Raise your hands if you’ve ever seen headlines like these:
“How I Quit my 9-5 Job to Travel the World”
“10 Ways to Quit Your Job and Travel the World Cheaply”
“How to Start a Blog and Make Money to Travel the World”
I see them all the time and my guess is that you do too.
I used to be skeptical anytime I saw one of those headlines, but come to find out, some people are truly living that lifestyle.
It’s not as common or easy as some might lead you to believe, but I have good news for you.
It’s possible.
The process takes time and plenty of hard work.
You must start a blog, grow its audience, and find efficient ways to monetize it in order to achieve the success required to live this kind of lifestyle.
In this article, we’ll look at 19 bloggers who are doing this exact thing. We’ll see how their blogs are making money, as well as the ups and downs of building a location independent lifestyle.
Let’s roll.
Blogger #1: Sean Ogle from Location Rebel
Sean was a financial analyst working 60 hours a week.
As a financial analyst Sean felt that no matter the effort. The result, compensation, and recognition would all be the same.
His unhappiness at work led him to start a website called Location 180 (no longer in existence).
About 9 months later he quit his job, sold his car, and moved to Thailand.
From there, he was able to grow his blog to the point where he could live his dream lifestyle not just in the short-term, but forever.
How Sean makes his money:
- Selling online courses, programs, and products
- Affiliate Marketing
Find out more about Sean:
Blogger #2: Matt Kepnes from Nomadic Matt
Matt took his first trip overseas in 2004. He did so by using the two weeks vacation he had accumulated at his job and headed to Costa Rica.
That trip changed his life. From that moment forward he was hooked on travel.
Matt took his second overseas vacation in 2005 to Thailand. There, he met a group of backpackers that changed the way he saw travel.
They weren’t rich, but were not tied to a 9-5 and traveled for a living.
Fast forward to 2006… Matt exchanged his cubicle job for a life of adventures across the world.
He has traveled to over 100 countries and even found the time to write a New York bestseller: How to Travel the World on $50 a Day: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter.
How Matt makes his money:
- Selling travel books and online courses
- Affiliate Marketing
Find out more about Matt:
Blogger #3: Brendan Lewis from Fluent in 3 Months
Better known as “Benny,” Brendan is a globe trotter that is fluent in seven different languages.
He left Ireland in 2003 with no return ticket and to this day he still doesn’t have a place to call home.
Brendan says “everything I owns in the world weighs 23kg/50lb and comes with me.”
Can you imagine living like this? Must take some serious commitment at first, but it sure seems to work for Brendan.
Brendan started his blog after six years of non-stop travel, as a way to hold himself accountable by announcing his project of learning a new language in three months to the public.
Fast forward to 2013 and he was named National Geographic’s Traveler of the Year.
How Brendan makes his money:
- Selling books and online courses
- Affiliate Marketing
Find out more about Brendan:
Blogger #4: Caroline Makepeace and Family
Caroline and Craig Makepeace are a married couple from Australia who call the world their home.
They started traveling 21 years ago and are now accompanied by their two daughters, Kalyra and Savannah, in their world travels.
Their goal nowadays is to prove that travel does not have to stop when kids arrive. They home-school their daughters and take them on all their traveling adventures.
The Makepeace family has been featured by global brands such as: Lonely Planet, Skyscanner, Expedia, Afar, CNN online, Business Insider, ABC radio, The Travel Show, Huffington Post, Pinterest.
How Caroline makes her money:
- Selling eBooks and online courses
- Affiliate Marketing
Find out more about Caroline:
Blogger #5: Steve Kamb from Nerd Fitness
Steve was a nerd struggling to get fit. Once he found some success, he decided to help other nerds whom were also struggling to get fit.
He started off by purchasing the domain “Nerdfitness.com” in 2008 and writing content that would help fellow nerds make healthier choices.
The website took off and in 2011 he embarked on a nine month international travel extravaganza.
During this time he visited 19 cities around the globe. Care to know how much he spent in air travel to visit all those cities?
$418.36!
Yep, that’s right… less than $500. Wouldn’t you love to follow in his footsteps?
How Steve makes his money:
- Private coaching and online courses
- Affiliate Marketing
Find out more about Steve:
Blogger #6: Paula Pant from Afford Anything
Paula started out as a newspaper reporter in Colorado. She didn’t earn much — $21,000 per year, but she loved what she was doing and the people she worked with.
She loved everything about her life except one teeny-tiny little problem: she lacked freedom.
Paula was irked by the fact that she needed to submit a request to go to the beach or hike up a mountain. This set her on a journey to escape the 9-5 and take complete control of her life.
She accomplished this by earning extra money on the side as a freelance writer and saving every dime.
Welcome 2008… Paula put in her resignation and purchased a one-way ticket to Egypt. She spent the next two years backpacking through Asia and Australia.
