Latest / bit of a Rambler / 002 Yes, you can!(travel)
Transcript
- 1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,560 Hello, my name is Kai and I am a bit of a rambler. 2 00:00:04,560 --> 00:00:10,860 I like to travel, tell stories, and learn, not necessarily in that order. 3 00:00:10,860 --> 00:00:16,180 One of the most common responses I get after someone learns I'm a long term traveler is, 4 00:00:16,180 --> 00:00:18,460 I wish I could do that. 5 00:00:18,460 --> 00:00:22,760 And my immediate answer is, you can. 6 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:29,340 Because I'm sure there are reasons that some people cannot travel, but I've talked with 7 00:00:29,340 --> 00:00:35,580 hundreds of people about this and pointed out exactly how they could travel full time 8 00:00:35,580 --> 00:00:39,980 and after we discuss their concerns, and they find out that they can travel if they 9 00:00:39,980 --> 00:00:40,980 want to. 10 00:00:40,980 --> 00:00:45,460 They come to the conclusion, well, I don't want to, which is fine. 11 00:00:45,460 --> 00:00:50,900 You know, some people don't want to travel, but if you don't, then you don't. 12 00:00:50,900 --> 00:00:52,540 But can you? 13 00:00:52,540 --> 00:00:53,540 Yes. 14 00:00:53,540 --> 00:00:54,540 Can they? 15 00:00:54,540 --> 00:00:57,340 Yes, in every case where somebody has asked me. 16 00:00:57,340 --> 00:01:02,520 That person has been able to travel, usually at a level of comfort and security higher than 17 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,100 what they are experiencing in their home country. 18 00:01:05,100 --> 00:01:06,260 Am I too old? 19 00:01:06,260 --> 00:01:13,380 No, my friend group in Cambodia was mostly 70 and 80 year old full time travelers who got 20 00:01:13,380 --> 00:01:18,580 together every day and told their stories about the first concerts they ever saw. 21 00:01:18,580 --> 00:01:20,060 What do I do about my house? 22 00:01:20,060 --> 00:01:23,340 You can sell it or keep it, give it to a management company. 23 00:01:23,340 --> 00:01:24,660 What do I do about a job? 24 00:01:24,660 --> 00:01:27,900 If you have anything that pays you over 500 a month, you're good. 25 00:01:27,900 --> 00:01:31,140 If you don't and you're a native English speaker, you can teach English. 26 00:01:31,140 --> 00:01:32,260 There are programming jobs. 27 00:01:32,260 --> 00:01:37,020 There are so many jobs available, abroad and digitally. 28 00:01:37,020 --> 00:01:39,220 Does blank country have blank? 29 00:01:39,220 --> 00:01:41,900 Yep, yeah, they do. 30 00:01:41,900 --> 00:01:45,580 And importantly, if they don't have enough of whatever you're looking for, you can go to 31 00:01:45,580 --> 00:01:50,140 one of the other 200 countries, at the drop of a hat. 32 00:01:50,140 --> 00:01:54,100 Most of the questions I get are questions I've gotten before hundreds of times. 33 00:01:54,100 --> 00:01:57,740 So I'd like to address a few of those concerns in a little more detail. 34 00:01:57,740 --> 00:02:05,660 Many of these concerns are valid and once you are traveling, you have the answers instantly. 35 00:02:05,660 --> 00:02:09,220 But if you haven't traveled before, then of course you're going to have the same question 36 00:02:09,220 --> 00:02:12,940 that everybody else who hasn't traveled before has. 37 00:02:12,940 --> 00:02:17,820 While I am going through each of these common concerns, I do want to restate right at 38 00:02:17,820 --> 00:02:21,260 the top and ask you to bear in mind. 39 00:02:21,260 --> 00:02:27,340 The short answer to all of these concerns is that yes, you can travel. 40 00:02:27,340 --> 00:02:31,100 Yes you can travel even taking into consideration. 41 00:02:31,100 --> 00:02:34,860 Let's start with healthcare. 42 00:02:34,860 --> 00:02:40,220 Medication and healthcare concerns come up a lot and they should be the least of your worries. 43 00:02:40,220 --> 00:02:47,060 There are tons of extremely affordable insurance plans, like less than a couple hundred a year. 44 00:02:47,060 --> 00:02:51,880 Other systems and infrastructure abroad overall are usually much easier to access and more 45 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,820 affordable with identical quality in care. 46 00:02:55,820 --> 00:03:01,700 So if you have chronic pain, you can get an equivalent medication for far less without 47 00:03:01,700 --> 00:03:04,660 insurance wherever you're going. 48 00:03:04,660 --> 00:03:10,460 That's the same with any medication I've ever heard of, hormone supplements, chemotherapy, 49 00:03:10,460 --> 00:03:15,980 antivirals, antiparasites, anything you use. 50 00:03:15,980 --> 00:03:23,020 And I know tons of people who have been taking medication, then once they began traveling, 51 00:03:23,020 --> 00:03:27,420 went to a hospital, got the equivalent medication or the same medication and continued that 52 00:03:27,420 --> 00:03:28,940 regimen. 53 00:03:28,940 --> 00:03:33,740 And it's always a matter of going to the doctor, which you can get an appointment the same 54 00:03:33,740 --> 00:03:36,300 day without insurance in most countries. 55 00:03:36,300 --> 00:03:41,940 It's only the US with such a crazy bureaucratic medical infrastructure. 56 00:03:41,940 --> 00:03:47,300 And then you've got a prescription for the illness you have and they will give you it. 57 00:03:47,300 --> 00:03:52,420 And a lot of more common medications that may not be available in the states, you can 58 00:03:52,420 --> 00:03:54,900 get over the counter in other countries. 59 00:03:54,900 --> 00:04:03,220 A lot of other countries seem much more dedicated to providing care for the patient, which is 60 00:04:03,220 --> 00:04:12,020 not exactly the mode of health provision in the United States. 61 00:04:12,020 --> 00:04:17,220 So if you're looking for healthcare or dental or vision, it's going to be a lot faster 62 00:04:17,220 --> 00:04:21,700 and a lot cheaper than what you're used to if you're from the states. 63 00:04:21,700 --> 00:04:25,780 While enjoying the same quality, my glasses are from Cambodia. 64 00:04:25,780 --> 00:04:27,100 They were 30 bucks. 65 00:04:27,100 --> 00:04:29,580 They've lasted 10 years now. 66 00:04:29,580 --> 00:04:30,860 They're amazing. 67 00:04:30,860 --> 00:04:34,500 They're literally the best glasses I've ever got. 68 00:04:34,500 --> 00:04:40,100 Shout out to that French optometrist who decided to set up shop in Cambodia. 