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How to Travel when you have a Job

Travel, Travel Inspiration & Tips, Uncategorized |

‘Quit your job and travel the world’, travel bloggers will tell you. Oh, because it’s so easy.

Most of us know that we have to work to live, and that many full-time travellers are either working extremely hard and sacrificing other things for travel, or living off a trust fund. We get it, that will never be us.

But what if you’re pursuing a career and still want to see the world? What if you’re actually alright with the 9-5, conventional life?

If, like me, you want a fulfilling career and to come home to the same place every day, but still crave the odd adventure across the globe, read on.

Have job will travel Instagram

Whether you have a job that you’re actually quite happy in and want to keep, or you’re working to save for your next BIG adventure; it’s likely that you’ll be experiencing what I call ‘dead time’.

It’s something all of us with a heart full of wanderlust experience. You’re not out seeing the world and immersing yourself in life, so are you even living?

Dead time feels like you’re moving around in a bubble that only a one-way ticket can pop.

Life doesn’t have to be so extreme. You can have a fulfilling life that balances a career with travel.

There you go, I’ve solved your problem. Sorry, haters and travel snobs everywhere. You don’t have to completely reject ambition and career progress to embrace the other good things in life.

You can indeed have your cake and eat it too.

Tips for balancing full-time work with travel

Say you have twenty days paid holiday from your 9-5.

To maximise the amount of travelling you can do in that time, you could go on one ten-day trip and five long weekends to nearby locations. Just book Mondays or Fridays off.

Most places in the world aren’t so secluded that it’s hard to visit another place for only a few days.

Be a tourist at home

Discover your own stomping ground. Even if you live in the arse-end of nowhere, there will always be a different view from a new angle.

Have you ever actually been to your local tourist attractions? Get out in nature, do some hiking or get the bus to a different part of town. Spend a day in somebody else’s favourite coffee shop and throw stones into the river from the other side.

Once I started travelling, I started questioning why I thought it cool to go to a hawkers’ market in Borneo but not to the farmers’ market at home. Take your camera and see your town in a new light. You might not want to get away so often.

Visit a neighbour

Train tickets are cheap if you book far enough in advance, and you can pack alcohol and dodgy sandwiches to make the time go quicker. Plus, train rides through the countryside can be really beautiful.

Make an itinerary including all the things your nearest city has to offer and try to fit them all in.

For less money than an average night in your local bar, you can explore a new city that may be right on your doorstep. You’ll wonder why you’ve never done it before.

Take long weekends

Bank holiday Monday? Use it wisely. Plan ahead and use your long weekends and precious company-sanctioned holiday quota to enjoy long weekends away.

If you’re close enough to an airport, you could even escape at lunchtime, call it a half day and instantly double your travel potential.

If you live in the UK, you have no excuse. The whole of Europe is on your doorstep. Amsterdam is a fun weekend destination and it’s easy to get to. You can read my guide to a weekend in Amsterdam here.

Splash out

Want to know the good thing about having a job? Sometimes, if you’re careful, you can afford to splurge on a holiday that some people would call Once In A Lifetime. Why only do it once?

If you prioritise, you can have unforgettable experiences all over the world. Budget travel is great, but some exotic destinations aren’t very backpacker friendly. Treat yourself!

Work to live, don’t live to work.

Read this post about how to save money for travel by sorting out your priorities for more inspiration.

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Comments

  3. Great advice – I would definitely rather have lots of mini breaks in different places than one long hol. You can make he most of weekends too – with budget hotels you can drive to most places in the UK and stay overnight on Fri after work and spend all day Sat/Sun in a new city.

  4. Great post, especially the tip to take your camera and explore your own town/city. Another very relaxing getaway is to take the bus / subway out of town and hike all day long, explore villages along the route.

    Happy travel!

    Doris

  5. Great advice! I’ve always said that if you want to travel, you’ll find a way even with a full time job, you don’t have to sell all your belongings to see the world 🙂

  6. Completely agree with you! I also have a full time job, with four weeks off and an additional week at Christmastime. Despite that, we’ve managed to see quite a bit, mostly because we do road trips – every day there is something new, something worth remembering. Plus, we do our share of local travel as well, since we live in Massachusetts, which is full of historical places, many that we haven’t been to yet.

  7. I must admit I struggle with my urge to travel versus my need to work – I’m lucky to work part-time and freelance the rest of the time and so in theory I can work from anywhere (and have done bits of work while being on trips). My partner is less lucky and though I’m perfectly happy to travel alone I feel guilty ditching him so we’re trying to find a happy medium that involves a few more UK trips this year. We find taking Mondays off is often the best way to have a weekend away as lots of hotels offer cheaper rates or deals on Sunday evenings.

  8. I love this! Such a perfect timing to come across this post because I just got hired for this great job; I felt a little sad at first because that means my backpacking trip is canceled next month; however, on the postitive notes – like you said, I can take weekend trips, explore my areas, and look forward to my earned vacation time 🙂

  9. “Be a tourist at home,”

    You’re so right, Dannielle! My wife and I have been talking about this a lot, as we prepare to return home in a few months. We’ve bounced around Korea and SE Asia but have barely scratched the surface at home. I used to waste my work holidays back home on hangover days and sports events when I could’ve been out seeing things.

    It’s a regret that I’ll probably never get over, and something that won’t be repeated. With inspirational words like yours kicking my mind into high gear, I will certainly plan to see more of the U.S. upon arrival. Of course that’ll come after eating myself into a food coma many times over, haha.

    Thanks for sharing this wonderful post, Dannielle! I’m happy to have found your blog☺

  10. Great Tips – so many people forget what is in there own backyard. You don’t have to go overseas to travel, Explore what you have at home 🙂

    • Exactly Megsy! Thanks for your comment, it’s always worth remembering that travel isn’t always exotic.

  11. As a dead-broke, full-time employed person, this is awesome advice. Range far and wide when you can, but don’t overlook the awesome stuff all around you.

  13. Great post! It’s like you said, work to live don’t live to work. I think there are so many neat hidden places just nearby where you live that you don’t even have to venture far to find adventure. It’s all what you make of it. Even though we “gave up” our life in the States to travel, I do that having the stability is nice too and you shouldn’t have to sacrifice things to travel. Enjoying all the little moments brings travel that much closer!

    • It definitely is what you make of it, thanks Alyssa. I’m always torn between craving adventure and needing stability, but it looks like you have it sussed! Happy travels 🙂