Finding Toilets in Morocco

When You’ve Gotta Go…!!!

20 Things you Need-to-Know

Tips For Morocco - Tangier

Here are 20 Must-Know tips about Morocco (Tangier-specific) before you go – so to speak. 😉 Many people pass through Tangier (Walk With Me) and post their lists, but their information is superficial and often not very accurate, being based on generalisations about other countries. Morocco (Where’s where and where to visit) has a unique culture, and often differs in how things work compared to elsewhere.

Having lived in Tangier for 4 years, here are the real details of how to negotiate your way through Tangier and the Moroccan culture – the do’s and don’ts of Morocco, and other useful information.

Orientation in Tangier

New cities are often confusing, so let’s sort out Tangier. These major landmarks give you an orientation and points of reference, including a location to give to taxi drivers.

Medina – just means city centre, but often refers specifically to the old medina, the old walled city, typically with narrow winding alleyways of blank walls, all designed to confuse the enemy – and successfully confuses tourists and visitors even today. The locals know this, and often want to be helpful. If they lead you somewhere, a few dirhams is a nice gesture. Don’t stress about getting lost - enjoy the experience. Your GPS will usually sort you when you’ve had enough. Motorised vehicles (besides motorbikes) are banned. (Fes is the largest non-motorised city centre in the world, and has the largest medina.)

A night view - an endless maze of intriguing shapes, alleyways and photo opportunities. If you were ever curious about how cities were shaped several centuries ago, medinas still tell that story.

Kasbah – Means fortified castle, and in Tangier is at the top of the medina (I Sat on Henri Matisse’s Knee - a tour). A taxi to the Kasbah will get you to the top of the medina and the Kashbah gate.

A view of Bab Kasbah - the Kasbah Gate - leading into the medina at the top. The steep street down to Grand Socco is on the right.

Petit Socco – Literally ‘small market or square’, the name of the square in the middle of the old medina where you find Grand Café Centrale and Café Tingis and Cafe Fuentes (Tangier’s Toulouse-Lautrec ).

Grand Socco – ‘Big square’. Walk uphill from Petit Socco to the open area with the fountain, and mosque, and Cinema Rif (Foreign Movies Filmed in Morocco) – a good location name to use for taxis.

Grand Socco: With the edge of the fountain on the left, the white arched gate leads to the steep street which runs along the outside medina wall up to the Kasbah. The gap between the buildings is your main street into the medina, directly to Petit Socco. Just right of the photo is another gate into a building - this is Souq Barra, your markets. Follow it to the right and you go past the olives, fruit and vegetables, chicken, meat, and finally the fish markets.

Gran Café de Paris – Keep walking uphill on the left side of Cinema Rif and you will find this Art Deco classic café that always reminds me of the movie Casablanca at the next fountain – also a good location name for taxis, and a nice spot for a tea or coffee (Secrets Behind the Movie Camera).

The Boulevard – The big street where Gran Café de Paris is.

Boulevard at night, right next door to Cafe de Paris and Le Coeur de Tanger (Night Life in Tangier) - a part of Tangier that never sleeps. This is about 9pm - on a Sunday, looking over the canons (It’s like this still at 2am an later). There’s a great view of Spain from the canons most days. This space is called Sur Magasin - or the Lazy Wall…

The Corniche – The even bigger street that runs along the waterfront.

The Corniche near the base of the medina, Hotel Continental and the ferry terminal.

Looking over the Corniche, its broad walkway, and the Marina beach and bay across to Tangier’s casino. The white buildings on the left include Churinguito, a nice spot for an elegant drink to a medina sunset - and decent food.

1 When You Need a Toilet

Cafes will have toilets (nicer cafes will have nicer toilets), but these can be daunting for the fledgling visitor, especially if the need becomes urgent in a public place – they often require a bit of a trek. They may require a key, they may be squat style, and probably have water and a bucket for rinsing, but no paper. When it’s urgent, they all do the job. But if you have space for planning here are two nice ones – with paper.

Cinema Rif – Cinema and café, this is a great landmark that everyone knows, and a nice spot to stop for a tea or coffee and sit on your way past in Grand Socco.

Bathroom at Cinema Rif - This is one of my trick visits with newbies in town. What is wrong with this picture….?

Hotel El Minzah – Between Grand Socco and Café de Paris, on your left you will pass the small entrance to this fancy hotel, where many film stars and other famous people have stayed. Walk in with confidence, down the steps and around to your right. In the courtyard there, you will find very nice toilets.  

Not to freak you out, but these are the kind of toilets you might encounter, that are the norm in many parts of the world. Most cafes have western style toilets, but you may encounter one of these - forewarned is fore-prepared. The biggest factor is that Moroccans clean with water, which splashes everywhere (my friend’s phrase for this is ‘mooshy gooshy’) and there is nowhere to hang your bag. At least they smell better than many public toilets I’ve been to.

2 Tissues

You will very quickly discover there is no toilet paper in most toilets. You will need your own supply. There is a regular supply of people roaming the streets or sitting in their spot on the footpath selling small packets of tissues. The usual price is 2 dirhams – I usually buy 2 packets and give them 5 dirhams. Clearly these guys don’t make much, and I like to support them.

I never buy from the children. Much as I feel sorry for them, they pester unpleasantly, and buying from them will make no difference to their lives. At the end of the day they will still get badly treated by the people that control them.

You can also buy packets in little shops, but I prefer to support the ones who are trying to get a little extra.

Another thing worth being aware of is a complete lack of anywhere to put anything - your phone, wallet, or bag. Pockets and shoulder bags are handy. My main trick is to put my phone and purse into my skirt and hold it up into a pocket with my mouth. This can be a little tricky. The last thing you want is to drop your phone onto a wet floor, or into the toilet! The guys may have even more trouble with this technique, being less likely to wear a skirt (unless you go native and wear the local djelaba) - but then, pockets are more common in men’s clothing. But pay attention to phones dropping out of pants pockets when loose!

It is easy to plan for this, though - have a shoulder bag or a bum bag so you’ve got somewhere to put everything and are hands-free. But when you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go, and in the end, they all do the job.

3 Toilet Etiquette

Be mindful that most toilets in Morocco don’t have sewerage systems to adequately dispose of paper. The pipes are too narrow, and even toilet paper will clog up the system and cause the toilets to be blocked and unusable. Throw your used toilet paper into the bin provided. Before you dismiss this as backward, keep in mind that the Islamic way is to wash with water and the left hand (hence a preference for the right hand when eating). To them – a very clean culture – using only toilet paper is not very clean.  

 4 Dress Code

Morocco is a Muslim country. It is respectful to cover your shoulders, cleavage and knees. In the touristy areas such as Tangier medina, the locals are pretty relaxed and you can get away with almost anything, but you won’t be respected and may earn extra catcalls. There is no need for head scarves or any other coverings. I usually wear a long scarf which I pull over my shoulders.

I wear dresses below my knees, and I always wear a scarf which I pull over my shoulders when I’m out. My mini skirts I save for winter when I can wear black leggings to cover my knees. The hats are just my thing. But any variations that cover knees and shoulders are fine, including jeans and pants.

5 Personal Safety

You may get hassled – this happens in many countries. But Morocco is one of the safest countries I have been in. Don’t let media hype and western normalities override, and keep in mind that a bit of hassling is not the same as being in danger.

In most western countries, if a man is asking your name and where you are from you are already in trouble. In Morocco, especially Tangier, he is literally being friendly and curious, and probably hopeful that you will be interested in his carpets. Simply ignoring someone is fine. I usually just say hello with a smile and keep on walking: Salam.

Some streets in the medina you might stumble across.

The narrow medina streets in Tangier are safe. I have walked alone all over Tangier at all hours of the day and night, and my space has never been compromised in the medina. Media gaslighting and safety rules from my western culture had me very nervous my first two nights in the Tangier medina. The streets were narrow and dark, and guys were hanging around.

But then I noticed that they literally were just hanging around - because it was nicer outside than inside, easier to meet friends, and nobody was interested. I realised that the medina streets are safe, and over time that even late at night in the streets outside the medina, it is safer than many places I’ve been.

If for any reason someone intrudes uncomfortably on your space, simply react loudly. People will come – they are everywhere. Most Moroccans are extremely offended by such behaviour. You are much safer in Morocco than you probably are in your home country. You are just used to the familiar conditions of home. Asking you for a tea in a rug shop will be just that.

Not dangerous, but an intriguing alleyway at night, and good for different light effects and photos without people in the way. This one lead up to my flat - residential and quiet, and never a problem at any hour. Footsteps coming up behind you are just someone in more of a hurry to get somewhere than you are.

