Workers of the World

While most travel blogs focus purely on travel quite a few bloggers pick up work - paid or otherwise - as they go. Others take with them transferable skills such as web development or writing and attempt to carve out permanent travelling lifestyles.

Below we briefly profile a number of travellers whose travel blogs allow us a first hand insight into their working abroad experiences. Travel bloggers are generally a friendly and helpful lot. Most are happy if they can to answer a few questions on what they have learned, either by email or in the comments section of the relevant articles.

Abandon the Cube
www.abandonthecube.com

Lauren and Mike learned that cubicles are the same wherever they are located when they took office jobs in Shanghai.  They have also worked as teachers in Beijing and at the time of writing are running a tiny bar in the city.

ATC Abandones the Cube and Opens a Bar
One Month In: The ATC Bar

Around the World “L”
www.aroundtheworldl.com

Lille Marshall took a break from teaching high school English in the Boston Public to travel the world, including a three month stint volunteer teaching in Ghana. Lille also founded a website focusing solely on teaching English abroad that includes many interviews with travelling teachers. She is also the Boston Coordinator for Meet, Plan, Go, an organisation in America promoting career breaks.

A School You’d Likely Never See
Why International Volunteering is a Glorious Way to Travel

Art of Backpacking
www.artofbackpacking.com

Michael Tieso left the cubicle life in May 2009 to travel the world, writing, photographing, and filming his adventures. He's currently filming a documentary on travel and technology called Everywhere Connection. During his travels, Michael has volunteered in Buenos Aires and taught English in China. Along with his own experiences AOB contains a good number of guest posted working and volunteering abroad articles.

How Volunteering in Buenos Aires Accidentally Took Me Back to my Roots
Teaching English at Siyuan University in Xi’an, China Review and Guide
Behind The Scene What’s Really Being Taught in China’s ESL Classes
Teaching English in China. Interview with Michael Tieso
I’m Kind of a Big Deal (in China)
Cost Summary: First Month as an ESL Teacher in China
What You Need To DJ Around The World

Backpacks & Bunkbeds
www.backpacksandbunkbeds.co.uk

Neil Barnes spent a few years after university travelling and backpacking including stints in India, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Volunteering – Is it Worth the Money?
Volunteer Sports Coaching in Sri Lanka

Backpacking Matt
www.backpackingmatt.com

After graduating in Political Science, Matt Kyhnn took a working holiday in the UK. Matt’s blog helped him gain sponsorship to live and work in New Zealand where he has spent the last couple of years as a business development manager for a web start up promoting mountain biking in the country.

Wwoofing in New Zealand: Tips and Experiences
Update, Looking Back, and Living and Working in New Zealand

Bitten by the Travel Bug
www.bittenbythetravelbug.com

Describing herself as a disgruntled journalism student keen to travel the world, Nicole Blaess-Smith is a passionate linguist from Adelaide where she holds down at least three jobs as well as studying for her Journalism and International Studies degrees. She had dreamed of working at an American summer camp since she was 12.

The link below is a category heading where several articles concerning Nicole’s summer camp experiences can be found.

Summer Camp

Coconut Radio
www.coconutradio.blogspot.com

Celeste Brash spent 15 years in living in French Polynesia working in her husband’s pearl business, freelance writing and as a Lonely Planet author.

Cool People Met While WWOOFing: Lee the Dish Fairy
Life On the Road For a Lonely Planet Author
How I Became a Lonely Planet Author

Drifting Focus
www.driftingfocus.com

Kelsey Freeman is the person behind a network of five interlinked blogs. Her income is split between photography, web design, teaching, and occasional odd jobs. She has volunteered on several farms in France through WWOOF and has ambitions for the future to live in a Yurt in Mongolia.

In Which I Become a French Cowherd
Questions to ask a WWOOF Host
A Day in My Life as a French Farm Hand
A Milestone

Everything Everywhere
www.everything-everywhere.com

Gary Arndt has established himself as one of the world’s leading travel bloggers. Though he runs Everything Everywhere as a business, substantial funds from selling the assets from his former life have so far allowed him to take a long term view when it comes to making money directly through his blog. In 2011 he partnered with gap year company G Adventures. His analytical approach to blogging is covered in Garaphernalia 6.0.

