You Don't Have to be Rich to Take a Sabbatical: 6 Ways to Work and Live Abroad

You don’t have to be a millionaire to live an adventurous life abroad. (Photo: Danilo Antonini/Moment Open/Getty Images)

“Sounds great, if you can afford it,” is a sentiment I hear often when people learn that my husband and I are on a multiyear journey in Latin America with no fixed home base or end date.

In fact, the question we’re asked most from aspiring long-term travelers isn’t why or where: It is how to earn an income abroad.

A generation ago, the stereotypical expat was likely retired, in the foreign service, a rebellious bohemian, or a highly compensated corporate executive.

Related: Living Abroad: A Nomad’s Guide to Home-Loose Living

But a new breed of expatriates — Internet-spawned millennials, roving baby boomers, savvy creatives, and enterprising telecommuters — are redefining work, life, and themselves in ways that were once unimaginable.

Even adventurous parents are finding ways to generate income overseas and immerse their children in foreign languages and cultures while they’re at it.

Stop dreaming about living abroad. Here are ways you can make it a financial reality. (Photo: Daniel Ingold/Cultura/Getty Images)

Are you itching to launch a life abroad? It may be easier than you think. Here are six ways travelers are financing wanderlust.

Teach

For some, teaching English as a second language (ESL) is a ticket to global employment. Others teach online. But here’s the truth: If you have a patient disposition and a skill, you can teach. We’ve encountered expats who are funding their adventures by teaching yoga, cooking, e-book publishing, how to write, paint, make jewelry, and much more. Discover 10 steps for teaching English abroad at Oxford Seminars, an ESL accreditation program.

Take your yoga knowledge to an international audience. (Photo: Lianne Milton/Photodisc/Getty Images)

Translate

In Mexico, I met a woman from Inner Mongolia who worked as a translator for Cirque du Soleil in Quebec, Canada. How’s that for global? Do you have a knack for languages? Become a translator. We’ve met people who translated immigration documents, medical appointments, and books for self-publishers. Helping people communicate and comprehend beyond their native language is a skill that is always needed.

Translating is a good way to earn money overseas. (Photo: Ruslan Dashinsky/E+/Getty Images)

Work in the Travel Industry

The manager of the boutique hotel where we lived in Granada, Nicaragua, was Canadian. A British marine biologist I met in Patagonia funded her research by educating guests at an eco-lodge. My yoga classes in Cuzco, Peru, gateway to the Sacred Valley of the Incas and Machu Picchu, were filled with adventure-travel tour leaders from all over the planet living there for the season. I created a profession telling stories, in words and photographs, for travel and tourism. Is there a travel-industry career that suits your talents?

Working in the travel industry is a great way to make a living by helping out fellow adventurers. (Photo: Andersen Ross/Cultura/Getty Images)

Related: I Scrapped My Job and Headed to Bali

Sell Your Art

You can also draw your way around the world. (Photo: Grant V. Faint/Photodisc/Getty Images)

When my husband needed artwork for the cover of his next novel, he turned to a talented freelance illustrator I met online who has been drawing her way through Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and now South America. On an Amazon River cruise, we met a painter commissioned by the cruise line to create art for its ships. Savvy brands are using original art to set themselves apart, and clever creatives are cashing in on the trend to finance their travels.

Related: #RealTravel: I Moved To Singapore and Transformed My Life

Telecommute

Now the entire world is within commuting distance. (Photo: quavondo/E+/Getty Images)

In today’s wired world, it’s as easy to click “send” and make telephone calls in Panama City, Panama, as it is in Panama City, Fla. We met New York City escapees living the good life in Mexico, for example, and telecommuting to their jobs in the U.S., keeping the same business hours as their employers and saving a sizable nest egg to boot. Be bold. Ask your boss for a trial run.

WATCH: Is telecommuting the future?

Become an Entrepreneur

Take your passion project overseas. (Photo: Hero Images/Getty Images)

Do you dream of opening a café? An art gallery? A bed and breakfast? Do you have an idea simmering that’s ready to be tested? All over the world, people are abandoning soul-sucking corporate jobs in favor of passion-fueled small businesses. And many are finding that their options are greater in places with growing economies and opportunities. Take Start-Up Chile, for example, a government-funded program that provides global entrepreneurs with $40,000 of equity-free funding to bring their startups to Chile. Of course, owning a business (whether across town or across an ocean) requires a degree of stationary commitment that not every traveler wants. Perhaps you’re more comfortable becoming an Airbnb host like several solo expats we’ve met who list their leased living spaces on the site as a way to meet interesting travelers, pay the rent, and earn extra income.

Related: 8 Tips on How to Quit Your Job and Travel the World

The Bottom Line

Being creative with your existing skills can be your ticket to a sweet life abroad. (Photo: Llya Terentyev/E+/Getty Images)

Just do it. My husband and I aren’t independently wealthy, nor are we extraordinarily talented. But like many expats, we’ve found ways to fund a life abroad simply by learning to see possibilities where others see barriers.

Consumer travel journalist Ellen Barone is the founder and publisher of Travel Updates by Ellen Barone and YourLifeIsATrip.com. She’s currently at work on her first book, “I Could Live Here.” You can follow her @ellenbarone.

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