Initially, I had intended to leave England to travel the world in March 2013. My contract at my current job ends on February 28th, so I decided I would work until then and set off a couple of weeks later. Since then though, things have changed.
At the beginning of November I went for a drink after work and ended up chatting to the Dean of our school, the upshot of which turned out to be an offer of a new six month contract handling digital communications and social media (the important lesson to take away from this I think, is that good things come from hanging out in bars).
Obviously, the downside of this is that I have delayed my trip until the beginning of September. This was not an easy decision; I am desperate to go. I have been living at home for a year, giving all my money to creditors and waiting for the rain to stop. Which it hasn’t. I am impatient and anxious to get on the road, I want to be off having adventures in the sunshine not sat behind a desk for another six months.
I am not cut out for a full time job. My brain doesn’t function in the mornings and my optimum working time is about 2 in the morning. Some days my brain doesn’t function at all and it would be better for everyone involved if I just did something else. In the immortal words of Jessa in Girls, “You know what the weirdest part about having a job is? You have to be there everyday, even on the days you don’t feel like it”.
However, I have been given a great opportunity to gain experience in an area that I am actually interested in and enjoy, and more importantly I will be able to save a lot more money than I thought I was going to have.
Having moved home at the beginning of last year, I have been working hard to pay off debts so that I can save with a clean slate. Because of this, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to save a huge amount of money and had decided to start my trip teaching English in South Korea or Japan, meaning I would be in a new country but still earning. Now, I should be able to set off in September and travel freely wherever I want to go… which is actually incredibly exciting.
So – I have some serious planning to do. And here’s the thing, I have NO IDEA where to start! I want to go everywhere and I need to try and link the places I choose in a discernible route like a giant game of join the dots. To get me started I’ve compiled a list of resources on how to start planning from some RTW travel planning experts – you might find these helpful if you’re planning your trip too!
How to Travel in 2013: A Guide – Steph at 20-something travel rounds up her top tips for getting started and travelling in 2013
How I Saved $13,000 for Travel in Just Seven Months – Adventurous Kate offers inspiration and ideas on how to save for travel
Planning Your Round the World Trip – The lovely people over at BootsnAll have very kindly compiled all their travel planning articles and tips into one invaluable ‘7 steps’ resource
The Best Laid Un-Plans – Hannah at Further Bound takes the approach of stepping back and avoiding planning panic
How to Plan a Round the World Trip – Lonely Planet covers the basic starting points and practicalities of trip planning
How do you tackle trip planning? Share your tips in the comments!
Thank you for the mention Clare, I am excited to follow along as you prepare to set out on your travels. And good luck with your new job, the time will fly by 🙂
Hi Hannah, no problem! Thank you for reading, hopefully this time next year I will be where you are 🙂
I think you’re doing things in the right order. Sometimes it’s really hard to be sensible and a bit boring and other times it’s right. Clear those debts – they will be the things that drag you down and hold you back in the future if you don’t, because you’re not short of ideas and the desire to travel and explore. I agree that teaching is a good idea though – if I can be of any help, I’m feeling I’ve got some really good experience in this area now. All the best. Axxx
Hi Annie, thanks so much for reading and for your lovely supportive comments! I would imagine that you’ll probably get a needy e-mail asking for advice when I’ve narrowed locations down a bit 🙂 you’re right, I have to be sensible now so that I can do what I want in the future xx
“There are no such things as unrealistic goals, just unrealistic time frames.” Good luck with preparation. I readjusted my start date too. I was thinking about teaching English too, but haven’t started the TOEFL classes. Which program do you recommend?
Exactly, I think it’s better in the long run to do it properly – I didn’t want to get three months in and run out of money! That’s great that you’re thinking of teaching English, it’s such an amazing experience. I completed a 120 hour certificate with i-to-i TEFL last year – this was done completely online which was good for me as I already have experience and I found the course really useful. If you would like to train ‘on the job’ you might consider an internship involving training and a teaching placement abroad. Good luck with everything, and don’t hesitate to drop me an e-mail if you have any more questions 🙂