Post: #51

Spent most of my 20s traveling around the world. When you've gone broke with no lifeline in a foreign country and still pulled it off it really puts money issues in perspective. I was talking to my uncle about it - he has his shit together with regard to lifestyle and women, and traveled extensively himself in his youth - and described it as 'frontloading my retirement.' Essentially, I have to work longer now to make up the deficit. Worth it? So far, I think so. He agreed.

Post: #52

I'm combining both I suppose: working my ass off in a foreign country while still managing to travel and adventure. Fundamentally, I realize that maintain the lifestyle I'm accustomed to, I need a marketable skill set, which I've spent 6 years building. Currently I get the best of both worlds: work my ass off during the week, and treat it like going back to school to build skillz, then travel like Magellan on long weekends. It's what has really impressed me about europe: how close everything is, and easy to get to via easyjet/ryan air.

Post: #53

Not everybody's goal is to retire asap. Especially if you enjoy what you are doing for a living. And if you can combine that with travel, maximizing your free time, you won't have to worry about running out of money.

Post: #54

(03-23-2012 04:52 AM)pitt Wrote:  We have had many debates here about working hard in our 20s and then travel hard in our 30's or travel now.

Well im not looking to change anybody's mind but im just wondering how effective are you being with your time.

Are you young cats ignoring travelling right now and looking to do it later?

Let me tell you something, i wouldnt trade all the money in the world for the experience of going to Amsterdam when i was 16 (yes 16) and hitting all them strip clubs, it was an unique experience that wouldnt have the same effect on me now that im 26.

There are some cities that you could be hitting now where your young age and looks will have the same effect as having money in your 30s if not better. For example,i cant think of a single guy in London in his late 30s who was constantly banging young hot women, matterfact you being in your late 30s and hitting on young women, you will be seen as creepy, London girls are not really the type of girls to be golddiggers, unless you are famous or something like that. Think you are going to impress them with buying drinks in the club and drive an expensive car? Forget it. This applies for most of cities in England, if not all.

I'm happy that I will go on an undergrad exchange program next semester where a lot of my favourite types of girls are.

Usually I don't have much trouble getting girls but things are easier abroad for me (From my 15 notches around 7/8 are foreign). I don't feel as much as an lay target for a night here-although I definitely got some over the last 4 years) compared with other countries, especially in the social circles I'm hanging in.

I know that my city could be good for my career, and also there are foreign girls here ( city has the highest nationality count in the world) but I don't feel desired much by the local girls, even though I KNOW I will be in some years.

In other cities, I could also develop my career but more enjoying the attention I receive.

Is this the type of thinking you mean?

Post: #55

I am a permanent traveller. Although by traveller, I don't actually mean rummaging around to a lot of places and countries non-stop. I live in Latin America, I don't necessarily 'travel' here although I do bounce around once in a while.

I was afforded a nice opportunity when I was young to set myself up with a decent passive income almost straight out of high school. I don't make a lot, but it's enough for my minimalist lifestyle. I am 26 and since 20 I have lived in places like Mexico City, Santa Marta, Rio de Janeiro, Quito, and soon to be Buenos Aires. I have also been to almost every country in LA, and a handful in CA. On top of that, I actually know certain countries as opposed to just passing through them, like Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil.

I am interested in academia, and its something tied to my interest in Latin America. If you don't know, academia is any incredibly back-loaded career. People don't actually start earning (if you are a lucky one and get tenure) until they are mid 30s or later.

I get to travel around, live, do research, and study what I want with a passive income + funding from universities and the government. This is the life in my opinion, I don't want anything more than that.

So yeah, I am spending much of my 20s travelling, learning languages, understanding the culture of Latin America, and studying my ass off for possibly a very nice payoff...approximately getting paid 70K to do my own research and continue to go to countries that I have fallen in love with down here.

------------

What I will say about this topic:

Travelling around like a maverick and doing crazy shit, partying all the time and living in shitty developing country conditions gets old. I would rather do it while I am young, and I am already sick of most of the aforementioned. I don't care about retiring young, I love what I research and can be productive into my 70s if I wanted to. And from the ages of 40-60 I want to be comfortable and have goals and a passion for what I do, not the other way around.

Post: #56

For me I was always on the path for the big house and expensive car, I tried moving up the corporate ladder as fast as I could. At 26 I landed a plum job, unfortunately for me the job was horrible, I was completely stressed out, depressed, I would call into work sick every monday I just hated my life, my girlfriend even dumped me. I had no savings and was $10k in debt. Fuck.