69 00:04:40,100 --> 00:04:45,420 I've got like three root canals done in Thailand because I didn't know about electronic toothbrushes, 70 00:04:45,420 --> 00:04:49,820 B4 or 25 and apparently I'm bad at brushing my teeth. 71 00:04:49,820 --> 00:04:55,900 Luckily I was in Thailand where they can take all the measurements, do all the surgical procedures 72 00:04:55,900 --> 00:05:00,740 of a root canal, fabricate the crown in the lab, done. 73 00:05:00,740 --> 00:05:04,820 They're all great, gold crowns, less than half the price of the states without insurance 74 00:05:04,820 --> 00:05:07,980 and it's literally the best dental clinic in the country. 75 00:05:07,980 --> 00:05:13,780 I don't have any chronic illnesses but I know guys who had surgeries, knee surgeries and 76 00:05:13,780 --> 00:05:18,900 hip surgeries and they had to get medication and they walked in and walked out the same 77 00:05:18,900 --> 00:05:20,700 day with the medication they needed. 78 00:05:20,700 --> 00:05:25,460 In fact, in Morocco, Bikadin is over the counter there. 79 00:05:25,460 --> 00:05:27,420 Found that up from the dentist. 80 00:05:27,420 --> 00:05:34,020 So medical access is freely available in most countries and instant. 81 00:05:34,020 --> 00:05:36,020 Same goes for medication. 82 00:05:36,020 --> 00:05:41,100 If a primary concern is that a medical condition is going to prohibit you from traveling, it 83 00:05:41,100 --> 00:05:43,340 very likely is not. 84 00:05:43,340 --> 00:05:48,300 And it is as easy as looking up the hospitals that treat your condition because there are 85 00:05:48,300 --> 00:05:51,380 those hospitals almost wherever you go. 86 00:05:51,380 --> 00:05:55,900 And just discovering the fee schedule you can find out how much it is before you go. 87 00:05:55,900 --> 00:05:59,420 And what the reputation of the hospital is. 88 00:05:59,420 --> 00:06:03,980 Some of them like Thai hospitals just have reviews like anything else and you can hear 89 00:06:03,980 --> 00:06:06,220 from the patients themselves. 90 00:06:06,220 --> 00:06:08,940 Let's talk about solo traveling. 91 00:06:08,940 --> 00:06:15,060 A lot of women I know ask if it's safe for a female solo traveler and since I am a guy, 92 00:06:15,060 --> 00:06:20,220 I don't want to say "at's fine" which is definitely what I would tend to say to anybody 93 00:06:20,220 --> 00:06:23,140 who asked me from my personal experience. 94 00:06:23,140 --> 00:06:29,060 But the female solo travelers I know have told me that they have had good solo travels 95 00:06:29,060 --> 00:06:30,580 by themselves. 96 00:06:30,580 --> 00:06:40,300 Now I wouldn't walk down a dark alley when I saw two guys smoking or a huddle of hooligans 97 00:06:40,300 --> 00:06:42,220 or whatever. 98 00:06:42,220 --> 00:06:44,300 And neither do female solo travelers. 99 00:06:44,300 --> 00:06:47,820 Male or female solo travelers use common sense. 100 00:06:47,820 --> 00:06:51,780 Male or female travelers shouldn't put themselves in any dangerous situation they can reasonably 101 00:06:51,780 --> 00:06:53,020 avoid. 102 00:06:53,020 --> 00:06:57,500 But the female solo travelers who have told me about their travels all have said that 103 00:06:57,500 --> 00:07:02,740 they feel safe on all of their travels and they use common sense to stay out of dangerous 104 00:07:02,740 --> 00:07:05,420 situations like any solo traveler should do. 105 00:07:05,420 --> 00:07:07,180 Always be aware of your surroundings. 106 00:07:07,180 --> 00:07:11,540 The same way you should always be aware of your surroundings wherever you are. 107 00:07:11,540 --> 00:07:15,340 You don't have to backpack your first journey out. 108 00:07:15,340 --> 00:07:20,820 You can just hang out in your hostel, talk to people or don't talk to people. 109 00:07:20,820 --> 00:07:24,060 You can lounge by the pool for a month and just chill out. 110 00:07:24,060 --> 00:07:29,220 You don't have to go on these crazy adventures that I might talk about on here or other people 111 00:07:29,220 --> 00:07:30,460 tell you about. 112 00:07:30,460 --> 00:07:32,620 That's not what traveling is for me. 113 00:07:32,620 --> 00:07:39,820 Anyway, I see traveling as a mode of living your life the way you want to. 114 00:07:39,820 --> 00:07:45,140 One time in Laos I got tired and I just spent two weeks straight playing video games going 115 00:07:45,140 --> 00:07:50,100 out and eating, going back to my nice little apartment and playing more video games. 116 00:07:50,100 --> 00:07:56,020 I was just feeling burnt out like I was working too much on my own stuff and I feel like I was 117 00:07:56,020 --> 00:07:58,340 putting too much pressure on myself. 118 00:07:58,340 --> 00:08:02,500 So I loaded up, what's that horizon? 119 00:08:02,500 --> 00:08:06,580 One of the horizon games that I had never played and just was like, "Okay, I'm just going 120 00:08:06,580 --> 00:08:08,820 to do this until I finish it." 121 00:08:08,820 --> 00:08:12,820 I fought robot dinosaurs and it was a good time. 122 00:08:12,820 --> 00:08:14,220 And I felt recharged at the end of it. 123 00:08:14,220 --> 00:08:18,220 I felt like I wanted to get out of the house at the end of it. 124 00:08:18,220 --> 00:08:22,260 After working on my own stuff again and start exploring again, which are things I like 125 00:08:22,260 --> 00:08:23,580 to do. 126 00:08:23,580 --> 00:08:25,300 So can you travel? 127 00:08:25,300 --> 00:08:29,300 Yes, and you can travel the way you want to. 128 00:08:29,300 --> 00:08:36,500 Can I travel seems to carry this weight of expectation when people ask me, "Can I travel? 129 00:08:36,500 --> 00:08:43,380 They're like, do you think I can backpack a thousand miles or can I climb volcanoes?" 130 00:08:43,380 --> 00:08:44,380 And that kind of thing? 131 00:08:44,380 --> 00:08:45,900 And you don't have to worry about that. 132 00:08:45,900 --> 00:08:50,540 Sometimes you can travel and you can travel exactly how you want to. 133 00:08:50,540 --> 00:08:54,060 If you want to long distance backpack, totally can. 134 00:08:54,060 --> 00:08:56,660 If you want to visit hot springs every week? 135 00:08:56,660 --> 00:08:57,660 Great. 136 00:08:57,660 --> 00:09:02,140 If you want to lie under the Comforter for two weeks straight and just sleep 20 hours a day, 137 00:09:02,140 --> 00:09:03,660 do that. 138 00:09:03,660 --> 00:09:08,180 Those are all great traveling lifestyles that I have personally enjoyed. 139 00:09:08,180 --> 00:09:11,500 You're not obligated to do anything once you start traveling. 