Making a living traveling the world (part 2)

This post was first published on the excellent blog of La Cordée stores.

---

The world has never been so small and has never offered so many possibilities for those who want to break out of traditional career models. Here is the rest of the 1 part, with my own case, and a few other options.

Jonathan B. Roy

(i.e. myself)

Writing my first book in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Making a living from travel was not a dream for me, nor even something I had planned. My original goal was to cycle from Europe to Asia for a year and then come back to Canada. And now I've been traveling for almost three and a half years.

At the beginning of my journey, I started this blog in order to avoid sending the same email several times to all my family and friends to tell them where I was and how I was doing. I took pleasure in improving my writing and my photos throughout my career. After 6 months of traveling, I started to receive a few offers to write elsewhere. I thus had the chance to collaborate with La Presse, then with the magazine Vélo Mag in which I still participate in each edition.

After 14 months of cycling, I stopped in Malaysia following a job offer. Vélo Québec Then offered to write a book about my cycling adventures, which I accepted and did with great joy despite the hundreds of hours of work. This is how I launched last year Histoires à dormir dehors.

When you publish a book, you then have to promote it. I then returned to Quebec for the first time in over two years. I took the opportunity to offer a conference to businesses, schools and the public on my stories. Since then, I have been back on the road by bike, but I come back to the country about twice a year to give other lectures. These now form the majority of my salary. My other income comes from my articles and videos at Vélo Mag, as well as the sale of books and photos.

Just like Jennifer (see part 1), I continue to post content on my blog and social media. They are the ones who make me known and then help me to publicize my lectures and the physical sale of my book.

I don't (yet) earn enough money to fill my RRSPs, but I am completely in control of what I write, what I visit, and I don't have to touch my savings. And then, all these pedal strokes certainly make me accumulate another type of wealth, that which cannot be calculated in a bank account.

Going for new adventures is often difficult. Myself in the middle of the arid pampas in Argentina.

Other options

The web is also full of youtubeurs and photographers who work hard to stand out from the crowd. Others do equipment reviews and put affiliate links from their website to Amazon to make a small percentage on sales. Finally, the most popular websites may include advertising.

The majority of these options hover around the theme of writing, but many people do well in other ways. The best jobs are those that can be practiced from anywhere, with an internet connection: translator, programmer, graphic designer, etc. For the youngest - under 30, or 35 in some countries - work-study visas make it easy to live for up to two years in several countries, and to find a job there. With a visa already in your pocket, finding work locally is much easier.

Conclusion

Regardless of which option you choose, working while traveling is not easy and requires a lot of energy and discipline. The phrase “being self-employed means working 80 hours a week for the privilege of not working 40 hours a week” is not far from the reality.

Being your boss usually means that the years are not the same and that you have to invent a job while constantly looking for new contracts.

In my case, I also frequently work from my tent on my sleeping pad, writing texts or classifying photos. But not answering, having adventures and seeing the scenery, and most importantly not having to go to the office every day is worth it - most of the time! - worth it.