how do some people “just move abroad” and/or go from country to country?

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Laughing_Fenneko@reddit

its mostly people from first world countries saying stuff like that. im from LATAM and leaving my country was so fucking hard. took me forever to find a job that was willing to sponsor a visa.

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HypeBrainDisorder@reddit

Second this.

Took everything then some to go to US, then Europe. Jealous of people from first world countries that issue working visas

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Moving to the US from Canada isn't overly easy either. It took me over a decade of jumping through hoops to get a green card. Most of that I was locked into the same job, unable to switch companies or the process would start over. I was only able to do it because I had a degree and my job was one of the high demand, NAFTA approved jobs... otherwise there really isn't any way to do it.

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Fluffy_Gold_7366@reddit

TN Visa?

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NeilPearson@reddit

Most people don't qualify for a TN

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thebolts@reddit

Hahaha same. They make it sound so flippant. While the rest of us have to document our entire lives to show government officials before we’re even considered.

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enlguy7@reddit

I'm not saying you don't have a tougher time, but I will say you (the colloquial "you," as several comments seem to be misinformed) seem to have an ignorant view of what others go through. If you think the bureaucracy simply disappears because you're a different nationality, think again. I have a U.S. passport, and the list of countries I can "easily" take up residency in is very short. It has a LOT more to do with money, and just because you have a stronger passport does not mean you have a lot of money. Ever look at homeless numbers in the U.S.??

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thebolts@reddit

The differences are not comparable. A US passport holder with or without the finances have a lot more options than most 3rd world citizens with money.

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Charliegallifrey13@reddit

They literally say “just leave!” while also feeling the way they do about immigration while having ZERO concept of what it actually takes.

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too_soon13@reddit

Europeans, N.Americans and others don’t know how good they have it. Very little hoops to jump over. Not to mention the EUR and USD are relatively strong which helps with affordability in other countries.

Cherry on the cake is the superior attitude they come with to 3rd world countries. It doesn’t apply to all. I’m trying to point out there’s a difference between visiting vs living and experiencing a culture.

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CrepuscularMoondance@reddit

This is true. I immigrated rather quickly and easily to Finland as an American.

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Front_Climate3699@reddit

Any info on how you did it

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CrepuscularMoondance@reddit

My info is- don’t do it.

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Kali_tipz@reddit

Kind of a dk move leaving it on a cliff

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CrepuscularMoondance@reddit

You can’t speak out against the Finnish government. They found this account and threatened to take away my residency.

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Kali_tipz@reddit

No way 😲 are you being truthful?

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Front_Climate3699@reddit

Why is that . .

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LoraxBorax@reddit

Do you speak Finnish?

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lostWoof@reddit

European here. Not all countries and all regions of said countries are equal. We have Euro and it's strong enough to help us a bit but if you are making around 750-800 € per month which is for your region in the higher wage bracket, You have just as hard a time to save up to move out. And of course part of that money just goes towards your monthly life expenses. Also not everyone goes for the University degree where I'm from, recently it changed a bit but when i was younger it was a big priority to most people to start working as soon as possible after highschool so you can support yourself and your family.

Despite this I'm now living abroad making around double than what I was making in Europe and being able to save a bit more than home. However I had to jump through huge hoops and as weird as it sounds, if it wasn't for COVID and the fact i couldn't go back home I most probably wouldn't be where I am. But I got pushed by my circumstances (mainly no way home, running dry out of my savings I had for my Working Holiday) to try harder and even things i never would have imagined i can do.

Leaving Europe was also hard, I had a lot of worries and buts and ifs, but I got a good mentor at work who pushed me to make this decision and supported me the whole time.

Sometimes you just need to take the jump and try even things you never tried to open your mind and see what you are really capable of. And if it doesn't work out. You can always return home and try again later.

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Acceptable_Bird_1193@reddit

Do you have any advice for me who is trying to migrate abroad.

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lostWoof@reddit

Learn about the country you want to go to. Learn at least the basics of the language, how the system works, where and for what you have to register for with the government. This saved me from a lot of trouble later that some other people I've met encountered because they were clueless/unprepared. Save up enough money to last you there for half a year in case you won't be able to find work (unless you are hired from your home country already but I'd still save up just in case). You can get by with less than that but it will be more risky/difficult. Scout out prices of housing and good areas to live in while you are still home. Definitely try to get a place before you arrive if possible. Watch out for scammers that act as friends. You are on your own. Trust no one fully and double check everything. You got this.

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Downtown-Put-7708@reddit

In the US, they call it "white privilege," but actually, it should be called "Western Privilege."

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magnets-are-magic@reddit

This in itself is a stupid, ignorant comment. Virtually everyone I meet from EU/NA/etc while traveling knows exactly how good they have it. It would be stupid not to take advantage of the opportunities that we have. What exactly are you basing your comment on? Real experiences? Or your own biased thoughts/feelings that have little basis in reality? Truly think about this - are you just parroting what you’ve heard online? I think so, but maybe I’m wrong

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too_soon13@reddit

Hahaha. Exactly my point. Thanks for proving it.

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magnets-are-magic@reddit

You say: “Don’t know how good they have it”

I say: “I and virtually everyone I’ve met that you’re describing fully recognize how good they have it, and they cherish it and make the most of it”

…

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b_rad_c@reddit

You ask where the hostility is coming from? You started your first comment by calling someone’s comment stupid and ignorant.

I’m from the US and about to move to MX, so I understand the sentiment you’re trying to explain but you definitely come across as the hostile one.

A more productive comment would be to explain that you have mixed emotions about it, which I certainly do. I also have mixed emotions about gentrification within the US borders as well. Most people aren’t going to fault you for traveling but you gotta look in the mirror, I’m thinking this is your bad.

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magnets-are-magic@reddit

You’re completely right - apologies to the person I replied to above. I was rapid firing comments off and one of the other ones that I was replying to was about a similar topic, and they had called people ignorant and were a bit more hostile so I think that was on my brain while I quickly typed my comment above. Either way, uncalled for by me and I appreciate your words 🙏

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colormecryptic@reddit

I’ll admit that I definitely took it for granted when I first started traveling. I always knew I could go basically anywhere. I’m now in a relationship with someone from LATAM and we are going to travel to places where he can go.

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lucrac200@reddit

Many of us know how good we have it, especially from Eastern Europe. Because we were in your shoes before joining EU. Getting a job abroad was close to impossible.

Luckily, we caught the last train (last EU enlargement) and the situation improved drastically.

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Acceptable_Bird_1193@reddit

Would you mind explaining the process

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C01DF1R3@reddit

could you guide me in this. im only 20 but a traumatic event is making me want to leave my country and start over. we aint broke but neither rich enough to just simply do it. the matter also it regarded my family so i cant reach out to them for help. anyone?

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Dry_Inflation_1454@reddit

Lots of people just don't want to move to LATAM or Africa,the Caribbean, which may as well BE Africa. You'd be in a similar environment to present - day America,and not bother leaving at all.

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NefariousnessOk1741@reddit

I love Latin america!!

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HugeAd3108@reddit

i am so sorry i know this is 2 years old but i love your profile picture

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Laughing_Fenneko@reddit

thank you!

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Difficult_Bicycle_64@reddit

As someone from a western country the trick is most people work somewhere illegally or go on work and travel holiday doing labor jobs. And oblý after they entered and somewhat established themselves in the country they apply for visa, in between they do visa runs. The point to this is however you cannot do this in our countries no US or Europe, but southeast Asia? Latam? Africa, even Middle East are very doable.

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chicoyeah@reddit

Yep. Same from LATAM and for us is freaking hard.

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HeyItsAMeFonzie@reddit

I honestly didn't know that about LATAM until I started working with Brazilian colleagues. They are under so much pressure for their Visa in EU, and even if they try to fix that by becoming natives, they have to give up their Brazilian passport to make that happen.

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daniyalstockmarketer@reddit

You think that’s hard brother I’m from freaking oakkstan

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utopista114@reddit

its mostly people from first world countries saying stuff like that. im from LATAM and leaving my country was so fucking hard. took me forever to find a job that was willing to sponsor a visa.

Lots of Argies/Uruguayans have European ancestry: talk to granny -> go to Embassy -> make passport.

One way flight, some savings (less than people think, I've seen people doing the move with 3000 USD), and good bye.

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Laughing_Fenneko@reddit

that is true, but depending on where your family is from it can take ages to get citizenship. ive applied for the portuguese one and its been nearly two years with no updates lol

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CrepuscularMoondance@reddit

From what I’ve been told Portugal has had an influx of Brazilian immigrants in the past 10 years I’ve heard, and the Portuguese seem to be very upset about it.

I was speaking Brazilian Portuguese and kept getting corrected. I am not a fluent or native Portuguese speaker, so I assumed people were being helpful- until I was informed of the toxicity towards Brazilian Portuguese dialect speakers by a Portuguese person I know.

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kellebjk@reddit

I wanted to know if you moved and how you handled it. Did you do it yourself or use a lawyer or immigration support service? I’m using an immigration support service Ancho͏rless. I mainly want someone to review my documents before I apply. Just wondering how you did it

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Prestigious-Gap-1163@reddit

It’s not real. Social media is a lie. You can’t just “move” anywhere you want. You may be able to travel and do the airbnb thing, or hostels if you really want to be cheap. But it’s not as easy as it sounds.

I know one of those travel influencers well. She actually works for a cruise line and spends every free hour she has off the ship running to shoot as much content as possible and then spreads it out like she spends a month in each place. Her followers are idiots who believe it’s real life. The whole time she makes shit money and waitresses illegally in between cruises just to have enough money to do her “influencing”

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Nice_Layer2618@reddit

Dang! Speak on it!! I believe it! They post videos saying how easy it is, only to be selling courses and videos to others on how to do like charlatans!

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YuanBaoTW@reddit

There's a lot of BS on social media, and many posers. But you can certainly travel from place to place, spending weeks to months in each. All you need is money, time/freedom and a decent passport.

I'm currently doing an intense period of travel. A couple dozen countries plus so far in 2.5 months.

That said, I'm not an influencer and I'm not super young anymore. I've been fortunate in my career and have a nice business.

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chilegirl@reddit

A couple dozen countries in 2.5+ months? What are you running from, because that's not traveling, it's collecting. You neither learn anything about a culture nor do you learn anything about yourself.

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Prestigious-Gap-1163@reddit

Travel yes. But you can’t just move wherever you want and live wherever you want. That’s my point. No one’s actually just packing up and moving somewhere anytime they want unless they’re worth a few millions of dollars minimum.

