SA is a twenty-something who has frugally managed to travel to countries like Italy, Guatemala, New Zealand, and England. In this podcast she tells us about her favorite places, how to find employment abroad, and the benefits of studying abroad in college.

Remember, you can subscribe to the podcast’s RSS feed or download and subscribe on iTunes to get every episode delivered to you.

The Foreigner’s Finances Podcast Episode 6

[02:30] – How she became interested in traveling

[05:00] – Why small colleges are great for students who want to travel

[08:00] – What traveling does for your resume

[12:00] – Where and how she traveled in college

[22:00] – How to get employed as a worker abroad

[30:00] – Her life back in the U.S.

[31:00] – Her favorite frugal travel tip

Thanks again to SA and if you have any questions for her, leave them in the comments below, and she’ll get back to you soon. You can also check out her online business card for more information and a way to get a hold of her.

Photo: ccwycoff1

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Erik is a good friend of mine from college and has managed to travel to over 10 countries and 25 states on a tight budge all before he turned 23. In this episode Erik shares his favorite travel websites and hacks for keeping your domestic or international travel within your budget.

Erik and his girlfriend Amanda are also the creators of the web comic Clint Pidgewood so we discuss how this project came to light and the laughs you can expect from their twice-weekly comic.

You can download the podcast on iTunes or listen below.

If you’d like to subscribe to The Foreigner’s Finances Podcast you can through the podcast’s RSS feed.

The Foreigner’s Finances Podcast Episode 2

[00:23] - Welcome world traveler and good friend Erik Hajek from ClintPidgewood.com

[01:20] - Erik’s travel history

[01:58] - Erik’s favorite frugal travel tips

[06:10] – The best cheap airlines

[07:25] - Discussing road trips

[15:00] – Cheapest and best international destinations

[17:25] – The overrated aspect of the language barrier when traveling

[19:00] – How Erik talked me in to traveling to the border of North Korea

[21:25] – The creation of Clint Pidgewood

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Here are some of Erik’s favorite travel sites:

Air Asia – Cheap flights in southwest Asia

Cheapoair – Cheap flights around the world

Ryanair – Cheap flights within Europe

Megabus – Affordable bus rides around the U.S. and UK

Lonely Planet Forums – Helpful for planning trips with advice from travel experts

Wiki Travel – Wikipedia for travelers

Moon books – Travel books for any destination

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The post-college but pre-full fledged adult years (22-27) are a really interesting time for people. Every one has different priorities, expectations, motivations, and dreams. Many people choose to get a job or chase after a career, but the outliers are the most interesting ones. They are the ones that open up your mind to new possibilities and make you look at the world around you in a fresh way.

Today I’d like to introduce you to one of these outliers – Rachel from the blog, Pirat. Rachel and her fiance are sailing up the eastern seaboard as we speak and plan to take their adventure into the Caribbean someday.

This interview was really fun to do so I hope you take something away from Rachel’s attitude towards life.

Austin: Can you give the audience the cliff notes to the last 5-10 years of your life?

Rachel: I went to college at UC Berkeley, graduating in 2007 with a double major in anthropology and linguistics. I went straight to graduate school after that, studying museum anthropology at the University of Denver. During that program I worked at the National Park Service for one summer and at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for a little over a year. I really enjoyed my schooling at DU and the jobs it connected me with. I could have made a career at either the museum of the Park Service.

I also met my fiance while attending grad school. Lee and I met on a Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) hike in June of 2008. We had both just joined the club and ended up hiking all over the Rockies together and with the CMC.

In April of 2009 we started talking about going sailing. Lee was frustrated with his job at the National Renewable Energy Lab and we both wanted to do something adventurous and offbeat while we were young. I don’t really know how the idea of sailing came up, perhaps it came from our discussions about weird accommodations we would live in (we lived in a warehouse in Denver and Lee has always wanted to live in a tent). I said I would live in a boat in a heartbeat, so we began the search for a worthy sailboat.

A: What’s your sailing background like?

R: I grew up sailing on my family’s 42-foot sailboat, raced dinghies in high school and college, and raced big boats regularly during that time as well. Lee’s parents had a 35-foot sailboat when he was growing up and he is a capable wind surfer.

A: Describe the adventure you two are currently on.

R: We decided we wanted to go cruising. We would start sailing wherever we found a boat we liked and bounce around the ocean for a while. We never really had the goal of sailing around the world nor did we set a time limit on our trip. We’ll sail as long as it’s fun and affordable.

We found our boat in Padanaram, Mass. After looking at a handful of sailboats on both coasts. Fortunately several trips we’d already planned allowed for boat shopping. Buying a boat was a trying experience. Doing research, dealing with brokers, surveyors, and owners was incredible difficult from our remote location in Denver. We did end up with the right boat in the end. It was a good fit at a good price and I became attached to Pirat very quickly.

In October 2009 Lee and I quit our jobs. People really had to believe we were serious about the sailing thing at that point! We drove back east and spent the winter living on the boat in Rhode Island. Fortunately, Lee’s parents live in Maine so we spent a lot of time up there and they helped us make it through the cold winter.

A big part of the adventure during that period was Lee working on projects to get the boat ready while I finished my Masters thesis. Lee is an engineer with a Masters from MIT so his background helps immensely with boat work. He’s also just very handy, good with tools, and a fast learner. We saved a lot of money thanks to his research into the products we needed and his ability to do the work himself. Lee installed the auto pilot, new batteries, an inverter, various upgrades to the electrical system, the GPS/chart plotter, RADAR, new holding tank, an ingenious bicycle mount that allowed us to take our full-size bikes on the boat…the list goes on. All that was his full-time job for 5 months. Meanwhile I managed to finish my thesis. I think I really needed the motivation of the sailing trip to get it done as soon as I did.

As the winter came to a close we modified our original plan a little bit. Instead of heading to the Caribbean as soon as we could we decided to cruise up and down the eastern US for a while. There was no way we would be ready to sprint down through the Caribbean before hurricane season.