140 00:09:11,500 --> 00:09:13,420 There's no travel bus. 141 00:09:13,420 --> 00:09:14,860 Just you. 142 00:09:14,860 --> 00:09:16,860 What are the travel bus? 143 00:09:16,860 --> 00:09:19,620 The travel bus was inside you all along. 144 00:09:19,620 --> 00:09:21,420 How about safety? 145 00:09:21,420 --> 00:09:23,580 This is subjective. 146 00:09:23,580 --> 00:09:29,340 I feel way safer in most other countries than I do in the States because most citizens from 147 00:09:29,340 --> 00:09:34,380 other countries aren't afraid of the people around them like a lot of Americans are. 148 00:09:34,380 --> 00:09:39,860 And to be clear, it is usually the bigot who is afraid of the people around them, not 149 00:09:39,860 --> 00:09:42,140 the target of the prejudice. 150 00:09:42,140 --> 00:09:50,300 I was sitting in a bar and then someone shot someone else in the head in the parking lot 151 00:09:50,300 --> 00:09:57,820 in Denver because he was in his parking spot and then they argued. 152 00:09:57,820 --> 00:10:02,140 So the guy who was in the parking spot drove away and flipped him off. 153 00:10:02,140 --> 00:10:08,180 So that guy rather than taking the parking spot drove after him and then at a red light ran 154 00:10:08,180 --> 00:10:12,020 up and shot him in the head with a pistol. 155 00:10:12,020 --> 00:10:18,180 I have random people walking up to me talking about how we need to get rid of immigrants 156 00:10:18,180 --> 00:10:26,460 or whatever undesirable that bigot doesn't like and they feel dangerous when they tell 157 00:10:26,460 --> 00:10:27,820 me these things. 158 00:10:27,820 --> 00:10:33,500 The bigot accosting me always feels more dangerous and uncomfortable than the person they're 159 00:10:33,500 --> 00:10:36,860 afraid of and are attempting to alienate. 160 00:10:36,860 --> 00:10:46,020 I stopped in Philadelphia for a week and the first day I landed back, I was stopped by a guy 161 00:10:46,020 --> 00:10:48,980 outside some convenience store. 162 00:10:48,980 --> 00:10:50,300 I can't remember. 163 00:10:50,300 --> 00:10:51,300 He saw my backpack. 164 00:10:51,300 --> 00:10:56,900 He was in the military and then he really wanted to talk to me and then he started talking 165 00:10:56,900 --> 00:11:03,580 about how Jews have religion in their blood and that's why we should be wary of them. 166 00:11:03,580 --> 00:11:05,340 Like instantly. 167 00:11:05,340 --> 00:11:09,300 And then when he found out I came from India, he started telling me about how he really hated 168 00:11:09,300 --> 00:11:10,980 Indians. 169 00:11:10,980 --> 00:11:17,740 And just for edification, this was not like an old white easy to spot Maga guy. 170 00:11:17,740 --> 00:11:21,780 This was a 20 something younger than me for sure. 171 00:11:21,780 --> 00:11:29,860 Black dude who felt like he needed to stop a guy to tell him about his prejudices. 172 00:11:29,860 --> 00:11:38,180 I just those conversations are flying around in public in the US feel dangerous and gross. 173 00:11:38,180 --> 00:11:40,740 Like they're chiseling away at your humanity. 174 00:11:40,740 --> 00:11:49,020 I saw another guy that same day a little earlier screaming sexual not obscenities but like 175 00:11:49,020 --> 00:11:57,020 rude sexual assault slurs at a woman walking down the opposite side of the street. 176 00:11:57,020 --> 00:12:03,060 And then that guy who I was like man maybe he's strung out or he seems really undone in 177 00:12:03,060 --> 00:12:05,300 some way something's wrong with him. 178 00:12:05,300 --> 00:12:09,620 Answer to his phone and started filling an order for some construction work he was doing 179 00:12:09,620 --> 00:12:12,340 for someone else talking like a totally normal person. 180 00:12:12,340 --> 00:12:18,260 And five seconds before he had been sexually assaulting this woman who was in vague physical 181 00:12:18,260 --> 00:12:20,260 proximity. 182 00:12:20,260 --> 00:12:23,100 Shocking and it doesn't feel safe there. 183 00:12:23,100 --> 00:12:30,540 I've been to a lot of countries and Fez in Morocco is the only place that has felt 184 00:12:30,540 --> 00:12:35,020 as dangerous as pretty much any place in the USA. 185 00:12:35,020 --> 00:12:39,940 I've lived in a lot of neighborhoods that locals say are the dangerous part but a lot of 186 00:12:39,940 --> 00:12:45,940 those countries don't even allow most citizens to have guns without very strict regulation 187 00:12:45,940 --> 00:12:47,860 licenses. 188 00:12:47,860 --> 00:12:52,260 So I think when you're walking around in other countries once you realize that there aren't 189 00:12:52,260 --> 00:13:01,260 weapons everywhere and there isn't this ideological war especially now going on in 2025. 190 00:13:01,260 --> 00:13:08,580 People in the US are afraid and angry at their citizens, their fellow citizens of the same 191 00:13:08,580 --> 00:13:10,020 country. 192 00:13:10,020 --> 00:13:13,980 You don't really have that thing in other countries. 193 00:13:13,980 --> 00:13:19,060 Other countries citizens are not afraid of their neighbor citizens because they hold 194 00:13:19,060 --> 00:13:21,060 different views. 195 00:13:21,060 --> 00:13:26,060 Every community you're going to be a part of or live in for a while abroad is just much 196 00:13:26,060 --> 00:13:33,220 more comfortable because you don't have that tension of oh that guy disagrees with my opinions 197 00:13:33,220 --> 00:13:37,540 so strongly he might shoot me. 198 00:13:37,540 --> 00:13:42,200 That's not an issue in most countries and you can feel it in the interactions between 199 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:43,540 citizens. 200 00:13:43,540 --> 00:13:46,420 They aren't afraid of each other like Americans are. 201 00:13:46,420 --> 00:13:52,660 So it's a much more relaxing culture in pretty much every other culture outside of the US. 202 00:13:52,660 --> 00:13:57,360 It's just a lot more calming those nuts in your shoulders relax at least they do in 203 00:13:57,360 --> 00:13:58,360 mine. 204 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:02,800 So I just want to assure you that if you're worried about how safe it is outside of the 205 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:09,580 US it's more safe outside of the US from my direct experience and while that is anecdotal 206 00:14:09,580 --> 00:14:15,340 evidence you can talk to any traveler who's been out there for a while and asking that 207 00:14:15,340 --> 00:14:18,180 question oh is it safe out there? 