The Business of Running a Popular Travel Blog
An Open Letter to Aspiring Travel Bloggers

Expat Edna
www.expatedna.com

Edna Zhou is an American politics grad who first moved abroad at 18, and has since taught English, worked in journalism and for a tech start-up in China. She has also worked international sports events from Shenzhen to Perth and in social media marketing for a supermodel reality tv show in Singapore. She writes to prove it's possible to travel and live abroad while you're young, and is currently based in Paris.

My Story: How I’ve Been Traveling Since Graduation
Singapore for Grads and the Working Holiday Pass
A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #17: Edna Zhou
A Day in the Life: Digital Strategist

Four Dots on the Map
www.fourdotsonthemap.com

Karina and Steve Baigrie head a family of four travelling the world. They have volunteered at a Cambodian school.

Day 31-43 Tanop Community Education Centre

Hecktic Travels
www.hecktictravels.com

A Canadian couple that sold everything in 2009 to travel the world, Dalene and Pete Heck’s field of expertise is house sitting. They have looked after other people’s homes in several countries including Belgium, Ireland and Turkey.

Housesitting 101
Housesitting 201
Life In A Northern Town
The Manor – in Photos (part 2)
A Week in the Life – Day 1 – Travel and Work
Housesitting in Europe
How to Travel the World and NOT Pay for Hotels

Migrationology
www.migrationology.com

After investing in a TESOL certificate Mark Wiens worked at an English language camp in Thailand before teaching full time in Bangkok. He also earns an income selling advertising on his own blog and from freelance writing. He has also volunteered in the Philippines.

How to Instantly Become a Celebrity and Get Paid
Taking a TESOL Course in Buenos Aires
How Volunteering Can Lead to Extraordinary Travel Experiences

My Spanish Adventure
www.myspanishadventure.com

Will Peach keeps afloat with various writing gigs, SEO consulting and networking for gap year travel website Gap Daemon. He has also taught English in Vietnam and given English language instruction in Spain.

Will Peach: Why I Live in… Caceres

Nerdy Nomad
www.nerdynomad.com

Kirsty Henderson is an internet entrepreneur who has grown her monthly online income from under $1000 in 2007 to approaching $10,000 in 2012. She is also a serial volunteer and has published an ebook on the subject. 

Getting My Daily Dose of Inspiration as a Volunteer
Volunteering with All Hands in Cagayan de Oro
I Just Bought My First Website
The Many Jobs of an Internet Marketer
Nomadic Interviews: Kirsty the Nerdy Nomad
Do Good Thursday: Kirsty’s Volunteer Abroad Experience in Rwanda

Never Ending Voyage
www.neverendingvoyage.com

Erin McNeaney and Simon Fairbairn were seduced by the travelling lifestyle after their 2008 around the world trip. After selling their possessions they set off again in 2010 to become digital nomads, paying their way with web design and development and occasionally volunteering.

The Secret Life of a Nomadic Web Designer  
A Day in the Life of an Equestrian Intern in Costa Rica
18 Reasons Why Chiang Mai Makes a Perfect Digital Nomad Headquarters
Essential Reads for Digital Nomads: Blog Edition
Where to Stay – For Free Around the World

No Place to be
www.noplacetobe.com

One half on an English couple travelling around Southeast Asia, Kirsty took an online TEFL course and taught English in Thailand. Though still in Asia at the time of writing, she’ll he heading home soon to learn more about teaching.

Stood up on my first online date…
Thoughts From a First Time English Teacher in Thailand
A Year of Teaching English in Thailand – Kirsty’s Thoughts

The Official Roni Weiss Blog
www.roniweiss.com

Roni Weiss is a social media consultant and creator of multi media content. He has also taught English in Chile, Taiwan, Italy and in France, where he gained early experience in material creation. 

Roni Gets Harassed by Teenage Girls
Teach English in France, Interview with Roni Weiss

OneStep4ward.com
www.onestep4ward.com

Along with teaching English in Korea and Thailand, Johnny Ward has also worked a while in America and Australia and volunteered in Taiwan. Currently he make his living via his travel blog, a subject he regularly writes about in his Motivational Monday column.

How Much Money Can a Travel Blog Make? My Story
Interview with Johnny – 50 Countries in 4 Years
7 Tips for Working at American Summer Camps
The Opportunities of Travel: ‘Volunteering’ in Taiwan

The Professional Hobo
www.theprofessionalhobo.com  

Nora Dunn’s worldly possessions fit into one bag and weigh less than 45 pounds.  Housesitting stints, including looking after a beach front villa in the Caribbean, volunteer work and yacht crewing earn Nora her moniker. She also funds her lifestyle as a freelance writer. The links below are just some of the things Nora has done to keep travelling and her blog, and writing for other markets, also contains numerous how to articles and related resources.

