Finding employment in a foreign land is a difficult business when you don’t have the right contacts. Gone are the days of George Orwell or Jack Kerouac, when bumming around the world without cash in your pocket seemed like a viable option. In these financially straitened times, you’ve got to get prepared before you leave your home town.
The sheer expense of travel has confined it to a game played by rich people, those tiresome Barbour-jacket wearing yuppies who’ll tell you about their ‘Gap Yah’, and all you’re trying to do is buy a drink at the bar and instead you’ve been cornered by a lonely looking man who speaks like he’s got coins his mouth, telling you about the well he helped build in Mozambique and how he wished he could go back their instead of living the life of a hedge fund manager in London. He only wishes he could go back.
This Barbour-wearing sack of regret isn’t alone. According to Lattitude Global Volunteering, 20 per cent of gap years are funded by parents, and only 10 per cent are funded by the individual going travelling.
Budgetary restrictions
But for someone who can’t find funding from outside means, the idea of backpacking across the globe might seem like a pipedream. So when you can afford to travel, you have to make sure you find plenty of little extras that will ensure your less-than-a-gap-year is as luxurious as possible.
First things first – how do you raise enough money to get your travels off to a luxury start? The standard way to raise funds is to move home and squirrel your money away until you’ve got enough cash in your bank account to jet off, for at least a little while.
If you’re unable to move in with your parents, try a flat share to save at least a little bit of money. Alternatively, open a separate account and put any spare cash you’ve got into it.
Time to travel
No matter how long it takes, you’ll eventually be able to afford a major trip by yourself. Before you reach the airport, make your travels less stressful by hiring a meet and greet team to pick up your vehicle from the terminal and an executive departure lounge that’ll give you a prime experience.
Now it’s time for those all-important contacts if you’re money’s running low and you need a job pronto. Check out the Overseas Job Centre and various other links from our site to keep you in good stead.
No matter what your budget, a little bit of elbow grease will see you traveling exactly like a Barbour-wearing superstar.
