freedom that an online business offers is there really a need to have a permanent base or bases anywhere?
Last week, in Tenerife we found ourselves thinking we could happily live there too but on chatting to our hosts changed our minds. Whilst in December, a pretty much guaranteed 25 degree temperature is fabulous, the 40 degree+ summer heat with it’s accompanying, dust-laden sirocco’s is not so tempting.
There are other considerations for work and travel abroad of course. Bureaucracy in countries like France, Italy and Spain can make the UK variety seem positively joyful for one thing! So if the desire to live there is based on simple stuff like the weather and food (Tenerife excepted here on the food part!) then maybe there is a better way to get the best and avoid the worst.
Digital technology, marketing, the internet make it possible for us to be literally citizens of the world. This would have seemed like science fiction not too many years ago but now it is attainable for almost anyone that really wants it.
Armed with the right skills and training its possible to work a month or two here and a month or two there. This was previously a lifestyle only open to a lucky a few but it’s something more and more people are now embracing. You can check out this brave new world with a series of free video presentations below and start planning your travels !
