It is important to travel will well polished resumes saved.  Be ready to alter and edit your resume based upon the position desired.

I typically keep four basic resumes outlining my various skills.  While traveling anywhere in the world I could stumble across a job opportunity to teach English, work with kids, an office role, or a position at a coffee shop.

Basic resumes I travel with:

1. ESL teacher
2. Will play with kids
3. Desk jockey
4. Barista or hospitality expert

Keeping these four resumes ready to submit to a future employer works for me.  These are my skills and what I do best.  Take your best skills, education and attributes.  Format them into resumes you can travel with.

Victor who I met in Spain keeps 6 resumes ready for jobs he finds along his travels.  Some of his resumes include, ‘handyman’, ‘tech-head’, and he even told me about his new one ‘landscaping’. He wrote this resume after recognizing some women just wanted him for yard work.  Why not pull weeds for the nice old lady you met in Madrid?  She paid him and gave him lunch everyday!

Wondering if you really need a resume to work in someone’s yard?  Victor described the credibility the resume gives him.  People instantly trust him to be professional and to work hard.  Plus, extra travel cash can result from what someone discovers you can do.

For example, after Victor helped a girl at the hostel desk connect a new printer for FREE, Victor gave his technology resume to the hostel manager.  They read about his talent in web design and ended up offering one month FREE lodging and $800 to redesign their hostel website.

I just got an email from Parris in Wellington, New Zealand.  He shared, “I’m registered with a job agency and working for the government at the moment.  So life is pretty sweet for this backpacker.”  Parris has been in Wellington for a few months now enjoying working while traveling.

How have Justin & Natalie (the nomad backpackers) worked while traveling:

• We used our writing abilities to receive FREE lodging while traveling and writing for an online travel magazine.
• We received FREE lodging and meals at an Irish Pub on the Great Barrier Island, New Zealand, in exchange for some landscaping and washing a few dishes at the pub on busy nights.
• We worked at a 5-star lodge in the Fiordland’s (South Island, NZ) for 6 weeks.  This paid for 4 months of travel in New Zealand.
• I have taught English to students in China and Mexico.
• I have been paid to babysit kids.  I met Sigorney from Australia living in Paris, France as a nanny for a family with 3 kids.
• Justin has built websites and received various forms of gifts/money through offering tech help.
• I have worked multiple coffee bars in multiple countries pulling endless shots of espresso.

Don’t be the traditional backpacker that runs out of cash and takes a flight home.  Instead, make yourself marketable and travel with a well written resume to land any job around the world.

Find a job while traveling!  Use nomad approved resources.

Ready to take your resume around the world?  How to write a resume. Start polishing your resume today!  It can take you around the world if you are willing to work a variety of jobs along the way.  Be creative and start brainstorming your skills.

Use a weekend as an escape from the ordinary and plan a mini-break this fall.  A weekend getaway is the perfect remedy to fight routine and be refreshed through adventure.  Just set one weekend aside in your busy life.  It will be inexpensive, spontaneous and fun!

The ideal fall adventure creates a balance of fun, while you are also able to experience rest for your mind and body.

How to plan your weekend:

