Some Ways to Travel the World for Free

Some Ways to Travel the World for Free (or Even Get Paid)

Do you dream of seeing the world, but you don’t have a fat travel fund to do it? Today, there are more opportunities than ever before to travel the world on the cheap – or, for that matter, for free.

I also look for inexpensive accommodations through Airbnb and local guesthouses. But the main reasons we can afford to see the world are on this list of 15 ways to travel for free.

Some of these options offer free accommodations, others offer free transportation, and a few offer both. They all come with their own limitations and tradeoffs, but for anyone looking to travel on a tiny budget, they’re hard to beat.

1. Teach Abroad

This is how I can afford to do so much traveling. If Someone works at an American school in Abu Dhabi. It provides us both with round-trip flights home every summer, free upscale housing that includes a gym, pool, and jacuzzi, and comprehensive health insurance. Oh, and there’s no income tax in the United Arab Emirates.

Living in Abu Dhabi has allowed us to travel all over the world. We flew nonstop to Bulgaria for $185 round-trip. We spent even less on nonstop round-trip flights to Cyprus. Every time we fly back to the United States, we do a stopover in Europe for a few days to enjoy gastronomy in Lyon, the Christmas markets in Munich, or the nightlife in Amsterdam.

There are thousands of international schools all over the world looking for qualified English-speaking employees, from IT specialists to administrators to teachers of all specialties. If you’re interested, check out international recruiting agency Search Associates.

2. WWOOF

An amusing acronym to say, WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. If you’ve ever been intrigued by the idea of living and working on a farm, this is your chance to see the world while you do so.

Farming is mostly seasonal work, and farmers need seasonal help. While they often have an abundance of space, housing, and food, many organic farmers don’t have an abundance of money. So, in exchange for four to six hours’ help each day, they provide room and board. You’re on your own for the cost of transportation to get there, though.

You can “WWOOF” by yourself, as a couple, with friends, or even as a family with children. Select which country you’re interested in, and WWOOF will show you a list of host farms and connect you with the farmers.

3. Maximize Credit Card Rewards

Yes, you can earn free flights by putting purchases on your credit card. And many of the best travel reward credit cards offer some enticing benefits. But that’s far from the only option for maximizing your rewards.

Many travel reward cards, such as the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card from American Express, offer free or discounted companion vouchers every year. You can score a free flight from your reward points, plus a free flight for your travel partner from the companion voucher.

Then there are sign-up bonuses. Check out these credit cards with the best sign-up bonuses to score free travel without spending a dime. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (read our Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review) has a generous signup bonus, plus it gives you the ability to transfer your reward points to multiple airlines.

You can also maximize rewards by using your credit card every time you pay for flights. Some credit cards and partner airlines offer double or triple rewards, or higher, for booking flights.

Read up on all the other ways you can score free flights with rewards. Just make sure you don’t overspend in the name of saving money.

4. Hostels & Other Work-Stay Options

Many hostels find themselves in a similar situation as organic farmers, with plenty of beds and rooms but short on labor. So, they offer free accommodations – and sometimes free meals – in exchange for work. A few even pay a small stipend of spending money.

And the options don’t end at hostels. There are plenty of employers who provide free housing for short-term or even long-term stays in exchange for work. Check out HelpStay and Workaway for thousands of opportunities all over the world to stay for free in exchange for your services.

5. Long-Term Volunteering With the Peace Corps

An oldie but goody, the Peace Corps offers incredibly rewarding opportunities to live for several years in a community that needs committed volunteers. While the Peace Corps is a large international organization, they do an excellent job of keeping their focus on the grassroots level. Volunteers go to the ends of the earth, living and working in the poorest communities on the planet.

The Peace Corps isn’t for everyone, though. It requires a 27-month commitment: three months of training, then two years in the field. You’ll also be leaving the comforts of Western democracy behind. You may or may not have mobile phone service, and you may not have air conditioning in hot climates.

Yes, you receive a living stipend, which is enough to cover housing, food, and basic spending in the community where you’re stationed. But when you come home to visit, don’t plan on fancy dinners out or hotels; expect to crash with friends and family.

