Call it a rite of passage, or a desire to see the world, or whatever, but thousands of young people do it each year, in some form or another.
My son graduates from high school this month. This got me thinking about young people graduating from high schools and colleges around the world who are interested in taking to the road for a bit, without much money in their pockets. Call it a rite of passage, or a desire to see the world, or whatever, but thousands of young people do it each year, in some form or another.
Oftentimes this is graduation-money funded backpacking and sleeping on friends’ and relatives’ floors or in youth hostels. Sometimes it’s loading up a friend’s car and driving until you get somewhere you’ve never been. Sometimes it involves campgrounds or doing volunteer work in a foreign country. And sometimes it’s just taking to the road and figuring it out along the way.
So, to update my knowledge of how young adventurers can travel without stowing away in the landing gear compartment of an airliner, I took to the World Wide Web. And I was pleasantly surprised at how organized hoboing has become. Here are four of the ways young wanderers can see the country, and the world, on a budget.
Working/Volunteering
Working for room and board has always been an excellent way to see the world on a budget. Opportunities can range from working on farms to handiwork to au pairing (have I made a verb of a noun?), and lots of things in between. Some of the sites that offer these kinds of opportunities include:
Travel notes: Be sure you understand what you are getting into, and what you will get in return. I noticed that not all work travel opportunities offer both room and board. As an example, unless you can photosynthesize your sustenance, be sure you are going to be fed if you aren’t going to have the money to feed yourself.
Hospitality Exchanges
Probably the most used tool in the young hobo kit is crashing on a friend or relative’s couch. Or if you are like me visiting my sister, crashing on her dorm room floor. I found it interesting, although I shouldn’t be at all surprised, that there exist a number of forums/communities that connect hosts with guests for free couch stays. I understand from the FAQs on these sites that no money is exchanged; the stays are toll-free. If you’re interested in a living arraignment that is likely better than sleeping under the bridge, or on a subway ventilation grate, check out:
Travel notes: The world can be a scary place if you don’t take precautions. So be sure you let people know when and where you will be traveling, including your country’s consular services in whichever country your travels take you. I have added some emergency help resources to the insurance page, which include links to consular services of various countries, to make this process a little easier.
Teaching in Foreign Countries
I’m not certain anyone would want me to teach them anything. Although I did have to teach my younger sister Algebra II (sorry Sister). However, if you’re not me, there are a number of teaching abroad opportunities that might suit your needs to travel on a limited budget if you have the talents they seek. Plus, there can be no doubt that immersion travel in a country will enrich you in ways a short jaunt through could not. So, if you’re committed to really getting into the experiences a foreign country has to offer, point your browser to one of these resources:
House/Pet Sitting
I think I might have spent a little more time traveling the world, or at least the country if I knew that room and board could be had for house-sitting, or pet-sitting. I certainly am aware of the market demand now, since I have house and pet sat since becoming a sort of responsible adult. But I certainly did not know how many websites are dedicated to pairing up sitters with houses and pets:
This article isn’t intended to be a comprehensive anthology of modern vagabondism. I haven’t ventured into backpacking and youth hostels in this article, or some of the more limited, but very interesting, ways to travel. If you don’t think any of my suggestions work for you, I encourage you to spend a little bit of time on the internet to find out what does. Whatever you decide to do, whether it involves one or a combination of the ideas I have listed (or that you find on your own), please be careful . . . and have fun!
(The graphic, such that it is, was made by me. All copyrights reserved.)
Move up to the most popular premium travel rewards card,
Comments