Crazy kids from UK craving Adventures - HELP NEEDED!

Hi Guys,

Im a 22 yr old female and me and my friend have decided we have had enough of this horrible weather, boring jobs and depressing area! So we are planning to save for as short a time as we can get away with pack a bag and get a one way ticket! We thought we best start in Europe as no Visas are needed so can work out there but neither of us have done anything like this so was after some advice on how much money we would need and good places to go or stay, ways to get around etc We are looking to do it as cheap as possible and would be up for hostels. I have seen the couch surfing site and that looks interesting but just wanted things to look out for or be aware of! Any help or advice or your past experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

How long are you hoping to travel for? How much do you think you are likely to be able to save? When are you hoping to leave? What interests do you have?

Well we could wait for about a year but are hoping to go alot sooner and could probably save about 500 a month each. We are happy to work abroad doing anything I do sales my friend does admin but we can put our hands to most things. We want to travel as long as we can I know friends that have done it with a couple of thousand and worked stayed in hostels bargained all sorts for accommodation food etc and they have been travelling two and a half years now! So ideally we would be looking for a similar experience.

Ok - so £500 a month - in a year that's £6k. If you take into account the funds for flights, insurance and all the other pre-trip expenses that £6k may look a bit more like £5k (really rough figures here!).
Europe is an expensive continent to travel - especially western europe. Lets base this £5k figure on 6 months travel, that gives you £27 per day. I would hazard a real wild guess at £15 per night as a very rough average for a hostel room in western europe. This leaves £12 per day for eating, drinking, sightseeing, entrance fees blah blah etc etc.
Personally I think that looks a bit tight in all honesty - I'm sure its do-able but how much fun would you be having?
You have suggested getting work while you travel - I have no experience of this at all but from reading on here I'm not sure its as straight forward as turning up somewhere and finding a job. Its hard enough finding work in the UK at the moment, so I can't imagine its very easy elsewhere. Do you or your friend speak any other languages? I guess this could help you find work.
I'm really sorry if this is seen as a negative post - I have no intention of trying to put down your dream, maybe just refocus it a bit? Hey, its only my opinion!
Have you thought about further afield? Maybe SEAsia or the Indian Subcontinent? You get a lot more bang for your buck....

You have to decide if you want to travel or you want to live and work somewhere. They are not the same thing.

To travel you need to have the funds to do so. A basic backpacker budget in Europe is at least 50E per day per person. That's hostel beds, supermarket food and the occassional beer or museum entry fee.

To work, it is the same as at home. Most jobs are not for a week and then you can move on. You might find the odd job cleaning in a hostel for a free bed but you can't count on that happening all the time. Nor can you couchsurf all the time. So if you don't have the money to pay your way as a traveller then you are looking at longer term work. That's fine if that's what you expect to do. So maybe 6 months working in a bar in Spain or Greece for example would be a typical example.

However, you now have to also take into account the economy and unemployment situation in Europe. Unless you are walking around in a fog you should be aware that unemployment in youth (18-35) is at 50% in Spain, 55% in Greece, etc. So given you do not have the language skills for office/sales work and are limited to jobs in things like tourism and will be competing for those jobs with all the local unemployed youth, just where do you see your chances?

There is nothing wrong with dreaming or wanting a change in your life but you have to move on to a realistic plan if you want it to become reality. Don't have unrealistic expectations and no plan B.

It would be 6k each by the way so would be a bit more as we would share a bed or go in a hostel or couch surf etc. It would be tight if we were strictly holidaying but with working it can be done as I know people who have gone with nothing bought a flight and kind of hoped for the best! worked their way through countries etc insurance is already covered and we would spend about 100 each on flights or ferry just to France or somewhere kind of close then look to travel via bus or bike. I'm open to looking at all countries just think to start would make sense going somewhere that speaks English.
I completely understand where your coming from but we are far from sensible and worst case scenario will just come home! Not big on planning for years and not truly experiencing life in that country. I'm a recruitment consultant at the moment and work is much easier to get in Europe than it is in UK believe it or not! The markets there are showing better growth and we would be happy to look at fruit picking, factory work, cleaning, opairing, bar work. We are both decent looking young girls so promotions is something we always get asked to do on holidays and can get great tips too as well as free drinks and nights out! But thanks for the advice anyway just not the way we would do things we are a bit haphazard hence crazy kids in title! We know the way we are looking to do it isnt for everyone but we want a proper adventure where we dont know where we will go what we will do etc and we know its doable slightly mental and will be very tight so we just wanted to find out any good companies or countries that other people have had experience in really.

