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2014 was a year of adventure. I moved from one location to another every two to three days, a new country every week to every month. I traveled through South America. Through India. Through Southeast Asia. To Nepal for a trek to the Mt. Everest Base Camp. Through China. Through Japan. Through Eastern Europe. I skipped Western Africa and Western Europe on account that I recently visited these areas for personal and business travel. I captured a lifetime of adventures in a year of non-stop travel. I satisfied my passion for international travel.
It’s difficult to explain my passion for traveling around the world. I believe it’s better to embrace your passion than fully understand its origin. One of my favorite quotes, travel or otherwise, comes from George Mallory, who when asked in 1923 why he wanted to summit Mount Everest, simply retorted “Because it’s there.” The succinctness of that reply captures the origin of my travel passion. Why travel around the world? Because it’s there. Hopefully that resonates. While the origins of a passion for travel may be a mystery, there’s information available to pursue and push that passion to its limits. Throughout my travel experience, I researched practical information on traveling around the world. I followed travel blogs. I downloaded eBooks from Amazon. The information I read was either too general or anecdotal details of situations one would never encounter. The advice lacked practical basics of long-term travel. One source included a story on the author’s adventures to Switzerland to open a bank account prior to leaving the U.S. If it sounds crazy that you would need to open a Swiss bank account to travel around the world, that’s because it’s crazy. |
Torres del Paine - one of the trip highlights
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There were no resources with basic trip-preparation information such as selling your possessions on Amazon versus Craigslist. When practical information was provided on topics like selecting a backpack, it was stated as an opinion instead of listing facts. I realized that anyone offering information on how to quit a job and travel around the world or live internationally on a permanent vacation relies on your purchase to continue financing their lifestyle. Many bloggers have an angle to the information presented. Blogs on credit cards or travel insurance include affiliate income hyperlinks for which the author receives payments for your click-through to the advertiser’s website and additional royalties if you complete the purchase. There’s an implicit, if not explicit, bias to the information shared.
Now that I’ve returned to the U.S., I’m sharing the information I wish was available in January 2014—a guide to the around the world travel basics. I focus on the boring stuff, the minutiae, like how set up your financial accounts, so you can focus on the selecting your route and destinations.
I avoid conflicts of interest with the information provided. My travel writing and thoughts are a hobby. I have a full-time, eight-to-five job that I love. I live in Philadelphia and work in an operations role with a commercial mortgage company, with no plans to pick up and return to life on the road. I enjoy traveling locally and discovering new neighborhoods. I don’t need passive income to finance my lifestyle. I don’t need you to purchase travel insurance or a sign up for a new credit card so that I can drink a beer later tonight. I overanalyze scenarios and consider all advantages and disadvantages prior to making a final decision. I’ve attempted to be thorough and current, however, it’s difficult to track technological advancements and changing country visa requirements and in these areas, I supplement my anecdotal information with references to authoritative sources.
Now that I’ve returned to the U.S., I’m sharing the information I wish was available in January 2014—a guide to the around the world travel basics. I focus on the boring stuff, the minutiae, like how set up your financial accounts, so you can focus on the selecting your route and destinations.
I avoid conflicts of interest with the information provided. My travel writing and thoughts are a hobby. I have a full-time, eight-to-five job that I love. I live in Philadelphia and work in an operations role with a commercial mortgage company, with no plans to pick up and return to life on the road. I enjoy traveling locally and discovering new neighborhoods. I don’t need passive income to finance my lifestyle. I don’t need you to purchase travel insurance or a sign up for a new credit card so that I can drink a beer later tonight. I overanalyze scenarios and consider all advantages and disadvantages prior to making a final decision. I’ve attempted to be thorough and current, however, it’s difficult to track technological advancements and changing country visa requirements and in these areas, I supplement my anecdotal information with references to authoritative sources.
A caveat if you’re reading this in a bookstore or downloaded a sample—this is a specific guide on how to uproot your life and travel around the world for a year or two. This is not a guide on how to take a three-month backpacking trip through Europe before your senior year in college. This is not a guide on how to quit your job and move around the world as a freelancer. This guide contains useful short and long-term travel content but lacks the specificity and scope for either of those pursuits.
If you purchased this book, thanks, if you are reading online for free, thanks. Feedback, right, wrong or otherwise, is appreciated. My proceeds go to MAG International.
If you purchased this book, thanks, if you are reading online for free, thanks. Feedback, right, wrong or otherwise, is appreciated. My proceeds go to MAG International.