The Money Talk
By Christy & Mary of My Life in Scotland
Mary:
Show me the money! We'd all be traveling the world if we were
independently wealthy--wouldn't we? It seems the main problem with
moving abroad is not having the funds to do it. Many people don't even
think it's a possibility because of the cost involved. Is this you?
I'm here to tell you that it is possible to realize your dreams. It just takes some preparation, research, and hard work.
How
much does it cost to live abroad anyway? Well, that's a tricky
questions. Seeing as there are so many different countries with an ever
changing list of needs in those places it is hard to know an exact
number today. So, we're going to talk about what I did and what Christy
is doing about money. We'll talk about how to figure out what that magic
number is.
I
married a European. He already had a job in Scotland when I married
him. He already had us an apartment {even if it was the smallest flat
know to man}. I did not have a job however. I was awaiting my VISA and
did not have the right to work. How were we gonna do it?
We
had a very very small wedding. Family only {minus a few friends} and
most of our cost involved our tickets to actually get my husband over to
marry me then move to Scotland. We had a few thousand dollars in
reserve after our wedding expenses. At that time the GBP was worth twice
the dollar. I mean, it was great. Except when coming the other way. I
was bringing my American dollars and exchanging them for the Great
British Pound. So, I ended up with half the money we actually saved.
That's how it works my friends.
When
my husband lived in the USA for 6 months {attending a language school}
he did it on $5,000. I'd say that is a steal. You couldn't do that
today. But, he was very frugal and wanted that experience and to learn
the language. He knew he needed to be careful with his funds and he was.
He had a great time and he's fluent in English now! I would say that
you'd need upwards of $15,000 {at least} to move abroad. If you have a
job when you move that number can be significantly less.
I'd
say it is all about savings. How much do you want it? You also need to
think outside the box. Do you have any marketable skills that you can do
"freelance" work? I actually was a part of several focus groups when I
got to Scotland. They paid me £20 for an hour or two of market research.
It was an evening of chatting about experiences or products. It was fun
and I found out about them on www.gumtree.com
{it's like craig's list}. It got me some cash in my pocket when I
couldn't formally work yet. Just start thinking outside the box.
Here's what Christy is doing:
Christy:
Let's face it, travel ain't cheap.
I'm not a trust fund baby. My blog isn't sponsored. And I'm not a dotcom millionaire.
So just how do I intend to pay for my upcoming world wanderings, you ask?
It's simple, really.
I'm saving.
I set a very aggressive savings goal for myself when I decided to embark upon this journey. And sure, a couple of things have popped up here and there, and I'm a little behind on where I'd LIKE to be with my savings, but overall, I'm making great progress toward my goals.
But the real kicker for my travel savings will be selling my '07 Jeep Wrangler just before I leave. I guess you could look at my car as a great travel investment, because I'll be living off of the proceeds of it's sale when I venture overseas.
Now, the nitty gritty: I expect that spending six months of living in Italy and doing a bit of side-venturing here and there (including walking the Camino de Santiago) will cost upwards of $20,000. And I also expect to have a reserve of at least $5,000 set aside for emergencies and buying my plane ticket home.
Sure, I could travel for twice as long and half as much were I going to S.E. Asia or maybe Mexico. But my interests lie with Italy for this trip.
$20K is no laughing matter, I know. Trust me, I'm well aware. And trust me, I've put quite a lot of consideration into the fact that I could use that money as a down payment on a house, or to pay off a good deal of my student loans. I know. But the bottom line is that travel is very important to me. Period. Thus, this trip.
Now, the figure of $20,000 may be low. Then again, it may be high. The final cost will depend on many, many things, like the cost of the Euro (currently valued against the dollar at a historic low of 1 Euro to $1.264. The fiscal instability in the Eurozone is truly a terrible thing, but for travelers- you just can't beat the low cost of European travel right now - it's great!) or how many travel hacks I can cash in on for flights and accommodations, or how posh I want to live while overseas.
I've set my goal of $20K based on the price of the Euro, the price of researched housing that I've found online, and on reading articles on the same subject by other travelers who have already done something similar to what I'm going to do.
There isn't really a magical number for what my trip is going to cost. I'm not going on a packaged tour (ie: this 14 day tour of the Swiss Alps is $2300...) and I really don't even have a set plan for everywhere I'll end up. I just know Rome and Italy will figure prominently. Beyond that, I'm kind of winging it.
--
Are you planning on moving abroad? Have any questions for Christy or Mary? Leave us a comment!
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