6 Theft

While not very common, it can happen occasionally. But I normally walk around with my strap bag hanging over my shoulder, and have never had a problem. When in crowded places, it isn’t smart to have your purse or phone at the top of an open bag anywhere in the world. This is a far worse problem in Europe, such as places like Barcelona and Italy. I have never had a problem in Morocco – although I would be careful in Marrakech’s Jemaa el Fna Square. But the most likely scenario if you leave your phone or purse somewhere is that you will be chased for its return.

A glimpse of lovely tile-work when passing an open door into an apartment building.

7 Cash is King

Morocco is one of the highest cash-usage countries in the world. Most places don’t take cards (outside big hotels and fancy restaurants), so you will need cash. It is also a closed currency, which means you are not allowed to leave Morocco with dirhams. You will find it very hard if not impossible to find dirhams before you arrive, or to sell them after you leave.

There are lots of ATMs everywhere, especially in touristy areas. They usually have a fee of 35 dhs (€3.50). Make sure of the exchange rate first, by looking up your desired cash amount (eg 2,000 mad ) on a google search. Moroccan dirhams are MAD (Maghrebi dirhams), not to be mistaken for dirhams in other countries (much to my disappointment following a job offer).

I find a much better rate from my euros account. From AUD there is a built in $20-30 AUD in the exchange rate, with my bank charging another $20 AUD of fees from my account. You can usually see the exchange before you complete the transaction, but not always.

Farm ladies from the Rif selling herbs and vegetables fresher than any shop at home.

Withdraw larger amounts less often to minimise this cost, but your dirhams will give you good milage. 2000dhs will go a long way unless you make a big purchase, like a rug. Also don’t “accept the conversion” - say no. The conversion usually has extra fees. Typically meals are just €7. I’ve found the Banque de Afrique has good rates, near the exchange. Let me know which ones you had the best rates.

Alternatively, you can bring cash with you to exchange at the bureaus which have good exchange rates. They are also everywhere in the tourist areas. Main currencies are accepted – definitely Euros, USD and English pounds, so no need to change before you arrive.

Airport exchange is expensive, but the taxis from the airport (€15 or €20 in Tangier depending on your destination) will accept euros – probably also USD and pounds. If you arrive by ferry, there are ATMs at the port on your way out of the building.

Dates - the pick is the mezjool dates. This is a treat you should not skip!

Make sure you change your money at an exchange bureau before flying out of Morocco – the airport exchange rates are not good, and the chances of selling your dirhams once you leave will be extremely small. They may ask for proof of changing the money in the first place, so keep a couple of receipts.

Another oddity about Morocco is that you will be constantly chasing the small coins. Almost everywhere else I’ve been, the coins become a heavy problem and I find myself pushing to get rid of them. In Morocco, if you only have big notes - even 50dhs, it is more likely that you will have to wait while the vendor gets change from a neighbour. Being caught with a 100dhs note for a short taxi ride, for example, or wanting to buy some fruit or a small souvenir for just a few dirhams.  

There is also a green 50dhs note, and watch out for the 2 dhs coin, almost the same as the 1dhs coin. The 10dhs coin has a gold rim, the opposite of the 5dhs pictured with the silver on the rim.

Notes: 200 dhs - blue, 100 dhs - orange, 50 dhs - green, 20dhs - purple

Coins: 10 dhs - gold rim, silver centre, 5 dhs - silver rim, gold centre, 2 dhs silver with angled inside edge, 1 dhs - silver, ½ or nos - silver.

8 Tipping

Morocco is not customarily a tipping country – most Moroccans don’t tip. But their wages are very low, so I routinely tip 10% at all cafes and restaurants, as do most foreigners I know - but not all.

You pay the waiter who serves you. If their shift is ending, you will need to pay them before they leave even if you haven’t finished.

Don’t expect the level of service you may be used to – the service will be sometimes very slow (except in Marrakech where I found the service above exceptional!) Treat this as part of the culture. If you want the same service as at home, stay at home.

Gran Cafe de Paris across from the French embassy - popular with tourists, expats, and locals, and an excellent landmark, on the Boulevard.

9 Buying Souvenirs

On the whole, there is a high level of honesty in Morocco. If you drop your wallet or phone, someone will probably chase you to give it back. But the tourist shops may vary. Don’t buy at the first shop you see something – ask the price, and if on the second or third ask the price is the same, then make your purchase. It is always worth confirming the price first before you order – don’t assume. And feel free to bargain in the market places and tourist shops.

for sourvenirs, I absolutely love the ceramics - but it just won’t fit into my backpack. I had to give my two beautiful bowls away.

10 Taxis

Each city has a different taxi system with different owners. In Tangier, the blue taxisare share taxis and very cheap for short distances (Getting Around in Tangier - Transport) . You say where you want to go, and the driver will accept you if it fits with his other passengers.

A blue share Petit Taxi. Every city is run differently.

Most in Tangier are good and decent hard working people, but like everywhere, not always. Make sure the meter is on. It has a separate meter for each ride, 1.60 flag fall (2.40 after about 9pm). The fare is one for each group. If your ride is 10dhs, you pay 10dhs whether there is one, two or three of you. Their maximum capacity is 3.

Minimum fare is 7dhs, even if it’s a very short distance. At night it is 1 ½ times, so a 10.50 dhs minimum fare (from about 8 or 9pm). From Café de Paris to the train station should be less than 10dhs. From the below the Continental Hotel/across from the ferry, about 12dhs.

11 Restaurant Caveats

Some restaurants may also try tricks. I found this especially in the Jemaa el Fna Square in Marrakech, but also a couple of spots in Tangier – the ones in Grand Socco that pester you with menus. It is normal for bread and olives to be brought as part of the meal, but some may also bring salads and other extras, then ask you to pay for them even though you didn’t order them. If there is ever a situation, a solution that invariably works is to suggest asking the police. If they are taking you for a ride, this invariably solves everything on the spot.

This is my favourite restaurant, and top of My Top 10 Food Spots in Tangier. - The Syrian, or Abou Tayssir. Mixed dips (humus, baba ganoush, and the yoghurt baba ganoush), and the fatoush salad.

12 Water

Any blanket statement that the water in Morocco is undrinkable is wrong. It varies by the city, and you need to ask. I can guarantee that Tangier water is perfectly okay from the tap. I have been drinking the tap water in Tangier for 4 years! Chefchaouen (The Blue City) has excellent water – it comes down from the mountains.

But check this city by city. I often ask the locals whether they drink the tap water to get a real answer. I don’t like contributing to the plastic waste of the bottles.

I drank tap water in Fes, and Erfoud in the south. In Agadir at the time I was there it even smelt bad, so I most certainly didn’t drink it, but this may have changed. I think Marrakech is a place that bottled water might be better. Just ask in each new location.

Water comes with tea and coffee. Tourists are usually given a bottle, but in Tangier I ask for tap water and drink from the glass.

13 Food Safety

The food is also good in quality, especially in the little shops such as the ‘sandwich’ shops. As with everywhere, see who goes there. If lots of locals do, then the food is good. The locals already know where the good places are. These shops are small, so they have a high turnover with fresh food daily.

When I first came to Morocco I read that there was no refrigeration, and the food was unsafe! Morocco is not in the depths of Africa or Asia. It is a modern and developing country. In fact, the only place I have bought bad meat in Morocco was at one of the big supermarket chains (There are two, Carrefoure and the Moroccan one Marjane). I avoid these shops because they are expensive and their vegetables are not good quality.

The vegetables at the little shops, the markets, and being sold by the ladies with the red and white striped aprons, were probably still in the ground while you were eating your breakfast. The meat was walking until it was needed. And the fruit in Morocco is amazing!!! The little shops around the medina in Tangier are honest with their prices, and some now show their prices. Pick your own so you know what you’re getting. But don’t be shy – fruit, dates and nuts. Food quality in Morocco is good.

If you need anything else, the little shops – by law – are cheaper than the big supermarkets, and more convenient since they are everywhere.

Breakfast before I get into work.

14 Eating with your Hands

Morocco is a tourist country and accepting of your ways. They will automatically bring cutlery. But if you want to try the Moroccan way of eating with your hands, it is easy – and fun. Just tear off a piece of bread and use it as a spoon with your fingers. Watch how they eat, but there’s not much of a trick to it. Just use your thumb and first two fingers. It is even considered good luck to lick your fingers! Oh, and use your right hand.

As I said, Islam is a very clean religion. There will usually be a basin to wash your hands before and after eating. And you won’t be given salt and pepper – it is salt and cumin, with vinegar and very virgin olive oil. You can always ask for more bread.

