Hi! Let me introduce myself! If this is the first time you are on my blog, welcome! I am the creator and manager of My Open Passport and I love to travel long term.

OK so does EVERY OTHER TRAVEL BLOGGER out there.

What makes me special? Different than the others?

Well, for one, I don’t have a niche travel. I don’t specialize in Asia, I don’t specialize in resorts, I don’t specialize in New York. I specialize in EVERYTHING.

How you may ask?

Travel Long Term as a Globetrotter

I have been fortunate to have grown up with two traveling parents and until now, at the time of writing, I have managed to reach 42 countries.

No, I haven’t been to the continent of Africa, Antarctica, the Middle East, or Russia. There are many countries left in Europe, Asia, and South America left for me to see as well.

But I am getting there. I hope to reach 50 or maybe 60 countries before 40. I think that is possible….no?

Now, you might be thinking my parents have been paying for me this whole time.

This would be false. I have held several jobs at once throughout the years and I save. A big part of it was teaching English in Prague and teaching English in Montreal as well as starting my own marketing business.

This leads me to my travel secrets. What allows long term travel? What enables me to travel and not worry about finances or time.

My one friend studied abroad in Italy for 4 months. She spent more money during that time than I did in a year.

“How do you not spend money?” She asked me once.

It is not that I don’t spend, it is that I spend WISELY.

Other friends have asked how I am able to not work for such long periods of time.

Here is a closer look into what I do while traveling to enable me to travel longer.

To answer all these questions.

Travel Long Term by Working Multiple Jobs

I am not saying people should work themselves to death. Work at a schedule you can manage. Work at what is comfortable to you.

I learned this the hard way. I worked three jobs at the same time in university. It almost broke me.

Taking a full class load and making sure I got good grades at the same time as managing 3 work schedules…I had a mental break down.

I cried for 3 days straight and even the therapist couldn’t really understand why besides I was overloaded.

Since then, I learned I can’t juggle that much.

In Prague, I managed to get a marketing job, my profession, but also taught English on the side. I had 3 classes a week at night or early morning. So instead of working 40 hours a week, I ended up working 45.

The extra 5 hours might not seem like a lot, but it makes a difference long run.

The same thing applies to spending.

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Travel Long Term with Cost-Cutting

I do my best to spend money with necessary things such as groceries and rent.

  • I would reframe from buying new clothes when I had enough to keep me warm. If I had to make purchases I would go to a second hand store or thrift store.
  • I rarely ate out and when I did, I would not go to a restaurant that clearly cost $30 a plate.
  • If I did drink alcohol, I would only get one drink. On top of this, alcohol is very fattening and unhealthy if you are trying to maintain or lose weight.
  • While traveling, I would stay at hostels and make my own food for dinner or make a sandwich for lunch when I was roaming around.
  • I don’t buy coffee every day because $4 every day adds up.
  • If I didn’t stay in hostels, I would use Couchsurfing or stay with friends. Or find a budget motel.
  • On a recent trip to Quebec, I stayed at an expensive hotel and I found that the budget motel had more value than this hotel. In a budget motel, customers get the same room amenities of a nice bed, tv, WIFI, etc., but also free breakfast and a mini fridge and microwave. This expensive hotel barely had anything but the bed and tv.
  • I also would walk as much as possible, avoiding expensive public transportation tickets or taxis. I rarely take taxis or Uber. Sometimes Uber is more expensive than a taxi.

You might be asking how I was able to see anything and enjoy my trip if I didn’t spend.

I never said I didn’t spend, I said I spent wisely.

Picking Activities Helps Travel Long Term

Those beers and coffee I saved? It helped me afford scuba diving for a month in the Philippines.

The few meals I ate at the hostel? It allowed me to book several flights around Europe on Ryanair.

The clothes I got at the thirft store or rather clothes I didn’t buy? I was able to pay for a language class for two weeks with tango lessons in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Everything is a give and take.

How was I able to not Work and Travel?

This. Saving and watching what I spent. I was able to not work for a year.

When I did move to Montreal, I was able to quit my terrible job and start my own business off my savings for a year until I started making bigger income and profits.

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