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sus-is-sus@reddit

you mostly can if you limit yourself to like 90 days in a country or group of countries (schengen zone). you definitely dont need a million dollars but being a knowledge worker that has a flexible remote job is key.

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Prestigious-Gap-1163@reddit

That’s not moving though. You’re not showing up, renting an apartment. Living there for a year or two then on to the next place. It’s just traveling, which of course almost anyone can do if they have money enough money.

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Inevitable_Friend_54@reddit

Lots of retired Americans do this because the cost of living is much lower than the US. Some places are more expensive, but many Americans can still afford to live there.

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LurkJerk55@reddit

I think this is mostly a semantics issue. To a family or individual that is accustomed to moving frequently, this is just more frequent moves and shorter dwell times.

There's what you consider a move, which has specific connotations, and what they consider a move, which doesn't necessarily include citizenship in their definition or a specific length of time, requiring a strategy to receive your mail and have a tax base.

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FermiAnyon@reddit

Tell them it's a matter of semantics when you go to vote or collect social security

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Inevitable_Friend_54@reddit

As long as you keep your US citizenship & paid into SS, you can collect SS benefits even if you live overseas. If you are a US citizen, you have to pay taxes on your income, even if that income was earned in another country.

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LurkJerk55@reddit

I suppose if you're dependent on those things and they matter it would be something to take in to consideration. Personally, voting and collecting social security are lower on my list of priorities when weighed against the pros that would drive me to a location

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sus-is-sus@reddit

actually i did live in croatia for a year. and we brought our cat. we rented 2 houses for 6 months each. we have a whole car worth of stuff.

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RexManning1@reddit

Exactly. That’s a holiday.

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Lefaid@reddit

There are some countries you can skirt around the rules with to make a more permanent move, depending on your passport.

Albania and Georgia come to mind with that. I also think that some countries just require you spend a day trip out of the country at the end of your visa.

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sus-is-sus@reddit

albania and georgia let you stay a year as an american so you dont need to skirt the rules

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Lefaid@reddit

It is still skirting when you leave for a 4 day trek in Istanbul and then go back to your home in Tbilisi or Tirana after 360 days.

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boldlytraveling@reddit

Wait. After your year tourist visa is up (as an American), all it takes to renew for another year is a quick, 4 day border run and you get another year? What the what?

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utopista114@reddit

We had in my country a word for that: permatourists.

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boldlytraveling@reddit

I know the concept. Very familiar with it. Didn't know you could do that in Albania

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shaunibauni@reddit

In some countries

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sus-is-sus@reddit

lol fair enough. we get bored after 6 months usually

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henrik_se@reddit

being a knowledge worker that has a flexible remote job is key.

Do note that working remotely without a proper work permit in the country you're currently in is typically very illegal. It's also very difficult for any country to enforce, which is why almost everyone is getting away with it.

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Inevitable_Friend_54@reddit

Actually, yes, you can. Many countries, including the European Union, now have the Digital Nomad Visa. In every city center, there are A LOT of reasonably priced furnished apartments for short-term rental (90 days or less). For the Nomad Visa, you just have to show bank account records proving you make at least $3K/month. For a long-term stay, you have to show records proving you make a specific amount of money. I'm planning a move to France & they require proof of income of at least $1250/mon, without working in France. Many retired people do this.

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Difficult_Bicycle_64@reddit

You absolutely can. But if you have nothing (no degree and no established career) you need to start from scratch. So often that means take a shitty low pay work, but many people make it like that anyways. There is always a way.

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ProLifeDeathCamp@reddit

No one’s actually just packing up and moving somewhere anytime they want unless they’re worth a few millions of dollars minimum.

?

10k, volunteer in a hostel for a free bed + food, do some bar work.

If you have the right passport, travelling the world on a budget is mainly an issue for people aren't used to roughing it.

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utopista114@reddit

But you can’t just move wherever you want and live wherever you want.

My gap year was like 16k flights included.

You definitively can.

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VeganSinnerVeganSain@reddit

You're traveling - not actually "moving"

I mean, 12+ countries in ~75 days is about 3 days in each place.
That's not what people consider "moving to" a place.

You're definitely moving, but not moving TO a place,

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YuanBaoTW@reddit

I could easily stay weeks to 1-3 months in most of the countries I've visited.

The OP's question clearly stated "go from country to country" and "others who hop and live from one country to another."

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VeganSinnerVeganSain@reddit

But you responded to someone who's talking to OP about "moving" ("moving" IS in OP's title, and that person was addressing that - among other things in OP's post).

Also, staying "weeks to 1-3 months" is also not "moving"
Extended travel maybe, but not "moving" and LIVING there (with work, rent, bills, etc.).

OP is obviously also talking about working to pay for their way - so, yeah, much more than traveling.

I mean, we ARE in the expats sub, not in some travel sub.

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YuanBaoTW@reddit

The OP's question clearly stated "go from country to country" and "others who hop and live from one country to another."

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HighlightStreet8973@reddit

and a decent passport.

Move aside (U.S.A, Germoney, Israel passport holder)

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fjortisar@reddit

Yeah, you can travel from place to place and stay a short time. You can't move/live wherever you want

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Inevitable_Friend_54@reddit

It is real; but, it takes planning. Many countries now have the Digital Nomad Visa, including the European Union. Some people make a living as a social media influencer or a travel writer. It's a job, not a vacation.

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Equivalent-Meet8711@reddit

Actually, plenty of people do it. It is called snowbirding. The most common career choice for these people are remote jobs and virtual assistant jobs.

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cocococlash@reddit

Does she actually make money off of it?

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Prestigious-Gap-1163@reddit

Not at all. She told me about all of it because I have a marketing company that uses a lot of influencers for e-commerce brands. But her stuff isn’t useful. Followers don’t equal value. Travel influencers are pretty useless for creating income because they big spenders (airlines, hotel chains, etc) in marketing don’t need influencer campaigns. They only advertise for brand recognition, like McDonald’s and Pepsi.

The best influencers get paid per post for a product or company. Anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars. But for it to work it has to be believable/trustworthy that they use the product. Having someone selling weight loss stuff that’s been super skinny their whole life wouldn’t work for example. But having someone that’s being followed because of their weight loss journey talk about a weight loss product would drive a boost in sales. For travel people it’s too hard to get that value unless they deduced to live in one area for a few months at a time and promote smaller local businesses, restaurants, tour guides, etc. but they would need to really know how to sell their services to those people who don’t trust them to begin with.

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ItsNotThatDeepFam@reddit

Yeah but there are a lot of people who do it without the influencing. I was always jealous of people getting paid to travel, but that isn’t how I did it. I know I could have had some unreal content and I think I interact with locations and communities way more holistically than most. I’ve also smoked weed in 30+ countries and could have made a mini series just on weed culture around the world lol. But in the end I have no regrets. I spent years traveling and hoped to write my own version of On The Road (lol I know the internet now makes fun of white bros for liking that book but I’m not even white lol back off). The most I got was some poems here and there. But I have no regrets. I was always so comfortable and laid back. I fell in love not once but three times… in Argentina, Italy, and Spain. I learned multiple languages. I tasted the world. I think the last thing I should regret is not having Instagram fodder.

But I want to say that it’s extremely easy and accessible to do. Bachelors degree helps for certain volunteering programs that come with a stipend and visa but there are always options. I’m 31 and more settled now, but during my 20s I spent about 5 years doing some major traveling. I was working as a financial advisor and my only motivation was money. I was bored. I found a volunteer program to teach English in South America. They have them in multiple countries. Spain has a well know English auxiliary program too. Most of them want degrees though. A better option for you would be sites like workaway. It used to be free and I never used the paid version but you can find all kinds of gigs there that come with a free place to stay. Farms, nannying, pet sitting, hostels, and other odd jobs.

I’ll explain how I did it. I would bartend in the US, in a college town, for about 3-4 months at a time. I would grind, like 6 days a week, I would barely see the Sun. Tried to time this for around winter. Once I had 8-10k saved up in tips I would leave the country for 5-6 months at a time. I did a lot of 3 month stays as to not worry about visa issues. The main cost is lodging and flights. I highly recommend staying in places for at least a few months and finding some sort of job or volunteer opportunity. You really experience the place way better than when you just tourist all day. You build a little community as well. It’s always easy hours and never more than 4-5 days a week. also you have more contacts than you think. Leverage them. Make friends as you go and ask favors.

First trip: hostels, airbnbs, hotels… didn’t know any better and burnt through 8-9k in 4.5 months. I was living it up and went to like 12-15 cities.

Second trip: stayed with a host family in Argentina and earned 500 a month stipend to teach English. Long term visa mostly facilitated by program. I probably spent 250-500 a month above my stipend. Lots of people in my program were cheaper than me but I like to do a lot of smaller trips when I have a nice base set like that. But for falling in love for the first time and learning Spanish that ain’t a bad deal. Cheaper than rent in Detroit lol.

Third trip: went with friend to Italy and stay in his uncle’s home for 2.5 months with him. He returns and i volunteer at a farmhouse hostel in Tuscany for 2 weeks. After that I found an Airbnb in a Italian city I was interested in. Bedroom in a shared place for 700 a month. I booked 2 months. Ended up falling in love with the roommate/owner of the place and my third month was free lmao. We had a multi-year relationship.

4th trip: volunteer at a hostel in Portugal 1.5 months. Met surfer babes and lots of tech bros and some very chill locals. Followed by 3 months in a small city an hour north of Beirut, Lebanon. My dads friend from when I was a child and we lived in a different state let me use his vacation home. I had my dad ask him for me. Next I found something on workaway that wanted someone who could translate Spanish-English. This guy wanted to make his own version of duolingo and offered a room in a dope apartment in downtown Athens, Greece. All the other volunteers during my 2.5 months there were young Spanish and Italian women lol. We worked like 10 am to 3 pm just sitting on computers in the same apartments and chit chatting. Very easy work. Then we would hang out after and visit different islands on the weekends. You always had someone to explore with.

I’ve written way too much at this point. There were a few more trips and I did a dual degree at 28 that let me go abroad for a year and reduced my rent and tuition a combined 25k. (Had i not done the program I would have been in NYC an extra year). There was a point I was 27 and had no idea what to do with my life, but I just took a loan and went to law school. Still not sure if it was the right move but it’s been fine so far. I haven’t traveled enough lately but I should have more international opportunities in a few years.

