“How much does it cost to travel full-time as a Professional Hobo?” I am asked this question regularly by readers of my personal website. And while I maintain that the cost of full-time travel is dependent on oh-so-many factors that are unique to every individual, I have just finished my year-end accounting for 2008 and am willing to share my own finances with the world.
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2008 was a year for me spent entirely on the road. I opened the New Year on a remote corner of the Big Island of Hawaii, then traveled around for a week and moved to the other side of the island for four months. In April and May I spent six weeks traveling through Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, arriving in Australia in June. My first six weeks in Australia were spent in transit, first in Cairns for a few days, then enjoying a long drive from Brisbane to Melbourne via the outback. At the end of July I settled down in the rural countryside north of Melbourne, and that is where I remained for the rest of the year.
Despite Wise Bread reader comments about Hawaii being extraordinarily expensive, I must still emphasize that travel — and the costs thereof — are very unique to the individual. Before embarking on a life of full-time travel …