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Working while travelling is something that more and more people are now trying out. I’ve lived and worked in places while travelling all over the world and can tell you I love it! Here are 5 reasons why I think it’s great to work and travel.

1. It Allows you to Travel Longer

There’s no doubt that working while you travel always allows you to extend the amount of time you’re away from home. If you’re earning money while you’re abroad, then you’re going to have more funds and this is certainly going to help you travel for longer. Every little helps, as they say, so even if you don’t earn as much as you would working at home, working while abroad is still going to help you prolong your adventure. The fact that working while travelling will help you extend your holiday is probably the most common reason travellers look to find work while they’re away, at least I know it’s certainly mine!

2. It Teaches you Different Skills

There’s no doubt that much of the work you’ll find while travelling is likely to be different from the type of work you do at home. That’s because the opportunities are different elsewhere in the world and so is the demand. My advice is to embrace this difference and treat work while you’re travelling as a key opportunity to learn some different skills. See it as a chance to experience something new and you never know what you might learn or discover you enjoy.

3. It Leads to some Great Friendships

Working while you travel is also a super way to make some great friends … trust me! This is particularly beneficial if you are travelling solo and looking to find some fun people to hang out with or adventure with later. Working while you’re away can immediately bring you into close contact with people that are likely to have similar interests or be on similar paths to you. And believe me, there’s nothing like working a 7 hour shift behind a reception desk together when it comes to getting to know someone! I’m delighted to say that I’ve met some of the most amazing people through work when I’ve been travelling – people that I’m still in contact with years later.

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4. It Allows you to Engage with Local Communities

As well as working with people who are similar to you, working while you travel is also likely to throw into situations with people who are very different to you, people who come from a different part of the globe and view the world very differently. Working alongside them, operating as a team, is a great way to cross cultural boundaries and learn more about the lives of everyday people in the place where you are. The fact that working abroad can put you in touch with local people is definitely one of my favourite things about this mode of seeing the world – it can force you out of your comfort zone in all sorts of wonderful and different ways.

5. It Really Lets you Engage with a Place

Working while you travel will necessarily keep you in a single destination for a longer period of time than were you just passing through as a tourist. At the most basic level, this will allow you to engage more with a place, to get to know it better and to glean a deeper understanding of it than most tourists. Add into this equation the notion that you’ll probably be making some great friendships with local people, and your sense of a destination and its culture, will certainly increase. This is certainly one of the biggest benefits to working while travelling, indeed it’s one of the great benefits of travelling full stop.

So those are my top 5 reasons why 5 reasons why it’s great to work and travel

Do you have experience in this field? What benefits did you gain?

Stephanie Parker / Big World Small Pockets

Stephanie Parker is a travel addict and creator of Big World Small Pockets. Originally from Jersey, Channel Islands, but currently based in Australia, she backpacks the world on a shoestring collecting tips, advice and stories, to share with a smile.

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