ULTIMATE “LET’S GO ABROAD” LIST! Ideas for traveling
11/01/2024
Hi all! It is possible to explore the world in many ways apart from holidays. You can work, study, volunteer… There are enough options to choose from!
On this list, I have gathered all the alternatives to go abroad that I have come across at some point searching for ways to travel for a longer period. The list will include some links to pages to help you find more information. Also, I will make separate posts about the things I have done before and I have more first-hand experience.
Hopefully, this list will help you to explore different options to travel and find the most suitable for you!
1. Student exchange
Student exchanges must be one of the most common ways for people to spend longer periods out of their countries. There are a lot of different options for doing an exchange in different phases of studying. You can get easily started by contacting a study coordinator of your school.
In universities, there are different exchange programs between universities to make it easier for the students to do the exchange. The programs usually have some limitations on where you can go and for how long time. If your university does not have a suitable program for you, it should also be possible to do an exchange without it. However, this may require a bit more work for the student.
1.1. Erasmus+ exchanges
Erasmus+ is an EU-funded program that aims to increase the cooperation of studying and youth work in Europe. It is probably most known for student exchanges for university students. They usually last 6-12 months and include Erasmus scholarship. An important thing to note is that, even though Erasmus is EU-funded, there are also other countries participating in the program.
I did my own exchange through Erasmus in France in the spring of 2022. Since I know this exchange program best, I have written a separate post about it to give you more information.
I wrote also a post about doing an exchange in France.
2. Summer schools
If you are not interested in spending a long semester in another country, it is also possible to study abroad for a shorter period. One of these kinds of options is summer schools. Many (if not even most) universities organize this kind of summer program and they vary in duration and theme. Thus, there are a lot of options to choose from! The downside is that these programs usually cost something so you may also want to look for options for scholarships.
As part of my internship in Germany, I was able to participate in the International Summer School of the local university. I will tell you more about it in a special post!
3. Language courses
If you are interested in learning languages in a local environment, you could take a language course abroad. Summer schools may offer some university-based language courses, but private companies also organize these kinds of programs such as EF: EF Education First – Global Site (English)
4. Internship abroad
There are a lot of options to do an internship abroad. If you are interested in something like this, you can search for international internships the same way you would search for them in your home country. Jobteaser and Linkedin are your friends. Also, organizations such as the European Union and the United Nations offer a lot of internship opportunities (though, I am not sure if the EU accepts others than EU citizens). Your country’s embassies and other international organizations like them may take interns which could be an option, too. Be creative while searching!
When searching for an internship, there is something to keep in mind: are the internships paid or not? For example, as far as I know, the internships at the UN are unpaid, which is unfortunate. However, there may be options to get scholarships for internships. For example, EU citizens can get a scholarship for an internship from Erasmus+ (again), which is great.
I did my internship in Germany and got the Erasmus scholarship. Here is more about it: Internship abroad?
5. Volunteering
Volunteering is a great way to spend some time abroad! There are a lot of options that differ in length, country, and type of volunteering. The downside is, of course, that while volunteering you are kind of working, but you are not getting paid (or at least not a lot). Some volunteering programs may even require you to pay your in-keep or participation fee! But most of the time your stay is covered and volunteering is a great way to travel if you do not have a lot of money.
Some volunteering options I have heard about:
– Volunteering in hotels or hostels etc. (you work for your stay)
– Volunteering camps: short-term mobility, may include a small participation fee. You can search places for example on this database: Workcamps – SCI International Voluntary Projects
– International Cultural Youth Exchange is an organization that has a lot of opportunities to volunteer around the world which seems super cool. Unfortunately, they have a small participation fee but you could still search for what they have to offer: ICYE Home – International Cultural Youth Exchange
– European Solidarity Corps or ESC (previously known as European Voluntary Service): different volunteering options in Europe funded by the EU. I worked as an EVS-volunteer in a kindergarten in Vienna and it was my favorite experience abroad so far. I will write more information about this!
6. Working
Yeah, you can also search for jobs abroad. Similarly to an internship, you can just search for jobs like you would do in your own country, but only places that accept foreigners. For example, places like theme parks and festivals may be happy to hire people from other countries.
6.1. Au-pairing
A well-known way to work abroad is au-pairing. Au pairs work in host families where they take care of the kids and do small chores. In return, the host family hosts the au pair (you could have never guessed that, right?). This includes food, accommodation, and other stuff like that. The host family also pays au pair a small amount of pocket money. Some organizations send people to do au pairing abroad, but you can also do it independently. For example, AuPairWorld is a great place to start looking for the host family: Find your au pair or host family today – AuPairWorld
I did au-pairing in the summer of 2020 (which was a very peculiar time) and share my experiences in the following post.
7. And of course travel blogging!
Some people actually get their whole income by travel blogging (not me though). If you are interested in this possibility, many travel bloggers share their knowledge on how to do that to get you started. While I was searching for inspiration to start this blog, I found these bloggers very helpful: I am Aileen, The Blonde Abroad, and Happy to Wander.
And who knows, maybe I will write about this also someday!
In addition to my list, there must be many many other ways to go abroad to do something longer-term. I will keep this post updated, but in the meantime, other bloggers have written about cool options to travel around the world. For example, I enjoyed the stuff The Wanderlust Rose has written on her blog, so go check her out!
Hope my list gave you inspiration to plan your own adventures on the world. Next, I will continue my blog by writing more detailed about my experiences on traveling, so keep reading!
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