Best way to do it right - be too hungry to care and just do it without thinking.

15 Cafes

You might feel intimidated by cafes full of men, and confronted by rows of them lined up with their backs to the front wall of their café. But there is nothing wrong with a woman going into a café. Generally, they simply spend their time elsewhere, and the men go to the cafes. You will probably be looked at, but it is purely curiosity, not taboo. In my experience, the best tea and coffee is the cheapest, and to be found in these cafes.

Besides, the Moroccan mint tea is a must-try. Just be aware that it comes very sweet. You can ask for it without sugar – bla sukkar. They may argue that they can’t do that, but they can. Be firm and you will get what you want. Go to one of these cafes, sit for a little facing the street and watching the world pass by. This is one of my favourite parts of Morocco.

I no longer even notice that most cafes are just men. But I do enjoy to sit and watch the world go by. Cafe Colon.

16 Wifi and Data

If you don’t have roaming data, you have 2 options in Morocco. Most cafes, restaurants, and accommodation will have free wifi – just ask. Google maps and5 info can be downloaded for use offline. The wifi in most parts of Morocco is good.

You can also buy data. There are three companies – Orange, Inwi and Maroc Telecom. They are all pretty much the same. For about 50 dhs (€5) you can get 10gb of data. There are little shops everywhere which can sell this – just look for one with phones, or ask. (The airport charges double.)

17 Friday and Couscous

Morocco’s Sunday comes on Fridays – the big day in Islam. This means some businesses may be closed for the day or part of it. Don’t stress – Friday is couscous day. Go and find a spot to try this national dish. If you get out of the medina, you can get it for 30-50 dhs. If you want, you can ask for more of the sauce to pour over it.

18 Ramadan

Before your trip, check when Ramadan is. It is a lunar event, and changes by about 2 weeks every year. It is not so much a fun cultural feature. Just like Christmas Day in the west, it is mostly a family event, not a public one.

During the day in Ramadan, most restaurants, cafes and food shops will be closed, especially outside the medinas and touristy places. The few cafes open (Grand Café Centrale in Tangier is the main one) will be crowded since the usual range of options aren’t available. Opening hours also tend to be shorter. At night everything opens up, and after f’tour (breakfast) the streets come alive. But all bars will be closed, and some cities (like Fes) will be completely dry for the entire month, if that matters to you.

19 Beggars

Beggars are a worldwide problem, with variations by country. Morocco is generally a poorer country, but people usually look after each other. There are some who are down on their luck, but over time I have realized that most beggars are just playing on guilt tripping tourists, and I can’t usually tell the difference up front. I would like to give, but most of them are variations on scams. This is obviously a personal choice, but over time I have decided not to give to beggars – ignoring them is usually the best approach. Instead, I give by always tipping – even for a 10dh tea – and giving to buskers. And I will give food (most refuse).

20 Street Cats and Dogs

Morocco has loads of street cats. They are generally well looked after, fed and patted by the locals who save their table scraps and buy tins of food for them. There are less dogs, but they are also safe. They are vaccinated for rabies, and have a yellow tag in their ear so that you know they are treated. As an ex meter reader needing to be very careful of dogs in back yards and bitten twice, I can assure you that I have never felt alarmed by the street dogs in Tangier. The cats are so at ease that I have even seen them sleeping peacefully in the middle of a pathway with feet stepping within inches of them – they know they are safe.

Having made these warnings, while these things can happen, they are not the norm in Morocco. Moroccans are friendly and welcoming and generous people. They would invite you home to eat the last of their food before letting you starve on the street. Several times when I have seen a lady fall over, she is immediately surrounded by 4 or 5 people, given a chair to sit on, a glass of water, and they will stay with her and chat to her till they are sure she is ok, and only leave when she is ready to get up and go.

This is a list of need-to-know things to save you confusion when you are first here. Morocco is a delightful place to visit, with a very different culture. It is full of colour and delights, with people who are friendly and welcoming and generous. Come to Morocco – without fear – the most likely disaster is that you will have an exceptional holiday and need to save up for a return visit!

A day when Spain is only a pale blur - that is not just cloud.

Where are the Best Paying English Teaching Jobs?

Where are the Best Savings?

The Real Questions!

I have been an ESL teacher since 35 years ago, since the beginning of the fad and since before it was even a big thing in China.

I’ve taught and lived in Japan, China Australia, Italy and Morocco. I went to Japan in 1988 where it was the best money option. I started like many of you, by stepping off a plane and into a classroom. I had an unrelated degree, and absolutely not a clue about how to teach.

My friends were the same. We included a town planner, a lawyer, an accountant, a nutritionist, and a degree in economics. That qualified us to teach. Tbh, not much has changed.

I was lucky. I stepped into 2 jobs, both of which were an amazing training ground. I still use many of those activities today. But I loved it, so when I went back to Australia I trained.

I couldn’t do what I wanted in just one qualification – teaching language to children. So I rather indulgently ended up with everything – a primary school teaching qualification, a secondary languages qualification, and half a masters specifically in TESOL (like a very extended and in-depth CELTA). I also added all the extra courses  which had anything to do with teaching languages to children and Aboriginal education. I even worked for several years teaching Japanese in an Aboriginal school and helping to train teachers to teach language, including to teach their indigenous languages.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, over time I have now ended up teaching almost everything.

The Industry – The Fad

I started in 1988 in Japan. My main qualification is the same as now – by being a native English speaker. Tbh, I get paid for my blonde hair, blue eyes, and passport, and not for my years of experience and extensive qualifications.

Now the main qualification is defined by having 1 of the 7 ‘golden’ passports – UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia, NZ, and South Africa. Sorry Nigeria, and other countries where English is a main language of communication, and any native speakers or even near native speakers from elsewhere whose passport doesn’t happen to be one of the lucky 7. It’s a fad industry and about making money. And it’s not fair.

By the time I left Japan the number of people teaching English had more than doubled as Americans realized that they could pay off their huge college debts that way. This of course combined with a growing demand for learning English, especially in Eastern Asia.

And so the fad began.  

And fads are never fair. Local teachers with excellent English, qualifications and experience immediately get only half the pay of the native speaker who picked up a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate last week, often for a very cursory 120 hours of skimming through some online notes of minimal quality.

Likewise, I get paid no more than those ‘got a TEFL last week’ teachers in spite of my qualifications and years of experience, and the fact that TEFL qualifications have no information on teaching English to children in spite of their completely different learning requirements. In fact, I have even been told by a school that they loved my 35 years of working experience, but they needed someone under 40 years old!??!!! I’m not sure how anyone is supposed to swing that one!

However, it is what it is. As a native speaker, we have the advantage of knowing what is right – but be aware that it does vary across countries, even within countries. And a non-native speaker has the advantage over us that they understand the rules in a way that we don’t, because they have had to learn them.

They have also experienced trying to learn and function in at least one other language, something that most native English-speaking teachers have never experienced, in spite of the fact that that is what they are teaching. I personally think it should be part of the training, irrespective of results.

So give it a try. If you have never learnt another language, do your best to learn the one in the country where you teach, just to see what it’s like being on the other side. The locals generally appreciate a little effort as well, and it opens more doors – even if your skills extend only as far as some greetings.

What are the best countries for teaching English?

So what are your options, whether you are an experienced and fully qualified teacher like me, or whether you grabbed an online TEFL last week and started on zero teaching knowledge – just like I did.

Whether it is something you want to make a career out of as I have done, or just to use as a way to extend your travels with some good money – as my intentions ran when I started.

You can get teaching jobs anywhere that English is not the first language, just as a way of supplementing your costs. But most places don’t pay the big bucks. They have low cost of living, and low salaries. Any of these countries can be extremely rewarding – most of South America will come into this category, many African nations, and lots of Asia. All these places can give you an amazing time and cultural experience. As you pick up experience, you will also be able to pick up on the better paying jobs.

Which country pays most for teaching English?

This is the wrong question.

There are plenty of places which have top dollars, but won’t give you what you want. For example, the money in Hong Kong is fantastic, but the cost of living is also very high.

In Germany and northern Europe you are competing with a large number of teachers who are experienced and qualified, with excellent English. They also tend to require proper teaching qualifications. Schools aren’t interested in the hassle and costs of getting work visas when they already have a great range of choices without that hassle. And again, in spite of nice salary sizes, the cost of living is also very high.

Southern Europe is cheaper to live in, but the salaries are also much lower. I can earn more in Morocco than I can in Spain, and the cost of living in Morocco is much lower. But Spain does have government programs with some countries such as America and Australia for taking teachers, even without experience. So if here is your thing, check those out.

So, what is the right question?