Where We Live
Three Months in Grenada
Kona: Where we Live
On The Rescue: Koalas Up Trees
I am a Published Author!
Financial Travel Tip #21: Car Sharing, Ride Sharing, Vehicle Delivery
Volunteering at Vaughan Town in Spain: A Cultural Experience
10 Tips for Landing the Perfect House-Sitting Gig

Rebecca and the World
worldrebecca.com

Rebecca Arnold works in PR for a global company and is currently on assignment in Papua New Guinea. She has also volunteered at a primary school in KwaNyuswa, South Africa.

Seeing a Different Side of South Africa
I’m Going to be an Expat

Roy Marvelous
www.roymarvelous.com

Roy left New Zealand in 2004 to work at a special needs summer camp in the USA and has been on the move ever since, acquiring working holiday visas in the UK, Czech Republic and Canada. While his main job is working on a cruise ship, he has also taught English in Prague and supplemented his income as a gay porn site webmaster.

Another Shit Day in Paradise
Doing a Working Holiday in Central or Eastern Europe
Day 137: Waffles and Porn

Soaked in Sunshine and Cheap Wine
www.jmcressman.com

J M Cressman left Canada to spend study in Australia. In his time there he has tutored in sports psychology, packed fish, coached Children’s football, taken a telemarketing job and submitted his body to pharmaceutical drug trials.

Behind the Scenes of a Pharmaceutical Drug Trial
Everything’s Cruisy: The Story of my First Dosing of Pharmaceuticals
The Time I Did a Pharmaceutical Research Trial
My Brief Experience in Australian Telemarketing
Job #4: Sluggin' Fish at the Docks
The Advantages of Taking a Year's Sabbatical
Why I Live in… The Sunshine Coast

Technosyncratic
www.technosyncratic.com

Christy and Kali use their internet business to fund a lifestyle that has taken them around the US in an RV, housesitting in London and living in Thailand.

A Day in the Life of a Housesitter
Housesitting in London
Nomadic Interviews: Christy & Kali of Technosyncratic

Unbrave Girl
www.unbravegirl.com

Though much of Sally’s site is taken up with amusing irrelevances about her couch and buying pants she has a great deal of working abroad experience to impart. She is the western world’s foremost blogger on working on a Malaysian rice farm and has also taught English in Japan and China.

Life on a Malaysian Rice Farm: Up to my Knees & in Over my Head
Unbrave Girl on Board: Life on a Malaysian Sail Boat
8 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Becoming an ESL Teacher Overseas

VickyFlipFlop
www.vickyflipfloptravels.com

Vicky Philpott is no stranger to working for her keep having done so on several occasions. She has worked at English immersion camps in Spain, volunteered in the Czech Republic and spent two summers at camp in America. Vicky has also written for online markets and writes for the HostelBookers blog.

How I Made Money While Travelling
A New Workaway Project in the Czech Republic
Dog Tired in Conil: Cleaning
Almost Fired in my First Week at Summer Camp

Wandering Earl
www.wanderingearl.com

Earl Baron has been travelling since 1999 paying his way in a variety of ways including informal English teaching in Thailand.  He has also volunteered and had a speaking role as a British Policeman in an Indian soap opera but most of his work experience has come from his five years spent working on board cruise ships. Nowadays, he earns his living online through his website and ebooks.

How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel
Nomadic Interviews: Wandering Earl
Tales of a Bollywood Actor
Live Chat! From Cruise Ships To Kabul With Long Term Traveler Wandering Earl
How to Make Money while Traveling the World – An Interview with Wandering Earl

1 Dad, 1 Kid, 1 Crazy Adventure
www.1dad1kid.com

A former hospice chaplain, Talon Windwalker is travelling the world with his young son. Early in his travels, Talon settled for eight months on the Honduran island of Utila where he earned his qualifications to work as a scuba diving instructor.

Living on Utila
Do Good Thursday: Mending Faces, Changing Lives

If you want to be included on this list please send us your name, blog address (it has to be a blog, not a website), a brief bio and a selection of posts about working or volunteering abroad, to payawaytravels(at)gmail(dot)com.

Image courtesy slworking2