One night I sat alone with my thoughts and concluded this was no way to live. At that very moment I decided in 18 months time I was going to throw everything in and travel the world. I managed to get a new job, sold everything I owned and started living a minimalist lifestyle.

18 months later I left the country and travelled RTW through Asia and South America for 11 months and I had a completely new outlook on life. I returned and picked up some work again dreaming of my next trip. In 2013 I spent 2 months overseas but it wasn't enough.

I am now in my 2nd month of a 10 month stint in Colombia, where I plan to perfect my Spanish.

My short term plan is to work 6 months and travel for 6 months. It MAY affect my job prospects but I am willing to take that risk.

Yes this has cost money, but living a minimalist lifestyle has allowed me to sample the best of both worlds and not worry about my financial situation.

Post: #57

Traveling the world and gaming are awesome until you realize you're the same broke scrub you were last year. Not cool.

(Still make sure to get SOME traveling done in your 20's however. Kids in college with parents money, go abroad for as many semesters as you can).

Post: #58

I don't see travel as a be all end all.
Many people criticize women saying they go on trips to"find"themselves.

Dudes do the same thing.
It's not much different if you travel expecting something without really working for it.

Of course I got 22 countries before I hit 22...but most of them..I learned nothing.
Only in a few places did I leave any valuable skills like language or a trade or make contacts that could actually benefit
me more than a notch count.
You're not gonna strike rich or find yourself abroad.

You're just gonna see how others live and hopefully become open minded.

I'm no saying, don't travel.
If you get the opportunity while young.. take it...

But don't expect the don't expect the world to look up to you or owe anything

Post: #59

I would strongly recommend all Western men travel before 30.

And it is not about having fun, enjoying the travel experience, and posting facebook photo-brags.
It is about knowing what is available in the world.

How sad it would be if you found your paradise-on-earth, but found it when you were 40. Your whole youth wasted in a relative shithole. Maybe married to some whale with a shitty attitude. Stuck in a dead-end job you despise, but stay in because you need to pay for your kids and mortgage. Hanging out with miserable saps who are in the same boat. What would life have been like if you found that paradise before you turned 30?

Traveling in your 20s should be a 'fact finding mission'. Its purpose should be to 'taste what the world has to offer'.

And its a lot easier to work hard and save money in the West if you know what lifestyle it can buy overseas. I think the 'six figure in six months thread' will testify to that.

Post: #60

Traveling have dominated most part of my twenties.
Ha, sometimes I wish I never went to that new years eve to Hong Kong.
Would probably still live in my own little narrowminded bubble then.
Just one of the local sheeps in the herd who know nothing more than their hometown.
So easy when you know nothing.

I got infected so hard by this so called travel bug so I developed an endless appetite for traveling and new countries. Not a single day goes by without some thoughts or dreams about traveling.

Travelling has by far been the biggest gamechanger in my life in the way how I view the world and my life.

I wonder what the next gamechanger could be that have the same impact.

Post: #61

Teens/early 20's: Backpack around the world
20's: Get money
30's: EE/Latin America
40's: Start Family
50's: SEA
60's: Philippines
70's: Stay thirsty my friends

Post: #62

Lol, so you start your family in your 40s, then abandon them in your 50s and 60s to live lazy and bang short tanned gold diggers, all of which you finance with the bulk cash you raked in during your mid to late 20s.

Not sure about this model

Post: #63

Just because you don't travel while young doesn't mean your miserable and lead a boring life

Post: #64

I think pretty much everyone on this forum is going to accept the benefits of travel - for both you as a person, spiritually and intellectually, for gaming the women of the world and for just seeing new and cool places. Given this, your 20s are by far the best time in your life to travel. Its all well and good being 35 but 'looking 25' but as others have mentioned you'll have a huge mental disconnect being surrounded by hordes of early 20s people in nightlife venues, no matter how you look. Plus the fact you might be dead by then. Traveling in your 20s is basically when you're young enough to still relate to everyone you meet, and have the energy to do every activity you want to do. You're old enough to presumably have a little bit of money (more-so than a student anyway), but young enough to still stay in hostels, or go to college parties etc. And, most importantly, you can game women from 18-35 easily anywhere in the world.