208 00:14:18,180 --> 00:14:20,140 They will tell you yes. 209 00:14:20,140 --> 00:14:27,260 Yeah it's a world yeah there's people yeah they're safe there is a safe as where you are. 210 00:14:27,260 --> 00:14:32,300 It's very common to have a roundtable discussion of expats talking about how safe they feel 211 00:14:32,300 --> 00:14:34,660 outside of the US. 212 00:14:34,660 --> 00:14:41,100 So if you just have those concerns taken care of okay it's safe enough I can get medical 213 00:14:41,100 --> 00:14:44,460 care I can still access my bank account. 214 00:14:44,460 --> 00:14:49,700 So what do I need to do to get out there because you're out there how did you do it? 215 00:14:49,700 --> 00:14:56,920 What you need is a passport and then a airplane ticket that's it for 180 countries that's 216 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:03,320 all you need Americans enjoy visa free travel and visa on arrival travel in most countries 217 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:04,720 in the world. 218 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:09,040 So all you need is your passport and then you need to get an airline ticket there are 219 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:13,920 a few countries you have to apply for the passport first but it's an online form you 220 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:19,880 fill it out it maybe takes 10 minutes and then the email you your visa a couple days later 221 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:24,720 that is the visa process for most countries that do require a visa in the world it is that 222 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:29,120 simple and then like I said a bunch of those you don't even need the visa or their visas 223 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:33,280 on arrival most of them you don't need a visa or you can get visa on arrival so you just 224 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:37,200 need a passport and a ticket and then you can go. 225 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:41,600 Now the next question of course is well what about my income? 226 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:47,640 Now this varies on whatever but let's just say as a standard you want your own private 227 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:53,320 place with your own private bathroom in a safe neighborhood how much do you need for 228 00:15:53,320 --> 00:16:00,940 that you need about 500 USD per month for that the room is going to be about 300 and then 229 00:16:00,940 --> 00:16:07,280 200 for food and getting around now if you have more than 500 USD your set if you have a 230 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:13,480 free remote job that gets you more than that your set how can you get income again if you 231 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:19,480 have a remote job you're good the easiest thing outside of that is to teach English because 232 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:24,120 you can teach English in most countries and you're going to get paid much more than the 233 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:29,880 cost of living in that country the lowest any English teacher I've ever heard of making 234 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:36,000 is a thousand dollars per month and that's in Cambodia where the cost of living is 300 235 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:42,560 dollars a month buying food from restaurants every day so it would be very easy to save money 236 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:48,000 even if you were only making the absolute minimum and it's a lot more normal to make 2000 237 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:55,560 plus teaching English but in China the cost of living is also way under 500 so you're saving 238 00:16:55,560 --> 00:17:03,280 1500 a month easy that's teaching about 25 hours a week just basic convert not even conversational 239 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:07,800 half the time is just primary colors and stuff because it's really young kids but up to conversational 240 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:14,040 English you repeat it for 45 minutes they answer you you get paid 2500 at the end of the 241 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:20,440 month for 20 hour weeks if you join a school that's like more set up than they might even 242 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:25,480 give you free housing and it's very common to get signing bonuses if you stay on for an 243 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:30,840 extra six months or an extra year and that really is just free money to continue teaching 244 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:36,440 at their school do you need the job before you go before you start traveling you do not 245 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:41,720 if you have one that's great like I said if you have a remote job already you're all set 246 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:46,040 but if you don't have a job and you just move to a country that is looking for English 247 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:51,960 teachers you'll get that job and that is most countries if you're in central or South 248 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:57,400 America any of those countries you can find an English teaching job if you are anywhere 249 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:03,280 in Asia you can find an English teaching job if you're anywhere in like the Middle East 250 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:08,920 or Africa you can teach English so this is a worldwide job opportunity that you don't 251 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:14,600 even have to look into before you go you certainly can you can agree to get a job at a school 252 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:19,640 before you go there just so you feel good about it but the jobs are everywhere out there 253 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:24,240 if you're a native speaker you've got the job in whatever country you're traveling to 254 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:29,680 outside of like England and Ireland outside of majority English speaking countries obviously 255 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:35,880 so you don't need a job before you