A book, The Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew by Lin and Larry Pardey has very helpful advice for supplies and everything else you could imagine dealing with on an extended sail. They started doing exactly what Lee and I are doing in the 60′s when they were the same age we are (24 and 29). As far as I know they are still sailing, or at least continued into this decade. They started on a 24 foot wooden sailboat with no engine that they built themselves. I found their story pretty inspiring.

A: What is your itinerary for your journey?

R: Right now, we’re heading for Chesapeake Bay. We’ll probably sail around there for a while, meet up with some friends, and then sail back North to cruise from Rhode Island up to Maine. Hopefully we’ll spend some time at Block Island, Cape Cod, and all those quintessential New England cruising grounds. I’m particularly looking forward to Maine and exploring all the secluded little bays.

In November, the ideal time for passages south, we’ll head down to the Caribbean. That gives us a few months to island hop and find the perfect location for our wedding! Beyond that, we don’t have much of a plan. Eventually we’d like to go through the Panama Canal to the Pacific and cruise up Central America, Mexico, and California. The South Pacific looks awfully tempting too!

Our plan all along has been to spend as much or as little time in a place as we feel like. If we find a place we like we might try to get jobs and stay for a while. Lee’s skills and tools will be in high demad for boat repairs in out of the way places. There are little local museums all over where I might be able to help out. I also happen to be a certified yoga instructor so I can always do that.

A: What are the boat expenses like?

R: Right now, our biggest expense is probably diesel fuel. The wind has been pretty light so we’ve been motoring a lot. Our engine is tiny and uses very little fuel by power boat standards but it adds up. Our tank holds 27 gallons and diesel is about $3/ gallon right now. We’ve gotten diesel three times since we left, mostly to keep the tank full just in case.

Outfitting the boat was the most expensive aspect of this endeavor but we went for some major upgrades that we probably didn’t have to do or could have avoided if we’d bought a different boat and settled for something simpler. The Pardeys are big advocates of small sailboats with as little technology as possible being a very inexpensive way to go cruising. If they can sail around the world without an engine or fancy equipment like GPS and RADAR then we could have done it that way too.

We avoided paying the state registration fee by documenting the boat instead. Documenting requires a one time fee of less than $100 while registration has to be renewed and paid for every year. Buying a pre-owned boat in Rhode Island was tax free. That varies by state.

Docking fees, or boat storage, vary by season on the east coast. We kept our boat in a slip in the water at a marina in Rhode island for $1,200. That was 6 months of “winter wet” storage. Most people have their boats taken out of the water for the winter. During the summer when everyone wants to use their boats permanent storage is more expensive. It is definitely cheaper to keep moving and anchoring in new places every night than it would be to stay in one slip or on one mooring all summer.

I have a feeling this is the most expensive part of our trip right now. Cruising down southern New England to the Chesapeake we often have no choice but to pull into populated ports and pay for dockage or mooring. Hopefully we’ll be exploring little anchorages in Chesapeake Bay as well as up in Maine later this summer. Then we’ll drop anchor every night and our accommodations will be free.

One helpful factor is that we’re starting sort of pre-season so we’ve talked people down on mooring fees ($45 to $30) and don’t have to compete with a lot of boats for anchoring space or anything.

Also, now is a good time to buy a boat. They are even being foreclosed on, like houses.

A: How do you organize meals and food?

R: I cooked on the boat all winter. We avoided eating out much partly because we both prefer home cooking and partly to save money. It’s tricky because of limited storage space, especially in the ice box (yes, it’s not a fridge, but an ice box). I pretty much went shopping for a few things every day.

Before heading out for our sail south I stocked up at Trader Joes, Costco, and the regular grocery store. I had a sizable rebate from my Costco credit card so that bill was reduced by about 50%. I filled the space under the forward bunk with giant boxes of oatmeal, protein bars, canned tuna, pasta, rice etc. I have all the staples to cook pretty much anything I want. Produce is really the only problem. I’ve stocked up on that a few times since we left, basically whenever I have access to a grocery store I buy enough fruit and veggies for a few days but not so much that it will spoil before we eat it. Of course we have to keep a good supply of ice in the box as well.

We eat almost every meal on the boat now that we’re cruising. Dinner out is kind of a treat. Right now we are only sailing during the day. That means we leave from wherever we are in the morning, sometimes very early, like 5 am, and get to our destination in the afternoon or evening. We have to time things with the tide and wind. We try to anchor whenever we can but we have also tied up to moorings and come into a few docks.

Anchoring is free and uses all our own gear. It’s kind of like just parking your boat somewhere. A mooring is a preexisting anchor you tie up to. Marinas and yacht clubs own them. We tied up to a free one owned by the city on Long Island, NY. The others range in price from $20/night to $35, at least that’s what we’ve paid. Some places charge by the foot of your boat length per night (so $2/ft/night) and it gets pricey. Right now we’re docked in Cape May, NJ to wait out some bad weather. We would love to anchor but there is no place deep enough for our boat to anchor so we’re sort of stuck paying for a slip. It adds up to about the price of an average hotel room and you get showers, an electrical hook up, access to water, laundry, and wireless internet. It’s really not a bad deal.

A: What do you do on the boat while you’re sailing? Read, write, etc?

R: …stare off into space. Lee tends to fiddle with the chart plotter, figure out navigation, or read. We both steer the boat and make adjustments to the sails. We have an auto pilot so we don’t have to steer the whole time. We admire the scenery when that’s available. New Jersey has been really boring to sail past but we did see a few dolphins and the lights of Atlantic City.

I read a bit, cook, sleep, write in my journal. We also just sit and talk a lot, mostly about the plan for the next few days, the weather, boat issues etc.. While we motored through New York city we made a list of people to invite to our wedding.

A: Do you have boat and individual insurance?

R: Yes, we have boat insurance. It’s not required, like car insurance, but it makes us feel a bit more secure. The cost varies based on things like your sailing experience and where you’re sailing. We’ll have to upgrade our insurance when we sail to the Caribbean. It’s not horribly expensive but it is more than car insurance.

