Earn a living overseas by Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Tour Leading, Travel writing, or even become a Diving Instructor.
Getting paid to travel is a misconception. Nobody's actually going to pay you to simply travel the world. However, for the full time adventure seeker there are a number of professions which will allow you to travel the world, and make a living at the same time. Below are a few ideas:
Teaching English as a Foreign Language
As a teacher of English the possibilities for travel are endless. Look on any related website and you'll find vacancies from Saigon to Syria, across Europe and everywhere in between. All you need is a decent command of English. Some schools will insist you are a native speaker, other's will require you to have TEFL or some other equivalent qualification, but by no means all. In Thailand for example you can open the Bangkok Post, turn to the classifieds section and start approaching schools without any formal teacher training.
How much money you can make rather depends on where you work. Traditionally the best paying countries are Japan and Korea which offer generous packages, and in some cases your very own house or flat..
Adventure Tour Leading
If you have a bit of independent travel experience, get on with people, and don't mind spending extended periods on the road then adventure tour leading could be for you. In an industry which has ballooned in the last ten years, now more and more people are turning their backs on the beach holidays of old and opting to walk the great wall of China, climb mount Sinai, or cross the Sahara on the back of a camel. Adventure tour operators plan and run tours the world over, and every tour needs a leader.
Tour leaders spend very little money on the road, their accommodation, food, and day to day expenses usually all included. It's possible to make additional money through commissions and the generous tips of your clients (if you're any good at it), making this profession an excellent way to save.
Although the salaries are not huge, you'll soon find yourself rich with new experiences.
Travel Writing
Most travellers have at some time been sufficiently inspired by the things they've seen to put pen to paper or fingertips to keyboard. Wouldn't it be great if someone would pay you to jot your thoughts and insights on the exotic location you've visited. Well if you have a decent turn of phrase, and can find new stories in old places, it's just possible someone will. In today's market there are thousands of travel magazines, guide books, and websites in need of smart, original travel writing.
Unfortunately with the abundance of wannabe writers, editors don't pay very much for travel articles. Even writing for a mainstream guide book is unlikely to make you wealthy without some other more lucrative form of employment.
Writing a travel best seller is where the real money is, but even the Bill Brysons and the Tony Wheelers of the world started somewhere. Why not begin with suite101?
Surely one of the most exotic life styles out there is the life of the diving instructor. Take your your pick of places to work, the Red sea, the Andamen coast, or the Great Barrier Reef. Of course you need to be qualified, but with today's intensive courses, it's possible to be certified and working within a matter of months.
Although the perks of the job are numerous, diving instructors don't get rich either. It is possible to make more serious money as a commercial diver. Of course you'll have to give up the warm currents, friendly clientele, and colourful coral in favour of altogether murkier waters.
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