1. City or Scenic: If you are craving the urban adventure a big city offers, be sure to select a crowd-free city.  Going to Munich for Oktoberfest is not going to offer the serenity a cabin in the Rocky Mountains will offer.  You know yourself best!  Would your ideal weekend include a night on the town with sushi & sake or a peaceful evening with one of your favorite books near a cozy fireplace.
2. Drive or Fly: Ensure that your destination is within reasonable driving distance or an inexpensive, quick flight. Avoid fly to a city where you will have to rent a car and spend a large amount of time being busy driving somewhere. You already spend too much of your typical week being busy, trying to get somewhere. I would suggest making the weekend as simple as possible. Think less. Allow the spontaneous adventure to unravel, instead of planning out your itinerary to the minute.
3. Avoid Fall Stereotypes: Avoid the corn maze craze and imagine a bountiful autumn harvest, like pumpkins and vineyards.  It’s important to find that atmosphere that offers the crisp color of fall, and a hint of fun.  Avoid the guy with a chain-saw at the local haunted house, unless this is your favorite aspect of fall.  In that case embrace the stereotypes, go pumpkin picking, have a haunted house/horror movie marathon and then carve those pumpkins while drinking apple cider and eating candy.  If you do intend to avoid the stereotypes, than think wine tasting or hiking through the gorgeous fall color.
4. Plan and Save: Plan ahead and save money on your adventure.  If you are driving Friday evening after work, pack up some leftovers from the fridge.  Bring healthy snacks and fresh fruit.  Then instead of searching for your next meal, you can relax and savor a sunrise or take a leisurely stroll.
5. Specials and Deals: Hunt for the fall specials and the autumn getaway deals.  [NOTE:  These are not always the cheapest option.]  You might not be interested in going to Vegas this fall.  Make sure that your destination is really where you want to be, and you aren’t just going because you got a cheap flight and hotel deal.
6. The Whole Weekend!?! If getting away for an entire weekend is going to be almost impossible due to tight schedules, children, pets, and a list of other hindering factors, try to get away for a short duration.  Just one night away, or even a full Saturday to escape the obligations of life can be just as needed and refreshing.  Make sure you plan some type of adventure just for you this fall.  Going to the grocery store, or watching the game on the couch doesn’t cut it.  Make it unique and special.  You deserve it!

Even now, I am sure that you have thought of a handful of great locations and adventures you could have over a weekend.  Put it on the calendar and make it happen.  Say no the specialty coffee drinks, the pizza and whatever unneeded expenses you indulge in.  Save the money you will need to make your Weekend Adventure a reality.

Fall into a weekend adventure!  Experience more in life, through doing less.

1. The longer one travels, the more one adapts to the culture of travel. In this culture, staying in one place for longer than several weeks is odd, washing ones clothes in a sink is common place, and being unemployed is chic and enviable.
2. Although a traveler “fits” amongst fellow travelers and backpackers, a traveler grows accustom to feeling like a foreigner or stranger in each new country or city. This feeling eventually becomes a normal part of a travelers schema and her/she quickly grows a new identity such as “globe trotting backpacker” or “nomadic beer tester”. While developing a new identity, a traveler always carries with them, perhaps unconsciously, the idea that there is a place in the world where they are not a “foreigner”. A place where they understand the cultural rules and norms. A place where they are not an oddity and where locals do not take their picture as they walk down the street. Problematically, when a traveler returns “home” they often discover that the culture and friends they left behind continued to function in a predictable manner: friends and family members continued going to work, having children, getting married, starting new jobs, graduating from college, etc. The traveler often feels out of sorts as they begin to understand how much traveling has changed the way they think, act, and relate to the world around them.
3. In many cultures, the realities that allow a traveler to spend an extended time period bouncing around the globe, are not admirable or envious when they return home. Thus, being unemployed and not having a home make a traveler feel free and adventurous on the road while at home these very concepts make a traveler appear or feel like a loser or a bum.
4. At least in many Western Countries, traveling abroad is often cheaper than living at home. Thus the traveler who wandered around Asia for $25-$45 a day (living like a king) is forcefully reminded that being a millionaire in Singapore does not exactly help when trying to rent an apartment, pay a cell phone bill, or shop for groceries.

How to Adjust to Culture Shock at Home

To begin with, simply try to relax. Remember that although you may not feel “at home” you do actually understand the spoken and unspoken rules of your home culture. This of course, does not mean that you need to stop doing your laundry in the sink, but at least you will understand when your friends look at you funny.

