So You Want to Work and Travel in Emerging Markets?

Before leaving the US for my international work/research/travel trip, the responses I usually received when telling people about my plans were quite similar:

“Wait, but you’ve been working for 4 years right? how can you just pack up and leave?”

“How are you planning to pay for all this?”

“You have a great job and apartment in Santa Monica, why the heck would you want to ship off to Africa??” (My personal favorite)

I’ll be honest, planning a trip of this magnitude is quite the undertaking. Particularly on the financial side, it does take some foresight to make sure you have the budget to make all your plans reality. That said, I after studying abroad in Spain, backpacking through South America, working for 3 months in Buenos Aires and now departing for a lengthy trip to Africa and Asia, I’ve realized that, like anything, planning a trip like this in your mid to late twenties actually isn’t that bad.

To make it easier for you, I’ve decided to start a multi-part series focused on what it takes to plan a work/travel trip around the world. The posts will be split up into three sections:

• Professional tips (aka “Creative ways to make your experience a resume-booster”)
• Travel planning/living abroad tips (aka “a crash course in setting up a new life a thousand miles away”)
• The “must-have” list of things to bring

Undoubtedly these posts will evolve as I continue along my journey, but hopefully at the conclusion of my travels they will serve as a useful tool for future kindred souls, eager to journey outside of their comfort zone and see what the world has to offer them both professionally and personally.

As always, look forward to your thoughts and open to any and all suggestions!

Josiah