She returned to the U.S. in 2010 and built a six-figure income as a self-employed writer. She then set her sights on becoming financially independent.
Now she lives by the motto “You can afford anything. Just not everything.”
How Paula makes her money:
- Client consultations
- Podcast sponsorship
- Affiliate Marketing
Find out more about Steve:
Blogger #7: Nat Eliason from Growth Machine
I don’t know where to start with Nat. seems like he’s involved in an a gazillion businesses and has more websites than I can keep track of.
He has lived in many places and visited even more…. Traveling is just a way of life for Nat.
It wasn’t all fun and games though. Nat set himself on living the 4-hour workweek and once he accomplished it, he found out he was missing something:
“As soon as you get that freedom, you realize that a fundamental part of being human is doing things, and once you have no things you need to do you can get listless and depressed.”
He had to dig deep to fill “the void” as he calls it and is now living his ideal life.
How Nat makes his money:
- Client consultations
- Selling apps and courses
- Different business ventures
Find out more about Nat:
- https://www.nateliason.com/
- https://www.cupandleaf.com/about
- https://www.yourgrowthmachine.com/
- https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com/
Blogger #8: Amber Fillerup Clark from Barefoot Blonde
Amber is the woman behind the massively popular blog Barefoot Blonde.
She got her start while in cosmetology school back in 2010. She heard of a service trip to Fiji and immediately set her sights on going and documenting every moment on her blog.
Once she got back, she continue blogging and turned her blog into one of the most popular lifestyle blogs around.
She’s currently living in Arizona with her husband David, two kids Atticus and Rosie, and their dog Chauncey.
Amber has lived in Hawaii and visited many countries throughout the world. You can find out more about her travel adventures by visiting her blog where she provides travel tips for her readers.
How Amber makes her money:
- Selling hair products
- Brand sponsorships on social media
Find out more about Amber:
Blogger #9: Melissa Giroux from Broken Backpack
Melissa or “Mel,” as she prefers to be called, used to be a social worker and travel agent.
Even though she owned her travel agency, she was only able to take one vacation a year due to her workload.
So… guess what she did?
She sold everything and purchased a one-way ticket to Turkey… Only to return two weeks later because of some “creepy” guys who followed her on the journey.
A year went by and she tried it again. This time she moved to Australia, backpacked through southeast Asia, and then temporarily moved to Europe.
That was back in 2014 and she hasn’t stopped traveling ever since.
Mel considers herself a budget traveler, and being that she used to be broke all the time. She turned herself into a digital nomad in 2016 and hasn’t looked back since.
How Mel makes her money:
- Display ads and affiliate marketing
- Selling travel services
Find out more about Mel:
Blogger #10: Michelle Schroeder from Making Sense of Cents
Michelle graduated college $38,000 in debt.
This debt became inspiration for starting her blog makingsenseofcents.com. She was able to payoff the debt in 7 months.
Michelle now considers herself an online freelancer and solopreneur.
Her blog brings in over $100,000 each month and has given her the freedom to become a full-time traveler.
She just finished living in an RV and touring North America. Now, she is living on a sailboat, preparing to cruise the world.
She’s the definition of a superstar and one that we can learn from.
How Michelle makes her money:
- Selling courses
- Affiliate marketing
Find out more about Michelle:
Blogger #11: Anthony Metivier from Magnetic Memory Method
Anthony Metiver is an unconventional addition to this list.
Unlike many of the bloggers on this list who run blogs on popular niches, Anthony took a different path to success.
He is the brains behind the Magic Memory Method, which focuses on teaching people how to improve their memories.
Not exactly a water cooler topic, but one that Anthony has turned into a massive success.
He currently lives in Germany and has traveled to places like Israel, Egypt, and Australia.
How Anthony makes his money:
- Selling courses and programs on memory improvement
Find out more about Anthony:
Blogger #12: Kate McCulley from Adventurous Kate
Let’s get back to “conventional” with Kate McCulley from Adventurous Kate.
Kate is a native Bostonian, now living in New York.
She spent four years establishing her career in online marketing, then decided to pack her bags and travel to Southeast Asia for six months.
She loved the trip and decided to turn it into 7 years across 77 countries and 7 continents.
Not bad for a 26 year old!
She is now 34, settled down in New York and travels “only” 25% of the time.
How Kate makes her money:
- Public speaking
- Affiliate marketing
- Freelance writing
- Ad campaigns and selling branded products
Find out more about Kate:
Blogger #13: Cait Flanders from CaitFlanders.com
Cait got her start as a personal finance blogger on her site Blonde on a Budget.
In 20011, she was -$28,115 in debt and looking for a way out. She set her sights on lowering that debt by $1,700 a month and finding joy in doing so.