go ESL English is a second language yeah go teach it there's 256 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:44,320 a billion ESL jobs it's crazy and the so I was giving the median job income levels but 257 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:50,520 if you teach in Saudi Arabia you can get 6000 USD a month in some of the listings I saw 258 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:57,040 anyway I believe the listing I saw for 6000 in Saudi Arabia was for 40 hours a week instead 259 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:04,440 of 20 but is your job 40 hours a week now are you making 6000 a month you could speaking basic 260 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:09,800 English to school children I actually had a friend from China who gave me a list of like 261 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:16,520 provincial schools where he wanted English teachers and since their remote the salaries were 262 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:21,760 higher than what you would get in the city and they were like 4 to 6000 a month and I almost 263 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:27,280 went back to China and started teaching again when I saw that but I dig traveling so I didn't 264 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:32,760 but if you want those jobs they are there in China I don't have that specific guys information 265 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:37,880 anymore but if you ask around while you're looking for a job in or out of the country you 266 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:44,000 are going to get so much more information than you could ever use on which jobs are available 267 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:50,880 where and how much you get paid in the benefits because again native English speakers aren't 268 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:56,640 such high demand as far as countries go China is probably the easiest Japan is probably the 269 00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:02,000 most difficult but even in Japan it's not very difficult to get an English teaching job 270 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,800 especially if you get your Tefl certificate so if you're worried about getting a job you don't 271 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:11,800 need the Tefl certificate but if you have one you'll definitely get the job at a higher 272 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:22,040 pay immediately and that is a $40 investment group on that will last the rest of your lifetime 273 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:27,720 and guarantee you a job as long as people speak English and also get a work visa if you 274 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:32,440 talk to a school before you go and they agreed to sponsor work visa you'll probably go over 275 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:36,480 on a tourist visa and once you actually show up the school will go through the trouble of 276 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:40,880 getting you the work visa if you're working for a university then they'll get you the work 277 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:48,080 visa beforehand but yeah you can get a work visa but if you just go over there or to any country 278 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:53,560 on a tourist visa and then join a school they can get you a work visa once you start working 279 00:20:53,560 --> 00:21:00,720 or you can roll the dice and just work on a tourist visa but that is illegal in some countries 280 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:08,920 it's not illegal in some countries I don't recommend it I did do it if you need money go teach 281 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:15,160 English and you'll have all the money you need or want it's more money for half the hours 282 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:21,480 and it's your native language but if you already make more than 500 on a remote job yeah go 283 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:27,120 you're good if that's you're only concerned if you're making more than 500 USD a month and 284 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:32,240 you have a remote job you're fine you can go travel if you want to check out some of these 285 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:37,240 English teaching jobs I'm talking about you can go to ESL cafe dot com look for the 286 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:43,120 classifies there's a whole bunch there are teacher jobs listed in every country you can just email 287 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:48,160 them and they'll email you back and you'll get a job and I mentioned Dave's ESL cafe because 288 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:54,280 it's one of the oldest job listing sites there are but there are hundreds of those sites 289 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:59,680 with thousands of listings and most of them are just platforms that connect you the perspective 290 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:04,800 English teacher to the school directly so you can very quickly see if it's a real job 291 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:11,360 posting which for ESL it is a real job posting and determined for yourself whether or not that 292 00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:17,120 school is a good fit for you again you don't have to get the job before you go to the country you 293 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:23,720 want to teach English and but you can apply to any of these jobs and talk directly to school 294 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:28,120 members recruiting officers sometimes the owners of the schools themselves and see if that's 295 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:34,760 what you want to do if that's where you want to teach another phrase I hear a lot exclusive 296 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:43,240 leave from people who haven't traveled is culture shock which is I'm still not sure what exactly 297 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:48,200 that's supposed