That said, you’ll have the opportunity to personally transform poor communities into livable, sustainable towns and villages. In many cases, you will literally save lives. If you’re truly driven to change the world, and see some of it in the process, the Peace Corps may be a good fit for you.

6. Short-Term Organized Volunteering

If your volunteer travel timeline is measured in weeks or months, rather than years, try short-term volunteer placement services like Go Overseas or Idealist. They offer opportunities all over the world for work ranging from teaching English to building infrastructure.

For a comfortable way to ease into international volunteering, try Diverbo. They host one-week English retreats in Spain and Germany to immerse locals in English-based activities. Hotel rooms and meals are provided; all you have to do is get there.

The are endless ways to volunteer abroad for free travel and rewarding experiences. Spend an hour researching options online, and you can’t help but be inspired by the possibilities to give back while seeing the world.

7. Organize Your Own Volunteer Trip

You can also organize your own volunteer trip. With crowdfunding websites like GoFundMe, you can raise money from your friends, family members, and colleagues to cover the costs of your volunteer trip. Perhaps they’ll even join you on your expedition.

Of course, if you don’t plan your volunteer trip with the utmost transparency and ethics, you’re likely to lose friends. Make sure your trip will genuinely change lives for needy people, rather than serve as a cover story for you to persuade your friends into paying for your vacation.

I saw this happen just recently with a newly arrived couple at school. They raised money from their friends back in the United States, inventing the name of an education-based “ministry” they claimed to be leading here in Abu Dhabi. It was an utter scam, as they have the same generous teaching package that my wife does. Whether they got away with it among their friends back home or not, they didn’t get away with it here. The link to their GoFundMe page made the rounds among the school faculty, and they’ve found few friends as a result.

Approach any crowdfunding attempts with complete sincerity and transparency, period.

8. House-Sit or Pet-Sit

Did you know there are entire websites dedicated to connecting house sitters with pet owners? Pet owners don’t want to leave their pets in kennels surrounded by unknown dogs and cats when they travel. They’d rather let them stay at home – a home which is just sitting vacant and unused.

House sitters can stay for free at these homes for the price of caring for the owners’ pets. While it’s a relatively easy job, it does mean you have to schedule your day around the pets’ needs. You can’t leave for a weekend jaunt or go on 14-hour day trips. But for animal lovers, it can be an easy way to stay for free anywhere in the world, often in high-end homes.

And house-sitting isn’t limited to pet owners. Some homeowners sleep easier knowing that someone is minding their home while they’re away, whether that means you care for their plants or are simply there to deter break-ins. However, keep in mind that these opportunities are the exception, not the rule, and most house-sitting gigs do involve caring for pets.

Try TrustedHousesitters and MindMyHouse as starting points for free house-sitting gigs all over the world.

9. Do a Housing Swap

You live in Seattle and want to visit Berlin. Someone in Berlin wants to visit Seattle. Why not swap houses with them for your trip? It’s a win-win; you get to stay for free in an authentic local home rather than a hotel, and your home doesn’t have to sit vacant and vulnerable to catastrophes like break-ins or flooding.

Granted, it’s not always that simple. Perhaps you want to visit Berlin in July, and the Berliner wants to visit Seattle in October. Perhaps you’re worried about the risk of having a stranger stay in your home.

The good news is that reputable home-swapping websites provide a level of transparency, with peer reviews and identity verification to give members greater peace of mind. Some home-swapping websites also offer credit systems for indirect house-swapping. By offering your house to others, you accrue points or credits, which you can redeem at your leisure at houses all over the world.

A few reputable house-swapping websites to try are HomeExchange, Love Home Swap, and HomeLink. And, of course, always do your homework before agreeing to your first swap.

10. Travel to “The Old Country” for Free

Some countries offer “discover your roots” programs for descendants to come back and visit the home of their ancestors. In most cases, these programs are designed for young adults to come and stay with local host families.

Programs include:

• Birthright Israel
• Heritage Greece
• ReConnect Hungary
• Birthright Macedonia
• Birthright Armenia
• CubaOne

Whatever your heritage, do some research on private or government-funded programs to streamline your visit back to “the old country,” stay for free while there, and potentially even cover your airfare.

