There is one pretty regular and I guess legitamate question I get asked by other travellers, friends and family about my slightly unorthodox lifestyle so I thought I'd dispel some intrigue/concern here. Firstly, as exciting as it might be, no I don't sell drugs, my body or any other illegal and black market trade to fund my travels! It might sound crazy but I do actually work! It may not be your idea of work but it is enough for me to live my day-to-day life, wake up happy and be able to explore and experience something new everyday, without dreading Mondays or complaining and whinging about excessive workloads (as it's been reminded to me many times, we English have an unfortunate tendency to do).
Over the last 2 years I've spent at least 75% of my time working on a voluntary basis. Usually in return for food and accomodation which to be honest is all I need! For example in 2016 I worked in Sri Lanka for 9 months. I didn't earn a penny, but I spent approximately £300 per month. Nothing in comparison to a month in London hey. I worked for 2 and a half years before this in a UK graduate job and supplemented this meagre Local Government wage with evenings as a ballet teacher and weekends as a waitress, cleaner and anything else to make me a few precious pennies. I've always been pretty frugal, and this enabled me to save enough for Sri Lanka. Now I could have just given this amazing international mental health organisation the £300 a month I was spending as a donation, but I'd much prefer to give my time. I'm young, free and single and have too much energy to be sitting back in a chair sending money when I could be on the front line actually working with these people. Now in Goa I currently run a jewellery and clothes stall at a weekly market. I may not earn much, but it's enough to feed me for at least 4 days of the week, and most importantly, I enjoy it! I'm teaching friends yoga and guitar for fun and voluntarily helping my friends set up a smoothie and snack bar. These luxuries I can afford for fun, because the cost of living is so low. I didn't spend any money on rent for 6 months this year by volunteering my time in return for accomodation, which is enough payment for me! When an average meal is £2, and a whole tank of petrol for my scooter roughly £3 (I fill up about once a week), hopefully you can start to see how I manage to spend my life here. Yes I could work a graduate job and have a nice car and wardrobes full of clothes, but comparatively I wouldn't have much more in my pocket because the cost of living in Europe is so high. So alongside some fortunate and clever long-term investments and a few pennies here and there I get by with no problem. My main outgoings that I cover from my savings are my £110 a month rent and £50 per month scooter rental, otherwise my low food (and party) costs are covered by the bits and pieces of work I do in Goa. For now one rucksack full of clothes, my university laptop and a pretty basic smartphone are all the material possessions I need in the world, and with some of the best beaches and friends I won't be swapping this lifestyle anytime soon!
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About meI enjoy writing and have had experience from my degree and through working on news posts. I hope to use this blog as a summary of extraordinary things I've discovered or witnessed in everyday life. Archives
March 2020
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