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VeganSinnerVeganSain@reddit

So you had money to spend on travel - and rich friends of your parents.

I'm glad you had those great experiences.

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ItsNotThatDeepFam@reddit

Im not claiming I did all this coming from poverty, but I certainly wasn’t rich. I mean having 8 thousand dollars to your name, 20k in student loan debt, and 0 assets at 23 is not rich or having money for travel. I took a risk. There were a couple trips I got back from with 1-2k in credit card debt. I was privileged to have people who would let me stay on their couch for free and I could usually get hours at one or two bars every time I went back to the US though. I had a free place to stay less than 15% of all my time abroad. The majority was through working, volunteering, couch surfing, or spending money on hostels, Airbnb, and hotels. I also would just post on social media asking if I knew anyone with contacts in whatever country I would be visiting. Friends of friends are always happy to let you crash for a couple nights and show you around. Have had that experience many times. Also don’t make it sound like I have access to some special world of rich people. My friend’s Italian american aunt is middle class. She bought a 120k vacation home in small town southern Italy. A town with 10k people only 10 minutes away from her small town italian relatives that are working class borderline poor. But I was with my best friend, and the old couple next door cooked for us 3 times a week, and his Italian cousins had a junker that could get us to the beach. Food and beer was cheap. Im pretty sure my dad’s friend is rich, but it was someone my dad had barely exchanged a few Facebook messages with in the past 15 years. And I sent him a Facebook message. I leveraged a pretty distant contact and got lucky. Most people have more options than they think they are just embarrassed or they think it’s uncouth to ask. And the place I stayed in Lebanon was this 5 story compound I had to myself, where each floor was an apartment for a family, but they had only recently purchased it and only one of the 5 floors was even constructed, the rest were all concrete walls. But even the one finished floor that I could imagine would be nice one day was extremely bare bones. I had no cable, internet, or hot water. But it was summer in Lebanon and the water tank on the rooftop would get warm so I could shower comfortably. Besides those two encounters the rest I paid for with the last dollars to my name or I found free places to stay. There is one huge factor that allowed me to live that lifestyle though, I had no major responsibilities tying me down. No partner, no kids, no home, no career. Now I have major debt from law school. Even if I have a great job, I am more of a wage slave now since I don’t have the freedom to quit and travel like I once did. So while it’s extremely accesible for some that aren’t tied down, I understand it’s not that easy for everyone.

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cocococlash@reddit

Where were you in Portugal?

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billblank1234@reddit

That’s a hell of a story. Good on ya. The world is a great placed filled with great people. Good luck in law school. Heres a law secret niche : check out eDiscovery and Relativity. Portable career and jobs all over the world.

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magnets-are-magic@reddit

This is an odd comment. It’s really not that hard to travel somewhere + live somewhere. I’ve traveled for extended periods and lived in random cities around the world for extended periods on and off for about a decade. I post about it sometimes on social media. Not sure why you think it’s impossible or that all social media is a lie. I use my social media to share with family & friends and to preserve my memories. Random people I meet along with way follow me too. And people I’ve never met follow me - sometimes I even meet up with them. I hate how bitter Redditors tend to be.. go outside lol

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Prestigious-Gap-1163@reddit

I think it’s impossible to “move” and hop form One country to another as OP stated. Not that it’s impossible to move to another country. And then later on move somewhere else. The people that show it as easy to do on social aren’t doing it like you described. That’s the point of what I was saying.

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magnets-are-magic@reddit

Hmm. I guess I don’t understand what’s hard about this *assuming you have a passport that makes travel easy and/or a career that makes getting temporary or permanent residency easy in most places. Those are prerequisites and I fully recognize what a massive privilege it is to have either/or.

It’s certainly an unconventional life, and that means you have to live a bit.. unconventionally. By that I mainly mean that 1-3 suitcases full of things = all of your possessions. For me and others I’ve met it’s meant placing certain big possessions in storage units for months to years, or completely getting rid of those possessions and having those 1-3 suitcases truly be everything. I’ve done both methods.

As mentioned, I’ve done this off and on for about a ~decade and it hasn’t been difficult for me. Obviously having a US passport has made this incredibly easy compared to if I were from most other places, and I’ve also worked very hard to always have jobs that allow me this flexibility. I’m def not a trust fund kid or whatever, though - very middle class US upbringing (which I recognize means ~1%er globally, just giving some context). IMO given the right passport, you can work hard to make the rest happen. The passport piece is purely luck of the draw in where you were born, unfortunately. The rest can be controlled because your career is ultimately completely up to you in the long run.

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Prestigious-Gap-1163@reddit

Not sure your age or countries of travel. But residency permits are and have been harder and harder to get for US citizens for a while in most cases. Of course there are countries that don’t care as long as you have money, and by money I don’t mean wealth. But the average person globally is not waltzing into most countries and just having residency or even a long stay visa without a shit ton of paperwork or at least a work visa already set up.

Glad it’s been easy for you though, and as you said you’re the 1% globally getting live the east way. It’s like the US expats in countries where the dollar is strong talking about how easy their life is at the bar while the staff is working 80 hour weeks and 2-3 jobs to take care of their family. Context is important.

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hamandeggsmond@reddit

It’s pretty easy if you get a working holiday visa, WHV to Australia?m, New Zealand, Canada, with stops on between Asia etc.

You can work random backpacking job in those countries and earn good money.

Then you can upskill yourself in cheaper cost of living countries to better yourself while still travelling place to place.

Has nothing to Dow you travel influencers, they’re gross.

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Nausved@reddit

It's worth noting that only people from certain countries can get those working visas, and there is an age limit.

I immigrated to Australia starting with a backpacker's visa (the ultimate goal was to get a partner visa, but we needed to live together for a year first), and I was only able to do it because I was a US citizen in my 20s. Most people do not have this option.

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hamandeggsmond@reddit

A lot of WHV’s are until 35 now.

And there’s so many nationalities that can get these.

There’s also digital nomad visas popping up everywhere if you have online work.

There’s so many options to move from your country and go somewhere else.

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wiscondinavian@reddit

Eh, it was a bunch of paperwork, but I was able to move to Chile easy enough. Having a college degree definitely sped up and made the visa/residency process a lot easier.

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Function-Over9@reddit

I mean you're right about the influencer thing and living anywhere in the world is not an easy task. But these days you can move to other countries even on visas if you have decent employment where you can work from anywhere or are self employed.

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Igotbulliedoffreddit@reddit

Yea people are downplaying it too much. It's definitely a possibility

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danirobot@reddit

Exactly, and what that girl is doing is actually smart. Right now she's working on cruise ships, but next year she'll be making that YouTube money, and boom, she faked it and made it. I applaud her, really.

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gigglepigz4554@reddit

That sounds like a lonely life.

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krkrbnsn@reddit

Exactly this. I've lived in multiple countries and travel often. But on social media I rarely talk about the multiple visa applications I've had to go through, the interviews I've had, the extremely intrusive questions I've been asked by immigration officers, the number of times I've been taken aside for a 'random' search at the airport, etc. I prefer to post about the fun and interesting things that bring me joy which may come across as everything being easy and smooth sailing.

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Rainbow-Raisin11@reddit

That is quite sad.

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guiscard@reddit

You have five flags in your flair but you're saying people can't just move anywhere?

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Ella0508@reddit

Huh. But, why?

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MauveAlong@reddit

Money

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mistycliffs777@reddit

I have a flight attendant influencer friend who does the same thing on her trips and layovers, she always stretches out her content for trips online. I’ve traveled with her and it’s always about the pictures and the Instagram spots.

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from-VTIP-to-REFRAD@reddit

…gross.

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Photononic@reddit

Yes it is a dealbreaker. Why should some company in, say Singapore, hire you when they have a huge pool of people waiting to get in who will work cheaper?

I got hired in Asia because I had skills in linux years ago before everyone started learning it. what do you have to offer?

Keep in mind t countries that are highly developed have strict labor laws. The company typically has to pay a fee to the government and explain why you are taking the job that rightly belongs to a citizen. What skill do you offer that justifies the expense.

Also some other countries more closely monitor what you post on social media. They don’t need or want another stupid American posting political crap on Facebook, Twitter, and so on. I can confirm that Germany, Singapore, and other highly developed countries do watch that stuff and screen names will not hide you. If you post stupid stuff then expect to be refued entry into said countries.

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Wooden_Plantain2706@reddit

Dang, this is old but im doing this now, this is my third month 2nd country, i just had savings and invested alot of my discretionary income, i also applied for a credit card to take advantage of 0% interest for a year, paying the minimum and keeping the rest in a very liquid brokerage account. Its not hard, it doesn't require a lot of planning, even without an income, this setup allows me to live comfortably(ie i don't stay in hostels or travel the cheapest route) i put my things in storage, thats on auto pay to a credit card, i pay for mostly everything with the cards, and pay the balance every statement, or not depending on the day, i withdraw cash from a separate checking acct for smaller purchases or street things. I use airbnb for accommodations and expedia or some other site to find hotels when airbnb isn't cutting it, i usually stay a few weeks or month in one place. Used my current HSA account, for amedical thing, found the hospital thru searching the web, You don't need to be rich, or have the perfect plan, a month is a long time, a week is a long time, if anything comes up while you're traveling you never have just one second to figure it out. Its the same risk if you stay where you are, if this is pulling at you or anyone reading just do it, do it the way that feels 'right' to you because there is not a one 'right' way to do this.

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Charliegallifrey13@reddit

Most people who say this have zero idea what goes into immigration and only have tiny minded concepts of it. It’s very difficult and expensive. If any of the people screaming for ICE to take more people tried to move anywhere, they would be at a loss.

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zebra464@reddit

I'm an American living in the Czech Republic and recently started a podcast with my internet friend Lili (an American living in Spain) about what it takes to move abroad. Check it out! https://open.spotify.com/episode/1FJ12KVbcJVP0n0WiTP4eb?si=rRYU51djTBuoVHkhpVI3mw

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Shoddy_Cap_9864@reddit

dude I want to move tf away from Canada. I move countries often, and actually I’m on a student visa. I’m also fairly young, but I’m just gonna wait until I have enough money in 1-2 years

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canadianxt@reddit

Higher education was the make-or-break factor for me to be able to move abroad. I have a master's degree, which gives me extra points on point-based immigration systems-- often, enough to place me among the top candidates. That is how I got PR status in Canada.

That's not the ONLY way to move abroad, though. Lots of people study, use working holiday visas, or find work abroad.