1. Prepare for Culture Shock: Recognize that re-entry will be difficult and that you cannot simply pick up your life where you left off. If possible, start the job hunt before you return home or consider aligning your return home with the start of a seasonal job. For example, line up a gig working the snow season in Colorado, or the the Cruise Ship season in Alaska. This will give you some time to adjust to “home” culture without the pressures of thinking that you need to go borrow money from the local land shark to buy your next meal.
2. Starting Over Money: Don’t spend every last dollar traveling. Set aside a “starting over” fund (at least $1,000 but probably more) and don’t touch it until you get home. This will make it easier to get established and will relieve some of the pressure while you start a new life.  Having the security deposit and first month of rent for your new apartment is helpful for return.
3. Expect People Not to Care: This is not mean, it is just reality. Your friends and family will be glad to see you and happy that you are not roaming the streets of Istanbul penniless and alone. However, while you were off playing amateur anthropologist, “finding yourself”, or trying to out drink your new Aussie friends under the table, they were going to work, going to school and living their chosen lives. As a result, they will be more or less the same and you will be different. What is more, although they care about you and will be polite, they really do not care how much fun you had hitch hiking your way around Malaysia or mashing potatoes with a spoon in some ill equipped hostel kitchen. They won’t understand and you need to okay with that and stop telling travel stories.
4. Plan Your New Life: Why did you go traveling in the first place? Did you hate your job and needed to see what else the world offered? Did you love your job and took a well deserved sabbatical? Perhaps you just graduated from college and took a gap year before starting your career. Whatever made you want to go see the world in the first place focus on those memories and make the necessary changes as you begin to create a “new old” life for yourself. Perhaps this means aggressively pursuing a career change or going back to school to retool your skills. Whatever this means for you, formulate a plan before you return home so you don’t wake up six months after re-entry angry with fact that you picked up the same crappy life that you had before you left.

Re-entry Culture Shock is a part of traveling the world. If you find yourself feeling lonely and missing the world, go stay at a local hostel for a few nights and get to know the traveling occupants. If that does not help, you can always put off the re-entry problems, apply for a work visa, grab your backpack and hit the road again.

Tom was originally diagnosed with anal cancer.  Cancer has now been found in other places throughout his body including the liver and lungs.

There are so many uncertainties in life, and health is a huge element that we cannot control.  We are not sure what the future will bring.  Although we are currently not traveling, we will pick out trip up again some time in the future. I trust that South East Asia will still be there. For the time being, I am certain our current place in life is right here, in Detroit, Michigan with family.

This is a very difficult time for Justin especially.  I am not sure what you personally believe, however we are choosing to pray to God.  You may join us in prayer for Tom as we believe he has a fighting chance.

We look forward to writing about our recent experimental transportation (the cruise ship) as well as sharing our thoughts on Singapore.  If you are currently traveling and would like to share your ideas, advice, insight or adventures, please let us know what you’ve been up too.  Justin and I will continue to post travel articles and information as we reflect on the last 6 months and plan for the future.

If there is an aspect of our backpacking journey that you would like to hear more about, please let us know.  We love to entertain questions.  Be creative.  We have had all sorts of questions, and have not been offended yet.  Hit me with your best shot.

And as for Tom, we know he is being hit hard, but fighting back hard too.  Please email us if you would like to be updated with Tom’s status, in efforts to pray for his fight against cancer.

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Living and working half a world away while my dad was fighting cancer was difficult. Although both my parents agreed that the situation was not serious enough for Natalie and I to return to the States, I often felt guilty about continuing my travels while my dad was fighting for his life. I imagine most people feel helpless when a friend or family member becomes seriously ill and I was no different. Even knowing there was nothing I could do, I wanted to physically be present for both of my parents. Skype calls were helpful but they were no substitute for physical proximity. After discussing the situation with both my parents and Natalie and I decided to continue traveling – even though I felt like a selfish jerk. As it turns out, I think I made the right decision but the situation brings up an interesting topic.

Many people are uneasy about extended travel because of the “what if” factor. Even after a backpacker becomes mentally comfortable with quitting their job, selling their car, and putting their stuff into storage, the long term impact of their absence from their home community continues to generate an almost endless stream of “what ifs”. What if my best friend gets married? What if someone dies while I am out of the country? What if my dad gets cancer? The what if questions are not excuses, but rather represent the mental preparation or conditioning a long term budget traveler must endure in order to begin and continue traveling.

Natalie and I went through a series of what if questions that left us feeling exhausted and paralyzed in the face of possible future tragedies and catastrophes. What if my nieces get kidnapped? What if the United States is attacked? What if our bank collapses and we are stranded in East Timor with no money? Eventually we decided to make our decisions based on what actually occurred while we were traveling. This was the right decision but it did not prepare me for my dad’s cancer diagnoses. I am not sure any mental preparation would have prepared me for that.

