Travel
Ask questions, share adventures and information, have fun!
FAQ
"How much does traveling cost?"
Cost of living(rent, utilities, data/wifi, groceries) is $500 USD per month for most countries, up to $1000 for most others.
"Health care and insurance?"
Health care and insurance abroad are both pennies on the US dollar for the highest quality of medical care
"What about visas?"
You usually don't need them; when necessary, visas are almost all entirely online: a fifteen minute e-form and nominal fee offset in your first day by the drastically lower cost of living abroad.
"How do you make money while abroad?"
Any job that nets you $500+ a month works. There are almost 2 billion English students globally right now, so native English speakers have lucked into a guaranteed job on or offline.
"What qualifications do I need as an English teacher?"
Some countries and schools require a TEFL certificate or prefer candidates with an associate's degree depending on the position, but if you want to teach English, all you need is to be a fluent English speaker.
Rules
-
No misinformation
-
Be civil
view the rest of the comments
Heck yeah we are!
That's actually making me wonder now if I walked to any of the tiny close islands connected to shore during earlier trips.
I fully intend to go to some of the smaller islands the next time I can afford to go to Japan. I've been to Tokyo and Osaka so far, so the next trip will have a week either in Sapporo or on Kyushu.
I was initially planning on Sapporo this trip, but then found out that a lot of Hokkaido architecture is less traditionally Japanese since it's the most recently populated and developed main island, but it still sounds great for all the natural beauty. I'll likely go to Hokkaido or Kyushu next time, good choices. I don't know anything about Kyushu, but being part of Japan, it's got to also be great.
I mean, there were people on Hokkaido before the Japanese colonized it.
Yea, the Ainu and their ancestors... Lemme check, I was just reading about them. Emishi. And then their ancestors can be definitively traced back to about 35000 BCE right now, a bunch of islanders likely from mainland East Asia.
Sapporo itself was only built in 1870s ish, so as a modern city so recently colonized by Japan, apparently it's a lot more European boxy-looking rather than tiles and sloping roofs everywhere. Still looks like a cool city, very different architecture than much of the rest of Japan.
Great statistic from wikivoyage: "Sapporo's population has grown from seven in 1857 to nearly 2 million in 2021."