It's also almost always significantly easier to do it while you're in your 20s and maybe early 30s.

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QuirkyHalf7255@reddit

What degree do you have if you don't mind me asking?

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canadianxt@reddit

M.Sc. in Chemistry.

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Busy-Statistician414@reddit

Having a high paying remote job or 2 is the way. Continue to make USD or CAD wherever you go, live like royalty

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BuyHot7762@reddit

I just moved abroad to Toronto from Belgium (F26) I made a YouTube channel about it inamovesabroad

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Lucchese10@reddit

I would like to give you my advice as someone who has been travelling and living in different countries for more than 11 years. I started when i was 25 years old, doing working holiday visas (if your country has working holiday visas agreements with other countries id definitely recommend you do it especially if you are young, because you have all the rights to work and live for a year and depending on the country you can extend for more).

As for my experiences, i had a great time and id definitely recommend it but if you ask me what id do different, i would have chosen a career or something that you can keep studying even while travelling (lets say coding or anything that interests you) and stick to it, get good at it and try to work as much as you can on that field. Of course its great to try different jobs and see what each country has to offer, but as someone who have done 10000 different jobs in the last 11 years, it really gets tiring and its very easy to loose yourself in the way. Thats why my biggest advice is stick to something you can of enjoy and that can open the path in any place you are and you will have an amazing time and who knows which doors might open for you.

Definitely go for it, you will never be the same but the experience and open mind you will get will be worth it!

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colormecryptic@reddit

I have been this person who friends back home have been like “how are you doing this??” My answer is, over the years, a combination of: having a work visa as an English teacher, Working Holiday visa, tourist visa, student visa (studying Spanish), most countries allowing Americans to stay visa-free for 3 months, and having a fully remote job. It is logistically complicated at times and definitely NOT as easy as just showing up and staying. You have to plan a lot, budget properly, and also be flexible.

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Lefaid@reddit

You are my hero. I respect the hell out of what you are doing.

So you just teach English online?

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colormecryptic@reddit

Thank you! I used to teach English in person and then online, and now I got out of teaching and have a different remote job. I work with J1 visas for people coming to the US.

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Lefaid@reddit

For the State Department? That sounds exciting. Can you do that remotely?

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colormecryptic@reddit

I don’t work for the state department, rather I work for one of the official sponsors. I do have to report compliance things about participants to the state department.

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kamiisamaa@reddit

This sounds like a position that I meet the qualifications for, so I was wondering if you would mind sharing the company information or job title? I'm really struggling to figure out where to apply and what for. B.S in biological anthropology. Years of experience in document control and quality control.

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Fit-Illustrator-6828@reddit

Hi idk if this thread is still active but I have a B.S. in Ecology and Bio from 2023 so similar to you. Did you ever find any info on working abroad? I was thinking of the teaching English path just to be able to work abroad.

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Function-Over9@reddit

I admire that tenacity. More power to you.

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jrosenkrantz@reddit

I worked my ass off to be in a position where I don’t need to work all the time. I learned there are two ways to save money.. increase your income and reduce your expenses. With this knowledge I can work for ~6 months and save money quickly which I can live off of as I travel for several months at a time. While traveling I have other projects which have been monetized in order to bring in a little extra income

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andywannabe@reddit

Hi, I know this is an older thread but I was wondering what you do for work.

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LegoPandora@reddit

I am lucky enough to have a job which means I can move and live pretty much wherever. When I first moved abroad, to be honest I really didn't think about it. I hated where I was, applied for a job, got interviewed and that was that. It was a straightforward move, I didn't have to worry about a visa or anything like that. Not all moves are like that - I'm in the process of moving between countries now. The one I am in right now, I had to submit loads of paperwork, fill in countless forms, attend an interview etc. etc. My current workplace uses a firm of immigration lawyers to handle the logistics of this (submission, sponsor letters etc.), I can only think it'd have been even more challenging than it was if I'd had to do it on my own. The move I am currently in the midst of requires notarization, apostille, attestation of documents, and this can only be done in the country that those documents are from. So, I have had to use a company to do this on my behalf, sending original documents halfway around the world. All those documents have been sent to my new place of work, who submit these and a sponsor letter, to the embassy in that country and these were faxed to the consulate in my current location. I now have to go and collect my visa (I have no idea if it is literally this straightforward) at that consulate. So, all in all it is not always as simple as "just move abroad" - for me, these moves are a year in the making. You also have to look at the finances of it - I get reimbursed a set amount. Because I've had to use a company, send documents overseas etc. the reimbursement will not cover everything I've paid out. That's not including the shipping costs (which have increased significantly), additional baggage, pets (if you have them). Would I change the life that I have, and go back to my home country? Nope. But this can very much be the reality of an actual move to a new life abroad.

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andywannabe@reddit

Hi, I know this is an older thread. If you were comfortable with sharing I was wondering what work you do?

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terrorbagoly@reddit

I left uni and went to college to learn a profession. Talked to friends already living abroad. Got a job offer through one. I packed a suitcase, got some local currency and bought a one way plane ticket. I was 22, it was easy and I only left to work for 2-3 months in a different country that I wanted to see. That was nearly 10 years ago, I ended up loving it so much that I never went back home.

Was it easy? No. It was hard graft and I moved a lot till I got to where I am, happy with a good job, living in a beautiful place. I was young so I could endure a lot of bullshit in order to get what I want in the long run.

If you’re ready to give it your best, go for it. Just don’t expect it to be all rainbows and sprinkles all the time.

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andywannabe@reddit

Hi, I know this is a bit of an older thread, but I was wondering what you do for work? Looking for potential career paths atm.

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IntelligentSlipUp@reddit

The dealbreakers are:

Do you have money enough to do it?
Can you find work anywhere?

Personally I've moved and lived in over 20 countries now, but I've always been able to establish myself and work there. Either on shorter contracts or longer. The most countries I've lived in in one year was 3: UAE, Germany and Japan. That year was horrible!

If you want to travel, go to r/travel, if you want to work and live welcome here.

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HypeBrainDisorder@reddit

What made it horrible?

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IntelligentSlipUp@reddit

UAE: is just people going to work, and socializing to pretend to be rich
Germany: i was just settled in UAE and was asked to take on a new role in Germany. Had to move only 5 days, bought a house, got settled, then four months later was asked to moved to Japan.
Japan: was actually great

It was horrible because of all the moving, buying/renting houses, getting a kids in school, then moving again, working 150% to make sure fires were put out.

That trip is what made me decide that my family just needed one homebase, and I was the one travelling from there.

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Vivid-Teacher4189@reddit

So where did you choose as home base. 20 countries you must have a favourite,or did home win out.

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IntelligentSlipUp@reddit

The Netherlands!

My wife is Dutch, and it was the first country i moved to also... I have loads of friends here also. And as an added bonus you can get anywhere in the world easily from Amsterdam, and most of my clients are in Europe these days.

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Vivid-Teacher4189@reddit

👍

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ma_che@reddit

Hey! How’s Germany working out for you? My wife is German, but we live in Brisbane. Sometimes I think of moving up there just to be closer to family - Brissy is awesome but can feel a bit insular sometimes. Always eager to hear about the experiences of fellow Aussies abroad :) Do you ever think of coming back?

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Vivid-Teacher4189@reddit

My wife is German too, I come from the far north coast of nsw so I know Brisbane well and know what you mean. We moved here 3 years ago when we kind of got stuck at the start of covid with no jobs and no housing because we were 1 week into a 1 year trip around Australia and sold everything and gave up everything to do it 😂 my wife got a good job in her industry within a few of weeks of being back in Germany. I’m a stay at home husband and dad now. I focused on learning German and for tax reasons and childcare reasons it just works for us for me not to get a job as I don’t really have a recognisable German qualification that I’d want to use here. I miss home nearly everyday. Especially during the long winter, I dream of those southern qld, northern nsw beaches and sunny warm days and miss them painfully especially when the weather here is miserable, which this year so far is more often than not. But life here is good, I like Germany and Germans for the most part. My wife takes care of the bureaucracy as of have no idea but moving here as a spouse was multiple times easier and far less expensive than my wife moving to Australia, and we’d have to go through it all again if we went back. A couple of forms, an appointment €100 and it was done. I’ll be a permanent resident from next month. Comparatively easy. There’s plenty of work here, depending on your industry. I’m a qualified tradesman in Australia but due to injury had mostly given it up and the pay here in the construction industry can be fairly low, especially with my level of German language. But life can be good, I’m in southern Bavaria, close to nature and there’s plenty to do when the weathers reasonable. Easy to get places, just a couple of hours from Austria and Switzerland. 30 mins on the train to Munich. Close to my wife’s family, and we’re lucky enough to live in her parents house with our own space, but unfortunately far from mine. We’re lucky because there’s a bit of a housing crisis all over Germany atm, not sure if it’s as bad as it seems to be in Australia but it exists and makes things very hard for a lot of people. So overall I like it mostly. Positives and negatives obviously but there is as well in Australia. We’d like to come back to Australia to live one day, but it won’t be soon, there’s not much point going home to have no housing and less job opportunities, just to be able to sit on the beach.

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andywannabe@reddit

HI, I know this is an older thread but I'm just curious what your wife does for work that lets yall move around so much

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KingBowser11@reddit

With living in so many places I'm curious, where did your family end up settling as a homebase? Where do you have citizenship(s)?

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IntelligentSlipUp@reddit

We finally settled in The Netherlands. All our 4 kids hold Dutch and US nationalities. My wife is Dutch and I'm Danish. I did have US nationality also, but I gave it up shortly after we left the US.

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eddythebamba@reddit

$ and a privileged passport ( if you're from a 1,st world country, especially EU, and have $, that is pretty easy).

if not... it may take decades of savings and bureaucracy and preoaration to get to move from one country to another.

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Wereperconpire@reddit

I found the main problem with this lifestyle is that I missed people from home too much. Timezones can be brutal. This app I found called Layover definitely helps a bit, but its still really rough.

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Invinciblehotdog@reddit

I wanted to move to a new country, so I just looked for jobs that paid for my plane tickets and hotel for a few weeks so I can find my own place. You really didn't need that much savings the money for food and the first 2 months rent would be good, but in Greece where I am now the rents were cheaper anyway so like a 1k should be enough. The job is some customer service job in your own language, it has been actually decent. People from around the world together. You don't even need a education for this job :D Good way to get to a new country and you don't have to work for the company for more then a month if you don't want to pay back for the plane tickets.