Thanks travel in style but we do have a plan b - if things dont work come home! simples :)

OK CarlyAnn, that is a bit more explanatory. Next question for me is timing.

I used to own a bar on a Greek island and hired workers every year. So I can tell you about that type of work situation as an example. You would need to show up early May and knock on doors. The best way to do it is to buy a 2 week package holiday. Then start knocking on doors looking for bar/restaurant work. If you find something you throw the return ticket away. If you don't find anything you go home.

However, for that kind of work (country is irrelevant) you need to understand the bar/restaurant or whatever does not want someone who only wants to stay for a few weeks. They want someone for the season. Nor is it all about partying. It's a job, you are expected to show up sober, on time, work and earn your pay.

I know all about "We are both decent looking young girls so promotions is something we always get asked to do on holidays and can get great tips too as well as free drinks and nights out!" believe me. But what's fine for a week or two of holiday soon changes after a few months of 7 day work weeks believe me.

I would suggest a more workable plan would be to save till next spring, then head out and look for work in a place like Spain or Greece for the summer. If you DO find jobs, work the season,hold on to your savings and live off the job. Then when the season and the job ends, travel slowly back home using your savings. If you DON'T find jobs in the spring then travel slowly back home for the summer using your savings and still looking for other work along the way. The first might get you most of a year on $6k while the second will get you 3-4 months on it.

Thanks that's not a bad idea. I didn't mean we would drink while we work by the way I meant more that if we wanted a night out we could have one for free which for us would obviously be a bonus! I'm not looking to work anywhere for a week the idea in a perfect world would be work as long as possible like a poor person live on next to nothing and just save then once the work finished using the savings to travel for a month or two depending on how long we secure work and save etc and experience festivals museums and culture. For both of us we would have £12000 if we saved til March next year which doesn't include any bonus I could save or extra money we are both expecting so if we waited a year that would be the minimum.
We want a proper adventure and although I understand there is some planning that is essential we want to leave a lot to fate and some good luck! I know alot will not agree with this I understand the dangers and potential problems but I have so many friends who have done exactly that had real adventures and loved every second. I also know many who have planned every detail and been bitterly disappointed!

Two things.
Now you are talking about earning enough to fund further travel. That is a totally different thing from earning enough to sustain you in a place. Most jobs available to backpackers (ie. a bar in Greece) pay barely enough to live on, not enough to save additional funds from. So base your plans and expectations accordingly. it is fine to hope to find work to extend your time in a place but it is foolish to count on finding work to fund further travel.

Second, I am all for an adventure with no plan beyond a ticket to A. I am not in favour of a planned tour at all. Adventure by definition requires two things. Risk and the unknown. Therefore, by definition you cannot plan an adventure. So don't think I am suggesting differently.

What I am suggesting is a starting point. ie. Go to Greece, look for work, see what happens. That's as far as it goes. I wrote that if that worked out you could then travel back towards home on your funds. If you did that and nothing happened, you would have a nice year. But it also leaves it totally open for the unexpected to happen.

For example, I went to a Greek island expecting to spend maybe 7 days seeing the island. I stayed for 7 years. But obviously someone else may have (and no doubt thousands do) come to the same island and left after a week because nothing happened to make them do otherwise.

What no plan for tomorrow but the funds to get home does for you is leave you open to opportunities. Nothing guarantees anything will happen but if you have no plan/itinerary/committments to fulfill, then nothing stands in the way of you taking up an opportunity if one comes up. But it would be foolish to do that and not have the money to go home. That's just being sensible and realistic. Don't expect anything and you will never be disappointed.

