How to Travel the World on a budget

Go for the long term 

By this I mean, if you have the time, go for a “long time”. If you can stay a month in Kaohsiung, Taiwan or Busan, South Korea, maybe even Palermo, Sicily-do it. When it comes to traveling short term, there’s way more money spent. Airbnb’s get significantly cheaper for one month’s stays. Or even browse the facebook groups. So, for example: Head over to facebook and type in: ‘Roommates in Taiwan’ or ‘Apartment Rentals Italy’ (these are made up groups…I think). You get the gist though, right? 

Save money by signing up for Workaway or Helpx or anything that involves free room and board for an exchange of your time. 

I stayed in Taiwan for a month doing a workaway at Oxygen hostel. I traversed through Japan working at a hostel in Tokyo and did a 2 week stay in Hokkaido, volunteering at a pre-school. I also stayed a month in Sicily during the summer time. These were some amazing experiences. It allows you to be more in touch with locals, perhaps get something on your resume, meet people if you are a solo traveler, try local homemade dishes, and so much more. Some experiences won’t be so great or fit with your schedule and that’s okay you live and you learn. I didn’t have the greatest time in Tokyo, so I took a ferry way up to Hokkiado. 

Go grocery shopping abroad! 

I love checking out local groceries more than I do checking out restaurants. When I was in Italy, I booked an apartment in Florence for the month and went to the grocery mart a few times a week just enjoying my time. The food is significantly cheaper than the US, so I always get more bang for my buck. Plus packed some yellow tomato sauce in my suitcase on my way home, because I paid 3 euros there and for the same style sauce I paid about 8 dollars in the US. 

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Stay in local areas! 

So during my time in Florence, Italy I stayed in a residential area about a 30 minute walk out from the center. I was right next to the Arno River, and rented a bike for a month to get around-easy peasy. There weren’t any tourists in that area and it forced me to practice my listening skills on Italian. 

You want to eat out, find the mom & pop shops. 

I love eating from Mom and Pop shops, while I travel. You can usually tell these types of shops, because they are run by a family or a couple. I had a great time at a little hamburg restaurant on the outskirts of Tokyo run by an adorable couple. Plus eating at Mom and Pop shops can be less lonely if you are a solo-traveler, I made friends with the owner and even got some connections to connect with a friend of theirs out in Sapporo. 

Actually I remember the time I came to San Francisco to volunteer at a hostel before I was supposed to head to Rome, and ended up staying long term. I became friends with the owner at Cafe Bean over there on Sutter Street in Nob Hill, he connected me with an apartment and officially solidified my stay in San Francisco. How amazing is that!? 

Always support small businesses. 

*This list will continually be updated! 

Ciao, 

Lateisha

*featured image of currency is by Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash ! Thank you!!