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Educational_View_460@reddit

I was fortunate to get a job that took me everywhere in the world when I was younger and this is my third country we're settling (I no longer work in that role tho).

But looking back and comparing to some other friends that wanted to move abroad (or just to have an international experience) I can tell some options:

-Become a flight attendant. One of my buddies chose this option and travelled the whole world.

-Try to get some knowledge in tech, such as app development, programming etc. A few other childhood friends chose this route and they are living pretty much where they want. It takes a little longer to educate yourself, but it seems to pay off.

-Be willing to get any type of part time jobs and check the local rules. If you don't have any education, check ways to work and travel to the countries you're looking for. For example, you can work while studying English in Australia. Which means you need to subscribe to one of these language courses and the student visa will let you get a job. But most likely you're only going to find part time jobs, such as hospitality (bars, hotels, dinners etc).

Obviously, depending on your passport, you can simply just go and try to find something wherever allows you to enter and live in that country.

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Happy-Cantaloupe1120@reddit

If you have a lot of money / don’t mind being illegal, totally possible

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boldlytraveling@reddit

I can't imagine that just staying illegally somewhere is as easy as you make it sound. For example, I have more than sufficient passive income in perpetuity to live comfortably in Sweden for the rest of my life. But staying there past my 90 days illegally seems like I'm asking for all sorts of legal problems

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driftingfornow@reddit

Competitively I know a chick in Poland who has done this more than half a decade at least.

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boldlytraveling@reddit

Amazing! Although, if memory serve, I think I read somewhere that there's some type of agreement between Poland and the US. Not so much with Sweden and the US. That is if this person you referred to is American

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driftingfornow@reddit

No she’s not and no there isn’t an agreement like that. Just usual Schengen 90 days.

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boldlytraveling@reddit

Very interesting. Thanks

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Happy-Cantaloupe1120@reddit

It is easier in some countries than others

I don’t know about Sweden, but I find it difficult you would get in trouble in say Brazil

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boldlytraveling@reddit

Absolutely agree on Brazil, Argentina and a few others. But 1st world countries? I don't know. Not saying it's impossible. People figure out all sorts of crazy workarounds. Wish my mind worked like that, lol

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MGTOWManofMystery@reddit

Part of it comes down to the USA being much, much too expensive for most humans now. There is no more middle class there. As such, if one ends up paying US$3-7,000 a month just to survive, quickly move anywhere else to immediately produce cost-of-living savings. Beg, borrow and steal to do so. Use credit card debt even.

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Goryokaku@reddit

I must acknowledge my privilege here. As a white British high school teacher, in comparison, it is easy for me to apply for and get a job where my employer will handle all of my visa applications, flights etc. That's how we "just move". Sign on the dotted line, wait for the visas and flights, go.

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squishbunny@reddit

Digital nomad life can be cool, I think. I never did it but I would imagine that if you can get visiting visas and then be sure that you're on the next flight out before it expires it's probably not too bad.

You'd need to find a job you can do 100% remotely. Freelancing work is possible, but freelancing is a GRIND until you figure out how to make money on it. There are some careers that are also good for remote work, but not when just starting out. Leveraging YouTube and Instagram is possible, too, but it's hard work: videos, social media, staying on top of fans, creating content, etc.

The point is, nothing is really as glamorous as social media makes it out to be. You see someone standing in a rainforest, smiling radiantly into a flower - you don't smell the fact that they've been trekking three days in the rain to get there. But if you want to, there's no reason it can't be done.

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vagqween@reddit

I've travelled quite a bit as a tourist. But actually moving somewhere and living there legally with the right to work is not easy unless you have loads of money. My husband and I are from different countries and after 2 years I finally have a residency visa and we can live in the same country. When people start the "if you don't like this country you can leave!" crap I get very irritated. They clearly don't understand how immigration works. Incredibly ignorant.

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IRRelevantLi88@reddit

If you’re still young and not from a 1st world country, the education route is the best options. Lots of my other international friends did their higher education abroad and got a job aboard (thereby moving aboard).

And consider and look into working holiday or digital nomad visa (depending on your skills).

Personally… I moved abroad after college in 2022 (yes, I have a Bachelors and moved from the US). I went to a language school to get a student visa to then got a job with a working visa.

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sleepsucks@reddit

I did it after university. Worked for years and saved everything along with a friend. Then traveled for a year on that money to cheap places all over the world. The hardest part of all of it was to find a friend to do this with.

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ianmcn57@reddit

Scotland to Spain 12 years ago.

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MissCompany@reddit

UK to Thailand (Koh Phangan). Absolutely best decision we ever made. He got offered a dream job and I've retrained online for my dream job!

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SmugBeardo@reddit

Step 1: have income. You can have a job that doesn’t care where you are or an online business/side hustle that generates income and you can go digital nomad (r/digitalnomad gives some good realities of the lifestyle). You can try to apply for a job in your country of interest (difficult, but there are some great opportunities to intern places or do seasonal work at small farms. Lots of people do a gap year like this in Aus/NZ). Or find work where int’l travel is part of the gig (lots of government internships/fellowships with overseas placement for US and EU that i know of, not sure of elsewhere, but you would almost definitely need a degree and skill set for it). DO NOT just shown up to a country with no job and no money and expect to sort it out there and live for a few months.

Step 2: pick countries where you can get visas easily based in your passport. If you’re US/CAN/AUS/NZ/EU, then as others have said, it’s much much easier. Lots of countries will give you 30 or 90 days without much issue, many even on arrival. If you don’t have a passport from these, then google where your passport country has visa agreements and see where you’d be able to stay

Step 3: never overstay. You said you’d like to spend a few months in some places of interest. Awesome. Just only stay as long as you have a visa, and have your next movements planned (including visas obtained BEFORE leaving your home country).

No, it will not be like the instagram influencers. It’s a ton of work and has it’s ups and downs.

But it’s totally possible! Even with a difficult passport. And i highly encourage it if you are willing to put in the work. Absolutely worth it.

Source: I’ve been living internationally nomadic for the past few years and my ex had an absolute shit passport and was still able to do the same, just with much more planning, limitations, and time spent sitting at passport controls/borders.

PM me if you have any specific questions

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LoktarOgarrr@reddit

Just be brave, research it, choose a country and GO.

Seriously if you're not married and dont have kids yet - there's nothing other than yourself holding you back!

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brass427427@reddit

The only thing holding you back is a reasonable dose of reality.

Fact is - changing countries is not like changing your trousers. What you are reading are mostly the success stories and not the grim failures.

Not to be the turd in the punch bowl, but it is your education and experience are what interests potential employers. No sponsor, no job. No job, no visa. No visa, no fun.

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moodylioness-6547@reddit

I got offered a transfer with my current company into a job in another region. This is the easiest way. Find a global company to work for!

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babawow@reddit

$ and a good passport.

I can move to anywhere in the EU (Austrian passport) tomorrow if I want to.

Got a good career with a very solid CV (Project Management, with additional background in sales (business development and Strategic management).

Lived in 8 countries for 1y+, now been here (Australia) for 6.5 years.

That being said, getting established in Australia took a lot of hoop jumping.

Language ability makes a massive difference (international school).

It was still a lot easier than for most of the people I know.

All of that being said, I know people that moved with very little, and they simply got through it by working their assess off.

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Plenty-Asparagus-580@reddit

The answer is in your post already: not having a bachelor's, for a lot of countries, is the deal breaker when it comes to getting a work visa. Is that fair? Not really. But that's how it is. It's also not really that easy to move abroad in general, people like to make it look easier than it really is. However, it is considerably easier to do with a bachelor's in a sought after field (e.g. computer science or engineering).

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Strange_Profit7237@reddit

Isn’t like that easy… I’m from BR and even holding a PhD, took me a year to find a good job in NL. We see a lot of expats here and there, but not all companies are willing to sponsor your visa and moving… What a did: I got a job a level lower than my education, I applied for my visa myself (NL has a special visa for masters, researchers and phd’s), moved with less than €3k, I had someone to share a small place (cheap rent), during this year I was applying for others positions like crazy. The fact that I was already here, made it a bit easy - as I said, not all companies wants to pay for your moving. I got a job that sponsor my visa and I’m happy now, but took time. I have some friends that also want to move abroad, but takes time and money. I really admire people who “just go”.

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Saturn812@reddit

Unlucky mate. I did manage to find a decent job in few months without a bachelor. Had to spent some extra on temporary accommodation while searching for an apartment to rent for a couple of months tho

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Strange_Profit7237@reddit

And please, DO NOT BELIEVE IN SOCIAL MEDIA! Moving abroad takes time, money and courage. You’ll have to leave your culture, family, friends, language behind, besides of course all the bureaucracy. But it not impossible.

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criticalthinker225@reddit

It’s not easy. Depending on where and you’re form and where you’re going, there are visas you need to get. Not everyone qualifies for a visa

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defmute@reddit

I recently started talking to a couple at a friends wedding, the woman was from Australia and the man was from the UK and they had a whole 10-15 year plan on how they were going to country hop every few years, purely for tax reasons. They’re currently in Amsterdam but will be moving to Spain next.

They were lovely, lovely people and I wish them the best but idea of consistently changing countries like that sounds dreadful to me.

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Nariot@reddit

Gonna make some assumptions here:

English is your first language, or a close second.

You have a european/North American passport

You are white.

If all 3 apply to you congrats! You too can teach english in a variety of countries with minimal effort. When i lived in egypt this was the go to job for young foreigners. They would make 500-1000 usd a month, but their living costs hovered around 300-500 if they were sensible.

Other than that, if you are able to work remotely for a western company, then congrats! You too can live abroad and make western money, while having lower expenses.

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Joepiler14@reddit

I think for starters you have to be quite fortunate, but I’m happy to share my story. Keep in mind that this is not to brag, it is just to share. I feel extremely fortunate, but also it’s not liie I’m telling everyone I meet what I’m on about.

So I come from the Netherlands, which gives me a hesd start if you will. I am very fortunate that my parents have both worked extremely hard to ensure my and my sibling would have a good future, and I want to add that it probably meant that they sacrificed a lot for themselves.

When I went to university, it was mandatory for my studies to go abroad twice, it could be wherever I wanted as long as I took control and made it happen. My dad is classic go-getter, and I was taught the same. I’ve worked since I’m 15 and have been doing so next to my school responsibilities as well. I therefore could afford to pay for all of it myself, but my parents paid for my my whole first abroad experience.