Which country has the best savings for teaching English?

So, where are the best savings for teaching English?

This is the real question. You don’t just want the good money, and sometimes the money doesn’t sound that great. But there are some countries where the difference between the pay as an English teacher and the cost of living are big enough that you can live very well, and even save up.

The Top Five

NUMBER 1 – The Gulf Territories

Hands down, this is the best money in the world for teaching English – the Gulf Territories and countries such as Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. Salaries can be as much as $5,000 usd a month with housing and benefits included. But there are some details that will put this outside the preferences of most.

1 The majority of jobs are in the international schools. This requires proper teaching qualifications and a minimum of 2 years’ experience in a similar situation.

2 International schools want their pound of flesh. The money is amazing, but you will have to work for it.

3 Plus, the students are heavily laced with ‘brats’ – entitled rich kids who are unpleasant and hard work in the classroom.

But there are also some English schools, you still get good money, and they include accommodation. But the brats will still be there. I am reliably told that of these countries, Qatar is less challenging than the others for the teaching.

Remember too that most of these countries are strict and often have bans on alcohol. I have also been told a number of times that the traditionally most strict of them – Saudi Arabia – is changing a lot in good ways. So for a fascinating cultural experience, and to put a good amount of money in your pocket, these countries could be worth a look.

NUMBERs 2, 3, 4 and 5 – China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan

For the majority, these next four are your best choices. And yes, Japan is still a good option for savings. This is because all these countries usually include accommodation, especially outside the big cities. Your biggest cost goes into your pocket!

Of these, China is arguably the best choice in terms of demand for teachers and savings. It has a famine-level demand for learning English, a huge population of eager learners, and a huge number of teaching jobs available. It can be a challenging country to negotiate, but it is also rewarding for its extraordinary culture. China also has the advantage of often being easier to get jobs as a non-native speaker.

Japan is an extraordinary country and culture, but it will be the most challenging to survive until your first pay day, simply because it is expensive. Don’t forget that search time has to be included if you decide to look after arriving, which always offers a lot of jobs not advertised online (just keep in mind what might be required to gain a work visa. If a trip home is needed, going there first may not be the best way to go about finding a job there). Because it has been so popular from the start – the boom there preceded anywhere else - Japan will more often look for qualifications and experience than elsewhere. The ESL industry there is more established than anywhere else. But there are still jobs to be found for the newly qualified.

All four of these countries, South Korea and Taiwan included, have a huge demand for English teachers, with great pay compared to the cost of living since they mostly include your housing. On top of this, they are 4 amazing cultures to explore.

Three More Surprises

After the 5 besties, there are another 3 which have better savings and potential with plenty of job opportunities than the rest. They are all in countries which are developing economically. I even have a theory that the demand for learning English goes hand in hand with this, that the growing economic opportunities in these countries create an increased demand for learning English.

NUMBER 6 – Vietnam

OK, hardly a surprise. But there are some good opportunities, with the added advantage of easier visa scenarios. And of course, amazing food. Well, in my opinion, all of the Asian countries have amazing food. Thailand next door may not be as lucrative, but it is also a very chill place to live, from all reports. They are still both on my list of must-go places.

NUMBER 7 – Kazakhstan

If you’re not surprised, I most definitely was. I researched all these names in 2019 before I set out, and was in fact planning to head to Kazakhstan, which is also in the vicinity of the Silk Road, something I’ve been fascinated in for years.

I was planning to go to Almaty which sounds very pretty, being near the mountains and the border of Kyrgyzstan which is also apparently very beautiful. But the capital has even better opportunities, with the majority of the jobs which pay the good money. As far as I can tell, even post-covid, Kazakhstan is still a good and growing option. I headed that way, but I missed. I detoured via London. Plans got hijacked via covid etc, And I’m still not there!

NUMBER 8 – Morocco

Another surprise. It is a very long way from Australia, and we only talk about Africa if people are dying.

But it is another amazing culture worth visiting. Housing doesn’t come with the jobs, but the difference between pay and cost of living still gives a very nice lifestyle. A native speaker can get €15-20 per hour in the classroom (which is more than Spain at €12-15), and €20-35 for privates. You can rent a fully furnished 1 bedroom flat in Tangier from €400-500 per month and up (sometimes even cheaper). Mine had sea views of Spain. Visas are very easy.

The biggest drawback is that Moroccan dirhams (mad) don’t go very far as soon as you cross the water to euros. But it is on the doorstep of Europe, with cheap flights, especially to Spain. I’ve seen many for €20 return. From Tangier there is a ferry which takes about an hour, and you can catch a taxi to Ceuta which is even cheaper, and again, just one hour away.

Morocco is also another where the non-native speaker has a greater chance of getting a job. Their market isn’t as closed as many other countries.

After these 8, there is the whole world. With a bit of experience, you will gain access to the better paying jobs. And in the end, if you can work almost anywhere. You just need to check out the work visa requirements, and choose your culture. The world is an amazing place.

What qualifications do I need to teach English?

How do you jump on the lucrative TEFL train?

You need a 120-hour TEFL certificate, level 5. Generally speaking, the industry standard is a CELTA certificate or equivalent, with a degree, any one will usually do. Check my other article, coming soon, on everything about qualifications, what the options are and how to choose the best one for yourself.

Ultimately, if you’re like me – want to travel, will travel – teaching is a great way of getting milage. There is currently a frenetic chase for the Digital Nomad dream. But the truth is, this is a lifestyle which is as old as humanity itself. Being a nomad, or a slomad as I call myself, isn’t new. Being curious about the world is just as old. And finding ways to satisfy that, and needing to fund the journey, even en route perhaps via trade even, is as old as the hills.

There is no fixed definition, besides roaming. You can move as often or as little as you want, and there’s no doubt that digital massively expands the options, including for online teaching.

But if you like to explore cultures and get to know people, if your way is more the slomad way, teaching is a brilliant choice. You have an avenue into the culture and an insider veiw via your students and other locals you will get to know, as well as the opportunity to get involved in the culture, the lifestyle, and the rhythm of a country and how it works.

The longer you stay somewhere, the more insights you gain. It is also cheaper and less exhausting than constantly moving around, paying for accommodation by the night and the constant chase of cheap airfares and visa regulations.

What is the difference between ESL and EFL

Teaching English is full of acronyms. My lecturer gave us a huge list of them: –

EFL

ESL

EAL

ESP

EAP

NESB

TEFL

TESL

TESOL

And finally at the bottom was TEFLON – which we were told was “Teaching English that Doesn’t Stick”. I have now had those students too!

However, for your purposes, there is no need to worry about all of that. Just the difference between EFL and ESL will be enough.

EFL – English as a Foreign Language is when the students are in a country which doesn’t speak English as its main communications. The students’ environment outside the classroom is not an English speaking one. This covers most places you are likely to look for jobs. There will be many beginners, but students can be anywhere from beginner to advanced. Topics tend to be around hobbies, personal life and interests, with focus on communication skills and conversation.

ESL – English as a Second Language is usually in English speaking countries, where the students’ environment outside the classroom is English speaking. This is likely to include new immigrants and kids from non-English speaking backgrounds in an English-speaking country. It also includes students who are learning English in order to study, at university or school. Their language needs and seriousness are much higher. Topics will range into more of the formal and practical ones, and writing skills will play a much bigger role.

If you are reading this page, the English you are looking at will mostly be EFL. One reason is that ESL will mostly require proper teaching qualifications and experience. But there are no rules. You can just as easily land a job in a small international school which functions in English.

Teaching can be in local schools, international schools of all types, and English schools which operate in the afternoons, evenings and on weekends. This latter typically will have a text book, so everything is easy for you. The course is already designed. You just have to look at each chapter and work out how you are going to present the material. It already has the grammar and vocabulary set out, with exercises etc. As you gain in experience you can add more interesting ways of presenting the material.

5 Tips to Beat Burn-Out & Loneliness, and to meet People

5 Tips to Beat DN Loneliness, burnout, and to meet people

This is something I see all the time on the DN pages – that the big down of being a DN is the loneliness..

But I also see a lot of boasting about how many countries people have managed in a very short time, and people seeking out other DNs.

Putting these things together, I’m not surprised that DNs are lonely. You can’t get to know people – or a culture, or a country – if you are moving all the time.

But another thing that seems to be a DN myth is that you have to keep moving all the time.

This is not true!

There is no definition on how often you must move on to be a DN. There are no “DN police” checking the number of days and hours you stop in one city or town. Nomadism is way older than digital. I’ve been living the lifestyle on and off since 1985. And it was by no means a new thing then. Nomads have been around for as long as human beings have.