The key is realizing that for some holidays, there most certainly IS a time limit on them. If you're doing life right, you'd spend your 20s doing 'young people' travel spots. American college towns, Spring Break, the Thai islands, backpacking around Europe/S.America/SE-Asia, music festivals etc. Then, settle down in your late 20s / early 30s for a few years of hard work and making bank. Then start traveling again in your late 30s and do the 'grown up' places where having a bank roll is key, and where being older is less of an issue. Extended periods of time in Sao Paulo, Moscow, NYC, Shanghai, Miami etc doing it like a baller.

Wasting your 20s slaving away on the career ladder is a mistake most guys will regret once they hit their old age. Even if you're one of the minority who succeed greatly, and can afford to retire in your late 30s, you're still never getting back the opportunity of traveling the world as a young person. Travel now, then travel when youre 40 and have money AS WELL. Its not either/or. The career path will wait 5 years, seeing the world won't.

Post: #65

I do not understand why it is either traveling or working in the 20s. We probably need to find a definition of traveling. Jumping from Island to Island and Reggae Bar to Reggae Bar with a group of friends from home does not give you much advantages for your future.

And how can you travel for your whole 20s?

The people that really travel for 10 years straight are very, very rare. I have met a lot of extreme people on the read, but can count the encounters with such extreme long-term nomads on one hand. Most people have enough of traveling after 6 month to 3 years and even if you take it slow and only travel overland and by sea you can pretty much go to all continents during this period.

The key is to start working smart from the beginning and do not waste your time with jobs that do not get you anywhere, unless it is a combination of traveling. You can get a Work and Holiday Visa and work a few month in the Canadian oil fields or in an Australian mining town. Within a few month you will save enough money in order to keep traveling for the rest of the year, learn how to hussle and talk yourself into jobs that you have never done before, gain daily life insights into another culture and society (and isnt this what traveling is about?) and you will build a strong desire to never go back to a normal job again.

Or you start freelancing, get insights into internet marketing and eventually build your own business. And after a few month of hard work in Thailand or Vietnam you just travel around until you find the next cool place to settle down for a while and to build your future.

Both is a great mix of traveling and building your career. At the end it depends what one really wants in life. I always had a strong desire to see the world and made it happen. How could I ever put in the requird work in order to be succesful with business, while my dream was to see the world and to get laid with beautiful women around the world? Now I am location independent and would have a much easier time traveling the world, but it does not interest me at this point...

In my opinion the only key is to get out of your town and your comfort zone as soon as possible. And then give a shit about what others are saying is the best way of life and just follow your dreams.

Post: #66

Every day i imagine saying fuck it, buying a one way ticket and traveling the world.

Sometimes I hate myself for traveling so much already.

Post: #67

Chiming in here... I'm in Medellin right now and I'm the happiest I've been in my life. I'm living with 2 location independent entrepreneurs and starting a business of my own. I would never have met these guys if it weren't for travelling. And I wouldn't have learned so much about starting a business without these people.

Go out there and see things, find people who share the same values (you're lucky if you find it in your home town) and make stuff happen. For all the young guys on this forum I'm 18. Starting my first "Real" business and gonna run it until I either break down or break free. Break free from the rat-race and live on my own terms. Ie: not just 4 hour work week bullcrap like not waking up with an alarm, I mean working towards real tangible goals and operating a business that abides by your goals and code of ethics in life.

Start young so that even if you fail, you can bounce back and still have a lot of time. You don't want to realize that you've traded away your life for a comfortable existence of servitude and a so-so salary when you're 40 and go through a mid life crisis. You should be having a quarter life crisis right now and be pressured to make shit happen while you're still resilient.

Post: #68

(10-31-2014 08:08 AM)libertad1312 Wrote:  And how can you travel for your whole 20s?

Well, I'll tell you about my situation and maybe it can shed some light.

Came out of high school, made a couple moves and managed to establish a passive income of $1100/month + $50K in savings by the time I was 20. These two years (18-20) were pretty miserable, I hustled, lived at home, and didn't spend much money at all.

I took a tip to Thailand + Laos, didn't really like it all that much, and then enrolled in a community college.

Half way through my associate's there, I went on a trip to Brazil + Argentina + Chile in the summer. This was a trip that really piqued my interest in the region of LA.