She planned on doing so by not indulging in things she didn’t need such as eating out, and shopping.
Long story short, she succeed and became a New York Times best selling author for her book The Year of Less.
In it, she documents her life for the first twelve months of her two-year shopping ban.
Today, Blonde on a Budget no longer exists as Cait finds more joy writing about her minimalist lifestyle.
While living a minimalist lifestyle Cait has traveled all over the U.S., U.K, and Canada.
Cait is a true role model for those looking to get out of debt and live a simpler lifestyle.
How Cait makes her money:
- Selling physical and digital products
- Affiliate marketing
Find out more about Cait:
Blogger #14: Colin Wright from Exile Lifestyle
Colin used to own a successful branding studio in Los Angeles.
However, he wasn’t happy running the company and decided to focus his attention on being happier, healthier, and doing work that he believe in.
In 2009, Colin sold everything that wouldn’t fit in a suitcase and started traveling full-time.
He has been doing so ever since. Moving to a new country every four months or so based on his readers votes.
Interesting way to travel wouldn’t you say?
How Colin makes his money:
- Speaking events
- Selling books and business investments
Find out more about Colin:
Blogger #15: Jodi Ettenberg from Legal Nomad
After saving money while working as a lawyer, Jodie quit her job in 2008 with plans to travel the world for a year.
The original plan was to return to her career as a lawyer once her traveling desires were fulfilled.
She’s going on 11 years now and her travel desires have yet to be fulfilled so “lawyering” up is not in the cards.
During her first year traveling Jodie starter her blog, Legal Nomads, to recount her time living and eating abroad.
Little did she know that Legal Nomads would turn into a huge success. To the point where she’s been able to continue traveling the world and live her dream lifestyle.
How Jodi makes her money:
- Speaking events
- Freelance writing
- Affiliate marketing
Find out more about Jodi:
Blogger #16: Chris Guillebeau from The Art of Nonconformity
Chris is the author behind two New York bestsellers: The $100 Startup and he Happiness of Pursuit.
He traveled to every country (193 total) in the world by the age of 35.
His daily podcast, Side Hustle School, is downloaded more than 2 million times a month.
Chris is an influencer focused on achieving personal goals, while helping others at the same time. He’s the definition of what a successful blogger looks like.
How Chris makes his money:
- Selling books
- Live events
Find out more about Chris:
Blogger #17: Josh and Ryan from The Minimalists
Most bloggers in this article travel because their blogs afford them a location-independent lifestyle.
Josh and Ryan, on the other hand, travel because their business model requires them to.
They go on book tours and hold live events throughout the country which focus on living a minimalist lifestyle.
When they go on tours they pack everything needed in a carry-on bag, with the 20/20 rule in mind… Don’t bring anything that can be replaced for $20 in less than 20 minutes.
Sounds like an intriguing way to travel doesn’t it?
How Josh and Ryan make their money:
- Selling books and courses
- Live events
- Affiliate marketing
Find out more about Josh and Ryan:
Blogger #18: Johnny from Johnny Jet
You’d think a person who travels 150,000 miles a year would never be afraid of flying.
But that’s not Johnny’s story. He was diagnosed with asthma at the age of 17 and was terrified of getting on an airplane.
Determined to travel abroad, Johnny got off his asthma medication and got on a plane at the age of 21…. Today, he seems to spend more time at airports and and inside airplanes than anywhere else.
He started his travel bog, Johnnyjet.com, as a way to share with his friends how to travel economically, comfortably, efficiently, and with plenty of style.
The blog is now one of the most visited travel blogs in the world.
Congrats Johnny!
How Johnny makes his money:
- Display ads
- Sponsored posts
- Affiliate marketing
Find out more about Johnny:
Blogger #19: Tommy Walker from The Wandering Walker
I wanted to include Tommy in this list because he wrote a superb article on the hardships of traveling.
As you might have guessed, traveling is not all about the glitz and glamour you see on TV or the incredible pictures you seen on blogs popping all over the place.
Traveling requires you to deal with new languages, cultures, food, government systems etc. Sometimes you have canceled flights or delayed trains that can completely ruin your plans.
However, for people like Tommy and those listed on here. It’s all worth it. They don’t mind dealing with the bad, so long as they continue fulfilling their dreams of being world travelers.
How Tommy makes his money:
- Freelance writing
- Sponsors and blog ads
- Affiliate marketing
Find out more about Tommy:
Could you become blogger #20?
If you love traveling, blogging is probably the easiest and least costly business you can start to earn money while globetrotting around the globe.
As you can see from the list above, people from all walks of life run successful blogs that allow them to travel at will.
They don’t possess special powers, nor do they have special skills that you couldn’t learn if you put yourself to it.
So what’s stopping you from becoming blogger #20 on this list?
