With the rise of travel documentation on blogs and social media, it is quite common to hear about people giving up working at their day jobs to pursue a life on the road fully. Many travellers would love to have long and continuous periods of travel but this is often not affordable or readily attainable.
For some, a conflict arises when deciding whether or not to pursue a fulfilling career at the expense of an adventurous life or vice versa. Sometimes, it feels like to be truly happy and content, one has to choose one life over the other.
But as someone who enjoys both parts almost equally, I can tell you that they do not have to be mutually exclusive. You can maintain a healthy travel life without forfeiting a career you love and here are a few ways to do so…
#1: Begin at Home
One of the best ways to enjoy a balanced work and travel life is to explore the sights and sounds of the city you currently live in. I find that the closer someone lives to a place or specific (tourist) attraction, the less likely they will visit it.
This might be due to a lack of interest in what is perceived as ordinary or the thought that there’s always going to be time to visit later. However, if you’re someone who loves to travel while you still work, you can feed this passion by exploring places close to you.
Another way to live a balanced life of work and travel is to make the most out of work travel opportunities.
Trip Planning Resources
Book your accommodation: Find accommodation options for any budget on Booking.com
Purchase Travel Insurance: I use SafetyWing for both my travel and visa application needs
Activities: Find fun activities and tours in your destination via Get Your Guide, Viator or Klook Travel
eSIM: Get your travel eSIM here
#2: Make the most of work trips
Some jobs offer the opportunity to travel locally or internationally. If you are lucky to find such an offer, then you should consider taking some time out to explore each city that your job takes you to.
This could mean flying out a few days earlier before you have to start a job or including a few extra days after the job at your own expense. Weekends are also a good avenue to explore your new location and could be a better option than simply confining yourself to your hotel room.
Alternatively, you may consider remote jobs that give you the opportunity to be location-independent. This is probably the best-case scenario to both have a fulfilling career and travel life.
#3: Plan your Vacations Better
If you work a full-time job, then you probably have an allocated number of vacation days per year. Be deliberate about planning your vacations by scheduling them around public holidays and long weekends, if possible.
That way, you get a longer vacation period by taking only a few days off work.
#4: Take Day & Weekend Trips
Make the most out of your weekends by taking trips to states and cities within close proximity to where you live. From Lagos and Nairobi alone, for example, you can visit over 20 destinations by road and even more if you fly within a 1-3-day timeframe.
Finally, this last tip is for people who already work from home, but are not necessarily independent remote workers or freelancers.
#5: Consider a working “vacation”
When C-19 hit the world in 2020, several employees began working from home. While some people have been asked to return to the office, some businesses have maintained either a hybrid structure or still allow employees to work from home.
If you fall under the second category and have a reasonable agreement with your office, you can technically work from anywhere! And as long as you do not abuse the opportunity and are available during your official hours, you can get to explore different destinations while still keeping your full-time job!
Do you have any other tips you use to attain a balanced work and travel life? Please share them with me in the comment section below!
As usual, a quality blog post with useful tips and tricks to balance work and travel. Personally I hate the narrative that is being pushed on social media- that travel is only meaningful if you quit your full time job, work remotely and dedicate your life to travelling. I don’t believe that this is sustainable for everyone and it can have a negative impact on countries as well. Look at Bali, Indonesia for example. Wit the influx of privileged passport holders making Bali their base as they work remotely, it has driven the prices of things up for locals making it nearly impossible for locals to survive. This is why I think your post is important, ensuring that all kinds of work and travel are significant; and both can be managed without losing the essence of each one. Work trips are the best (I travelled to the Netherlands last year as a result of one) and proper planning does make a world of difference to balancing holidays and work.
Thanks, Aneesa and I couldn’t agree more! The Bali reference is quite sad, I think the same is happening in parts of Mexico as well. I too get tired of seeing the “quit your job to have a fulfilling life” narrative and I hope that more people who enjoy both parts can explore them sustainably and happily.
This is great Amarachi….I love it
Thank you, Bella!
Nice one…
Thanks Misan