I am hanging on to my dads health insurance, which I can stay with for a few more years thanks to the new health care bill. Lee is on Cobra from his former job.

A: What do your friends and family think of your adventure?

R: They all think it’s great. I think our dads are a bit jealous. What we’re doing is every sailors dream. My dad is also outfitting his boat for some extended cruising so maybe he will be inspired to do the same thing when he retires. I know my mom worries about us but she knows our capabilities and trusts our judgement. I guess we’re really lucky that no one seems to judge us negatively for ditching our careers and taking off on this adventure. Lee is just kooky enough that anything he pursues doesn’t surprise people. Our families and friends recognize what we’re doing as a positive contribution to our life experience. I plan to put this on my resume when I do apply for jobs again. Especially as an anthropologist, seeing the world and experiencing life in a non-traditional, highly problem solving oriented way should make me better equipped to any job I would want to do. If I can’t use what I learn here in my eventual career then it’s the wrong career.

When we first formulated this plan and started telling people about it we got a lot of smiles and nods. I’m sure people were thinking that we were crazy and not really going to go through with it. It was pretty funny when we bought the boat it became clear to people that we were not kidding.

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Thanks a lot to Rachel for this look into her sea world (ha!) and make sure to check out her site Pirat for updates about their journey.

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Since I’ve been traveling a little bit more than usual within Japan, I posted a video about my favorite travel hacking personal finance tip that I think people tons of people could use in their lives to save hundreds of dollars every year: simply traveling with a water bottle.

Enjoy and feel free to share your favorite travel hacking money tips in the comments!

[If you can't view the video, click here to go to the page]

[:18] –  My favorite travel companion: the water bottle.

[:30] –  Savings of $250/year by avoiding buying drinks.

[1:00] –  I saved over $25 in 1 weekend in Osaka thanks to my water bottle.

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When you think about moving abroad to work, countries like Taiwan, Korea, or Brazil come to mine. But occasionally an outlier pops up as is the case with Corinne’s ex-roommate and our friend from college, Sarah, who has lived in Norway with her boyfriend for almost 2 years.

Here’s my interview with Sarah where she shares details about her job, the scenery of Norway, universal health care, and the price of milk.

Austin: How did you get to Norway?

S: I moved to Norway to be with my boyfriend. We met in Illinois when he was home for Christmas break in 2007. He was working as a teacher in Norway and I was still in school. We did the long distance thing until I could move to be with him after I graduated. He came home the summer of 2008 and we flew to Norway together in August.

A: How did your boyfriend originally get to Norway?

S: August (the boyfriend) had a Norwegian girlfriend that he moved here to be with so he just moved into her families house and they lived together here a little over a year before they broke up. Aug started working in the school as an assistant about a year after he first moved here and then they hired him on for a year and then another year and then they offered him “fast” which means permanent. When they broke up, he had gotten the job at the school so he just found a little apartment close to work and stayed. He really enjoys the outdoors so he wasn’t quite ready to leave Norway’s beautiful scenery.

A: What is your job?

D: I am working in a preschool in Norway. I was lucky enough to get a job offer from the school after I had been here a few months to obtain a language practicum. I work with kids from 1-5 years old.

A: How did you go about getting a visa to work in Norway? Do you have an official identification card?

S: It’s called oppholdstillatelse, which means “permission” documenting that August and I would be living together as a couple (i.e. many couples in Norway are not married, but have a civil status known as samboer “living together”) and I would be actively trying to find work. I found work within 2 months of living here. I started subbing in preschools and then ended up getting a job offer. You have to have a politiattest (they check your record) in order to work with children.

The permission to stay is granted for a year and then I have to reapply each year until the fourth year and then I can apply every two years, which is what Aug does. After living in Norway for seven years you can apply to become a Norwegian citizen, but I am not 100% on the details of that. I do have an official stamp in my passport with my picture and the permission is cited there.

A: Do you have previous international travel experience?

S: No I did not.

A: What was your initial opinion of Norway?

S: That the scenery was from a dream. Our first house was right by the ocean with mountains in every direction. Pretty surreal when you go from central Illinois to that.

A: What surprised you the most?

S: How nice the people were. Everyone was very helpful.

A: What was/is the hardest part about moving to Norway?

S: I miss my family and friends. But at least I have Skype, without that I think I’d go mad.

A: Do you have a car and license?

S: We do have a car. Well it’s Aug’s, but I drive it too. I am in the process of getting my Norwegian license. I just have to take a first aid class and then a written test. It’s different depending on whether or not you have a license from before. It can be quite expensive for the classes though, about $250. But you never have to renew your license. Aug’s is good untl 2099. So no messing with the DMV haha.

A: What do you miss about America?

S: Restaurants:) I am dying for some good Chinese right now.

A: What’s your favorite experience from your time in Norway?

S: I would have to say all the outdoor adventures that August (her boyfriend) and I have been on. It has been an amazing experience to go on ski trips and just be out in the beautiful nature here.

A: Do you plan on staying in Norway for a while?

S: We’re not sure how long we will stay here – maybe a couple more years. It’s hard to tell with the financial situation and job market in the U.S.

A: What’s the hardest part about Norway financially?

S: I would say that the overall cost of living is higher. Groceries for example. Milk is about $5.00. It’s like taking the price in the U.S. and doubling it.

Fortunately, travel is cheaper if you are traveling within Europe. You can find really cheap flights on sights like http://www.ryanair.com/no

Rent is about $900 dollars a month. We rent a house, but ours is out in a rural area and that can affect the price.

A: What’s the easiest?

S: It’s easy to find work that pays well. And you don’t have to worry about insurance because they have universal health care. I would add that with having a job it is not financially difficult to live here because we make more than we would in the states. I would say that Aug makes about $60,000 as a P.E. teacher and I make about $35,000 working in a preschool 36 hours a week.

A: Have you had experience with their insurance?

