Liv

So you want to live abroad...

I do A LOT of research on getting away and living in foreign countries, because it is something I have done and hope to continue to do until I am old and feeble. Travel is what I live for, and it is one of very few things that I can justify spending thousands of dollars on and many years doing.

While trying to decide where my boyfriend and I want to go next, I thought it would be beneficial to make a little travel tutorial following the steps that I typically follow – for my own sake and maybe to help out anyone who is thinking about taking off, but doesn’t know yet where to start.

So first things first:

Where do you want to go?

This is a tough question to answer. Most of us are just happy to leave and live somewhere different, but it all boils down to what you are looking for. Do you want to work or study while abroad? Do you want to backpack through countries? Is the thought of committing to an area to live, much less a place to work, just not appealing to you? Well, you have a number of options no matter what you decide. A good website to look through when deciding where to go is Transitions Abroad. There are some great articles and resources for any type of traveler. I’ll first go over what I have personally experienced. 

What do you want to do?

1) Studying Abroad

If you’re in college and you’re looking to study abroad, you have the option – but it’s basically living abroad, partying and experiencing the culture A LOT while doing very little actual schoolwork. Of course, prices will be steeper, but most of the time, everything will be done for you (visas, flights, room & board), so that takes a lot of the time and work out of your hands. You will pay handsomely, but all in all, it’s nice not having to worry so much.

Your college should have a Learning Abroad Center (or something along those lines) and there you can learn about what they have to offer. When I went to the University of Minnesota (UMN Learning Abroad Center), they offered programs directly through the school, as well as programs through other schools. You may or may not need a few prerequisite classes and they may do a background check (which is necessary for some visas). 

I chose a program that was offered directly through my school, and I spent 4 months in Toledo, Spain. It was costly (roughly $10k), but not much more than what I’d spend on a regular semester.  I’m still paying this off, but I honestly would have payed twice as much. It was such a great experience, and really a nice way to ease yourself into independent travel. I didn’t know a single person in this program before I left, and I came back with lifelong friends and fantastic memories.

2) Working Abroad

a) Au Pair/Nanny/Personal Assistant

I have only truly worked abroad once, and that was as an au pair for a Chinese/Malay family in Malaysia. It was a good experience, and although the pay wasn’t fantastic, I did have a free place to live, free reign over the kitchen (and the food), and it is considerably cheaper to live there. I went through a website called GreatAupair.com. You don’t need to be looking strictly for an au pair job on this site either. You can search for pet-sitting, personal assistant jobs, elderly-sitting, etc. You don’t need to sign up to get matched with an individual/family, but it does help if you want them to be verified and checked. I just decided to book the flight and take a risk*, since I was with my boyfriend, and we wanted to travel either way. All in all, it worked out well. We learned a lot, and we were able to spend about 3 months working, lounging and experiencing. If you want to see our blog from that trip go here.

b) Teaching

If you have teaching experience, hold a bachelor’s degree or even are just a native English speaker Teacher Gig is a great website to find jobs through Asia. I have friends who have used this website, and although it is kind of like the Craigslist for teacher jobs (meaning some jobs may or may not be legitimate), it is still a great resource. Just make sure you do some research and speak thoroughly with your potential employer.*

c) Non-teaching related (Office, retail, hospitality, or labor)

If you don’t really have any experience in teaching, or you just don’t like the idea of that, don’t fret! There are still many more options. For the traveler who wants a relatively stress-free option, BUNAC is a fantastic resource. They set you up with a visa for the country, give you a list of jobs you can apply for and many other helpful things. It does cost a bit of money to have them set you up, however they do a great job and they have resources in the country in which you’ll be working. As of now, they only have options in Ireland, Britain, Australia and New Zealand for US citizens, but any of those would obviously be a memorable trip. The jobs come in wide varieties, but from what I’ve seen there are many office-like jobs, internships, restaurants, bars, and even agricultural work.

If you’re more of a free-spirit and like doing things your own way, you can give WWOOFing a try. The program gives you food and accommodation in exchange for volunteer work, which is usually agricultural. I have not known anyone to do this, but it is a good option for a type of person who doesn’t mind the labor (or prefers the labor compared to sitting in a classroom/office all day).

