how I travel on a budget | solo travel, working abroad & dealing with loneliness ad

hey guys it's more if you're new here I hope you're doing well wherever you are if you have me watching my videos for the past few years I've been making videos about college and living alone and now I've been documenting my travels I've been getting a few questions about the past few months what I've been doing how I plan my trips Etc I also just haven't caught up and sat down and talked in a while so I just asked you over on Instagram to send your questions and you know we're chilling today grab a drink it's gonna be a chatty one I'm not sure if you can hear the background noise but we're kind of in the middle of a thunderstorm feels like someone just like turned down the brightness so I apologize if lighting changes or you can hear brand in the background there that could be kind of therapeutic anyway let's just get started with um a little life update what's happening where you at are you still living in London so I'm currently in Indonesia I'm half Indonesian my mum's side of the family is from Jakarta I haven't been back to Indonesia since 2018 and this is also my first time going solo which is a little scary but I think I'm mostly just excited I watched my other q a I talked more about why I was leaving London and for the past few months I have been kind of test living and traveling around Paris and Florence I made little video diaries about that this trip was a bit of a whim I got an email from Jack's Flight Club if you're looking for cheap flights from the UK should definitely sign up to this newsletter one cancer for Indonesia flights and I booked it now five months later we're here on tips on planning and not getting over wound first thing you work at is what kind of trip do you want to take do you want to be helping abroad different places or basing yourself in one spot and you also need to work out what your purpose is are you traveling to sightsee to experience a city or are you going to be attending school or classes working abroad volunteering choosing one of these will really help limit down your options and then we have to look at the technicalities do you need a visa do you need injections entry requirements just checking all of those things are obviously really important over summer if you're asking what kind of Visa I had I have a Irish passport so to travel Europe I didn't need one but definitely check if you do and how many days you can stay in each country because you don't want to get in trouble and then after that we'll usually try and get a cheap flight I mentioned Jack's Flight Club I also look at Google flights using a incognito mode I'm pretty sure this means that like prices don't go up I'm not sure if that's a myth but you know might as well take extra precautions if you're looking for more flexibility when you're traveling Europe having an integral pass is also a really good option that's what I this summer and it means that you can kind of plan as you go and not have everything so structured but I would say for Europe in summer try to have most of your accommodation booked before because it's kind of peak season don't want to miss out and have to pay extortion and lines for like a hotel room on the other side of that for Indonesia or southeast Asia whenever I did that you can kind of get away with booking things on the Fly and sometimes you get really good deals closer up to the time tips on finding affordable and slightly long-term accommodation obviously hostels are really cheap and most of the time they have kitchens where you can also prepare food but if you're wanting a place to yourself like an apartment I use three main things this summer first up Airbnb I think anywhere and Word of Life Airbnb everyone knows but sometimes it can actually be a more expensive option even with weekly and monthly discount looking at sites like housing anywhere which are more catered to long-term rent I know there's also one called home life but the cheapest way was asking one for sublets as you add to paying the local rent you never know whose brother or best friend is doing study abroad and wants to sublet their room just put out feelers and see what you can get otherwise check out University Facebook groups this one's a little bit Rogue but if you're already in the city check out like Community halls or churches my best friend Abby actually find her Paris study abroad apartments at the American Church in Paris so a great place to start for that one how do you stay safe as a solo female traveler do you ever feel unsafe traveling solo as a woman of color any tips so this one really annoys me just like thinking of all the active measures that I've had to take or like the anxieties that I felt in comparison to like say my white male friend so you can kind of walk around and not ever have to think about these things you obviously have to be careful but I don't think you have to go above and beyond more than you would back home I think it's just a general street smart awareness for example always trust your gut feeling if you're feeling uneasy or something's making you scared just like get out of that situation as fast as possible it's probably a reason why you're feeling that way make sure your parents or best friend or whoever you're closest with has you on find your friends in case something goes wrong learn what the emergency signal is from your phone I know for iPhone if you press the lock button on one of the volume buttons and hold them down emergency SOS will appear check them out before you go somewhere or go inside to check directions you don't want to be looking like a lost and confused tourist if you're worried about staying in