S: Everyone in Norway is covered whether you are employed or not. I have used the universal health care to go to a regular check-up and to get my meds that I use in the states transferred so I could pay less for them here.

A: How would you suggest someone to find the job you did?

S: I found my job kind of on a whim, but I would suggest that if you plan on moving to a different country, that you dedicate time to the learning the language. I use Norwegian everyday at work and I would even go as far to the say that I use it more than English overall. I wouldn’t have found a job without learning the language first. I would also suggest trying to network with people that are in the field you would like to be working in.

This is a website that helps people find work in Norway: http://www.nav.no/

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Thanks to Sarah for sharing the story of her amazing journey.

Check out Sarah’s blog, Driftwood, for some incredible photos of skiing and their adorable puppy, Koda, in Norway.

If you have any questions for Sarah about life in Norway, leave them in the comments below!

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There’s multiple ways to get a job as an ESL teacher abroad. The truth is, a lot of these available jobs are found through unconventional methods.

Today we’ll learn about one unconventional way to work abroad as an ESL teach from Danielle of the blog Danielle in Brazil. Danielle writes about teaching English and living in a small town in Brazil with her husband.

I won’t spoil the details of her journey to Brazil, but I guarantee it’ll make you look at ESL jobs abroad differently.

Austin: How long have you been in Brazil?

Danielle: 2 years as of last Saturday.

A: What brought you to Brazil?

D: Well, love! I was an English teacher in the US. I was working at an international English school in California. I met a student named Alexandre who was studying abroad from Brazil.

The rest of the story is pretty cheesy: we fell in love, but he had to go back to Brazil. We stayed in touch, and he convinced me to try out my teaching life in Brazil (with him, of course!). My original plan was to stay for three months and see what I thought. Obviously, I thought well of the place, because I’m still here!

Brazilian visa laws allow tourists to stay for only 6 months at a time, so after 6 months we got married at a Brazilian cartório (the equivalent of an American city hall marriage) so I could stay long-term. (That’s why I call him my “husfriend”… not quite a husband, not quite a boyfriend!) So now I live here and I’m still teaching English.

A: Where in Brazil do you live?

D: I live in the state of Sao Paulo, very far inland. (In Portuguese, the region is described as “the interior”.) I avoid saying the specific city because it’s so small and I’m one of the only foreigners in a pretty wide radius. Let’s just say it’s the cultural equivalent of Kansas.

A: How do you maintain an income?

D: I teach English at a school a bit, and I also do occasional translations for medical journals. But the bulk of my income comes from teaching private English classes out of my apartment to individuals and small groups.

A: What’s your previous travel experience?

D: Before moving to Brazil and traveling around this country, I hadn’t traveled much. I’m only 24, and I was too busy working to pay for college to travel much. I visited a few states in the US, Mexico quite a few times (including a wonderful trip to Guadalajara with a dear childhood friend), and I also went to Spain while I was getting my Bachelor’s.

A: What’s your average day like?

D: Since I teach adults, most of them need classes after work (so in the evenings). I usually teach from about 2pm-9pm. In the mornings, I sleep in, go to the gym, make a big lunch for myself and Alexandre, and run whatever errands I have. The husfriend’s in charge of dinner, which I usually eat pretty late.

A: How do you keep in touch with family and friends?

We’re big fans of Skype and Google Talk. My grandparents also pay for an international calling plan so they can use the real phone once in a while. But I give them most of my little life updates through my blog.

A: What’s the best and worst thing financially about Brazil?

D: A big benefit about living in a small town surrounded by farms is that our cost of living is relatively cheap (my bills are only about 11% of my teaching income now), and important things, like food, health insurance, and rent are very, very inexpensive.

But partly because the value of Brazilian currency (the Real) is relatively low, partly because of strict import tax laws, and partly because of the lack of a big middle class, any kind of “luxury” things (i.e. not essential for living), like restaurants, home appliances, electronics and especially travel are VERY expensive. So it’s frustrating after growing up in the US, and is pretty limiting (especially the travel aspect). But it’s also forced me to be less of a Consumer with a capital C and to appreciate what’s important.

A: What bills do you have? What is the cost of living?

D: My bills are pretty minimal. Alexandre and I split the bills 50/50. I pay half of the rent, electricity, phone/internet, food, and a Brazilian bill called condomínio. It’s kind of like HOA dues, except every renter pays it. I personally think it’s a rip off, but that’s another story.I only have a pre-pay cell phone, and I hardly ever use the thing.

Alexandre has a car, but he doesn’t have a loan on it or anything. So our agreement is that I don’t pay for repairs (only gas), but he gets priority if we both want to use it. But this is never a problem because we both live within walking distance of most things that we need, namely work (and most of my work is from home).

My bills come to about 450 reais (about 250 dollars) a month, which is very cheap, even for this country.

A: Have you sent money home? If so, was it easy/difficult?

D: I’ve needed to deposit money into my American bank account a couple of times. It’s difficult because I can’t open a bank account here. I can’t open a bank account here because I work under the table at the school. I work under the table because I need a Brazilian ID, and I still haven’t mine, a year and a half after applying for it.

I had to deposit the money in Alexandre’s account, and then he paid for a wire transfer to my bank – which also charged me a fee for receiving a wire transfer. There is a bank in Brazil – Santander – that allows for cheap wire transfers is both accounts are in my name. So once I get my ID, I can register at the school where I work, or I can register as self-employed – teaching from home -, and then I can receive the Brazilian equivalent of W-2s, and open a bank account.

A: Who would you recommend the job to?

D: I moved to Brazil with a BA in Linguistics and half of a Master’s in Applied Linguistics / Teaching ESL, but without any connections. So I had experience, but I had to start from the ground up. I applied to schools where I work, and they had no problem hiring me under the table. Once I started networking and meeting more people here, I was able to build up my base of private students.

If you want to teach English in Brazil specifically, you have to have a lot of initiative. There is definitely a demand for you – trained or not, though at least a TESL certificate will make you better -, but Brazil isn’t big on programs like JET that hold your hand and place you somewhere.