So how can we beat DN loneliness?

Being a digital nomad is a lifestyle. It’s about being free to roam and explore. It means being free of possessions, travelling out of one bag, being ready to move in a moment on a whim. It’s a way of travelling. Work (and other tricks) enables the journey to be extended. With enough work, this can be as indefinite as you choose.

It is not about the number of countries or the number of hours you can “legitimately” be in any one place. There really are almost no rules.

It’s a lifestyle.

Want to travel.

Will travel.

Start by thinking about why you set out in the first place, what you want out of it and out of your life. Then develop your own personal brand of nomadism to suit you. It can even change over time as you do!

Personally, I love to spend time experiencing new countries and cultures.

Here are my tips for having a more fulfilled time. While being happy in our own company is important, this doesn’t mean we need to be lonely.

1            Stay longer

I get the impression that most people are on this mad rush to jump from country to country, be always heading to a new location. If you are constantly on the move, on top of earning yourself bed and bread money, where do you even have time to experience the country and culture. Or to meet and connect with people.

Slow down.

Stop, even.

Not only will this give you time to get to know a place a bit. It will also be a lot cheaper. Transport is costly. Every time you move on is an additional cost.

Also, the longer you rent a room, the cheaper it will be on a daily basis. It can sometimes even be cheaper to rent a flat out for a month though you wish to stay for just a couple of weeks.

I ask on local facebook pages, and look for share housing. Share housing is instant people.

What’s more, this gives you a bit more time to make connections. Not only can you meet some of the same people a few times over, you will also gain more of a connection with the place as you get to know it. For me, learning how to function in my new environment is an achievement. Knowing the good places to eat, how to get around, some of the secrets that only locals know.

I go somewhere, and stay til I’m ready to move on. This can be anything from a few days to a few years.

I call myself a slomad. I have my work goals, but I also intend to enjoy myself. After all, isn’t that part of why we are doing this?

2            Find a Base and Stay Put

Travelers and tourists go from place to place, moving in some sort of a line.

Instead, as a DN, choose a place to stay, and explore from there. Most places will have plenty of options, day trips, overnight trips, weekends. But if you explore from the one spot, you can still get that continuity of location which allows for making personal connections.

From Tangier in Morocco, for example, there were several places around for a day trip – the Atlantic beaches, the Mediterranean beaches (beach is still an option in town), Chefchauen – the blue city, Asilah – a small beach place to the south of Tangier with a nice medina, Ceuta – the Spanish enclave an hour’s taxi ride away…

Push this up to a weekend and you are close enough to visit Rabat and Casablanca, Fes and Marrakech, catch the ferry to Spain, or a cheap flight to Barcelona, Madrid, Rome or even London if you plan ahead.

Tangier is a gem for this. But look at your spots and there are many which have such options. In Basilicata in southern Italy where I found a Workaway, I had access to Alberobello with its strange stone conical homes, 2019 cultural city of Matera with homes built into a cliffside since Neolithic times, Metaponto on the sea with its ancient Greek ruins, The beautiful Taranto, Napoli with the Amalfi coast and Pompeii, the beautiful Leche, Bari, forests and beaches…

Ask on local Facebook pages. Look for share housing. Share housing is instant people.

If having your own space is important, Facebook pages may have this information too, as well as booking.com and Airbnb. While some pages can be less friendly, I know some community and expat pages are set up for exactly this purpose, and for connecting people.

3            Stay in Hostels

I can already hear the reactions. Hostels are for drugs and drunken teenagers.

Actually, for most hostels, not true at all. Many people stay in hostels. I still stay in hostels at 62, and I am rarely the oldest. I even choose the mixed dormitories. If that is outside your comfort zone, they usually have some single rooms as well.

Why choose a hostel?

Two reasons:–

·       They are good for information.

·       They are also good for meeting people.

In choosing a hostel I look for:

·       Ones which have a kitchen. Being able to cook keeps the costs down, and invites social interaction. If you’re moving every few days this is impractical since most kitchens won’t even have cooking oil or other basics. But if you stay for a little, oil is very cheap, and there are a ways of cooking good food with very few ingredients.

·       Ones which have a breakfast offered. The reason is, if breakfast is offered, there is a good communal area which is conducive to meeting people. Hostels that I have stayed at which are well set up for this have sometimes resulted in breakfast lasting til lunch time, various outings, an shared and dinner company.

This doesn’t mean you have to make your whole stay at a hostel. But it’s a good place to start. And they can be a great place to ask for somewhere cheaper and long-term to stay. The hostels are typically run by people who know the local how-to.

When I look at hostels, besides location, I also look for a bed that includes power outlets, preferably a curtain, and a locker is also good.

I went to Marrakech with a couple of days free, expecting the leisure of some quiet self-time. In this, I was disappointed. I was constantly in company – starting before I even got off the train at the Marrakech train station. I also then met people as I walked to the main square. I met more people as I was looking for a hostel. I met more at the hostel itself. I had company for dinner, for window shopping and visiting sites… I was never alone!

4            Local Facebook Pages

So now you have arrived. You are in your hostel, or you may have found a share flat, or a room by yourself.

If you haven’t already, get onto the local social pages. By that, I don’t mean Morocco, or Spain. Go to the heart. Get on the Tangier Expats page, the Malaga page, the Dahab Activities page. And ask.

The pages will vary by town, and not always be as forthcoming as we’d like – which, tbh, could be a clue to the nature of the local community. But when I bought a ticket from London to Tangier just 2 days before my planned trip, I joined Tangier Expat page.

Before I left London I asked about jobs.

By the time I’d arrived in Tangier I had an interview set up, and a job confirmed a day later.

Two more days later and I was sorted into a flat because the page was set up by someone for renting places, as well as community connections, help and promotions and support of its members and their various projects and needs.

I see people ask if anyone is free for a coffee, what events are on, if anyone knows of a room available, where to find an English speaking dentist, or local language lessons, how to sort visas, or where to buy a particular brand of something… almost anything you can think of. If it’s a good page, there will be people to answer and give you help and information.

I am one of them. I have met quite a few people that way.

Tbh, I was meeting people all the time – at cafes, street corners looking for directions or where to eat, or by arrangement from Tangier Expats page. Sometimes it became a lovely couple of hours connecting with someone, sometimes a few days as someone passed through, and sometimes enduring friendships.

The connections have enriched me. I have met so many incredibly interesting people this way.

5            Events and Groups

Once you have chosen your spot, found a monthly rental in a flat share or other sort that suits you, find out what’s on.

This can be evening events and gatherings. But it also depends on what you’re interested in. If you like to work out, find a gym. If you like hiking, find a walking group. If you like movies, or playing pool, ask those who are already familiar with the area. There are bound to be groups who you can join and use to make connections. You never know who you will meet. I often find the best occasions come from the most unexpected places.

5 Ways to Budget Slomad - Cutting Costs while Remote Working

The Digital Nomad Budget Travel Tips

5 ways to budget and save money as a digital nomad while remote working. Hacks on how to cut costs and make your money go further.

The DN (Digital Nomad) dream is minimal work for top money while enjoying yourself travelling. While it is very possible to work for just 3 or 4 hours a day for decent money, at the very least it takes time to get there. Those who are there, have often already done the hard work. Best of all, they are living off rental income or other passive income.

But the reality is that at the very least, it takes time to get there. And many nomads find their money doesn’t go as far as they had imagined.

But we don’t necessarily have to build up our work empire before we leave home. After the work to find ourselves a job or created ourselves our niche, there are ways to minimize our costs, whether we are setting out on a nomadic lifestyle, or as a traveler wanting to spin out our travel hours. There are ways of exchanging some of our time to save on accommodation and food. Then there are these ways of helping our budget.

1 – Go to the Cheap countries

The first step is to choose a cheap country. I see so many people stressed out at the living costs, when all they’ve considered is Europe – this is most of the expensive part of the world. But there is a lot of world beyond Europe.

Notably, Central and South America, most of Asia, the Pacific islands, and Africa. I spent 3 years in Morocco. It’s not the only easy and cheap place to stay in Africa.

And don’t forget the middle east and Eastern Europe – Georgia, for example, is getting a name for an easy 12 month visa option. Turkiye is a great stop, so is Egypt, Albania, Montenegro, and Croatia in the Balkans. But there are plenty of places to stay, and to move around to.

Where a meal in Europe might cost $20 or 30, in a cheap country you may be spending a dollar or even less. Fresh fruit and vegetables and standard supplies will also cost much less, as well as housing and net charges.

In Morocco I paid $5 a month for quite decent phone topup and plan, and just $20 a month for net.