While you’re at it, you can also look into citizenship programs for descendants. Italy has a generous citizenship program, through which descendants who can prove an Italian ancestor are generally eligible for dual U.S.-Italian citizenship. A close friend of mine who was born in Boston was able to dig up proof that his great-great-grandfather was Italian, and he now has an Italian passport and the option of living in the European Union if he so wishes.

11. Drive Someone’s Car Cross-Country

During cross-country moves, people sometimes need help moving their cars. That’s where you come in. Some car owners will pay you to move their cars from Point A to Point B within a specified time frame. In some cases, they also cover your flight home. There’s no better way to get to know a country, especially your own country, than driving it.

And these road trip experiences don’t necessarily have to happen within the United States. People on every continent need their cars moved. Start with Auto Driveaway for U.S. and Canada car transports – and a free road trip.

Final Word

I’ve found that the less glossy the travel experience, the more memorable, rewarding, and authentic it feels. I can’t tell you anything about the Bahamas Wyndham, Stay flexible and open-minded, and you can travel the world largely for free. Just remember there’s usually some tradeoff to free travel, and you need to understand it completely before committing.

Have you ever traveled for free? How did you do it

How to Be Single and Happy

Have you recently broken up with a significant other and find yourself struggling to be happy? Or maybe you’ve been single too long and feel like you’ll never be happy until you find your soulmate? It might seem like you’ll never be able to be happy and single, but it’s really not so different than being happy under any other conditions. By finding out exactly what you’re passionate about and cultivating its presence in your life as much as possible, you can learn to be happy in a way that doesn’t depend on your relationship status. Keep reading to learn more about how to be happy and single.

Part1

Considering the Benefits of Single Life

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   Consider the health benefits of being single. Being single is associated with a decreased risk of adverse health effects from dysfunctional marriages or intimate relationships. Some studies have shown that bad relationships can actually make you physically unhealthy. But singles are more likely to be fit and healthy. Singles also tend to go to the gym more, eat better, and have lower stress levels.^[1]
   

   • Single people tend to be thinner than people who are in a relationship. One study found that people gain an average of 14 or more pounds after starting a relationship.^[2]
   • Single people also get more, good quality sleep than people who share a bed with a partner.^[3]
   • Single women have better mental health than married women, especially married women who have children.^[4]
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   Appreciate your freedom to spend your time how you want. When you are in a relationship, you can’t disregard the needs and desires of your partner. Sometimes you have to do things that you don’t want to do in order to keep your partner happy. But when you are single, you can spend your time how you want. You don’t need to worry about pleasing anyone but yourself. That means that you have more time for your hobbies, personal interests, career, and overall well-being. Enjoy this freedom while you are single!^[5]
   

   • Spend extra time on your hobbies. Did you want to write a song? Climb a mountain? Finish that big history book? Now is your chance! Make goals for yourself, and feel proud of your new accomplishments. Do something fun for yourself.
   • Work hard at your school or career. When you're single, it's easier to put in more work, because no significant other needs your attention. Try taking on an extra project, or putting additional effort into a difficult part. Enjoy the raised eyebrows as you impress people with what a hard worker you are.
   • Pamper yourself. Give yourself some extra care, and set aside time just for you. Read a good book, take a long hot bath, put on your fuzziest bathrobe, and listen to your favorite music. Now you can take extra good care of yourself.
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   Consider the financial benefits of being single. When you are in a relationship, you may have to deal with a spouse who is irresponsible with his or her money. This can cause financial problems for you as well. But when you are single, you don’t have to worry about anyone else’s spending and saving habits. You can use the money you earn how you want to use it.^[6]
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   Enjoy the ability to maintain friendships and create new ones. When you are in a relationship, it is much harder to maintain relationships with friends and make new friends because your partner consumes most of your time and affection. But when you are single, you have more time to devote to your friends and to go out and meet new people. Remind yourself of this when you are feeling down for being single. Consider the relationships that would suffer if you had a significant other who occupied most of your time and energy.^[7]
   