In fact, any kind of teaching program that you find here is going to be convenient and will give you a good experience in Brazil, but it’s really going to rip you off salary-wise. So if you’re doing it for the money and not just for a working vacation in Brazil, I wouldn’t go through them.

I think I’ve been able to be successful as an English teacher here for a few different reasons:

1. I’m a native speaker living in an area without any other native speakers.

2. I have training in linguistics and teaching ESL, as well as teaching experience.

3. My “husfriend” is from the country, so I just moved in with him and didn’t have to figure out housing on my own in a foreign country. He’s also been a huge help logistically, like negotiating with students when my Portuguese was still basic and recommending me to everyone ever (friends, co-workers, the dentist…). Oh, we also don’t live with his parents, which is pretty rare in Brazil. It’s a big plus, in my American opinion.

4. He’s also cool with me teaching from home, and having strangers troop through the house all afternoon and evening.

5. I speak Portuguese (now).

5. I was patient– when you start out at an English school, you’ll hardly be making anything, and you have to have a pretty crappy schedule (early morning, late at night, Saturdays). You might also have to work at 2 different schools to garner enough hours to pay your bills.

I also didn’t speak Portuguese when I moved here (though I was fluent in Spanish, so I picked it up pretty quickly). There are also a lot of cultural differences that I had to learn the hard way.

It took me about a year to really get on my feet here financially (by “on my feet”, I mean making enough to actually save money and have some vacations once in a while and to be able to have only 1 class a week at a school).

So teaching in Brazil for your career is best if you’re patient, flexible, if you have some money saved up, and especially if you already have some connections in Brazil that can help you with renting a place and all that.

A: What do you enjoy the most about Brazil? What’s something you will never forget?

D: I enjoy the slow-paced life of my small town. I like that every region has its own unique culture and traditions, so domestic travel kind of feels like going to another country. (So far, we’ve been to Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Foz do Iguaçu, Serra da Canastra, and Salvador.)

Another thing that I really enjoy is all the natural phenomena, like crazy birds and flowers and bugs. Work-wise, I really enjoy talking to my students and hearing about their lives and interests. I’ll never forget… the sudden monsoon thunderstorms in the afternoon. They never stop being awesome.

A: What are some resources for people who are interested in what you’re doing? Websites, etc.?

D: Well if someone wants to teach in Brazil without going through a program, they first have to decide WHERE in Brazil they want to live, and go from there.

The big chain schools are called Fisk, Cultura Inglesa, Yazigi, and Wizard. Most big cities (and even small towns) have at least one branch. But each city also has its own mom and pop English schools that may be worth looking into (they’re kind of hit or miss).

If you don’t have any teaching experience or training and would like some, a good and respectable certification program is Oxford Seminars. You can get more details here: http://www.oxfordseminars.com/

There’s a very good website with lists of ESL jobs organized by continent and by country. It gets updated frequently, offers a mailing list, and includes jobs in Brazil: http://www.eslemployment.com/

I actually found a great job teaching English in Mexico through that site, but ended up turning it down to go to grad school.

If you just want to work in Brazil specifically, there’s a website with a lot of listings for jobs that require English speakers (not necessarily teaching): http://www.learn4good.com/jobs/language/english/list/country/brazil/

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A huge thanks to Danielle for this fascinating look at her life in South America.

Make sure to check out Danielle in Brazil to follow her journey. Also, make sure to check out her blog posts about getting started as an ESL teacher and teaching private English classes.

If you have any questions for Danielle, leave a comment below and she’ll answer your question!

Photos: Danielle

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Last Thursday, I interviewed a British filmmaker who had traveled to Kyoto on a whim, and ended up meeting his future wife and starting a new life.

Continuing with the theme of unconventional ways of moving abroad, today I bring you an interview with Brandon, an American who now lives in Germany where he’s currently a research assistant at a University.

Brandon and I discuss life in Germany, differences from American society, and suggestions for how you can move abroad and become a research assistant.

Austin: What’s your name and job position?

Brandon: My name’s Brandon D. Percle and I’m a research assistant at Ilmenau University of Technology in Germany.

A: How did you get to Germany?

B: My first contact with Germany came in the summer of 1997 when several members of my high school German class from Chattanooga, TN, took a trip to one of Chattanooga’s sister cites, Hamm. We spent a little over 3 weeks in the country, visiting with our host families and traveling around a bit. This whet my appetite for Europe and Germany in particular.

A year after that, I embarked on a full exchange year to Germany (1998-99), living with a family and going to school, being fully immersed in the culture and learning the language. This was my 11th grade year.

After that, I finished high school and began university in Chattanooga (UTC). During my studies, I began preparations to do another year abroad. However, I decided instead that where I really wanted to be was in Germany again. So I applied to a Germany university (TU Ilmenau) and exmatriculated from UTC. Since the semester in Chattanooga ended in May (2002) and my studies in Ilmenau wouldn’t start until October, I did a summer internship at a large German company. My first degree in Ilmenau was completed in 2007 and I have remained at the university since then in the doctoral program and as a research assistant.

A: Can you tell me a little about your school?

B: The Ilmenau University of Technology is a smaller university in the former East that specializes in scientific and technical fields, with an emphasis on mechanical engineering, mechatronics, electrical and electronics engineering and computer science. Like many institutions with a size of less than 10,000, the University has a rather intimate atmosphere with a low professor-student ratio. This is one of the many aspects that attracted me to it.

A: How did you find the job?

B: While working toward the German degree “Diplomingenieur” (engineering diploma, approximately master’s equivalent), I had been studying under the tutelage of the professors of metrology since my 5th semester, including doing the two required year-long projects and my “Diplomarbeit” (diploma thesis) within the Institute of Process Measurement and Sensor Technology. While finishing the thesis, my professor offered me a doctoral/research assistant position after graduation, which I happily and gratefully accepted.

A: How long have you been in Germany?

B: This stay began in May 2002. I had previously stayed in Germany for one year from 1998-99.

