How to Travel Like an Influencer

 If you're one of those who pour over the social media accounts of frequent travelers wondering how they can afford the trips they take, take heart. You can live a travel-centered life too, even if you aren't a social media celebrity. The tips below can help you accomplish that.

Understand the Reality

For those who genuinely want to travel, there are generally two limitations: time and money. When you follow people online who seem to live a glamorous life of constant travel, the part that you don't see is how much work they do writing posts, taking photographs, editing videos, working with affiliates, creating sponsored content, and a thousand other things that have to happen behind the scenes to produce something that looks effortless. There are other ways to travel nearly full-time that don't involve becoming a social media influencer, but in general, there's a lot of hard work in the background of these as well. However, there are also a lot of opportunities, so keep reading to find out what some of them are.

What's Your Dream?

What does travel mean to you? Is it traveling the USA and driving an RV to the 49 states that you can reach by land? Is it flying around the world first-class, strapping on a backpack and buying a one-way ticket to Asia, or sticking out your thumb and hitching a ride starting in your own hometown? Maybe you want to hike or cycle or sail, or maybe you want to go on a round-the-world cruise. Maybe it's your own backyard that fascinates you. You could easily spend plenty of time getting to know a single state. Do you want to go on one extended trip or a lot of little ones?

A travel lifestyle doesn't have to mean quitting your job and selling everything you own. A workplace with a generous vacation policy and strategic planning can mean that you fit in a lot of travel on weekends, holidays, and vacations. Remote work can make frequent travel easy as well. There are no right or wrong answers to these questions, but it's important to have a good idea of what kind of lifestyle you're aiming for and how long you want to do it.

Saving Money

You might not want a whole travel lifestyle; maybe you just want a break. If your idea is to hit the road for a few months or so, you just need to save up a chunk of cash. Once you get started, you may find that this is not as hard as you think it is. A big part of it is saying no to things like new clothes you don't need and expensive nights out with friends. You can also look at ways to lower your monthly expenses. For example, you could get a roommate or trade-in your car for a cheaper model. If you have student loans, an Earnest student loan refinance with a private lender could mean lower monthly payments. As you watch your travel fund grow, you'll be motivated to find even more ways to save.

Working

There are many ways to combine work and travel that don't involve having a popular blog or social media account. One way is to work in the travel industry. For example, if you work for an airline, you may get discounts on flights, and as a cabin crew, you could end up flying around the country or the world. However, in the case of the latter, be aware that seniority is required for the most desirable routes. You also may not have much time to see the places that you fly to when you're on the job. In fact, you might be lucky just to get some sleep before your shift starts again for the return journey.

Another possibility is a job that requires frequent business travel. Business travelers often complain about seeing little more than the inside of conference rooms, hotels, and airports, but if your boss and your lifestyle are flexible enough, you could make the most of these trips by adding an extra day or two on one end or the other. Then there are the jobs that take you abroad, ranging from working for your existing company to teaching abroad to working for the foreign service. If you're a travel nurse working one of the compact states, you may be in demand just about anywhere in the country and around the world, and there are agencies that can help place you.