[dataman85]

The good thing is you will need to make comparatively very little amount of money. If you can make around $25K/year you can live very well in S & SE Asia, parts of S. America and I would guess Africa.

If you work as a freelance developer, and have already established a good network, it is fairly easy to lead this kind of life. Working remotely is very common, and if the client knows you are good, he would not care where in the world you are. But if you don't have an established network, it is harder to find work while you are on the road.

Starting your business is also claimed as a possibility. But I personally have not come across anybody running a successful business and spending a lot of time on the road. But I am sure some people pull it off, a la Tim Ferriss.

Oh, and teaching English. Great way to see the world, and money is good in places like Japan, Korea and increasingly China.

Even if you cannot figure out a way to work from the road, just save some money and get going. It really requires very little money, e.g. you can explore the whole of SE Asia for about $1K/month.

Good luck!

[vijayr]

To teach English, you should know another language too, isn't it?

It is very much possible to live in places like SE Asia for $1k per month (I'm from India, it wouldn't take even $1k, especially if you are single)

[kirse]

To teach English, you should know another language too, isn't it?

Nope. In fact if you are the stereotypical American with no accent, speak great English and know none of the foreign language you are usually far better off because they only want you speaking in English and teaching in English.

Not to mention the better schools get to have their American "poster boy" so they can show they've got quality English teachers in their school.

(This is at least what I gathered from a number of teachers over in Taiwan when I considered doing it).

[fluffster]

the stereotypical American with no accent

:D

[lallysingh]

Not at all. I've got a few friends in South Korea teaching English. None of them know Korean.

[vijayr]

How do they teach then? Are they teaching students who already have some English knowledge? Your friends are helping them improve, instead of teaching from scratch? Its understandable if thats the case.

[ibsulon]

Second language acquisition beyond entry level should be in the target language. There are methods ( http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/language_stages.php is a quick example ) that require no actual native language knowledge on the part of the teacher.

I haven't taught a second language myself, but I am around a few people who teach or have taught languages, and I've picked up on it a bit.

[dataman85]

Most of the times they have some prior background in the language. But often you teach to very young kids as well, in that case you are usually paired with a local teaching assistant.

[vijayr]

ok, that makes sense. any idea how the pay is? enough to sustain oneself and travel?

[kirse]

http://www.eslcafe.com/

Check the left hand side for the forums, there's volumes of information on just about any question you could ask.

Tealit.com is good for Taiwan.

[shiranaihito]

I share your.. concerns.

Of course, the people teaching English without knowing any of the local language would claim everything is alright.

But it's undeniable that teaching will be more efficient if you do know some of the local language too.

[noodle]

not necessarily. the example i know about is japan -- many places prefer people who don't speak japanese. it forces interaction in english, the language they want to learn.