Hospitality/tourism jobs are in demand everywhere and if you have experience and a resume, you can get your foot in the door almost anywhere. Even in countries that are notorious for their foreigner job restrictions, there is room in the hospitality/tourism industry. This goes for everyone from hotel managers to horseback riding instructors to tour group operators. Those are usually the most flexible jobs as well...

Not everyone lives in America. Americans often forget that you have the lowest cost of living and the lowest median wages of any developed country.

Pilots do not sleep in Airport hotels. Most international airline staff stay in 4-star accommodation while away from home.

You can rent an apartment. You can couchsurf. You can stay with friends who live in the town you are visiting. You can rent a room in a share house. You can stay in a hostel. You can get a job that provides accommodation.

Good luck finding friends or couchsurfers with their own international airlines though.

It's also sad when you have to buy a Toyota instead of a Bentley just to save money. But a Toyota will still do everything you need it to do.

Top-rated hotels mean nothing to me. I don't want service, prestige or good restaurant reviews. I don't travel places to check out what their hotels are like. I just want a place to sleep and an internet connection. I can get that anywhere, why waste money?

Fair enough, things may be better in EU/AUS.

But when you are stuck in some hotel it's just not the same, no matter how many stars the hotel has. You are still stuck in a hotel instead of relaxing at home with your sexy girlfriend, or with your hot new date, or with your friends, or playing your dog.

The only people who think traveling jobs like this are fun are people who have never traveled for work.

Staying on someone else's ratty couch or in some dingy hostel is not something I would want to do just to save money. And all the other options require tons of logistics. Good luck renting an apartment for a month in - let's say - Japan. Those short term rentals are always ridiculously expensive. Generally, cheap apartments require long leases and usually don't come with furniture.

I see your point... lodging can be cheap. You can always stay for free in a tent and bathe in the local river like a bum. I guess what I'm saying is that I wouldn't want to travel like a bum.

For a quality travel experience, lodging is much more expensive than the transportation to get there.

If you think it's so easy, why don't you find me a place in Tokyo for 5 weeks that will cost me less than the $1000 flight? Then we can compare if that's the sort of environment you want to live in for a month...

I don't care about top-rated hotels and I almost never stay in 4* hotels if I am paying the bill. I just don't want a roach infested couch or 30 year old bed-bug hostel mattress as my accommodations. That's OK for a night or two, but it's a miserable existence in the longer timeframe.


A clean, single room, in decent area of town, with clean bathroom, IS expensive almost everywhere in the world I have visited.

I am not comparing flight cost with a tent because I wouldn't want to live out of a tent. I am comparing flight costs to a nice, clean room with a nice, clean bathroom.

Bit of an unfair comparison, don't you think? A decent hotel room for a month in Tokyo would cost you $5,000. But the apartment I find you has to cost less than $1000?

But anyway, here's an apartment in Tokyo for $750 for a month.

Here's one for $950 per month.

Both are available for 1 month minimum rental. Both pretty small but hey, that's Tokyo. Most of the locals live in apartments that size.

I found these on the first page of a google search for "cheap monthly apartments tokyo". With a bit more time you could probably find a lot better deal.

Here's an awesome money-saving tip that I worked out a few years ago though. If the bathroom in your apartment isn't as clean as you like, you could always spend 15 minutes a week cleaning it yourself instead of paying an extra $2000 for a month in a hotel. Crazy right?

Were you brought up with servants or something?

I'm actually emailing these two suggestions. (I usually monitor Flyertalk to look for interesting deals on flights and there are cheap flights to Japan on offer) We'll see what they say about renting it for a month in August.

In theory, you can renovate and clean anything you want. But you can't clean bed-bugs or roaches out of your place if the whole building is infested in roaches and bed-bugs. You can't clean up mold, and you can't repaint nasty stained walls. That is a lost cause. At the very least, it would take a ton of your time.

I'm 32 years old and slumming it is not as fun as it was when I was 17. I guess I'm getting old. These days, I want a clean, bright, comfortable space. It doesn't have to be anything special. Just clean, bright, comfortable.

You can get significantly cheaper and better deals if you are willing to share a bathroom with 2-3 other people. Search for guesthouses on the same site.

I'll check that out... I usually monitor Flyertalk for interesting flight deals. If something catches my attention, I look around for accommodations to see if it's worth it...

I've been a buyer for 11 years and have travelled loads for my job, in Europe, Asia and US.
I always enjoyed a job where you get to travel around, even though it nit often for sightseeing.
Have not yet lived abroad for my job, as I twice just missed out on a Hong Kong and Singapore transfer, but it's certainly possible.

sports investor / sports bettor

You waited 7 years for this moment?

There's actually lots of monthly accommodation in Tokyo for around $1000. There are agencies like Sakura House, Interwhao, and Oakhouse that rent out apartments and private rooms in shared houses. You can rent a decent room in a non central part of town for $700. And the good thing about Tokyo is that even in the non central parts of town, it'll be extremely safe, with lots of awesome shops and restaurants, and connected to everywhere by train. And it's Japan, so generally speaking it is going to be spotlessly clean.

poker player is obviously the best job to travel with. It's still possible to win at NL50-100 and it's enough for travel

welcome. Just dusted of my account over at fullcontactpoker. joined 2004 post count 3

Starting/owning a business can afford good travel opportunities.