This is How My Friends and I Travel So Much (and No We’re Not Prostitutes)

I was inspired recently, and not in the usual way.

A friend of someone I was dating referred to me (jokingly) as a prostitute. This was because he couldn’t think of any possible way that I could be traveling so often without being a prostitute. Because all girls with travel Instagrams have to be prostitutes right? I mean, what other way could these women actually be affording all of this travel? There’s certainly no way they were working a legitimate job and making their own money, right?

Hopefully you understand sarcasm, because come on, it’s 2018.

And even though I have multiple articles where I talk about how I found a career that supported my travel, and how I afforded every trip I’ve ever been on, I suppose I’ll write one more article. This one will be called: “How My Friends and I Travel So Much (And No We’re Not Prostitutes)”…

Case Study #1: Me

My job: I do sales and marketing for a company that does cancer research for pharmaceutical/biotech companies

How do I get so much time off? I work from home, so I can technically work from anywhere. I also occasionally have to go overseas for conferences. Not every trip I take is a work trip, but when I do have a work trip, I usually tag on a few days for personal travel. I try not to spend too much time in places that will cause my emails to be delayed (due to time zones). For this reason, a lot of my itineraries are 1-2 weeks. When I’m not traveling, I work from a home office in San Diego.

How do I afford it? I can afford travel since I do have a 9-5 salary. I also take advantage of travel credit cards and airline points, and can find cheap flights due to my open schedule.

How did I get here? A B.S. degree in Biology, a career switch from lab tech to marketing, lots of hard work, building enough trust with my employer where they would let me move to the West Coast and work from home, and having the (metaphorical) balls to always ask for everything I’ve ever wanted.

See more of my adventures @lustfortheworld

see more of my adventures @lustfortheworld

Case Study #2: Friend #1

Friend #1’s Job: She works retail at a clothing store

How does she get so much time off? Working retail can allow a lot of time off since most workers are paid hourly.

How can she afford it? Since working retail doesn’t have paid vacation days, it means knowing how to save up money really well for vacation. You work, you save, you travel, you repeat.

How did she get here? By building great relationships at work, so much so that they will welcome her back with open arms even if she takes a week (or 4) off.

see more of her adventures @layinginthesun

Case Study #3 Friend #2

Friend #2’s Job: She works sales jobs remotely and also has a few Airbnbs and rents her car out for money on Turo.

How does she get so much time off? As I explained earlier, working remotely has it’s benefits. Airbnb rentals can be handled remotely as long as you have a cleaner and lockbox.

How can she afford it? No surpise here, she also works (and incorporates various side hustles like Airbnb and Turo). I will also say that friend #2 is also pretty excellent at saving money. She doesn’t give a shit about designer purses or expensive shoes, and saving money is pretty much the same as making it. Credit card miles are also useful to her, she usually books other peoples trips on her card to collect the miles.

How did she get here? By being super particular about only accepting remote jobs, by taking a risk and paying upfront for Airbnbs to rent out, and by taking advantage of side hustle money like Turo.

See more of her adventures @yungjoc

Case Study #3 Friend #3

Friend #3’s Job: She works as a pharmacist

How does she get so much time off? Pharmacists can work a bunch of days in a row (pick up/switch shifts with other pharmacists) and then take off a bunch of days in a row to balance it out. Making your own schedule has it’s perks.

How can she afford it? Well, being a pharmacist has a pretty nice salary.

How did she get here? 8 years of school, plus a lot of hard work and determination.