A: What’s your previous travel experience?

B: I have little travel experience outside of the US and Germany. I have otherwise only been to a few European countries (England, Scotland and Switzerland). I hope to finally get to France, the Czech Republic, Italy and Poland soon, time permitting.

A: What’s your average day like?

B: I have been working as part of a large team on a research project called the Nanopositioning and Nanomeasuring Machine. As such, my responsibilities involve programming microcontrollers, digital signal processors and regular computers. I also perform measurement experiments in the laboratory and do some of the minor design work. This all means that I have a standard 8-5 working day on most days.

A: Does the job require German skills?

B: Almost all communication in house is done in German. I do however assist everyone else in the Institute when it comes to correcting or even translating articles into English for conferences.

A: Do you have a salary?

B: I have a standard full-time university research position, including pay and benefits.

A: What’s the hardest thing financially about Germany? What’s the best? What bills do you have? What is the cost of living?

B: The amount of income tax in Germany is comparably higher than the US. Several everyday items are more expensive, as is fuel — the latter significantly more. On the other hand, fresh groceries are less expensive for example. In general, I don’t find a big difference in cost of living between where I live in Germany and where I lived in the US. Living in the biggest cities in the US would be more expensive of course.

As far as the best thing about Germany: socialized medicine. (I am of course admitting my opinion on the hot-button issue. ;-) ) The same applies to Canada, Great Britain, France and many more places. I do not have to worry about very many health care expenses beyond my monthly insurance premiums. The costs I would carry on my own are cosmetic or other “unnecessary” procedures. But I don’t have the worry that a sudden procedure will ruin my family financially.

As far as bills, we have pretty much the same bills we would in the US as renters: rent, electricity, internet, cable etc.

Here’s an interesting tidbit about the German rental market that I particularly like. Leases of indefinite duration are much more common here. We simply have to give three months notice before moving out.

A: Have you sent money home? If so, was it easy/difficult?

B: I send money to my US account about once a quarter using an online currency trading account. It has competitive rates and very low costs. Highly recommendable. Here’s a link to the company I use: xe.com

A: Who would you recommend the job to?

B: Anyone interested in a semester abroad or even a graduate program should definitely consider coming to Germany. The research is top notch and it’s a great place to live in general!

A: Do other foreigners work at the school?

B: I share an office with a guy from China and our Institute also has a Ukrainian employee and several students from Russia.

A: What do you enjoy the most about Germany? What’s something you will never forget?

B: I don’t think I can pinpoint one thing that I most enjoy; there are many little tidbits that make up my desire for living here. I am fascinated by the dichotomy between the “work hard, pay attention to details and especially be punctual” attitude of most Germans during the working day and the “eat, drink and be merry” atmosphere of the local bar after work or after classes.

I love the fact that my city is almost five times as old as the United States. I’m a big fan of bratwurst, sauerkraut and many of the German beers (especially wheat beer). The lack of speed limits on many sections of the Autobahn is really nice, too.

Of course, many things are similar to the US, naturally stemming from the fact that the US is European in origin. But one incident from my exchange always reminds me that I am still living in a different culture than the one I grew up in.

About a week into living with my host family, I was sitting at the dinner table with them and my host brother had his left hand under the table. His father became annoyed and scolded him a little, saying “Hands belong on the table!” My first thought at that moment was imagining my mother were scolding me, except that it would have been the exact opposite: My hand would have been on the table and she would have warned me to get it off.

Like I said, it’s the little things that add up to make a huge difference in the end!

A: What are some resources for people who are interested in what you’re doing?

For some general information for Americans coming to live in Germany, I highly recommend the AmCham Germany site: www.amcham.de. Another site for Expats is www.toytowngermany.com. Specifically for studying in Germany: www.study-in-germany.de and www.daad.de.

The sites have information about scholarships and grants as well, but public German universities do not have high costs other than living expenses. The attendance fee per semester runs in the neighborhood of 100 EUR ($133) or so and some states have begun assessing an additional 500 EUR ($666), but not where I live. Generally, students do not have to buy textbooks (there is no bookstore per se, rather a copy shop), just a collection of lecture notes for each class. This too keeps the costs down compared to an average American university.

Finally, the website of the university where I work is www.tu-ilmenau.de.

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Thanks to Brandon for taking the time to share his story. It’s really cool to see someone create such a close connection with a country outside of their own.

If you liked this interview, check out my chat with Luke – the British filmmaker living in Kyoto with his new wife.

Have you ever been to Germany? What did you find interesting about German life?

Photo: Kecko

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Luke and I got to talking and I quickly realized he had a fascinating story that I needed to share.

On a whim, he left his hometown in England to travel to Japan.

He loved his time in Japan, ended up meeting and marrying a Japanese woman, and now he’s living in Kyoto and finishing up a documentary movie called, Wonderland – a look at synchronicty coming out this summer.

I asked Luke some questions over e-mail and he was a gentleman and sent them back.

Enjoy the interview and see what you can take away from Luke’s amazing story.

Austin: What’s your name and where are you from?

Luke: Luke Hancock and I’m from England.

A: How did you get to Japan?

L: Towards the end of my degree in University in the UK I had a growing intuition that I should go to Japan, which was based on nothing.  I’ve had enough tuition from life to teach me that one must pay attention to one’s intuitions.  So as big and scary a move as it was, I picked up my bags and left…

A: What was your initial attraction to Japan?

L: I didn’t really know a lot about it.  It just felt like the right thing to do.

A: What was the hardest part about moving to Japan?

L: Initially lonliness and the language barrier.  And then later visas.

A: What did you miss about England?

L: People I could talk to and relate to easily.

A: What’s your favorite experience from your first year here?

L: Huge synchronicities that kept popping up, which made me felt to me like confirmation that moving to Japan was the right thing to do, despite the fact I kept asking myself over and over “WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE???”.