hostels you can stay in a female only a dorm or you can also get private rooms if that's an option try not to walk around with headphones at night just like basic stuff of this one I'm really bad at but like please try to get Ubers and taxis home I'm so bad for always walking home to try and save money but as my friends tell me every single time your safety and life is more important than saving 10 euros on a taxi but touchwood I have never had a super awful experience traveling alone as a girl if you are nervous and it's your first time start small just go for a weekend away or a week before you go for like a month what am I up to in Indonesia um so I'm mainly exploring parts of Bali and Java and I'll be visiting my family in Jakarta I'm also working on a personal project which I'm really excited for and I'll be filming parts of it in Indonesia this season I'm going into next year I really want to take my videos to another level in terms of production and storytelling and honestly I don't know that much about filmmaking at all I only know what I've learned through YouTube I've started taking some skillshare classes I just finished cinematography Basics understanding filming Style with Jack Mulligan where he brings us through a scene from one of his features even learning about making a shot list that's something that I've never done before like whenever I approach videos I usually just film whatever and then try and pull a story and put it together oh my God can you hear that Thunder but I know for this project I want to start assigning shots to the script and make note of the visuals and the songs that I want to be able to record skillshare I have so many classes on filmmaking from color grading to filming on a budget even understanding how your camera and your gear Works whether you want to deepen an existing passion like this or start something new maybe it's interior design or embroidery goger is just a place for you to join other creative and curious people you can use my link description I'll also have it on screen and the first one those in a few to click it will get free trials skillshare I've been using them for years and I always find something new that I want to try and learn so thank you to them for sponsoring and of course check them out below probably the most popular question I got was about why I afford to travel or I work abroad and just like General tips for budgeting so we're going to break this down into a few parts first up how I traveled whilst I was at school University or I travel I make money now and then just my like General tips for budgeting in School uni I consistently worked hard time to save up for my travels but there are definitely periods where I didn't have enough to fund the length of church that I wanted to do so that's where working abroad came into I was an au pair in South Italy a few years ago for summer that was organized through opera.com and the family paid for my flights there they housed boarded me and they also paid me on top of that which was kind of nice considering I didn't actually have to spend any money whilst I was in Italy I was working like eight plus hours a day and had to work around the Family schedule but I did have some free time to be able to explore a bit and go to the beach and honestly a really good intro into traveling alone in University I also spent a summer teaching English in China and this was organized through a company called go to co they organized the chapel and then the school covered food and accommodation My Flights there weren't compensated and I didn't get paid which wasn't really an issue as I was already in Asia at the time however once we got to Guangzhou and we're talking to other teachers people were are getting paid so I'm not sure if I'd recommend the company the good thing about teaching is that you kind of clock off at a certain time and you have to fill weekend off so you have a lot more time to explore we were able to go to Hong Kong and yangsho and explore the city of Guangzhou more hey hi sorry to interrupt I'm just editing this video and I realized I didn't talk about walkway.com which is such a good option if you're looking to do slow travel my brother did a work away on a farm in Germany and I had a really good experience and it can also be a lot more social because sometimes there'll be like a few of you there basically it's where you work for a certain one of ours in exchange for accommodation and most of the time they will also feed you but there are so many different options you don't just have to do for me you can help out in a hostel volunteer with animals do gardening I don't know I feel like there's like endless things but yeah you should definitely check them out and um I hope you enjoy the rest of the year bye right now I make money through YouTube which also gives me the flexibility ability to be able to work while some abroad which is so amazing and I still can't believe I get to do this so I'm very grateful for all of you guys watching it genuinely feels like a dream what hasn't changed is my ability to be able to travel on a budget and I mentioned a few tips earlier but for General budgeting I will work at how much I want to spend in a month and then keep track of it either roughly on paper on a notion spreadsheet or using monzo which is like the travel blank card that I have they're really good because I'm pretty sure they have like low to zero fees for using it abroad you can transfer in whatever your budget is and actively see it depleting and you know exactly where your money is being spent when you're running out most of the time I'm traveling for a longer period I will cook at home and that's why I really like staying in apartments