It is difficult to tell if continuing to travel was the right decision. During the months of chemo and radiation, and especially during the 3 weeks my dad was in the hospital, I was irritable, distracted and on edge. It was difficult for me to focus on where I was at because my thoughts were always wandering back to Detroit. Perhaps it was selfish. Then again, there was nothing I could have accomplished in Detroit (except for emotional support and physical assistance) and both my parents and I learned to deal with difficult situations in a long distance situation. In my mind anyway, the verdict is still out. Either I am a savvy traveler capable of understanding the difficult situations at home and making the right decisions, or I am just another selfish 20 something chasing my own passions and forgoing anything else. I believe strong arguments could be made for both view points.

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A few months ago, before I became dive certified, I read about the top 10 places to scuba dive.  Of course, New Zealand’s Poor Knights Islands made the list.  I couldn’t decide if it would be worth it.  It would take time to drive up north, it costs a lot of money to dive (still living off the Kiwi dollar), and we could potentially waste several days waiting for safe weather.  I had not previously realized that ‘Dive-cations’ are weather dependent.  When someone travels to a destination to dive, it is important to have backup days, incase a big storm rolls through the dive spot.  This can mix and turn the water and ruin diving for around 48 hours.

Inevitably, Justin and I took the risk.  We drove into the Northland to try to dive the Poor Knights Islands.  After my first dive (we did 2 dives total), I knew why the Poor Knights Islands made the Top 10 list.  The water was crystal clear and oceanic blue.  I saw bright colored fish everywhere.  Blue!  Green!  Yellow!  I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, shortly after arriving in Munchkin land, while seeing all of the spectacular colors swim and dash before my eyes.

While we were swimming along I noticed a small opening in the reef.  Justin (my official dive buddy for life) and I looked at each other and motioned that we were going to swim into the opening.  I swam through the narrow opening first and the narrowness widened slightly.   I was able to swim completely through the reef tunnel for about 30 feet.  I looked behind me and didn’t see Justin.  Within another second, I saw bubbles and then Justin popped up through the tunnel.  While I was in the tunnel I saw a bright green fish that was about two feet long.  It looked like a cactus.  I later found out that this is a scorpion fish and they change colors.  We even saw a sting ray that was 4 feet wide!

During our second dive, we swam through an area known as ‘the labyrinth’.  This provided even more opportunities to venture inside reefs and tunnel in and out of them like my favorite Disney princess, Ariel.  I know it sounds a little silly, but the Poor Knights Islands are on the top 10 list for this magical reason.  While diving the Poor Knights Islands you feel as though you have entered a hidden treasure few experience.  Diving the Poor Knights Islands was the best thing we did in New Zealand.

Justin described it as, “swimming in a tropical aquarium.”  I spoke with experienced divers who told me the Poor Knights Islands were the best reefs and underwater life they had ever seen.  These divers had even dove the Great Barrier Reef.  They told me to forget about the Great Barrier Reef, its overrated.  How do I figure out what’s overrated verse what truly deserves its spot on the top 10 list?  Whether it’s diving or other elements of travel, sometimes I will just take the risk and hope that the experience is fantastic and trust the top 10 list.

I have a new hope in top 10 lists.  Perhaps they are not all hype and ploys to gather more tourist dollars.  I intentionally avoided buying into top 10 lists in the past.  They always seemed lame and overrated.  Why would I want to experience something as commercial as a ‘Top 10 List’?  In the future, I plan to skim over top 10 lists, but not base our entire travels on them.  It can become dangerous if too much emphasis is put on other individuals opinions and ratings.  I might swim with sharks, but basing our time as backpackers on top 10 lists is far too dangerous to imagine.

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I think it’s really important to leave room for spontaneous travel.  That being said, I am not a naturally spontaneous individual.  I love planning things and working out all the details until I feel confident that I am fully educated.  The daily rhythm of backpacking often forces me to shed my hyper planning tendencies.

Waking up on the edge of the world doesn’t happen through planning.  The following basic steps lead to waking up on the edge of the world.