Like for absolutely no reason at all spending 3 hours listening to Informer, by Snow, reading his wikipedia page and generally wasting time.  Then finally randomly deciding to go outside, get on a bus, and get off at a random stop and see what happens.  Well I did that and walking straight into a Lawson convenience store and that song is playing, loudly.  Lawson don’t even play music in their stores, so it was a bizarre one, but there were many others like it.

A:  How long have you been in Japan?

L: Getting on 3 years.

A: Where did you meet your wife?

L: Outside Nanzenji temple in Kyoto.  She was studying the streets for her new job as a jinriksha and was lost, so I helped her out and it went from there…

A: What did her family think of her marrying a person from another country?

L: Her parents are pretty liberal and cool people.  Despite the language barrier that remains, we have a good relationship.  Her grandparents are a bit more old-school and I’m sure must inevitably harbour some remorse, but don’t show it and are incredibly friendly.

A: Has she been to England?

L: Yes.  She came to meet my family before we got married. It was a fun trip.

A: What’s the most difficult thing about marrying someone from another culture?

L: Learning the subtle nuances inherent in their culture that are lacking in our own, which translates to me being an accidental barbarian infront of her friends and family and not even knowing it.

Simple things like interrupting in conversation – in Western culture finishing another’s sentence and cutting into what they’re saying is good, because it means you are listening.  Here in Japan that’s a heinous crime, and is incredibly rude, but somehow I can’t stop doing it because it is deeply rooted in my cultural programming.

Yeah all that, and of course the Dolphin issue.

A: Do you plan on staying in Japan for a while?

L: She’s got a job with JICA, so we’re off to Nepal pretty soon, but I wouldn’t object to being here longer.

We just got back from a 6 week honeymoon in Mexico, and it was striking to see how grey and concrete Japan is by contrast.  Not just physically, but emotionally and energetically also.  But at the same time it is paradise here, because people are so incredibly respectful, and it feels safe, which are things that feel conspicously absent in the rest of the world once you’ve been in Japan for a while.

A: How has life been different in Japan, since you married a Japanese woman?

L: I stopped having to spend time being upset that it is so difficult to find a like-minded woman here who speaks good English who could become a partner.  They’re rare gems, but they sparkle bright and stand out in the crowd.

A: Any last bits of necessary info. my readers should know?

L: If you’re new in Japan, or are thinking about coming, then you’ll most likely first experience the Giant Ice Wall that stands between you and the culture around you.  It’s not like other countries where people are friendly and can easily be approached in the street and talked to.  They freak out here when you do that.

Anyway, if you feel you’re supposed to be here then you most likely are, and so with a bit of persistence the Ice Wall melts. Learning the language helps a great deal. If I have one regret it would be that I didn’t put more effort into the language, and after 3 years still feel quite inept in conversation.

That and follow your intutions and look out for synchronicity. It helps the process of moving country a whole lot easier.

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A huge thanks to Luke for a fascinating look at his life in Japan as a married man.

For those who want to know more about synchronicity, you can check out Luke’s film in progress at http://www.synchronicityfilm.com/

Also, head over to the movie’s forums to learn more and share stories about synchronicity.

Photos: Luke and laszlo

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*Update 5/24/2010*

A reader recently e-mailed me and told me about her troubles opening up an account with Vanguard since she was a foreigner working in Singpaore. It appears it is incredibly difficult for Americans who live abroad to open taxable accounts with brokerages and banks.

I’ll be updating this topic this week with new information. I apologize for the misinformation below.

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On Thursday we took a look at why Americans working abroad can’t invest in a Roth IRA and how to avoid double taxation on foreign income.

We learned you don’t have to pay taxes on your income while working abroad. Great! But how do you save for retirement without access to tax-deferred accounts like 401ks and IRAs?

Unfortunately, you’re hands are tied as a foreigner working abroad – at least compared to our friends in America with access to 401ks and IRAs.

You still have the option of investing your money in taxed accounts in America through a broker like Vanguard, Schwab, E*trade, or Zecco but you don’t receive any tax benefits and have to pay taxes on your gains and dividends.

These accounts don’t require you to be in America so you’re more than willing to set one up to start your retirement savings.

Retirement seems far away, but the sooner you start, the easier it is to properly save. Don’t let the absence of tax-efficient accounts scare you away from starting your retirement savings.

A taxable account can be a great start for your money and then when you eventually return home, you can take your progress and continue on with a IRA or 401k.

Here’s what you should know before you invest, and some options if you choose to take the plunge into investing for retirement.

Look Into Your Crystal Ball

It’s important you have a plan with your money before tying it up in stocks or index funds. A tanked market can really do a number on your short-term savings plans, so it’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to money you’ll need in the next decade or so.

Here’s some questions to ask yourself before you start investing while abroad.

Do you need the money in 5 or less years? Look at your short and long-term plans. What are you planning on doing if or when you return home? Are you going to go back to school soon? Want to move out on your own, or are you ok with moving back in with your parents while you get your American feet back.? If you don’t have a clear answer for these question, then keep your money out of the stock market until you find some clarity in your immediate future

What’s your debt situation like? If you’re young and carrying credit card debt, that should be your first financial priority. If you try to invest and carry credit card debt you won’t get anywhere fast. Pay off your consumer debt with your foreign income and then you can move on to preparing for the future with retirement savings.

Student loans? Money in the stock market is fairly liquid – meaning you could have access to it by selling off stock, but it’s vital to have enough money to cover your bi-weekly or monthly student loan payments. Defaulting on your student loans is an ugly situation and one that should be avoided at all cost if there’s any concern of it happening.

Emergency Fund? Jobs abroad are just as volatile as jobs in America. A healthy emergency fund of at least 3 months living expenses will allow you to sleep peacefully in case your job happens to be terminated for whatever reason. Depending on your living situation in America, the size of the emergency fund can vary, but it’s wise to start one.

At first, try saving $100 a month and grow it from there. Like student loans, don’t ignore an emergency fund and move on to taxable investing. That’s like skipping middle school and hoping you’ll be okay in high school. You may survive, but every day could be a potential disaster waiting to happen.