normally they'll have all the basic kitchen utensils and like oil and salt and spices maybe not spices I did carry around a little bottle of sriracha but I'll start with a grocery shop once I get there and even making packed lunches can be super cheap and if you don't have a kitchen you can still get like bread and ham or cheese or hummus the amount of times I just ate bread and hummus for lunch or dinner a really good way to get around Europe for cheap is using blah blah car where you hop in a stranger's car and you normally just have to pay to tip for petrol I know it sounds like kind of dodgy but I've only heard fine stories about it also buses can be really cheap like five to ten Euros for a cross-country bus oh my gosh always bring your student card my student card is expired but I still used it to get student discounts I don't know if that's bad just ask you never know what you're going to receive if you ask good ways to make friends and meet new people while traveling abroad putting yourself in a co-living and co-working situation is the easiest way to make friends whilst you're traveling whether that's staying in a hostel or working in a school together or Farm whatever your work away option is you're always going to meet like-minded people and everyone is probably just as eager to make friends especially in a hostile situation most people are also solo Travelers but if you're staying alone which I was signing up for activities that interest you like art classes or doing like a walking tour of the city also use class passwords and Paris to go to a few like yoga Pilates classes you do just have to be open and put yourself out there which can sometimes be kind of uncomfortable but honestly what is the worst that can happen okay you guys don't Vibe then and grit you're probably never going to see them again you know you can just forget about them and try and make friends with someone else tips on packing I think I'm actually gonna do a packing video this time around because I noticed that I over packed for my trip to Europe and I did so much better this time around I brought two bags with me I have a bigger Patagonia duffel but if I wasn't bringing camera equipment I honestly would have been able to fit everything into this I think it's a 25 liter and they also have a bigger one like a 32 liter it's a deep pool not the depot the black hole and I love it I just love Patagonia it's a brand the owner gave away all his money because he's a good non-billionaire and they also have a lifetime guarantee so I'll leave this one and my other one linked down below and yeah let me know if you actually do want a packing video you don't need as much as you need put out what you want to bring on your bed half that half that again you can probably live online number one tip is packing cubes packing cubes are great they're so satisfying it makes everything easier to organize and I don't know why but you can just fit so much more in with packing cubes best ways to cure loneliness and anxiousness when alone and abroad as much as I love traveling by myself and being alone it can also be super gloomy I'll experience something I'll go somewhere and I just wish someone had been there to experience it with me I just want to look around and be like did you see that I can't believe we get to be here being able to make videos and actually document it has really helped with that you can always FaceTime friends and family my favorite thing is to keep my friends updated on be real I love seeing what their day I love them seeing what I'm doing it's just like a nice way to interact without having to like talk to someone for a long period of time if you're like a bad texter like me and also it's about mindset instead of being like Oh I have to go to this Cafe and sit by myself or go to this park alone you have to think I get to good to this Cafe and I get to sit alone I get to order whatever I want and I get to spend my time as I please honestly you just have to romanticize your life feel the traveling is such an amazing experience you can do whatever you want your trip is going to look completely different to everyone else's and I think it's really important for people to learn also how to be alone and how I do not have to rely on other people and figure things out and yeah at times it can be lonely and things can go wrong but you just gotta take a step back and be like I'm doing this on my own like how cool is that I think it's great and last question since the rain has started again and it's getting even darker are you planning on settling down sooner or later yes at least have a home base or somewhere that I can always come back to I think going to London was pretty unsettling in between Europe and Indo I was seeing my friends in their like stable jobs and families and friends and I was almost craving that sort of stability and did you hear that that doesn't mean I'm not gonna stop traveling it just means that I just wanna have a home and have somewhere where I can put everything and if all goes to plan I will hopefully be starting the new year in Paris are we surprised I hope I answered some of your questions and I hope that if you're thinking about traveling abroad or going solo for the first time that this gives you the confidence to do it there are so many beautiful things to see and lives to experience travel is obviously the best thing ever and I feel very lucky and grateful that I can do it I hope I can bring you some really amazing Indonesia videos soon okay kisses

Channel: moya mawhinney

Views: 138,543

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Id: k_XGYjeQ4bs

Length: 15min 59sec (959 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 02 2022