The western cultures may be your comfort zone, but there is so much more to learn and enjoy in a non-western culture. If you really feel a need for somewhere speaking English, there are English speaking countries – like Nigeria. And there are many places where there is plenty of English spoken to get by, especially amongst the young people.

Tangier, Marrakech, Rabat and Casablanca in Morocco all have plenty of English. Dahab in Egypt speaks almost only English. In fact, most cities and tourist places should have you sorted. I’m constantly struggling to learn the local languages because there is so much English everywhere.

2 – Stay Longer

There is a regular message from nomads who seem to feel they must constantly move, staying in one place for just a few days at a time. One said they were burnt out and giving up nomading – after 10 countries in 6 weeks. I’m not surprised. That is an exhausting schedule, without trying to earn an income. These people can’t possibly even be seeing much or learning anything about a culture. Their routine can be nothing more than hotel rooms, then back, to the net plane, train or ferry.

Being a digital nomad is a lifestyle. The criteria are little more than being mobile, working remotely. There is no definition on how many days or hours you can stay in one place. Nomading isn’t a new concept. It has existed as long as human beings have. And to be honest, why are you doin it if it’s not for the fun you gain from it. Something that leaves you exhausted and burnt out is not fun.

So besides that, staying in one place for longer is much cheaper. For a start, every time you go somewhere you are paying for transport fees, plus taxis, taxes, and maybe visa fees. So if you stay longer every extra move you don’t make, you are saving money.

I go somewhere, and I stay until I am ready to leave. This can be anywhere from a few days to a few years. The Digital Nomad Police have never chased me down for a time infringements, fined me, or put me in Digital Nomad jail.

The other advantage of staying longer is that accommodation is also cheaper. Book by the month and it will be cheaper than booking by the day or the week. A year-long contract will give you cheaper monthly rent than a stay of one or 2 months.

Even if you want to stay just 2 weeks somewhere, check also the monthly rent. I have often seen the monthly rent, even for just one month, being less than 2 weeks of rent for the same place. Again, the Accommodation Police are not going to chase you down for not staying for the 2 weeks you’ve paid for.

3 – Stay in Share Flats and Houses, and Hostels

If you have decided to stay a little longer, check out flat shares and where you can rent out a room from a house. Or stay in a hostel – they have single rooms as well as the dormitories. They will also give you instant company, and often local information and experiences. The more you are involved with the locals, the less you will feel lonely and disconnected from everyone.

Some people need a room with a work space. But if you are not one of them, if you are one like me, find yourself a café (or co-working space) which suits you. I just need power and wifi (you can always buy your own box, or an upgraded phone plan and hot spot your PC to it)

Unless you’re living somewhere like Vietnam where the street food is cheaper (and probably more delicious) than you can make it yourself, make sure you have a place with a serviceable kitchen. Home cooked food is not only cheaper, but also better for your health.

4 - Cook at home, Eat and Cook Locally

An extension of the above point, but if you can cook, the cost of living will be way cheaper. However cheap it is eating out, buying your own food will be less – in most places, anyway. If you move around a lot, carrying with you your oil and spices is a major hassle, and extra luggage you don’t need.

But there are plenty of hostels with kitchens, and dishes needing little input. I love Asian food, and have worked out a way of making a pork noodle soup without oil, needing just a small bottle of soya sauce and ground white pepper outside the actual ingredients – a quick one-pot dish, and I can even eat it out of the pot.

Sourcing local fruit and vegetables and cooking it yourself is a much better quality of food, and better for your health. Find out from the locals where the best markets are, with the cheapest and best quality, fresh ingredients. Have fun exploring local ingredients and learning how to cook the local cuisine, or just use their products for variety in your own cooking.

5 – Join Local Pages

One of the biggest complaints I hear from nomads is loneliness. When someone is moving every few days and staying isolated in hotels and Airbnb, spending all their time sweating over their PC, they are not going to meet or get to know anybody.

Even if you aren’t planning a long stay, join the local facebook pages – as in, local to the town where you are staying. Not only are they a great place to ask questions and get information, but also to meet people. Simply ask if anyone is around for a coffee, or what events are on, or where the best place is to hang out.

I may have stayed longer than I’d planned – I went to Tangier for 2 months, and stayed for 3 years – but I was always meeting interesting people. Often passing through, sometimes staying for a while, sometimes just a conversation that lasted 2 or 3 hours for an interesting afternoon or evening.

Sometimes, even the briefest have become regular ongoing contacts/friends. Some I have met up with in different locations many times over. The point is, you never know how a connection will work out, which of the strangers will become friends.

So connect up, find local events that you enjoy, get out and meet people. IF you like yoga, or working out, or hiking – ask for people doing these things. At worst you will discover some local secrets. You may even make new friends who you will connect up with for many years to come.

How does this help the budget? They also will show you to the local secrets, and be able to tell you the cheap options. You never know what might come out of it, but the locals rarely spend the money that is normal on the tourist track.

Personally speaking, the tourist track is the last thing I am interested in. The local social life and daily rhythms are of far greater interest to me. I learn more from checking out a local supermarket and an invitation to someone’s home than I do from gazing at a monument and learning the history of people I’ve never heard of and don’t (yet) understand their significance.

Ultimately, both are parts of a place. Don’t sell yourself short by skipping what’s at hand.

Remember, being a digital nomad is a lifestyle. There are no rules. You can nomad, or slomad. It is perfectly fine to stay put for a while, getting to know the culture and the people better. Think about why you want to be a nomad, lose your possessions down to one backpack plus a cabin bag (I’ve met some who manage just off a cabin bag), and set yourself free. It is fine to make last minute plans, to make it up as you go. It’s your life. Enjoy it. If slowing down enables what you want, save costs and stay put for a bit longer.

5 Ways to Start Sooner on your Digital Nomad Life

How Do You Survive While Building Your Remote Job Online?    

Are you restless? Want to head out now? But your budget feels tight.

Many feel they need a decent amount of funds before they leave, find a digital job, and start being a digital nomad. This is entirely a personal choice. For myself, impatience always over-rides. I invariably decide that my 2-year savings plan has had enough of a headstart after 6 months. I buy my ticket and head out, then find a job. Only now am I diversifying into digital jobs so that I am no longer location based.

I work out my emergency fund, my baseline, similar to my original travel budget. How much do I need to get home again? Not just airfare, but funds until I can get myself monied again. In my case, I included a cheap second hand car since I know I can get a job meter reading again, and that is essential to being able to do the job. Basically the same sums you need to do before leaving. You need enough to survive to that money coming into your pocket.

My first steps doing this were decades before digital was a part of our lives. Nomading is not a new concept. I came across the trail in Europe where the English especially would follow the seasonal farming demands – oranges in Spain, apples in France, olives in Italy, greenhouses in Greece… being a golf caddy in Japan, jackeroo in Australia, scuba dive instructor in the Philippines or Egypt…

I had an awesome time doing winter work in greenhouses in Crete in early 1985.

Location-based options can be a good way of making your funds go further while you get your business plan building to self-sustainable levels. They are also a way to get a much greater insight into a particular country and its culture.

For me as a slomad, and having started long before digital, I love these ways and will use them just as happily as the more mobile options of remote jobs.

They stretch your budget further. They let you head out sooner. They even allow you time to build up your new online business.

So how might this be done today?

Ways to stretch the digital nomad budget might include:

·       Working holiday visas

·       Workaways

·       Pet and Housesitting

·       Yacht and ship crews with and without experience

·       Teaching, nursing, cheffing, waitering and other short term casual labour jobs.

What your options are will depend on your passport, your visa, age, your languages, and some other factors.

1 Working Holiday Visas

If you are young enough, this is a great way of getting extended stay, and being legally allowed to work in any field you can find a job. Most countries will fix the age limit to 30 or 35, and a stay of 12 months. But there are often ways of extending these visas. And this is a great way especially of getting to countries which have shorter visa option times.

Working holiday visas are usually reciprocal arrangements with certain countries. Applications and the details will be available through the respective embassy or consulate of the country you’re interested in.

This is the way I got into teaching, on a working holiday visa to Japan in 1988, right at the beginning of the fad and before it was even a big thing in China. I spent 18 months on a working holiday visa, and then got a work visa through my job.

2 Workaway

But don’t fret if you’ve already passed by the working holiday visa age option. Workaway has no age limit. This is an eco-volunteer program. Most will be for a maximum of 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. For this you should get a bed and all food. That takes care of all of your biggest daily costs. Many hosts actively welcome digital nomads and remote workers.

This leaves plenty of time to spend developing your online business and/or exploring the nearby areas. I used it to work on the edits of my novels.