How long will you be abroad? The length of your stay abroad will affect how you view retirement savings. If you’re only going to stay abroad for a year or less, don’t worry about taxable investing for retirement savings. You’ll be back soon and you can start savings using a 401k or Roth once you (hopefully) find a job.

If you’re looking to stay more than 2+ years then you need to consider your retirement savings options. It’s easy to do nothing and say you’ll worry about it later, but waiting too long to invest will kill your chance to excessively grow your money with compound interest.

If you’ve confidently answered all of these questions about your money and life and you have some excess cash and would like to get started, then taxable investing is your best choice for retirement savings while abroad.

Investing Options

If you’re new to investing, I along with anyone in the personal finance community, would suggest reading some books first. I have a couple of books listed on the Foreigner’s Finances Amazon store (affiliate) that I read when I first started thinking about investing. It’s vital you know what you’re getting yourself into before you go and make ignorant investing mistakes like I did.

Here are some options you have when you’re looking to invest.

Index Funds

Index funds are best for the passive or novice investor. My retirement savings are in an index fund and I feel comfortable knowing the fund is spread out across thousands of different stocks – negating risk.

These funds require a higher minimum investment (sometimes $3,000) but there are some options like the Vanguard STAR Fund which starts out at $1,000.

Individual Stocks

Buying individual stocks holds more risk than an index fund since a company could fail any day and your investment would be lost. On the flip, buying individual stocks can also provide a higher reward.

If you decide to go this route, choose what you know. Don’t pick a stock because you heard your dad talking about it or you saw it on a CNBC stock ticker once. You need to know the company inside and out before you invest not only your money, but your future in the company.

Lending Club

I’m new to Lending Club this year, but I’ve loved my time with the company.

At LC you can make loans to other people who are in need, and they pay you back over a certain amount of time . LC takes 1% of your return, but their average return is 9.65%!

So far Lending Club has helped fund over $91,000,000 in loans so they’re a trustworthy company that is doing a good thing for people.

Check out Debt Free Adventure’s extensive review for more info on investing with Lending Club.

If you’re interested in signing up for an account, use this link (Lending Club) and you and I will both receive $25.

Savings Accounts Are Always the Safest Bet

If you’re unsure about taxable investing, it’s wise to steer away.

If you’d like to start properly saving for your future while abroad, then periodically sending money to your home country to put in savings accounts or CDs is your best bet.

A lot of people will say, “the dollar’s weak, keep your money abroad!” In reality, they have no idea where the dollar will be tomorrow, next month, or 3 years from now.

Every 3-6 months send money home to hedge against the fluctuating exchange rates. You won’t gain 24% in a year like the yen got on the dollar over last year, but you won’t be on the losing end of it either (losing 24%).

ING Direct has my vote for best savings account.

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It can seem like a lot to handle, but there are a ton of resources available to help guide you through the process. Ask questions, read everything you can, and make a decision. Waiting 5-10 years could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in your life.

How do you manage retirement savings while working abroad? What suggestions do you have for those looking to get started?

Photo: Horia Varlan

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The following is a guest post by Kevin Fleming. Kevin runs CreditShout, a personal finance blog dedicated to educating people on how to manage their finances and reviewing the best credit cards.

College students who travel abroad often bring credit cards along with them in order to easily facilitate their overseas transactions. If you fit into this category, there are a few things you should consider when traveling internationally with a credit card.

Not only does the type of card you choose to use matter immensely, so does your record-keeping and your pre-planning.

Here’s a quick guide on going abroad with credit.

Some people think that traveling with a credit card is dangerous, and they opt instead to take cash or an ATM/debit card. In reality, a credit card is one of the safest ways to spend money as you pass your time abroad.

Credit cards have superior protection against theft and monetary losses when compared with other options. As long as you let your card issuer know that you will be spending time abroad (and get their international access number in case of an emergency), you will be able to rest easy using your credit card for any purchases you make.

Stateside, you probably use the card with which you are most comfortable. However, if that card is not an internationally recognized brand, you might have trouble using it in certain countries and cities.

Stick with a card that you know will be accepted wherever you travel. Check ahead of time because it’s impossible to know whether they’ll accept your card at every establishment you visit; stick with the big guns—Visa is among the best for international travel.

When you decide which card you will carry with you, call ahead and get a complete list of the additional fees you’ll have to pay on overseas purchases. Most credit card companies have a “currency conversion charge,” but many are also adding additional charges, such as transaction fees. The issuing bank will also have a fee, and the combination of these fees may end up adding to over 5 percent per purchase. This is another situation that will require you to do a bit of research and get as much information as possible before you get onto that plane to see the world.

Certain cards may be better for international travel since they don’t charge these fees. For example, Capital One promises a 0 percent transaction fee on some cards meant to use abroad. For American Express Cards, the fee is usually around 2.7 percent, which is just under the 3 percent fee usually charged by Bank of America, Chase, HSBC, Wells Fargo and Citibank.

Your credit card has a limit, and spending over that limit will result in you paying exorbitant fees. By the time you realize how much you’ve spent, it will likely be too late. Save all of your receipts as you travel to protect yourself against charges you didn’t make, and keep track of all of your credit spending in a ledger. Sign up for online billpay and statements—that way, every time you access a computer you will be able to compare what the card company says with what’s written in your ledger.

Do you want to take a card that will allow you rewards for your purchases? How much are you willing to spend while you’re overseas? Have you developed a contingency plan in case your card is lost or stolen, or in case of an emergency that costs you a lot of money?

Consider all of the odds, from beginning to end. Talk to others who travel frequently to other countries and ask them about how they planned to spend money during their trip. Create a budget before you go—daily, weekly, monthly, and incidental—and stick to it completely. Allow yourself enough leeway to splurge from time to time if you must, but don’t overdo it.

Planning ahead is the one single thing you can’t afford not to do.

Note from Austin: Do you have any experiences and suggestions for using certain credit cards when you traveled internationally? If so, please share your findings in the comments below to help out other readers/travelers!

Photo: LindyIreland

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