Transitions Abroad has a very comprehensive site if you would prefer to work in Tourism or Hospitality. I have never used any of these resources personally, but this is a very trustworthy site. 

3) Just plain ol’ traveling abroad

If you have ample money to spend, the world is your oyster. Unfortunately, that is seldom the case for most of us. Many of us feel the desire to travel, however we do not have the funds to go crazy. Thankfully, we are still in luck! Traveling and living in some foreign countries can be cheaper than living at home here in the US, and you may even save money in the long run. I once lived in a little bungalow in Bali for only $4/day! Food was just as cheap; about $1/meal. Google search cheapest places to live around the world and you will find a number of resources. The only large amounts of money you will be spending will be on flights, so make sure you have enough money to come home, or at least a credit card that you can pay off.

Couch Surfing is a great way to meet people and to save money on accommodations. Remember to stay safe and watch out for red flags though.

There are a number of very specific resources on Transitions Abroad, so remember to give that a thorough look through.

  *Always remember to get into contact with these potential employers, and ask questions! Ask as many as you have. If you see any red flags, do some research. If you still don’t feel right about it, don’t feel the need to risk it. There are many opportunities out there that are safe and reliable. Always trust your gut!

How to get there

There are a few resources for flights that I have used.

Skyscanner.net searches multiple airlines at the same time (leagues better than Kayak, in my opinion). Remember to look at specific times of the day, where prices are lowest (early in the morning or late at night, just NOT between the hours of roughly 7am-7pm in the US, usually). The prices rise when everyone is at their jobs “working” and looking for cheap tickets. Nice one airlines, nice.

staTRAVEL is a great resource for students, teachers or anyone under the age of 26. I have found some great deals on this site, however be warned that you cannot find one-way tickets from another country to the US. You must buy a return ticket, or just a one-way ticket from this site.

Traveling abroad is always a unique and rewarding experience, and it is quite the humbling experience, as well. I hope this article is helpful and it develops a wanderlust that at least beginning to seem attainable. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Safe travels!

How To: Break Free from your Cube

(originally published in 2008)

It was almost one year ago when I began to feel the major effects of cube dwelling. My chair ass was sinking deeper and wider into my unergonomic office chair. The computer screen was singeing my eyes. And flourescent lighting was doing nothing for my complexion except enhance my olive green undertones (not hot).

So when I found this job posting on Google that claimed I could spend my summer travelling around Italy, be outdoors, work with kids, meet dozens of other 20-somethings from around the world and be paid for it, I was obviously intrigued. But in skeptical New Yorker fashion I thought, What’s the hitch? Well, the fact that its nearly one year later, I’m still in Italy and will be spending another summer with the same company should be all the proof you need. As jobs abroad go, this one is rather hitch-less! If your cube is getting you down, read on and learn how I managed to transform my summer from monotonous to magic. Step 1: Start searching the internet in your down time - Since I know “down time” is hard to come by in Corporate America, I’ve made the search easier for you. Check out these great work/teach abroad sites. Jobs Abroad Teach Abroad National Association of International Educators (NAFSA) Craigslist (Search Europe/International Jobs) Dave’s ESL Cafe Expat-Blog (read success stories and get tips from other expats) ACLE Step 2: Submit your application to ACLE - This is the group I worked with! It stands for Association of Linguistic and Cultural Education. In a nutshell, they send mother tongue English tutors to hundreds of cities around Italy to teach children at English immersion camps. The Amalfi Coast, Sardinia, Sicily, Milan, and Tuscany are just some of the places you could be sent to teach. The best things about this program are a) you do not need to know second language, only English b) you don’t need TEFL or TESOL certification c) food, accommodation and travel (around, not to Italy) are provided! They are currently accepting applications for 2008. The site has recently been updated and has heaps of info about wages, job description, etc. Step 3: Take a leap of faith - What’s the worst that could happen? If you hate your experience abroad, you come home. If you love it, you may never leave! You’ll never know unless you try. Ok, enough with the pep talk. I’ll leave you with a few motivational pix from last summer.

I found this interesting to read. I hope I can use both equally but it will be hard…

Need this

Wanderlust Resources: Great Websites for Living Abroad

Here’s just a few of the websites I use to help me travel, live and work abroad. These are great resources that have helped me A LOT A LOT A LOT.