Since you are usually staying with a family, you are instantly connected with some locals which may help the loneliness some DNs feel. If instead you are working at a hostel – you are still surrounded by people.

There are options all over the world, with timeframes ranging from a week to several months. Most are house and child care, garden and farm help, DIY and hostel, hotel or Airbnb work (one was for a tree house hotel).

There is no end of variety. I have seen child care for the early mornings for a balloon pilot in France, donkey trails in Greece, animal rescues for cats, dogs and donkeys, teaching and language exchange, building off-grid projects, organizing data and social media, artists, ,painters and decorators for new hostels, caring for huskies in the summer in the Arctic Circle in Finland and Lapland, living with a Bedouin tribe in the Sahara in Morocco across to Egypt and learning their crafts, taking horses for a daily swim in the sea in France, elephant rescue in Sri Lanka, barman in a jungle hostel in Thailand, jackeroo on a station in outback Australia…

There are many of the standard jobs, but if you search there are some intriguing options as well. Some that I have done have included:

• I spent a month at a D-Day beach in Normandy, France, as a help for a lady with a sick elderly mother.

• I spent 2 months in southern Italy in a walled monastery mountaintop village helping a pregnant lady with her English school.

• I spent a month (and would have stayed much longer if my visa had permitted) getting my Crazy Cat Lady Licence at a cat rescue on a small Greek island with 64 cats and a 5 minute walk to the beach.

• I spent 2 weeks in Montenegro writing pirate stories for a menu for a hotel that used to be a pirate den.

• A month mid-festival season in a small Spanish village helping a lady in post-op who lived in an old water mill in a town full of cave homes.

There was even one that was in one of the cave homes, someone needing help setting up their farm stay experience business.

There are a huge variety of options. Many hosts welcome digital nomads, and older people, as well as couples. Check the feedback, and be respectful. Remember that you are a visitor within someone’s family, except in a few situations like hostel work.

Volunteering options include Asia, Africa, and South America, as well as Australia and the US. It is worldwide. Most hosts will have short term options of just a week or 2, and may not be willing to take people long term. Others prefer longer term stays for greater stability.

The program is a mere $50 a year to have complete access. Even without that, you can still browse and save up to 10 hosts. But you won’t be able to contact them until you become a member. I browsed while planning, then joined when I was ready to leave. When my year was up, they were offering 15 months membership special deal on renewal.

There is a similar program called WOOOF which you could also look into.

3 House and Pet Sitting:

If you can get into this caper, you are set. You will usually get a very nice place to stay as well as the furry company. Time frames are often just a week or two while the owner is away for a holiday, but some are extended stays of 3 to 6 months while the owners are on sabbatical, or people who are away regularly and keen to have the same person return.

With house-sits, besides care of the house, the pets, and maybe garden, your time is free to spend developing your online business or exploring the area.

You need some references, but most of your time is free for you to focus on your remote job project. I had a good friend who moved from one to the next house-pet sitting option, generally aiming for the longer-term ones. I met her when she had a house on the beach on the small Greek island where I was doing the Workaway at the cat rescue. Her next was a hilltop house overlooking a ghost town and a magnificent beach in southern Turkey.

The recommended platform recommended every single time is housesitters.com. They also have a facebook page, independent of the site, but a useful forum for information and personal experiences.

4 Yacht Crew and Cruise Ships

This is an avenue I have yet to try. Although I know nothing about boats, I am keen to have a go. Experience is not always required. One I met sometimes just needed an extra body on the boat for legal requirements to cross from the UK to the US.

The jobs are typically summer time, and can go all over Europe. The biggest issue may be that internet coverage may not be a constant. Personal space on a yacht is also at a minimum and can be very cramped, so make sure to take this into account.

There are a number of sites advertising jobs. I first came across it when I met a chef who worked on yachts. This varied from providing lunch for day long scuba tours, to cooking for the rich and famous on a larger yacht.

Also, don’t overlook that cruise ships are an ever-increasing business, and they have a huge range of jobs, all needing people. One of the niches here is if you have entertainment skills such as music, magic or shows. But they still need someone to make beds and clean rooms, sort garbage, chop vegetables in the kitchen… you name it. They are complete microcosms.

6 Location-Based Jobs

This may seem to fly in the face of the current buzz concept of “digital nomading”, but in truth, these are the roots, and the way nomading was done, before the digital started giving us so many more options. Traveling while working is not a new concept. It wasn’t even new when I first started in 1985.

Remember, digital nomading is a lifestyle. It is something we do because we want to travel, the urge to travel is stronger than the urge for stability. And if we can work, we can travel for longer. That’s all it is. It’s about having no home base, about living out of a bag or backpack, and being ready to move at any time.

So, while your aim may be to be completely mobile, how quickly you move on is a personal choice. I call myself a slomad. I go somewhere, and I stay til I’m ready to leave. This can be anywhere from a few days to a few years.

Some DNs seem to stay only  a couple of days in each place and then move. Since they are working full time, I don’t personally understand this, since they can have no time to explore or get to know a place. This may also explain the many comments I see about feeling burnt out, about loneliness and not being able to find a relationship.

To me, travel is about experiencing different ways to further understand people and the world.

The way I see it, the longer I stay, the more I get to know a place. And I get to know it on deeper levels, and to see through the layers. Throwing in languages, friends, intimate relationships, cultural experiences, and getting involved gives a much better understanding of the rhythms and what-fors of a place and how it works.

Most of us come from rich western countries. But most of the world functions in very different ways to those we take as fundamental.

So, if you are like me and just want to be in another culture and the timeframe is loose, there are a number of location-based jobs you can do to fund yourself. In Crete, work at the greenhouses was picked up by the day. As a teacher, contracts can be 1 or 2 years. Casual jobs usually have no timeframe – you can make them what you want.

So, what sort of location-based jobs are options?

·       Teaching (ESL is the easiest, but international schools have FT jobs for all subjects)

·       Nursing – limited only by languages, but one of those universal options

·       Waitering and cheffing – jobs which seem to translate across countries

·       Casual labour on farms, in kitchens, as nannies, gardeners…

·       Live dealers who move around to different casinos with big events

·       Movie extra work, making up crowd scenes etc

·       Events organisers

This is by no means a finite list of options.

Technically, all of these require work visas. Generally, a full-time contract will come with an appropriate visa. Having a visa which is appropriate is something you need to check by country.

As a nurse, there are not only the jobs in the health industry, but there are also volunteer jobs which may include accommodation. For example, there are the Mercy ships, and other organisations.

There are also refugee camps which need doctors, nurses and teachers. Sometimes they will give free or very cheap accommodation.

I have done most of these things over time. Where I haven’t, I have talked to people who have. My nomading job over the years has been teaching. If you are interested in teaching overseas, I have written information specific to teaching overseas in another blog. This includes the hacks and tricks for all levels of teaching, from the professionally qualified, all the way down to those who have no qualifications – exactly as I started out.

Even without using one of the above options, you can still make a huge difference by your chosen locations. I have another article coming on ways you can make your budget stretch further aside from the above, and hacks on how to minimise your living costs.

The main thing to take from this, is that there are an endless number of options. Becoming a DN does not mean getting an entry level job and rising through the ranks. It isn’t a company. It’s a lifestyle. And just like normal sedentary life at home, there are no end of variations on the possibilities.

Visas to Morocco

Visas to Morocco

I have lived in Morocco for 3 years and loved it!!! I love that the rules are ambivalent. They are just a suggestion. Just like the way visas to Morocco work.

I love Morocco. I loved living in Tangier.

And I love that there’s always a way – that is so optimistic to me after struggling with the rules of the rich countries where it’s “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” and everything is so black and white.

Find out for yourself how it works, then make your own decisions. But this is how I’ve lived and worked in Morocco for 3 years – I even know someone who did it this way for 30 years!

Furthermore, the legalities of remote working are still very grey. Some countries now have a digital nomad visa. But most have no definition. The standard is that as a nomad you will have a base country from where you are paid and where you pay taxes. If you are physically elsewhere, whether it be another city in your country, or elsewhere is not really relevant outside getting an appropriate visa to allow you to stay for the period of time you wish to be there.

Programs like Workaway and Housesitting are in equally grey areas.

Legitimate Visa to Morocco

First up, is that things are always changing. But in the end, Morocco wants the tourists and the foreigners.

The legitimate way is to apply for residency. This is cheap, and straightforward. It is an annoying amount of paperwork. But it will give you some extras that a tourist visa doesn’t. You can get a proper bank account (be mindful that the dirham is a closed currency, so transferring out isn’t possible via a bank account). You can buy a car. You can stay without worrying about border runs. Of course you will need to prove adequate living funds form overseas, but for Morocco this isn’t huge.