   • Work on the relationships you care most about, and build yourself a strong support network. Spend time with your loved ones, talk about your life and your fears, and you will feel more and more loved.
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6. 5       Know that you have the ability to seek out romantic relationships if    you want to. If you are still having a hard time seeing all of the benefits of being single, keep in mind that you can always seek out a romantic relationship if you are truly unhappy. Being single is not for everyone and some people thrive when they have the love and companionship of one person. Remind yourself that you can always seek out a relationship if you prefer.
7. • Consider an online dating site to find people who are also looking for a committed relationship. Seeking out others who are interested in a relationship and not just casual dating may save you from some heartbreak later down the road.

Part2

Enjoying the Benefits of Single Life

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   Ignore media depictions of happy couples. Part of the reason why some people may feel unhappy when they are single is because of media depictions that reinforce the idea that we need to be in a relationship to be happy. Try your best to ignore this message because it is not true. Avoid romantic comedies and magazines that reinforce the idea that being single is bleak and being in a relationship is bliss.
   

   • Depictions of being a single woman may be just as troubling because they are often idealized (a superwoman who has it all) or villainous (a sad lonely woman who has nothing). Neither of these depictions are realistic, so do your best to recognize them as false representations of what it’s like to be single.^[9]
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   Focus on becoming the best person you can be. Being single is an opportunity to focus on yourself and work towards your ideal vision of who you want to be. Take classes, work out, grow a garden, do volunteer work, go to therapy, or do whatever your heart desires. Just remember that everything you do should be for you!
   

   • Concentrate on yourself while you are single and figure out what you like and don't like. Developing a stronger sense of who you are will help you as you go through life and it will also help you to identify people who you would be truly compatible with(if you ever choose to enter into a relationship again).^[10]
   • Take up a new hobby! Learn guitar, join a tap class, grow a garden, write a novel, cook some gourmet meals! Whatever you've ever wanted to do, do it now. Trying something new can lead to new skills, friendships, and increased self-esteem.
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   Treat yourself. It is important to maintain a positive self-image while you are single. Buy yourself a new outfit, get your nails done, treat yourself to a spa day, or get a massage. Just because you don't have someone to impress or please doesn't mean you should stop doing nice things for yourself. You are a strong, independent person who deserves the best. So give it to yourself!
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   Surround yourself with supportive people. Whether you’ve found yourself in the middle of a dating cold streak or recently gotten out of a serious relationship, spending too much time alone has the potential to make you feel even worse.^[11] Try to make plans with people as much as possible. If you don’t feel like any of your friends are supportive, consider joining a club or a gym to make some new friends.
   

   • While being supported by others might seem like a luxury that not everyone needs or can afford, psychologists now know that strong social relationships are actually essential to emotional well-being and physical health.^[12] So while you don’t necessarily need to be in an intimate relationship with another person to be happy, feeling supported by a group of people who you trust can be an essential part of being single and happy.
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   Encourage yourself. Say things that you like about yourself to help yourself feel happy. Positive daily affirmations can help you to feel happier day by day. Take a few moments every day to look at yourself in the mirror and say something encouraging to yourself. You can either say something that you believe about yourself or something that you would like to believe about yourself.^[13] Some examples of positive affirmations include:
   

   • “I am intelligent.”
   • “I am a caring friend.”
   • “People enjoy spending time with me.”
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   Become an optimist. Being optimistic can help you to feel happier whether you are single, married, divorced, or widowed. Practicing optimism will help you to stay focused on the things that you like about yourself and your situation and stop dwelling on things you don’t like about yourself or your situation.^[14]
   

   • For example, instead of dwelling on something you dislike about being single, remind yourself of all the things you do like about being single, such as being able to flirt without feeling guilty and being able to do what you want with your free time.
   • Try keeping a gratitude diary. Every night, think of three things you are grateful for and write them down. Doing this every day will help you to develop a more positive outlook over time and it can even help you to sleep better and enjoy better health.^[15]

   
   
7. ******************************* SANDEEP SINGH KAINTH *********************************