My point is you are writing as if you expect things to go a certain way. They may or may not. Don't expect anything beyond getting to A and having enough money to get back home. Otherwise, you'll head out, look for work, not find any, run out of money and go home disappointed. See what I mean? In your home country I believe it is called 'Sod's Law.' In my country it's called, 'Murphy's Law' and in any country it's called, 'what can go wrong, will go wrong'.

Nothing can go wrong if you have no expectation. You wrote asking for help regarding finding work etc. Suppose instead your thinking is this. I'm going to save as much money as I can by next May, buy a ticket to A and see what happens from there. That's it. Now what is there in that you would need help with? Answer, nothing.

just a reminder to make sure that the travel insurance policy you say is 'covered' allows you to work, and a reminder that it doesn't cover you if you are drunk.

Got point neverwinter although it does raise a whole new can of worms for CarlyAnn to consider.

First there is the question of how long can they be out of the UK and still have NHS coverage if they return to the UK. There is a time period, I don't know what it is. If you are gone over that period, when you return you have to re-register for NHS and there is a period before coverage begins. 3-6 months?

Second, as EU residents they can get a card that gives them emergency treatment in all EU countries while travelling. http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC/Pages/about-the-ehic.aspx But that is not 'travel insurance', just emergency medical coverage. I believe it is for one year and can be extended a second year. But it assumes you are just a tourist or are working legally. http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/movingabroad/Pages/Workingabroad.aspx

Third, no private insurance policy will cover anyone who is drunk (and has an accident) or is doing anything illegal. Illegal includes working 'under the table'. So a seasonal bar worker for example would void their insurance coverage if the job is paid 'under the table', which most are.

Fourth, yes, not all travel insurance will cover someone who is working even it they are legally working. So that has to be checked.

Regarding the 'drunk' issue. It used to be that any tourist who went to Emergency in a Greek hospital was treated for free EXCEPT in the case of someone who was obviously drunk. They were made to pay. I don't know if that is still the case given the current economy in Greece and the austerity measures but it is worth knowing how things may be viewed.

So bottom line, you need to know you are covered somehow CarlyAnn and nothing will cover you if working illegally.

the NHS time limit is interesting. You are supposed to tell your doctor if you leave for more than three months, and de-register. I cannot imagine that anyone who goes on long trips ever does that, and I can't say I blame them!

most UK travel insurers will cover for long periods, and so must be assuming that the NHS will pick up in case of repatriation. Lack of joined up thinking there.

this is separate from the work and drinking issues which are entirely valid. OP, please note.

Yes the NHS and the British government has been quite lax in the past about paying attention to how long someone has been out of the country. As a Brit who emmigrated to Canada I can well remember other expat friends of our family who used to fly to the UK for a visit with family and see a dentist while they were there. In Canada you pay for dental treatment and in the UK they could get it for free.

However, those days are gone I believe. Now they do a bit more checking. Answers are here: http://www.essentialhealthltd.co.uk/international/international-considerations/who-exactly-is-entitled-to-access-the-u.k.-nhs.html
Basically you can lose your coverage after an absence of 3 months if you have MOVED abroad. So someone who is on say 1 or 2 years of extended travel but still maintains their residency in the UK is OK. Move to Canada or Australia (for example) and you lose it in 3 months. It seems the qualifier is 'moved' vs. temporarily out of the country. They still seem to be pretty easy going in terms of long term travel. Canada for example will cut off snowbirds who go south to Florida for the winter for more than 183 days exactly.

So let's say you show up with dengue fever. The GP isn't stupid, s/he knows you don't contract that in the UK. So he is required to check on your residency and eligibility. Caught. You're caught because it is likely to come out you have been living/working somewhere else, not just travelling.

interesting, thank you.

(and also relieved to note that in my circumstances I was still entitled to use the NHS - and so would most gappies who are only on long holidays, not permanently based abroad)

Yes but then the question becomes how long can the taxpayers in the UK keep it up? Gappers in the future may find it's a whole different story for them. ;-)