After turning 30 last year, I decided it was time to leave the sunny beaches of Australia behind and give my 2-year working visa for the UK a whirl before it was too late (it’s no longer valid once you turn 31). I’m not one to dilly-dally on a decision for long, so after about 6 weeks, my flight was booked, my bags were packed and I’d sold everything I owned (literally).
Before settling down in London, I wanted to take advantage of not being tied to a job and squeeze in as much travelling as possible. It was the first time in my life since I was 14 that I didn’t have a job. Scary, but exciting at the same time. I managed to delay starting my new life in London by exploring the coast of Turkey and the entire island of Ireland. I felt as free as a bird, but I was soon running out of money. I headed back to London to start the inevitable search for jobs before I dipped into too much of my savings.
It dawned on me that even though I wasn’t doing much back in London, it was still so expensive to afford a daily coffee, the tube etc, AND it was getting colder by the minute. I thought to myself, “where can I go that is cheap and sunny, and won’t cost me an arm and a leg?” My sister suggested I check out Workaway, a programme which lets you work in countries all around the world in exchange for meals & accommodation.
Not long after I trawled the website, I found myself a beautiful seaside villa in Cyprus (yes really!). They needed someone to help them with marketing and in exchange they offered accommodation in an ensuite master bedroom and 3 meals a day. Not to forget that Cyprus was averaging 25 degrees year round. After a few emails back and forth with the owner and a short skype session, I was on the first flight out the next morning.
I had no idea what to expect, as I had never done anything like this before. The owners Andy and Nikki greeted me at the airport with friendly smiles and we shared a bit about our life stories on the way back to their home. Villa Carpe Diem is a 5 bedroom accessible villa situated in the coastal town of Maroni. Once back at the villa they showed me to my bedroom, which had 180 degree views of the sea and overlooked the pool and garden.
The arrangement was as follows: I worked 9am – 1pm Monday to Friday, and the rest of time I was free to do what I wanted including the entire weekend. Pretty good deal, if you ask me. Breakfast and lunch were served in the patio each day and I set up my “office” right next to the pool to capitalise on the sunshine and vitamin D. I spent most mornings before breakfast exercising with either a run down to the beach or some poolside yoga. I was able to job hunt online in the afternoon and set up skype interviews whilst still blogging and exploring the local towns.
During my time at the Villa, there were 3 other workawayers: a skipper from Sweden, a writer from Spain and a vegan permaculturist from Finland. Everyone offered different skills and the daily conversations at meal time were so intriguing, learning about everyone’s stories and life journeys.
I had booked a one-way ticket and in my head I really hadn’t planned on how long I would stay. A week? 10 days? 3 beautiful weeks later, I had read 3 books, reviewed the Londa hotel in Limmassol, built the villa a brand new website and even had the chance to get up close and personal with a few hundred pink flamingoes. I’d also had 3 Skype interviews for potential jobs and had set up a second interview for when I returned.
Other than the flights to Cyprus I had barely spent 30 Euro – in 3 weeks!! Can you imagine? I was the most relaxed version of myself I had been in a years. Andy and Nikki were the kindest hosts and I really enjoyed getting to know them during the stay. We cooked, ate, shopped, watched movies together and shared copious amounts of life stories.
If you’re looking for a cheap way to travel, meet interesting people or just have an extended career break, I would really recommend Workaway. There are literally hundreds of hosts offering stays in the jungle of Costa Rica to schools in Bali. I know I will definitely be doing a work away holiday in the near future.
This is a guest post by Phoebe Greenacre who shares her travel stories on her blog.
Wowowow, this honestly sounds too good to be true! Doing this is one of my dreams and I will look into it ASAP. Thank you so much for sharing :)
ExploresMore.com
I've been looking into workaway... would you say it's worth paying to sign up as a volunteer??
hi hannah, it really depends on what you want to achieve through volunteering I guess! I volunteered in denmark after high school and it was amazing, but I haven't volunteered in africa, asia or south america yet. here are some of our recent articles on the topic - maybe those help? https://www.travelettes.net/volunteering-in-zimbabweafrica-with-ics/, https://www.travelettes.net/the-challenges-of-volunteering-in-cambodia/. cheers, kathi
really keen to do this one day, was looking into italy at a B&B or something to experience their culture.. such a cool way to explore a different country cheaply.
http://thewanderlusthasgotme.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/24-reasons-to-go-back-to-las-vegas.html
Thanks for sharing this! Really considering this as an option after the summer, where else did you go?
And to be clear, you pay for the tickets yourself?
This is great, I hope the age restriction doesn't work both ways, does it? Anna from Poland (becoming 31 later this year)Please advise!
I enjoyed reading your personal experience, but wonder if you had any difficulties with your workaway? I did work away in Chile for 2 months and though it wasn't a Bad experience per se, there was definitely a lot of bumps there like the lack of communication and expectations from the hosts, food that was stated that would be given not being given consistently, longer hours than stated in the description, and hosts taking out their personal frustrations on the volunteers.