to mean other than I'm in a place where I can't speak the language and things 298 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:53,920 are different but you're not actually going to go into shock like if someone cut your arm off 299 00:22:53,920 --> 00:23:00,880 the craziest example I've seen in real life of culture shock is something like they call 300 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:09,520 noodles me and how do you remember that well that's just the word here man like okay culture shock 301 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:17,320 over another common example of culture shock is chopsticks are hard it doesn't usually get 302 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:22,120 much more severe than that and if you don't like the country you can just go to another country 303 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:28,320 180 other countries are waiting for you but countries you countries you haven't been to 304 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:33,280 are very similar to the country you have been to the country you're from regardless of where 305 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:40,280 you're from the more you think your country is unique from other countries and your people 306 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:46,680 are unique from other people is probably an indicator of how little you understand your 307 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:51,320 and other countries which of course is going to be the case if you've only ever lived in 308 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:56,920 one country trying to understand the world if you've never lived in it is like writing 309 00:23:56,920 --> 00:24:02,520 a senior thesis about the ocean but you've only ever been to a swimming pool and if you ever 310 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:09,480 feel like you need any sort of assistance ask around people will try to help you and organizations 311 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:15,880 are available there are embassies that you can call up for help you can just call up the 312 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:21,080 us embassy for help if you're in another country just for regular help if you needed but English 313 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:25,440 is the second language in pretty much every country on the planet so if you're an English 314 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:30,120 speaker you will be able to find help somewhere there are pharmacies everywhere there are 315 00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:38,080 supermarkets everywhere there are concerts everywhere it's not a radically different world 316 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:44,280 it is a world where the letters look different and people use a different word for cow but 317 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:52,280 the world itself is still the world so culture shock should not be a huge worry for you as 318 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:57,000 soon as you learn what the local supermarket is which looks like a supermarket in every 319 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:01,640 country I've ever been to or convenience store and the local guy selling food outside on 320 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:06,640 the street and you have your apartment the culture shock part of it is over you know where 321 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:11,160 there's food you know where you can go to the bathroom take a shower you have a roof over 322 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:17,040 your head just start learning the language and culture shock like I said nobody whoever 323 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:24,400 has traveled really uses that term very often because you get used to a place very quickly no 324 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:30,800 matter how different it seems to be when you land you can deal with this people are adaptable 325 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:36,680 you are adaptable when you get there you'll adapt most of these changes or differences or 326 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:41,440 completely superficial anyway and the quicker you learn the language the more comfortable 327 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:47,200 everything will be more quickly and you do not have to be fluent just learn a bit people 328 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:51,760 will like you more you'll feel more comfortable where you are and you're going to make English 329 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:57,520 speaking friends wherever you are anyway so yeah don't worry about culture shock if you 330 00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:03,480 are feeling isolated there are couch surfing groups in every single country you guys can 331 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:10,520 meet up its expats and locals and you can make friends very easily you can join one of 332 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:16,040 the friend apps like Tinder for dating but just for friends and you can just start hanging 333 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:20,480 out with people it's very easy to connect especially when you're traveling you're going 334 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:26,360 to find that you make way more friends traveling than you ever did at home that's a common 335 00:26:26,360 --> 00:26:31,360 refrain from travelers in general especially if you're a solo traveler people will just 336 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:36,360 start talking to you it's easier to strike up conversations and make connections with 337 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:40,680 people while traveling because everyone is kind of looking and exploring and they're all 338 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:47,080 just more open-minded and open-hearted abroad than someone you know tucked in a neighborhood 339 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:53,280 for 20 years also so many of those expats are not going to have the stress that you see 340 00:26:53,280 --> 