Lingobongo.com

What it is: classified ads for Berlin, Madrid, and Barcelona. Find jobs, apartments, language exchange partners, etc

Wantedinrome.com

What it is: classified ads for Rome. Find jobs & apartments 

Bebe-nounou.com

What is is: Find nanny/au pair jobs in France. EXCELLENT. I used this in Paris. Don’t be discouraged by it being in French. Pull up Google Translate in a diff window, and become a premium member (6 euros for 1 month, roughly $8). WORTH IT

Skyscanner.com

What it is: Flight search, and one of the best. Almost always has the cheapest prices but always cross-reference with other sites like Kayak.com and Cheapoair.com  (dont bother with Orbitz or Priceline)

Aupairworld.com

What it is: Find families to Au Pair for, also can be used to find students for private English teaching. I’ve written a lot about this because it is the best Au Pair service ever. Don’t bother with premium - you’ll get contacted by families. 

Transitionsabroad.com

What it is: Mash up of resources for every type of travel - from farm work, studying abroad and volunteer work to culinary travel. This is what I used when I decided to move abroad for the 1st time - it’s how I discovered Au Pair work.

Lovely London

I was in London from June 14 to June 18 and it was wonderful. London is an amazing city filled with culture, history and so much more. This four days were filled with me living my hostel pretty early and walking around London till I found something interesting. 

Im gonna miss you London

London’s National Gallery

Jolly Old England!

Sky Garden, London

Tower of London

First Day in London

"I'm here, now what?"  

  That was the first thing that came to mine when I got off the plane.  It was hot, my backpack was heavy and I had no idea what I was doing.  

  Somehow,  I was still able to get through the airport, find the right train and make it to central London. The hard part started when I left the train station and realized that I did not know what direction I should go to reach my hostel. So I ignored everything I learned about stranger danger and asked a stranger how to get there. Thankfully, the guy knew the address and walked me over there. It was only 7 minutes away.  

  When I actually got there, I was so excited . The nice bar keep Jenna showed me to my room, I unloaded my heavy  backpack and contacted my friends and family to let them know I made it safely to London. With that said and done, I put on a new pair of clothes and went off to see the city.  

   First, I went to the Sky Garden. The Sky Garden is a building in London that has the most amazing view of the entire city. It features an amazing garden that has couple little bistros and cafes within it.I was able to see everything from up there. London Bridge, Parliament, The London Eye,  Everything! I was up there for an hour just admiring the view and relaxing.  

   When I actually got board of the view, I wondered the streets until I came across The Tower of London. The Tower of London is a huge castle is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. I was there for few hours just wandering around. History is nothing more than a story and I love a good story. One of my favored stories from the tower is quite a sad one. It's about two young princess, who were locked up in the Tower when their father died. It was their uncle who locked them up because he wanted access to the throne.  One night, the boys just  disappeared and were never seen again. With them gone, their uncle had access to the throne, but later he died a battle. Many years later, the skeleton of two young boys was found in a box, hidden within the tower. Many have come to believe it is the two young prince. 

    After I got my pictures, I went on my long journey home. It took me about 2 hours to get back to my hostel when it should have taken me 30 minutes. I have no sense of direction what so ever so I kept on taking the wrong turns. When I finally made it back, my roommates were there and we introduced ourselves.  With the formalities out the way, I took an hour break to lay down on my bed and gather my thoughts.

   I was here, I made it and now I just have to survive for the next 30 days. I am sure I'll be fine.

I started preparing for my trip after coming back from studying abroad in Melbourne Australia for  5 months. I actually blog about that too if you want to take a look: http://tjacquecin.wixsite.com/travel-blog

As soon as I got back to the States, I started preparing for my next adventure. The goal was to hit at least 5 countries in 1 month while budgeting as much as possible. So I took extra shifts at work and researched as much as possible so I would not run into issues. So on June 13, 2017, I packed my bags, got on the plane and started my backpacking journey through Europe.

T OverSeas

Hi There!

My name is Tanashie, also known as T. And this blog is long over due. At the moment I am backpacking through Europe and having the time of my life! So, I decided to share my experience with you guys. Hopefully you will be inspired to travel yourself and learn what to do and what not to do.