Wow!! Thank you so much. I don't know how easy this would be for me since I have various health afflictions but I've traveled loads and always wanted to work abroad so I could really soak things up. Maybe one day...!
Is there anything you kept at home and where did you keep it? Fascinating article. Thanks! :)
xx Sabrina
http://thinkcreateframe.com
Seriously? Does this apply to Indians as well??
I don't think there is any kind of limitation with workaway - anybody can sign up, and you can volunteer in any country that is in their database. all you have to do is take care of your flights and visa yourself.
Hey ladies! I've only had one workaway experience and I can't say there were any bad experiences at all! You should be very clear with your duties before arriving & ask as many questions about the stay with your hosts so every one knows what's expected of each other.
Yes I paid for my tickets to & from the workaway.
Let me know if you have any other questions - happy to help :)
X Phoebe
wow that is amazing! I didn't know this excited, but it's definitely worth considering! I definitely want to travel the world and work in other countries, and this seems like the perfect way to do both. You get to test out the waters before making a big move
www.littleblackshell.com
I have to agree. Its an absolute joke theres no more options to do this once you are 35. Im now 31 and no way do i have enough time to save up for this kind of adventure plus pay rent. Utterly disappointed.
Georgina, workaway doesn't have any age limits - you can participate no matter how old you are! :) http://www.workaway.info/faq-en.html the good thing is ideally, all you need to pay for is getting to the place where you volunteer, and maybe you could sublet your flat at home while you're gone? cheers, kathi
Hello all! There is no age limitation for the work away jobs, only for her work visa in the UK which is offered to Australians while they are 30 and under, it's a two year youth mobility visa.
I love the idea of work away, I've had friends who've volunteered at Yoga retreats in Ibiza as well, and they exchanged English lessons to their children for free board and yoga!
Phoebe sounds like you had a great time!
I'm really considering to do this too. I want to make a round-the-world tour and it would be helpful to not pay for everything. Can you decide how long you want to stay or do they have a prescribed period of time for you?
Helpx is another similar site.
I'm so happy I have read this. Been thinking about doing workaway but too scared, glad I have heard someone else's story. Will deffo look into it! Thanks x
Thank you for bringing this to my attention! It sounds like an absolute dream and is now definitely something I will be looking into!
Wow- such an inspiring story! You are a great writer - I look forward to checking out the rest of your blog :)
wow, what a great idea, thanks for the info
I am so very thrilled to have come
I am so very happy to have come across this post! To cut a long story short, I just went through a breakup after a four year relationship, and I had to move back in with my parents. I've been feeling absolutely suffocated and have been itching to travel and blow away some of the memories and cobwebs, but getting a job and generally having money have been my downfall. Funnily enough I've been wanting to go to Australia to work with animals. So thank you for sharing this, it must be fate as it is EXACTLY what I need :) Namaste.
AmandaSays
Sounds like a dream!
We love Workaway and HelpX. We feel your struggle! For us, it tends to be more expensive to live in New York City (our home base) than to travel around, work odd jobs, and truly LIVE. Of course, we won't make much money, but we (and you probably as well) value freedom and life experience over a salaried job any day!!! Congrats on Cyprus.
Wow a fantastic way to travel and what a great experience!
Lennae xxx
www.lennaesworld.com
I'm so tempted every time I check out the workaway site. Thumbs up for your courage!
I'm amazed with your courageous heart given that you gave up your career and start a new life somewhere. Your life story is truly inspiring and I might also consider trying Workaway.
Thanks for sharing!
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Great article, thanks for sharing your adventure! Pictures are stunning ;)
http://sugarsheet.com
My only objection to this story... you have now wasted your UK youth mobility visa! I am coming to the end of my 2 years in London and I LOVE this city. I'm also Australian (from North Queensland) and I even love the winters. Well, the first half. By the end of January I'm ready for winter to be over. February and March kind of suck. But only kind of, because London is still amazing. And I have loved actually experiencing different seasons, which northern Australia doesn't really do. Plus we've holidayed in 7 different countries while we've been here.
Not that I'm saying you should do this INSTEAD of workaway... I just would have thought it would be great to do both!
The work exchange program is such a remarkable way to travel, nice to see people talking about this more. I haven't used workaway before but have been a WWOOFer and used HelpX. Same concept, just different options. I've found that different hosts have a range of how long you'd stay in a place. The longest I stayed at one farm was 5 weeks, while another was just 2 weeks. Happy traveling!
So interesting. Is this opportunity still there for woman 57 year old?
As far as the FAQ on workaway's website is concerned - there is n age limit :) http://www.workaway.info/faq-en.html
This article is great. Like what most people who commented here said, yep too good to be true! This is my dream. :) given that we'd pay for the visa and plane ticket hmm can we work there aside from the work we're volunteering for?
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Is you pay the ticket flight or the host?
You still have to make your own travel arrangements in most cases.
Thank you so much for your sharing your experience!
Could you please help? I'd like to know if I get an opportunity with work visa and after my accommodation/help is done, Should I leave the country or its okay to find a new opportunity whilst I'm in the country? Thank you