1. We drove north from Wellington with no plan.  Ditch the guide book sometimes.
2. I saw a place on the map called Castlepoint.  There was a lighthouse icon in the atlas.  It intrigued me.
3. Justin and I spent about 20 minutes driving in circles searching for a tiny unmarked road.
4. Once we found it, we drove for an hour until we reached the coast of the Pacific Ocean.
5. Began exploring the surrounding bay on foot. Hiked through the cliffs around the lighthouse as the sun set.
6. Red wine on the beach.  Come prepared with glasses, a bottle and cork screw at all times.
7. Sleeping in the car.  It’s not glamorous, but sleeping bags and the ocean waves create a rather peaceful slumber.
8. Waking up on the edge of the world!  Hooray!!!
9. Climbing cliffs along the Pacific as the sun rises, equally amazing.

Travel like this does not occur everyday. A perfect formula for spontaneity does not exist.  In fact spontaneous travel, whether utilizing a guidebook or not, can lead to a miserable experience.  While a willingness to sleep in your car is good, it will not necessarily lead to a great experience such as, ‘Waking Up on the Edge of the World.’  Instead they are rare and to be treasured.

I am aware that some of our readers (all 8 of you) have taken part in numerous wild adventures.  Driving across America on a motorcycle, backpacking for months throughout the Middle East, and even meeting a stranger online to move thousands of miles in order to get married and live happily ever after.  Adventure occurs daily, it doesn’t have to be bungee jumping.

Please comment any ‘Waking Up on the Edge of the World’ stories.  It will be fun to vicariously live through each others adventures.

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It’s not about the sights, monuments, landscapes, and museums.  Travel is about people.  Meet the right people and you will have the right experiences.

After spending a day in Nelson, it was clear to us that we had discovered our favorite place in the South Island.  But how to break away from the typical experiences and places?  With a few more days to spend in Nelson, and having no real plans, I instinctively asked Sally, a woman who works at the Vic.  We met while celebrating my birthday, sampling beer and devouring delicious chocolate mouse.

She recommended Boulder Bank and Cable Bay.  The next day we drove 15 minutes outside of Nelson to the coast to find some amazing surprises.  There was a local or 2 lounging on the bolder beach getting some sun and taking their dog for a walk but, other than a handful of people, these locations were completely untouched by tourists.

As we sat on the boulder beach, allowing the waves to wash over our feet, we felt in possession of a local treasure. It was awesome! For us, Cable Bay, despite the lack of anything resembling a sandy beach, embodied peace, solitude and an excellent view of a special bay.

How did this happen? It’s not as simple as it seems.

1. First, you have to be aware of where you are.  What’s popular?  What is the main attraction of the area?  To put it plainly, why do people travel to the place you are visiting?
2. Once you know what you are trying to avoid, discover what you like in the area.  Is their a musical hall?  A market place to shop?  A brewery?  Or maybe even a mechanic?  You know who you are and what you enjoy.  Find that local.  Your local, someone who might enjoy doing a similar activity as you.
3. As soon as you have found your local, don’t scare them away.   I know you are thinking, “But Natalie, you are so shy and timid, how could you scare anyone off?”  Seriously, this is important.  You have to approach the person like you have nothing to loose.  Otherwise, your local might think you are trying to sell them something.
4. Once you established communication with your local be bold and ask the question.

With Sally this was easy.  I knew what was popular and what I wanted to avoid.  Oh, and I didn’t scare her away.  My question went something like this:

“You know, we love it here in Nelson, it’s great, and we are planning on spending a few more days here, but we don’t want to end up at the World of Wearable Art museum all day.  What would you do tomorrow if you could do anything you wanted?”

The 4 step method isn’t fool proof and I am still working out some kinks in the system.  Each step can lead to problems, especially the first step.  Although we did not end up going to the World of Wearable Art museum, what if we missed out.  This is a big problem with the “ask a local” approach because most locals have been over-saturated with their local attraction.  So much so, that they wouldn’t wish their local attraction upon their worst enemy.  But to you, the local attraction could be new and exciting.  Your local will not always agree with you, and this is okay.

You can travel to every country all around the world, but unless you interact and connect one-on-one with people you won’t really experience any of the places you visit.  Just remember, your local is not you and checking out their recommendations can sometimes be risky.  It’s a big world out their to explore. Be adventurous, but take caution while searching for your local.

Email us about how you have benefited from meeting a local. We would love to consider your story as a ‘guest’ post.

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