When I was 21, I went to Colombia for 6 months. I did an internship there, which I found and applied for myself, and then I also took care of my housing situation. My parents didn’t organise any of it, don’t know people there, I got myself that position. Since Colombia is quite cheap, they paid for my flights and my expenses there. I got a decent reimbursement from my internship which covered my rent, so I think that all in all it cost them about €5k.

Then, when I was back in The Netherlands, I met my girlfriend, who is from another European country. She came there to study the same programme I was on, that’s essentially how we met. We fell in love, but I still had my second abroad adventure incoming. This time, I went to Norway. Again, didn’t ask for my parents’ help setting it up, took care of all that by myself. Approached them and said that this time I want to pay for it by myself. I had been working hard over the last years to save up, and it had always been my dream so I wanted to do it myself.

They ended up paying for my flight which was very sweet, and I paid for the rest. It was an internship again, which also paid enough to cover my rent, again. The rest was on me.

When that was done, my girlfriend and I had been in this long distance relationship for 7 months, and we both had the feeling we would like to live together. Now, this is where once again, I’m very lucky. Turned out that her parents on a an apartment dead center in the capitol of her country. Since her parents are quite wealthy, they offered to us to live there for free. I kindly refused since that’s not how it works for me, so I offered to pay the utilities at least, so they acceptes.

Long story short, for me a lot of luck was involved. I was born in a country that is generally wealthy, have parents that have a decent amount of money themselves, who taught me how to work hard and to save for things, but who also encouraged me to go abroad since they never had that chance to go abroad

One quote I want to share with you and that means everything in my life, is the following: “It is not about WHAT you know, it is about WHO you know”. Network is everything, so use it. Do you know someone who lives in a country where you would like to go? Approach them, ask questions. Maybe they can help, maybe they know someone else who can, but don’t try and reinvent the wheel. Network and connections are everything, so start building connections.

I know I am not really a country hopper, but I’ve lived abroad for 3 years of my life and I’m only 25. Again, I consider myself extremely lucky, but nothing is impossible.

Hope this story somewhat helps, even if it’s just for one person. Best of luck, take care! :)

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mrmr973@reddit

Mostem ofem are running away from things they couldve just tooken a vacation for.. its not smart or easy 2 b hoppin around n starting a new life everytime u feel like it..its needs over wants.. settle down n build

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bluaqua@reddit

My parents started off as Overseas Filipino Workers. My dad especially moved a lot more than my mum. When they became Australians, they continued moving not long after. Eventually, mum and I settled back in Australia, while he continued on to at least like five countries.

It’s totally possible to move while being on a less powerful passport. What my parents had that you don’t is advanced degrees. If you’re struggling to get work visas or job opportunities, I think that’s definitely the deal breaker. Especially because my parents’ story isn’t unique, OFW’s exist around the world and they do frequently move. They basically just all have degrees, especially the more mobile ones.

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pchandler45@reddit

I met a lot of people traveling full time doing volunteer work on farms, homesteads, yoga retreats, animal sanctuaries, you name in, in exchange for room and board. Wwoof is the oldest but focused on farming. I personally love and have used help exchange for over a decade both as a host and helper.

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Freak_Out_Bazaar@reddit

I didn’t have a choice for my first move since I had to go to the country where my company was HQ'd.

After thar I worked for companies that would accommodate me working remotely from abroad (at my own expense). There were various sacrifices along the way but I could have easily made a lot of people jealous by being on social media and leaving out the hardship part

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xeno-fire-@reddit

...I was one of those people in high school that was fortunate enough to have the kind of family that would take us out of school to go camping, or drive down to the US for a weekend.

i was also blessed to have a mother who was a flight attendant then work at an airport.

These were excellent assistants that helped me move out and travel. Live in New Zealand for a year and a half, then finally move to Japan. Ive been here for 11 years.

However, i fully realized that it was my university degree, canadian citizenship and the british commonwealth that actually allowed me to both travel and move.

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fruderduck@reddit

Go pick produce in Australia. Some offer free boarding, I’ve read. Go while you are young, you won’t qualify after 31 or so.

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Icy-Farm-9362@reddit

Their parents have money.

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bbbcurls@reddit

There’s some privileged takes in these comments

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SnooTigers7158@reddit

Well, I got married, but I feel like that only works the one time.

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Quaker16@reddit

Get your TOFEL teaching cert and go

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One-Super-For-All@reddit

A degree or high demand skill helps. But honestly I've noticed a lot of westerns just work illegally in ways their home country would lock you up for.

Eg. Enter a country on a tourist visa (usually visa free for westerners) and then work remotely for 3 months. Leave and re-enter repeatedly until bored and then move on.

Not only is the hypocrisy astounding (given that when folk from developing countries try the same they are criminalised and shamed) but you're literally enjoying a country without paying taxes or supporting the infrastructure at all. And sometimes these same folk engage in corruption to make their life easier.

The legal and ethical way is either company sponsorship, or to get a digital nomad visa (eg Portugal, Greece have ones). The Portuguese one seems especially popular and has a low threshold to get.

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quakedamper@reddit

Get a degree, that's the standard requirement for work visas in most countries and sets you up for the future in ways you probably can't grasp now. Technically you can self learn most things but immigration systems and visa systems change at a glacial pace so you won't regret having a degree in this lifetime.

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CrackDaddy01@reddit

If you don't have a foot in the door or a job lines up they're full of shit.

I moved to Japan with nothing lined up, I had a Japanese GF at that time. So it was "easier" due to not having to battle by myself. I went to college, started working at a car dealerships and then got a government job. I had nothing to lose, I just got out of the military and sure as hell wasn't going back to California.

It also depends on where you want to go, some places hand out work visa like candy and others you'll need a certain degree to get a visa.

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JKYDLH@reddit

I'm a little different than other people in that I don't plan to retire or live very long so I don't really have a lot holding me back. I have a cycle of working 2.5 FT jobs for a year or 2 before quitting and then traveling around a series of different countries for 3 months before going home and doing it all over again.

I'm also American which makes me very spoiled when it comes to Visas

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messy_messiah@reddit

Either have some money saved up or have some skills & qualifications that can make some money along the way.

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gotsreich@reddit

My friend works for a hotel chain throughout LATAM and the US so she travels for work, staying in places for around a month at a time. She's like 26.

I just have money saved and can work remotely.

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storander@reddit

Ive done this a few times but I had a career that let me do it (work for DOD contracting so I can basically work at any American base abroad)

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MovingSiren@reddit

With my original passport, even romantic foreign trips were out of the way. I used to tell the husbot to not plan any spontaneous get aways to Paris or he'll go by himself 🤣 (we lived very close to Gatwick then)

You not only need the right passport but you need to be under 30 (35 for a few countries), have no children and / or work flexible jobs that pay well, or have a wealthy family to bankroll you.

Our first country just because hop happened when I was 38!

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saccharinsighs@reddit

For me it was a combination of getting a student visa in the country I wanted to go to , having 3-4 years of savings already, not thinking about what others may think, and accepting that at least if I fail to get a work visa I took a risk.

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SomeoneSomewhere1984@reddit

You can stay in most places up to 3 months, but you can't work there. For the most part it's okay if you have a job where you can work from a computer in your home country, or if you can afford not to work for a while.

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RexManning1@reddit

You mean in most cases the risk of the government knowing is low. It’s not ok just because people do it.

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alejandroburritos@reddit

Wait really? This is what I’ve been looking to get clarification on. Is it as easy as staying in Germany for 2 months and work my remote job from the US from there. That’s not allowed then?

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ma_che@reddit

Last time I checked it was a gray area in Germany. The consul himself told me to just keep quiet. This was more than 10 years ago though, so things might have changed.

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RexManning1@reddit

Strange. Countries typically have a pretty well defined concept of “work” in their labor codes and every tourist visa I have ever seen explicitly says no work is allowed.

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RexManning1@reddit

I don’t know German law, but I’m not aware of any country that allows you to be there as a tourist and legally work.

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Christopher_LX@reddit

2023: Video and it didn't happen.

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BornInPoverty@reddit

My niece, who is a British Citizen, used to do this before Covid. She would get contracts teaching English as a foreign language. I know she went to Spain, Mexico, Vietnam and a few other places I can’t remember.

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noes16@reddit

Before Brexit as well... now, she's no longer free to live/work in the EU.

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FrostyNegotiation934@reddit

I have a shit, low paying, online I.T job. Certainly no higher education or the ability to tolerate students in an English teacher position.

I saved 3.5k over a year and moved, I fuck around S.E Asia. Lived in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand. Spent a few years in each and start over. I game, watch tv on streaming services, cook, drink.... no expensive hobbies or vices.

But I have no family, no debts, no desire to ever go back to the U.S.

I love Cambodia, great people, great food, tolerable government. I figure I'll spend the rest of my days here.

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Amazing-Key-1575@reddit

How did you get the job once abroad?

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FrostyNegotiation934@reddit

I got it when in the U.S, its actually a U.K company. I just never told them that I moved around.

In the U.S its below minimum wage, in S.E Asia its the equivalent of a well paying job.

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scalolice@reddit

I did it :) moved to the UK just as Brexit was happening. I do have university qualifications but for the first 6 years I did not use them at all. I did not have mountains of savings either, didn't really know anyone there. Sure it was scary, but it was all worth it amd turned out pretty awesome.

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boldlytraveling@reddit

From where?

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scalolice@reddit

France. When I moved to the UK, I did bar work for a while and found a house with strangers. A note on airbnbs - they can be cheaper than people think. Ask landlords/hosts if they would do you a monthly rate: provided you're not in the top high season in a very high demand area, most would be happy to do so. I did that when I was studying rather than rent a flat and it was an excellent decision.

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Perdoname_gracias@reddit

If you’re from a country with a real strong currency (EU, USA, Australia, Switzerland) it can be fairly easy to save up enough money to pay for a year’s expenses in another country.

It makes moving countries much easier & less risky.

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Adorable_Mango_8401@reddit

You mentioned that you’re young, so I’m sure that in coming years you’ll be able to see yourself abroad more and more, and to see opportunities to make this happen. I believe that uni is important and if someone can and is willing to get a diploma they should do it.

I learned that planning and action are crucial here. But hey, that’s probably for everything, however you don’t want to get stuck somewhere where you don’t want to be, or to find yourself in the middle of a foreign country with no ideas how to move forward. It can be difficult when you’re in a foreign country but it doesn’t have to be with a good plan

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TequilaStories@reddit

First you have to find out if you have any family links to other countries to see if you can apply for citizenship elsewhere; that will give you more options.