After I finished my associate (now 22), I went on a year long trip to Colombia + Brazil, this further solidified my love for this region. That trip wasn't enlightening by any means, I actually spent most of it on the piss and fucking a lot of Latinas, doing a lot of stupid shit, and just being a bum really.

Went to Montreal, finished my bachelors (23-25). Both summers during this time I spent in Mexico, first one through the South, then the second one I stayed in Mexico City the whole summer. During that time I had a job as a research assistant which effectively payed for that whole summer.

After I graduated I moved back to Mexico City and stayed there for about 8 months (up until about now).

This is the point where that $50K is starting to wear thin (schools is expensive) despite the passive income coming in every month.

I left Mexico City about a month ago and have been in Quito since, I am moving to Buenos Aires next month, and will probably live for a bit in Sucre after that. I have been really working on my Spanish and it's just breaking out of an intermediate level now.

I am applying for masters programs right now, and if all goes to plan, with research jobs and scholarships/grants, I will come out of this program +30K in the black. I will also spend the summer during this program doing research in a Latin American city that I haven't decided yet.

I am also looking to sell an asset that will give me a large lump of cash. Will then apply for fully funded Ph.D. programs in the US. While I won't be 'travelling' (although I might spend summers down here as well) it's still experiencing another country. Not to mention, my field requires ~1 year of fieldwork (ie. living in Latin America) to complete the dissertation. So it's only really two years of coursework + remote living in Latin America doing research. Ideally, I could have $100K in the bank + $25K funding annually going into a doctoral program. Having cash, plus making money to study what I want and do research? Fuck yeah, if you are into it, who wouldn't want this?

So effectively, from the ages of 20-30, I will have lived in North America for a total of ~4 years, while the other 6 have been spent down here. So no, not 10 years straight, but pretty close.

---------

My lifestyle isn't fantastic. I have never owned a car, usually don't have a cellphone, have never owned my own living quarters, nor do I have very much clothes, possessions, or things to show off about. I have also spent a lot of hours slaving away in libraries or in front of my computer.

On the other hand, I am a bright student, I have a lifetime of life experiences at a young age, have fucked more Latinas than probably 95% of all North Americans, and have truly enjoyed the ride.

That being said, I have changed a lot since my early 20s. I partied the shit out myself and was unhealthy (mentally and physically) during much of my early 20s. I no longer go out during the night or drink, I don't do drugs, and I live a pretty simple life now. It gets old quick, I am telling you. I also don't try to fuck anything that is attractive that comes my way anymore. I actively look for short-term or longer term relationships because I find them more rewarding than SNLs. I stopped staying in hostels, I stopped moving around, now I just pick a city and stay there for however long I want. I stopped doing crazy expeditions and life-threatening things, I now focus on concrete goals like languages or applications for acceptances or grants.

That being said, you can't take the Latin America out of me. It's stuck. I am addicted to Latinas, my profession is tied to it, I care about the culture, and I love living down here.

I have made sacrifices and sometimes wonder what it would be like to live a more stable or comfortable life at home...then I realize that I wouldn't change anything because my lifestyle is aligned with my goals and values and I have absolutely no regrets pissing away my 20s without moving up in the business world.

Post: #69

Wish we could've met in DF when I was down. Would've loved to hear your experiences in person.. A lot of what you said is how I feel about Latin America (even though havent lived down there like you). If you got skype (since you have no phone #) would love to connect sometime.

Post: #70

I am a bit on the fence on this topic.

I think college is the single best opportunity for the guy who is red pill and game aware to have the time of his life. You are never going to have the same access to young girls as in college. I kept going to college parties as long as I could, though university lasts into late twenties in my country.

Who says they have to be exclusive though? First order for any college student should be to go on exchange. Excellent way to get used to the expat lifestyle and being able to bang girls on exchange with you and the local girls. You'll also have plenty of time to work on your online biz skills while in college and on exchange.

Next up, get an internship abroad. More of those available every day. You're young and don't need money or a big apartment. Internship in Bangkok? Shanghai? I banged a dutch girl who'd done both in succession.

All the while you're working on your passive online income. A couple of years, after exchange and internship, you have enough passive income for a modest middle class lifestyle in SEA or Latin America. You learned skills, have a college education, you have money. Go get a real expat job or focus on your own business and you're only mid twenties. Make contacts with people around the world.

If you're young and smart about it, you have the whole world as your playground. Many people have done what we're talking about here. It's been tested and verified. It can easily be done.