00:27:00,520 in the states because it's not grinding their soul through financial ruin every single 341 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:07,960 day you need so little money to live well in most of these countries that there's just 342 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:14,040 not that overwhelming depression that seems to swim through the atmosphere in the United 343 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:19,720 States slowing everyone down and making them better the cost of living is so much more 344 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:26,920 affordable while traveling in most of the world's countries your passport it costs $165 345 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:34,200 right now I think you can spend $300 to go to any country in the world and less than 100 346 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:39,760 to go to half of the countries after you have your passport and for a couple hundred bucks 347 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:47,440 you can cut your cost of living by 80% immediately so if you want to go two steps get your passport 348 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:53,120 get a ticket let's start with the first step how do you get your passport you can get 349 00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:59,200 it online now but you still have to go in person to the usps us post office anyway I would just 350 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:04,080 recommend going to the post office nearest to you that offers that service you go in there 351 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:10,320 you fill out a form they take your picture you pay the fee and two weeks later or one week 352 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:16,480 later you get the passport in the mail that's it it's a very straightforward process and 353 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:22,920 yeah cost 160 bucks but again your cost of living is going to be 80% cheaper immediately 354 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:29,480 once you use it and the passport lasts for 10 years so you're spending 16 bucks a year to 355 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:36,760 reduce your cost of living by 80% or more it's a pretty good deal for 160 bucks to not pay 356 00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:43,360 a thousand six hundred dollars in rent every month then the next and final step is to get 357 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:48,320 a ticket to somewhere that sounds interesting to you for whatever reason okay ticket to 358 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:54,920 the rest of the world cheap tickets around the world are much cheaper than people tell you 359 00:28:54,920 --> 00:29:00,400 they are and that everywhere tell you they are just look every day for like three days and 360 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:05,960 you're going to see these prices wildly fluctuate use an incognito tab so that you can see 361 00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:11,880 the real prices if you use an incognito tab on one site and on another device you type 362 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:18,680 in Japan flights and then look for Japan flights it's going to be 30 50 dollars more expensive 363 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:22,080 because they know you're looking for a flight which means you're intent on buying a ticket 364 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:26,200 which means they can charge you a little bit more and you'll get it so I always use incognito 365 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:32,640 tabs I always check for a few days in a row but even if you pay the most versus the least 366 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:38,880 the cheapest flight to Japan from LA or Seattle or whatever Texas is about 250 bucks and 367 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:45,600 the most expensive is generally $450 so if $200 is a big deal to you bearing in mind how 368 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:51,680 much money you're going to be saving because of the cost of living abroad then it's fun 369 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:56,860 you don't have to worry about ticket prices that much and if you just do the minimum of 370 00:29:56,860 --> 00:30:02,600 research or you even just set price alerts you really will get the better deal if you plan 371 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:09,680 ahead or for me I buy all my tickets about one to two weeks out before I leave and the 372 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:16,080 price is negligible it's maybe $10 more or $10 less it doesn't seem to make much of a difference 373 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:22,800 if I plan three months ahead or two weeks ahead I bought my most recent ticket three days out 374 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:29,000 and I buy a lot of tickets like that I bought same day tickets before it's still basically 375 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:34,040 the same price I got a same day ticket to Laos that was cheaper than the ticket I was originally 376 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:39,560 gonna buy so once you have your ticket to the rest of the world your little cool blue 377 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:45,040 book passport adventure journal you can renew it whenever you want to you can add pages 378 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:52,040 to it if you go to too many countries and you have too many stamps it's just a very simple 379 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:58,440 straightforward inexpensive process compared to how much we're paying now for us utilities 380 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:05,800 and rent and insurance and all that stuff so if your concern is but isn't traveling expensive 381 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:14,320 more expensive than I'm spending now no not in any way it's so much cheaper okay so if you're 382 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:20,280 nervous about how difficult it will be to travel for the first time I