If that’s not an option make a list of the places you want to go to see if you qualify for any working holiday visas or visas that might be specifically available to the country you are a citizen for.

If none of that is an option you have to go through all the skilled lists and see if the occupation you have is one that is required and start applying on that basis.

If none of that is an option you have to be realistic about what you can do and what kind of jobs are always required. Countries will 99 times out of 100 pick their own citizens first so what can you offer them that is hard to get? From what I’ve seen there are never enough healthcare workers or specialised teachers. Cyber security experts are also highly regarded at the moment.

Accept if you in the skilled route you’ll need to have experience in your own county first, it’s about what you can offer them not the other way around.

Don’t discount joining a large organisation with offices overseas but that can sometimes be a dead end as everyone tends to fight over the same roles for the same countries; still possible but not guaranteed.

One way that you have total control over, if nothing else works out, is saving up and applying to study overseas. It will give you qualifications plus let you make contacts and see what it’s really like living elsewhere.

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iliketheshiney@reddit

I’ve lived in 5 countries in the last 11 years. (Qualifier: gotten employment, rented accommodation, opened bank accounts, registered for tax/healthcare,etc).

It’s not a huge amount of countries but it is enough to know the following about moving countries on a reasonably frequent basis:

It’s expensive. Not just the physical travel costs but all the ancillary costs add up, (furnishing houses, changing cars, application fees.
It’s exhausting. It takes a lot of effort to set-up/re-establish life in a new country. Lots of paperwork, waiting, queuing, appointments etc.
It wipes out your credit rating. You generally need to start from scratch in each new country. Generally you will have to wait for loans, credit cards, finance etc. Mortgage plans have been on hold for me for the last decade. Also, managing pensions etc. is hard work.
It’s hard on friendships & relationships. The distance can be tough and the stress of relocation can take a toll on relationships.
You can end up losing a sense of “home”. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. Currently home is wherever my partner and dog are.
It impacts your ability to have stable routines. Regular changes in environment make it challenging to maintain habits and routines, whether it's a fitness routine, a social activity, or even a favorite grocery store.
It can be isolating at times. Even if you make new friends, there's often a sense of being an outsider, at least initially. This feeling can be compounded if there's a language barrier. (*currently living in a country where the culture is quite closed).
It tests your patience. From dealing with bureaucracy to learning a new public transport system, patience becomes a much-needed virtue when moving countries.

All that said, it’s a choice I’ve actively made and I’m pretty happy with it!

Just a reality check, don’t believe the Insta-bliss stories 😀

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SonOfTritium@reddit

I did this about ten years ago, without any "tricks," but had to work pretty much the whole time, and spend heaps of time lining up the next move. I was working as a cellar hand in the wine industry. I typically was making use of either work and holiday visas, or work sponsorship. It was challenging, but extremely rewarding, and allowed me to find a path to live in a new country of my choice eventually. This is still possible, good luck!

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Just-Keep_Dreaming@reddit

I'm form Europe so I just packed and left ...

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Robbieopreddit@reddit

Do your batchelors (or masters) in Media studies. There they will tell you how this social media thing actually works and that knowledge might land you a job at an international firm that sends you everywhere to work your ass off.

And hey, i can tell you meeting rooms abroad are as full of shit as they are at home... I did the tours.

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RockfishGapYear@reddit

Basically:

Have money or a completely remote job and be from a first-world country, allowing you to easily travel short term. Three months is generally the most you can stay in Europe and North America. Sometimes longer in specific places in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Personally, this does not appeal to me at all - you never make any friends and are perpetually consuming other peoples' cultures rather than joining any real community.
Be a high achiever with an in-demand technical skill that is not language-based and is sought after worldwide. This generally means software engineering, machine learning, data science, etc. The key is that it can't be something like law or communications or even medicine, where your competence is all about language and the system of one particular country.
Have a passport from another country thanks to your parents/grandparents (and preferably a language picked up from them also). Especially if its an EU passport that allows you to easily be employed in any EU country.

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katzsen_@reddit

They’re either wealthy, from a first world country or both.

Usually tech workers, students on a student visa or they’re on a work holiday visa.

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boringusername@reddit

See, I do this, and I'm like: I don't want this!!!!!.

As they say in Italia: Those who have bread, have no teeth.

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diverareyouok@reddit

Realistically? Make yourself as appealing as possible to employers who allow for totally remote work. Learn to code, for example. No college degree required, but plenty of remote work available. Then save up enough for a rainy year or two and move. Before moving, do your due diligence to determine what the requirements are for foreign workers in your target country (unless you plan to try to fly under the radar and illegally work). Rinse and repeat with whatever country you want.

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lilgatitou@reddit

I mogve a LOT (between contries, cities, etc) and just happens... Sometimes I travel to a place for holidays, or work, and BOOM, I feel a connection with the place and I just start prerparing to leave. It usually takes me around 8/10 weeks or hard investigation about laws that could impact me, finances, culture, etc. And then I just move! If you keep in your mind that coming brack from a place you end up hating is perfectly fine and whatever time you spend outside your comfort zone is learning stuff, it might ease any nerves you might feel?

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Mcsdj@reddit

If you have an EU passport, Europe is your oyster. It can make these scenarios more plausible. Outside of that, its highly complicated to do with visa restrictions. Maybe living abroad on a tourist visa may buy you X amount of time in a place, but its limited, and youre not really "living there".

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Captlard@reddit

AirBnB for three months at a time 🤷🏻‍♂️ no big deal.

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shaunibauni@reddit

Just stay as long as a tourist can. If it’s 90 days, leave after 90 to a new country.

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fraxbo@reddit

For me it wasn’t part of a specific plan. It just sort of happened. But in my case, my degrees were very much part of my ability to do so. I’m a professor and on my way toward that status I had to do a lot of studying and research stays along the way. I don’t think I would have gotten the visas in any of the places without holding or working toward the degrees I have though. Norway is probably my permanent home going forward, but I can imagine that during my sabbaticals, I’ll live in various other places for six months to a year.

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quintessentialquince@reddit

What field are you in? I’m getting my PhD in neuroscience. While I’d love to travel long term, digital nomad, or expat I get a little discouraged sometimes of the fact that I’m essentially locked into one physical place for 5-6 years for this degree during my 20s, which is generally seen as prime time for those activities.

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fraxbo@reddit

I’m in humanities. I’m an ancient historian.

But, two things:

Is mobility not a value in your academic context? I know in Europe, at least, in order to be able to get any of the large state sponsored grants (ESF, ERC, Academy of whatever country) you need to have extensive experience outside of your university and country. This is also true in order to be able to attain a position as full professor in most contexts of which I’m aware. Admittedly, I don’t know how that would work in hard sciences where you have lots of lab work, but it would surprise me if it’s not a value at all. I did a ton of traveling during my twenties while getting my PhD.
The twenties are not the only time you can travel. I’ve traveled throughout my life. Even though I traveled a ridiculous amount while I was a teen, I’m pretty sure the decade that I traveled the most was during my thirties. I had years on end when I traveled at least one week a month to go do research, conferences, vacations, etc. That was with two kids and a wife. And that will likely increase this decade as I get further into my forties. Part of that possibility was because we employed a domestic worker to help with childcare and cleaning around the house. This made my absence from daily activities less of a problem. But part of that is just an adjustment of values. What’s important to you? If it’s getting to see the world, and showing the world to potential loved ones, then it’s easy enough to do.

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mbrevitas@reddit

No, you can’t just hop from country to country, unless perhaps you’re from the EU and stay within the EU and have either a remote job or enough skills (language skills, or sought-after skills) to easily get a job where you move.

But, depending on where you’re from and where you want to go, there are cautious ways: working holiday visas (either looking for jobs locally, or going as part of a program, like some “teach skiing in Japan” stuff I saw a while ago), study visas (enrolling into a local school, or going as part of a study abroad program) which often allow you to work part time (and these days there’s plenty of demand for unskilled labour if you speak the local language, and sometimes even if you don’t), the classic applying for a job first and then getting a work visa (harder if you don’t have a degree, but definitely not impossible), digital nomad visas and freelancing online… Once you’re in for a reason it’s generally easier to stay, like if you go as a student it’s probably easier to stay while working, whether employed by someone else or self-employed.

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guiscard@reddit

I work as a landscape painter and have galleries I can ship art to in the US. It means I need to have new subject matter from time to time.

I've moved to six countries in the last ten years, but to be honest it's not all that great bouncing around. I like settling somewhere and having routines and long-term friends, and understanding the language.

Also, the bureaucracy is more efficient these days. On the good side it means things are smooth if you move legally, on the bad side it means no more bouncing around under the radar the way young people used to do.

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Honest_Fig2512@reddit

Nobody "just moves" to another country. It takes money, paperwork, and patience, even in the best of circumstances.

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HighwaySetara@reddit

EU citizens do.

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Vivid-Teacher4189@reddit

It’s still not that easy, technically yes you can go to another country in the EU and stay there without a visa but you still need money, housing, a job and to deal with bureaucracy and a different language all of those things can be challenging outside of your own country. Doable if you’re motivated sure, but certainly not that easy for most people.

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laurets25@reddit

Unless you're rich and can afford to get residency in every country you want through investment visas, then you're best hope is short term stays. You'd need to get a remote job though and depend on the company culture letting you travel and work. Some companies don't allow that even being remote. I'd say this does require some qualification unfortunately. I'm lucky and my company has a perk where I can work outside the country for 3 months per year. Right now I'm staying for 2 months in Portugal in an airbnb. There is also the option of trying your luck and getting local minimum wage jobs as you move if you happen to have a visa that allows you to work in other countries like an EU citizen.

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asherley1@reddit

There are plenty of places that have digital nomad visas - you usually need to be earning money and have enough to support yourself but this is how many people do it.

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RepresentativeAd5421@reddit

General income thresholds for these visas is actually pretty high. Greece, for example, has a minimum monthly income requirement of €3,500 if you're single and €4,200 if you're not. That's much higher than the average Greek salary.

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961402@reddit

They are wealthy and privileged and either have no idea just how much so they are or they choose to ignore it.

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RepresentativeAd5421@reddit

They don't. It takes a lot of preparation, planning and patience. When I was younger, I lived in several different countries with durations varying from six months to about two years. In none of those cases did I simply up and go. I planed the moves well in advance to make sure I had accommodations, visa and everything else ahead of time to ensure a hassle free entry and stay in that country. I was lucky that my employer was able to facilitate much of the prep work. From what I'm reading in your post, you don't seem to have that luxury. It makes a world of difference.

