• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Future Expats

Create an Untethered Life Overseas

  • Home
  • Start Here
  • About
    • Big Fat Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy
  • Portable Careers
    • Blogging
      • Blogging for Expats WordPress Tutorials
    • Life Coaching
    • Photography
    • Teaching
    • Websites
    • Writing
  • Prepping the Move
    • Countdown
    • Narrowing Your Country/City Search
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Australia/New Zealand
      • Central America
      • Europe
      • North America
      • Region
      • South America
    • Visas and Residency
    • Quality of Life
    • Learning the Language
    • Health Care
    • Technology
  • Panama
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Hire Me!
    • Expat Resources: Prepping the Move
    • Expat Resources: Portable Careers
    • Expat Resources: Technology
    • Book and Movie Reviews
You are here: Home / Portable Careers / How Will You Finance Your Life Overseas?

How Will You Finance Your Life Overseas?

September 9, 2009 by FutureExpat

How Will You Finance Your Life Overseas?

In our recent poll, we discovered that most — at least 80% — of our readers will have to generate some income when they move overseas. None of them plan to hold an overseas job with their current employer, but half intend to develop some kind of self-employment income. This will be the first in a series of ongoing articles that may give you some ideas about your overseas self employment.

Since it’s what I plan to do, and what I know best, let’s start with writing. Writing is probably the most portable profession there is.

You don’t need much equipment — these days, a laptop and an internet connection are all it takes. You don’t need a special office. You can write in a hotel room or a cafe, or even in the park. Of course, you need to be able to put together grammatically correct sentences. Assuming you can already do that, you may need some special training for a specific type of writing.

Travel Writing

Travel writing is probably the glamourous hot-button for all of us future expats. What could be greater than earning money writing about the exotic places we’re visiting and the interesting new sights we’re seeing and activities we’re enjoying? Not a lot! A good travel writer must be highly observant and curious. According to the British Guild of Travel Writers, “Remember: travel writing is different from what you read in vacation brochures and on hotel web sites. It is not about generalities and platitudes; it is about the specific, the quirky, the iconic, the incomprehensible – things that make living in this world so fascinating.”

You don’t actually have to travel to be a travel writer. Your hometown is a destination for someone else, so you can hone your skills writing about an area you’re already familiar with before you embark on your overseas adventure.

Travel writing courses are available. I’m personally familiar with The Travel Writer’s Life course from AWAI (American Writers and Artists Inc), which comes with a 30-day, no-nonsense guarantee.

MatadorU also offers a travel writing course. Their website promises that they offer “the world’s most comprehensive teaching program for travel writers,” and they stress social media and the internet, not just print publications.

Universal Class offers an inexpensive online Travel Writing course. The first lesson asks the question, “Do You Have What It Takes to Become a Travel Writer?”

Let’s not lose sight of the self employment aspect of travel writing, though. You’ll also need to be able to come up with saleable story ideas, pitch them to editors, and then get hired to write them! This requires some entrepreneurial skills. I know that AWAI’s course includes help with these issues.

Next time, we’ll look at some other kinds of writing you can do from your overseas location.

If you have recommendations for travel writing courses, click the Comment link below to share them with us.

Filed Under: Portable Careers, Working Overseas Tagged With: expat, travel writer, work, writer

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Michelle says

    September 13, 2009 at 3:33 am

    Excellent ideas! I think more people should see your site so Ive given you a blog award to let my readers know about you.

  2. Lisa Valencia says

    September 15, 2009 at 7:29 pm

    I don’t know of any writing courses but I can tell you about the best book on writing I have ever seen. It is called “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser. It is plain common sense information that actually helped me realize that I could write! It has a chapter on travel writing, too.

    Two years ago I started writing online travel journals just to keep in touch with friends back home and people liked them so much that told me they couldn’t stop reading them and that I should write a book. Well, my other plans for generating income proved to be unreliable (mural painting – I am an artist, and teaching ESL – English as a Second Language). I ran out of money and had to go back to the States.

    Since then I have decided to start a new career – in writing! I’ve been working day and night for three months and finally I have created a book from my travel journals. We’ll see if this writing idea works…. Actually, I know it will. I have so much determination that it absolutely has to work. I’m headed back to Costa Rica in a few weeks and I’m not running home broke again! Wish me luck!

  3. FutureExpat says

    September 15, 2009 at 10:57 pm

    Thanks, Michelle. 🙂

Primary Sidebar

Visit Panama

Panama Relocation Tours

VPN Services

Best VPN for TravelersBest VPN for Travelers

Sale on .COM Domains!

KINGCOM domain salepixel

More Posts

world class ocean views in Pedasi, Panama

World Class Surf and Mountain Scenery on Panama’s Azuero Peninsula [video]

Cuenca, Ecuador Named Best Retirement Haven

Technology for Overseas Living

WordPress Building Blocks

Three Major Accomplishments for Future Expats

backpacking adventure

Pack Lighter: 10 Items to Leave Behind on Your Next Backpacking Adventure

visa stamps in a US passport

Becoming a Legal Resident in a New Country

Top Expat Blogs – How Cool is That?

Here's a new award. . . We've just been named to the Top Expat Blogs list at Ranked Blogs! If you like us, click the link and vote us up! we're one of the top expat blogs at Ranked Blogs! Future Expats was recently awarded a spot in the Top 100 Expat Blogs.

Follow Me

  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 Future Expats Forum
Proudly running on a Genesis Theme by StudioPress