I started my journey around the world because I love to travel and the economy and business climate was slow providing the time. Unfortunately, my trip was brought to an undesired halt nine months early, and I’ve had plenty of time the past four months while recuperating to contemplate my future. The economy is supposedly stabilizing, however the commercial real-estate market is still sinking, thus I am posed with the challenge of remaking myself. What do I do? Well, I’ve been thinking, if I had unlimited money and time what would I do? Easy, I’d spend the next 15-20 years traveling to every country in the world. In–spite of my accident, and at the moment still incapable of travel, my passion for travel has not waned and I dream of being able to see and explore the world like few have done.
My dream is to comfortably visit and experience every country in the world over the next 15-20 years while spending no more than 50% of my time on the road. If I could figure out a way to travel for 4-8 weeks alternating with 4-8 weeks home planning the next trip, it’d allow me to have a family life while achieving the goal of visiting every nation in the world. The big key, how could I make a career living out of being a tourist that would pay for the travel, my home and life in Tampa, insurance, and fund retirement savings etc?
How many countries are in the world? It’s a changing number and it depends on the source you consult. The United Nations (UN) currently has 192 members and some consider this the official total. The Travelers Century Club (TCC), a private club for people who have been to at least 100 countries, currently counts 319 countries throughout the world. Most Traveled People (MTP), a website for people who want to travel “everywhere” identifies 773. Which is it then? Well, as countries goes, the TCC list and definition seems the most logical as MTP is counting places such as regions and territories within a common country. For example MTP counts all 50 states individually. Why not then count the more then 3000 counties across the 50 states as areas too? While the idea of going “everywhere” is exceptionally appealing my goal is to experience some of each country and not simply set foot in a geographic area, saying I’ve been there. The 319 TCC countries thus fits my dream.
To date, I’ve been fortunate to have visited 31 of the UN Countries, experienced 42 of the TCC countries, and traveled through 82 of the MTP locations (MTP has a neat mapping tool of places I’ve been-Flash Required). That leaves me with only 277 TCC countries to go, a whopping big number! Meaning I’d need to make it to 15-20 countries a year for the next 10-15 years.
Why you may ask would I want to do such a thing? Simply, I’m a dreamer. I love to travel and see new places, meeting new people and new cultures. Is there a way for me to make a career out of this? Is there a way I could earn money from this blog or something else? I don’t know. Basically I’d like to become a professionally paid tourist or some might say a perpetual tourist. I want to see the exquisite, the good, the awful, and everything in between. Life is about experiences and I want to squeeze the juice out of it.
I’ve shared this dream with a few close friends and now I’m throwing it out to the world. My dilemma is how to pay for such a lifestyle. Most of the folks listed on MTP as being the most traveled inherited wealth, made fortunes in other manners to self fund their adventures, are retired, or simply hoboed around the world at near poverty levels. Unfortunately, I don’t have the war chest to accomplish such a feat and don’t want to do all the travel at the backpacker level. I realize this could be a pipe-dream. Is it possible to live ones dream while earning a decent living? I’m asking for your help. Please call or send me your thoughts. Help me brainstorm how I might make accomplishing this fantasy a reality. No idea is too small or mundane. I will post brainstorms for all to see and contribute.
How much would this dream cost, meaning how much will I need to earn? Well, first note, discussions of money are very relative and some people get very fickle when it’s discussed. Someone in Mongolia reading this blog might think my numbers are outrageous while someone else in The Cayman Islands could think they are exceptionally small. I’m not really sure what it would all cost, but since I’m dreaming I think a very rough estimate of $300,000/ year budget would do. I know the goal could be accomplished for less if all my travel were as a backpacker, but since this is my dream, I’d like to be able to do it with some style. Although, it could cost far more if I was after five-star. Reality I’d like a mix of experiences. I want to stay in $3 hostels in some places followed being able to experience some of the luxury premier locations as well, coach on some flights and first class on others. So breaking down the math, what could I do to provide $1,000 of value to 300 people a year, $100 of value to 3,000 people a year, $10 of value to 30,000 people a year, or $1 of value to 300,000 people a year? Note, I wouldn’t have to make this amount the first year, but I’m looking for ways I could fund backpacker level travel along with my expenses at home which has the potential to be grown into larger amounts. To reach some of the more remote locations in the world it will eventually take a bundle far greater as the logistics alone cost a small fortune.
I look forward to hearing your ideas. Here’s to dreaming…….