recommend Thailand 383 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:26,000 there's a reason why so many people go there everyone is super cool they're so friendly 384 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:36,080 and the economy and businesses and people are very used to tourists there's people who speak 385 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:41,480 English there and there's a ton of other travelers to from other countries so there are people 386 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:46,760 all around you can talk like am I traveling right just like make sure that first time and 387 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:51,240 they'll assure you that yes you are traveling perfectly correctly and it's inexpensive it's 388 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:57,360 a very easy climate to live in everything is there in Thailand they have access to tech because 389 00:31:57,360 --> 00:32:03,720 they're in Asia you can get anything you need the food is great everybody's casual the whole 390 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:09,480 culture is kind of casual everyone's very accepting so if I have to recommend like a first country 391 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:14,600 to go to it's probably Thailand if you're really worried about if you're going to like where 392 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:19,640 you are because it's pretty difficult to go to Thailand and not like it unless you hate 393 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:26,800 hot weather and then you know go to Japan or some other northern latitude country but Thailand's 394 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:34,400 probably the easiest place to start very inexpensive very nice people great food good place overall 395 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:38,600 you should go to China and you should probably go to India because there are like two billion 396 00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:45,400 people in each of those countries so if you want to find out what the majority of the world 397 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:52,600 is doing go visit those two countries oh talking about safety real quick again tourists are especially 398 00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:58,520 protected because tourism is a huge industry in any country including the United States so most 399 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:04,000 countries and Thailand is another great example of this protect their tourists very well because 400 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:08,680 they don't want any negative publicity to get out and make it look like their country is not safe 401 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:13,960 so that's another reason why as a tourist you should feel safer than you do in your own country 402 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:23,080 there's actually a index of countries from like most to least safe and Laos and Guatemala are in 403 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:28,040 the you know bottom 50 of those out of 200 countries but I've been to both of those and they're 404 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:33,960 fine and there are 150 countries above those that are green that are perfectly safe to go to 405 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:40,200 there are lots of safe destinations comfortable destinations that will welcome you with open arms 406 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:49,720 with a vastly lower cost of living that you can enjoy and that's solo travelers that's male travelers 407 00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:56,760 female travelers special needs travelers families people with special considerations chronic 408 00:33:56,760 --> 00:34:04,200 illnesses whatever it is I've met those people and they are traveling they're happy to see 409 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:09,960 Chef Shaoan in Morocco it's cool little city where everything with blue everything's like painted blue 410 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:15,480 whether happy to go to West Aoeira and check out all the cool surfers and nice beaches like there's 411 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:22,760 travelers of all kinds everywhere and you can be one too if that interests you and you are wondering 412 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:32,600 can I travel I'm here making this podcast to tell you yeah you can if you have any questions or 413 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:39,400 concerns please write to me at bit of a rambler at gmail.com I will get back to you and if anything I 414 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:46,360 mentioned you want to go into more detail on look at the episode list and try to find the Tefl 1 415 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:53,640 teaching English as a foreign language there's a medical tourism episode yeah just dive into whatever 416 00:34:53,640 --> 00:34:58,520 you're curious about those episodes will go into what I've talked about in more detail good talking 417 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:06,840 to you and I will see you on the next one oh I guess let's close this out with a few ticket prices 418 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:17,320 so Mexico $22 Canada $22 Puerto Rico's $40 Honduras $40 Guatemala $59 419 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:27,880 Jamaica's 81 let's move on let's go to Australia $145 these are all tickets from the states 420 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:39,880 the Netherlands is 156 France is 156 so yeah you can get to wow Ireland's 170 go to Ireland it's great 421 00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:43,560 what else do we have let's go see what Asia looks like 422 00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:57,080 oh Japan 261 Egypt 289 not Asia I know uh Korea 333 oh that's cool okay South Korea's 333 that's a good number 423 00:35:57,080 --> 00:36:05,800 go to Korea Thailand 338 also a good number wherever you want to go you can go and it's going to be great 424 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:08,760 have a great trip