Also, in none of the places I lived in was I able to secure a visa without proving I had a viable source of income. Nobody's going to let in some bum to mooch off the system, even in developing countries. If anything, they sometimes have the biggest barriers due to byzantine layers of bureaucracy.

And to tell you the truth, it gets old pretty quickly. Tough to plant enough roots to make friends, form relationships, establish a community and you miss your family and friends. Many of the perceived benefits get quickly drowned out by even bigger sacrifices and annoyances. So, the initial honeymoon period wears out a lot more quickly than you'd expect.

Oh, and not having a bachelors might be a deal breaker. Not sure how you plan to support yourself in your travels. If you want to do something like teach English, you need at least a bachelors in most countries and most - probably all - countries require you to get a valid working visa for this type of work.

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SpitfireLynx@reddit

It's definitely possible to move abroad without a bachelor's degree, but it may limit your job opportunities and visa options depending on the country you want to stay in long-term. Have you looked into working holiday visas or getting certified to teach English abroad? Those are common routes for people without a degree who want to live abroad. Good luck on your journey!

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Equivalent_Ad_8413@reddit

I thought most English language schools wanted their teachers to have a bachelor's degree and a TEFL certification.

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HighwaySetara@reddit

Where are you from? That makes a huge difference.

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MidwestAmMan@reddit

Retirees can often do it with social security income and retirement visas. The best way for a young person is to work for an International company like Danfoss here near me which send Americans all over Europe. They can arrange most everything. My FIL did it as a Uni prof teaching in England.

Some people work 6 mo in the states saving money and then go somewhere on a 6 mo travel visa, rinse & repeat. Others have digital nomad gigs, do online businesses or YouTube channels. Some are au pairs.

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scalolice@reddit

I did it :) moved to the UK just as Brexit was happening. I do have university qualifications but for the first 6 years I did not use them at all amd could jabe happily continued without any. I did not have tons of savings either, didn't really know anyone there. Sure it was scary, but it was all worth it and turned out pretty awesome.

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stickypix@reddit

You need education as a bare minimun or other countries will not like that.

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Cherry_Treefrog@reddit

The first step is always the hardest. Just go for it. I did it twice.

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dutchyardeen@reddit

I think in general people don't really do their research before they start posting how easy it is to move. Both in terms of visas but also the emotional toll of moving to a different country. I tend to avoid the "just move" people like the plague. They're never genuine or good sources of information. Moving countries is beyond hard in a lot of ways.

There's a Youtuber who moved to one country who spent more than a year posting "here's why we moved, how we did it, how easy it was and why you should too" videos about that country. Within a year, they moved on to another country and started the whole thing all over again because the whole time, they actually hated the first country. They actually posted "here's why we love _________" and the following week was "here's why __________ isn't working out."

She's apparently not happy in their new country either. They also didn't realize a ton of really basic stuff about their new country. For instance, that it's hot there all the time. The funniest thing about them is they keep trying to recreate their lives in Southern California except without Southern California prices. They freely admit that. They're dumb. And never, ever trust people who say things are easy.

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Jim_from_snowy_river@reddit

Money

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Professional_Elk_489@reddit

Have 3 passports (make sure one is an EU passport), get jobs that pay relocation, have 15K in the bank for additional relocation costs as it’s expensive even with support, have a job that is in business and less restrictive on unique national board qualifications

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goombatch@reddit

I got lucky with dual citizenship from an EU member country. Only because my father was born there and stripped of his citizenship by the Nazi regime in the 1930s. After many years of wanting expatriate and live abroad, I finally made it. Good luck to you

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Trekker_Cynthia@reddit

If you have some money check out the house sitting options. Rent will be covered but you still need funds for the rest. This will also entail pet sitting most of the time. Lots of resources for this on Google. And of course you have to become known as a reliable house sitter to get the good gigs.

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PracticalConflict737@reddit

Start your own business and register your company. Work from anywhere you like. Head to the next country each time your tourist visa expires.

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timefornewgods@reddit

Plan for long-term goals, get a visa according to said goals, find housing, buy ticket, sell your stuff, fly over and get established.

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Barnfred_Knarst@reddit

There’s lots of seasonal jobs out there that are an awesome way to experience life abroad. Think of camp sites, mountain resorts, beach towns and what not. Also workaway is a good way to live abroad for a longer period of time. Enjoy!

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TarnMaster1985@reddit

No clue how a young person would do this, BUT if you're retired with savings, bouncing from country to country every 3-6 months would be easy for the most part. I asked my wife to do this for a few years and was shot down.

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daluzy@reddit

I'm getting old so things might have changed but, SCUBA diving instructors were able to travel and see a bunch within Central/South America and the Caribbean.

What made this possible is the locals typically would not do this type of work. Reasons varied from afraid of the water (specifically head under water/swimming, they'd go on boats, but not into deep water) to not able to do the schooling for the instructor certification.

Most of these guys would dive for a season, save up enough cash and go to the next island. Most of the time, work permits were not heavily enforced, again because the locals would not do the work.

One would not have any luck doing other tourist industry stuff as the locals could and would do those jobs. I've been out of the industry for about 5 years or so, it might have changed as many of the island's younger people are discovering diving, but if one wanted to stay a few months and move on, SCUBA used to be the way to do it. Good luck, be well!

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Jenn54@reddit

So Im in the EU so it is easy to go from one EU country to another (also Im in Ireland so can go to the UK without visas etc also). It is pretty typical for Irish to emigrate because of the corrupt government, forcing people to leave. We have a large problem with ‘Brain Drain’ but it is what it is.

Last recession (2008/10) most young people went to Australia if they had no third level education (can make good money in the mines on the west coast, and there is always fruit picking season if you just want to be there for one year), if they had some third level education but not specialised they went to Berlin and if specialised educated (like medicine or engineering) they went to Canada.

If you have no quality of life at home because of housing crises and cost of living, it is easy to leave because there is no quality of life.

Don’t worry about formal education like third level, the reality is unless you were educated in the country you move to, you won’t get into specific fields (unless with previous experience or a specialised degree like medicine etc), so working low skill like call centres is typical when emigrating.

Best of luck with your travels 🍀

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Negative_Froyo_1014@reddit

If you're cool with working seasonal tourism jobs and shit like that then the degree isn't a big deal.

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Cautious-Bit1466@reddit

for me it was due to an extensive contract I had in the eu where after 5 years there I applied for and was granted a second citizenship. so two passports - US citizen by birth and EU citizen by spending a bunch of time there. over the past 24 months I’ve spent 2-3 months hopping between 6 or 7 different countries, some on visa like the 5 year visa I applied for in India, some on normal visa with extended visa like Indonesia both most just due to my EU citizenship.

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Longjumping-Basil-74@reddit

Global mobility programs at most major corporations. Yes, no bachelors degree is an issue.

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FesteringCapacitor@reddit

I think the big question is: how are you going to make money and what kind of a visa are you planning on getting? I have seen articles that encourage people to move to places where it is really hard/impossible to get the kind of visas that they would need to live there. If your position, I would research what kinds of visas those countries that you are interested in have and then figure out how you are can make it work. You might need more education/skills. Don't do anything without a plan, savings, and a backup plan. If you do something that is illegal - like work on a tourist visa or overstay your visa - and get caught, it could jeopardize your chances of being able to settle down someplace later.

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cgyguy81@reddit

You need to tell us what your citizenship is and how old you are. As already mentioned, working holiday visas exist for young people to do this. If you're from Canada, the Canadian government has set up International Experience Canada to make it easier for Canadians between 18-35 to work and live overseas. I have lived in Australia for 3 months, UK (London) for 5 years, and now I'm here in the US for almost 4 years now.

For others who have remote jobs, they usually just go to somewhere cheap like Bali. A cousin of mine spent a couple of years in Japan teaching English. It's not really impossible, but you need to want it. I grew up as an expat kid, so moving around was something that I was already used to.

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Kooky_Clock_135@reddit

Many visas and travel programs are available to young people from wealthy countries. A lot of people from wealthy countries save up and backpack in cheaper countries where their money goes far. If they need to outstay the tourist visa they can border hop ever few months when their tourist visa runs out They may also participate in work exchange e.g. WWOOF, HelpX in exchange for accomodation. There are au pair and teaching programs in many countries as well. You can get a working holiday visa or student visa to alot of places fairly easily and work at certain jobs. There are more and more digital nomad visas as well. Some jobs lend well to travelling (cruise ships, flight attendants). Some people have a skill thats in demand in another country so they get hired which comes with a work visa. Citizens of some countries can live/work freely in other countries. There are literally tons of ways to work and live elsewhere. Not all of these options lead to settling somewhere permanently. You will open infinitely more doors for yourself if you have an education and a valuable skill as well. It all depends heavily on which citizenship you have as well.

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nadmaximus@reddit

The hopping and 'living' in various places may be due to visa requirements. That's being alive, yes, but it's not residing. It's just traveling. You can do it with money.

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bruhbelacc@reddit

I spent 1 year learning the language, saving money, and planning my study and employment before moving Netherlands. I have an EU passport, so, theoretically, I could have moved 1 week after I made the decision to move. But that's not a little vacation, that's your lfie. Any American can "just move" to LA or New York too lol

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DevonFromAcme@reddit

Go to r/digitalnomads.

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Ancient-Ad-4216@reddit

i always thought it was easy because my dad made my whole family move every 2-3 years (he worked for a multinational). in adulthood i have only moved because of my family (i followed them) or because of my studies (i saved enough money to study in Europe). But now that i've got all my studying done it doesn't look like i'll be able to move anywhere anytime soon. I would love to go live in NZ or Aus (i’ve lived in Aus for 2 years before) but it doesn't look like i can do it

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Unlikely_Panic_8920@reddit

I did that. I just to my backpack and went. But I only moved in the EU. I am on my 10th country lolol. Things got a bit out of control tbh

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RexManning1@reddit

It’s possible to move to certain places if you pay for a visa/residency/citizenship and have no need to work for income. If you require working income, you need to have an employer typically to get a work permit. Some countries allow you to setup a company and go into self employed business. It’s not easy or cheap to do this.

Most of what you see on the internet is highly curated. Virtually all of those travel influencers are on tourist visa or VOR or VE. And they are illegally working.

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zombie_chrisbrains@reddit

Working holiday or artist visas spring to mind.

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zombie_chrisbrains@reddit

Working holiday or artist visas I should think.