The other Way Visas to Morocco Work

The other way, which is the way most people around me followed, is with a tourist visa. As long as you can enter Morocco with a tourist stamp at the border, this is an option. The rich countries are very tied up on visa legalities, and there isn’t one that I would try to push the rules.

But if you are moving to Morocco, it is good to understand that rules aren’t black and white in the same way as we understand them. Things work differently – as happens across many cultures.

This is how it works in Morocco.

The tourist visa gives you 90 days. Within those 90 days, you need to leave Morocco. I lived in Tangier, which is close to Europe. Many times I just went to Spain for lunch – that is enough.

Tarifa

From Tangier, you can catch the ferry to Tarifa, have a nice lunch, a beer in the sun or a sangria and tapas at my favourite pub at the top of the medina next to the gate – Bossa. Then hop on a ferry and be back in time for dinner.

The ferry takes about 40 minutes (maybe an hour or 2 with faffing). I have set out the complete how to in a blog on ferries from Spain to Morocco.

Ceuta, or Sebta (in Arabic)

Your second quick option is a taxi ride to Ceuta in a grand taxi. (Also set out in that blog). The ride takes about an hour along the coast with views of Spain across the sea for most of the way, and is less than 10 euros each way. Again, back in time for dinner. If they ask at the border I say I was doing some shopping – my bag will always prove me right, filled up with cheeses, pork, and alcohol which is way cheaper than in Morocco.

Spain - Mainland

There are also lots of cheap flights, especially to Spain. I’ve heard of 30 euros return from Tangier to Rome. Casablanca is the biggest international airport, and will have cheap tickets, especially if you book ahead. I’ve also been told that you can get cheap flights from Essaouira to Marseilles.

On return, they simply stamp your passport for another 90 days.

An Overstay - and what to do

Even if for some reason things go wrong and you overstay, for the first time or 2 especially, fixing an overstay is easy – as long as you do it the right way.

If you try to leave without fixing your visa overstay, first be aware that all hell will break loose. You will be made to get the paperwork fixed before you catch your flight, which can easily mean missing it. And on your return there will be a court attendance and a fine.

But there is such an easy solution. The first time or even 2 you are unlikely to get a fine, even the third time if you have a very good reason. The how-to was information given to me at the wilaya – the police headquarters immigration office in Tangier. By all means, check this up for yourself. But this is how it works, especially in Tangier. (My first overstay was almost 2 years. Since then I have maintained a 3 monthly trip routine).

About 3 days before you leave, go to the wilaya with:

·       Your ticket

·       Your passport

·       Your visa

·       Proof of where you’ve been staying and

·       5 Passport photos.

Get 5 copies of each – there is a copier shop right next to the wilaya in Tangier.

Most of the process is then waiting. They may even ask you to come back the next day, and you must make the application with a full 24 hours spare before your departure. But the paperwork itself takes about 20 minutes. I went early to immigration to make sure, but the worst case is a bit of a wait while immigration makes a phone call confirming your extension. I waited just 10 miThenutes.

The Drawbacks

The main drawback is that you must take a ‘holiday’ every 90 days. You also need to keep in mind that in Morocco, everything is fine until it isn’t. Most of the time everything is fine, but it is worth being aware that sometimes, as with everywhere, get someone on a bad day and they can make things a bit more difficult for you.

I have heard of people being told at Ceuta they have to wait 24 hours, but I have never experienced any problems at all. I just smile and say I had a good day of shopping and eating tapas. They haven’t even checked my bags for customs.

As always, take into account the consequences and decide what works for you. But in Tangier, this is how it works. If you want a bank account, to buy a car, or find the idea of these 3 monthly trips tedious, get yourself residency – first one is one year, second is for 3 years, third and after is for 5 years.

If, like me the residency seems like to much paperwork and you’re happy taking a holiday every 3 months, then the tourist visa is easy, and nobody will check whether you are working, or stop you at the border.  

Over time I found I didn’t even have to keep track of my 3-month limit because I was starting to trip to Spain to meet friends and explore new parts more often than that.

5 Ways to Find Your Remote Job

5 Ways to Find Your Remote Job

A remote job is not a company. There is no such thing as an entry level job. There is no best job to become a digital nomad (DN). It all depends on who you are and what your skills and personal preferences are.

Secondly, it’s not like at school where they tell you to be a fireman, a builder, an accountant or a doctor, for example. To be honest, there are so many possibilities, and most of them are irregular. The trick with being a DN is finding a niche, something in growing demand which isn’t yet a flooded market.

The good news is, the range of options is endless. What you can do as a remote job is limited only by your imagination. The obvious biggies are in IT and financial management, and these are the answers I mostly get when I meet people. But here are a few more interesting ones that I’ve come across:

• Managing an online dating site

• Sex therapist

• Cam corder

• Tarot reader

• Voice actor

• Lego master builder

• Life coach

• Mystery shopper

• Yoga and fitness classes

The online yoga instructor I know personally is legally blind!- ie, anyone can be a DN. You are limited only by your imagination.

If you decide to set up a remote business, this can take a little while to be generating enough income to be sustainable. But if you are like me and impatient, there are ways to survive on a limited budget. There are programs which can supplement your costs, as well as ways to economise and make your money go a lot further.

But how in all this do you find a remote job that suits you? Perhaps the question should be, how in all this do you create a remote job that suits you?

Here are 5 ways you can approach this.

1          Your CV

This is the obvious way to look for your digital job, the same old standard way we have been taught to look. But being a DN is not a company with entry level jobs, or a one best fit for all. Being a digital nomad is a lifestyle, and it is outside the “normal” boxes, so looking for an option this way is a very limited approach. But let’s start here since that will be the easiest one to understand.

Some are very lucky and have a skill that translates easily, a company which wants you to work remotely. There are also sites listing remote work. But htey are being swamped. So, this is not the most effective way to search.

However, some standard jobs can be adjusted to work via zoom as remote jobs. It seems contrary to logic that face-to-face jobs, but these might include such as:

• A therapist

• Yoga or fitness instructor

• Realtor

• Nutritionist

• Nurse

All of these were made into online jobs during covid. All can be adapted to a remote

Yoga and fitness instructors and therapists can build up a client base to coach via zoom.

As a realtor with a healthy business, get someone to do the footwork of taking clients to apartments and facilitating the rental leases. Your business is your list of contacts which you have already built up, and ongoing ones through advertising.

A nurse, or a nutritionist? Clearly as a nurse you can’t take a temperature or fix a bandage. But there are other ways of applying these skills, such as:

·       Setting up an advice page or blog

·       Selling products as a middleman (source them, then have the wholesaler send direct to buyer)

·       Write courses on how to take care of various health or dietary issues

·       Create health or meal plans to follow

·       As a nutritionist, find and post recipes in collections, each focuses on a different dietary need

·       Give food options for DNs – eg where to get gluten-free products in a bread-based cuisine

·       Consulting via zoom

·       Coaching

I even know of someone whose job is scents. Yes, scents. They are asked to help actors get into a period mindset by giving them different smells that fit with the era. She is apparently in very high demand. Yet others are costume designers. It just depends on what you know. All sorts of trivia can be helpful.

As well as this, if you’re the slomad sort, a nurse and a teacher can get location-based jobs in many countries. As a nurse, extending your language skills would massively increase opportunities.

Even if you are not a teacher already, if you are a native English speaker, this is an easy digital job option. There are many online English teaching companies, and for most of them the teaching is prescriptive. They will include training in their platform, and they pretty much tell you what to say at every point. Just grab yourself a certificate.

2          Oustide Your CV

But now, let go of your CV and traditional job seeking methods – especially considering you are leaping into a non-traditional lifestyle – and your remote jobs options explode exponentially. Just get creative and start thinking outside the box.

As a digital nomad, your CV is mostly irrelevant. Start thinking about the things you like to do, even in your spare time. What are you good at – even if it seems mundane.

You’ve done yoga your whole life, or love fitness, think about how you can sell that – online lessons via zoom classes, courses, coaching, information…

You’ve a hobby making mini origami cranes – turn them into earrings, market and sell them. Very small amount of gear to carry, and you can send them from almost anywhere.

You like writing? There are endless variations – ghostwriting, erotic fiction, articles, proofreading, essay help, blogging…

Even if all you’ve done is got yourself through a university or college degree. If you are good at exam skills – sell what you know: set up a coaching service.

Being sexy? Reading tarot or runes? You are good at organizing your time at home. Have particular tricks as a mum? As a single dad? Or you’re very good at building model kits? Make videos on DIY tips.

Almost anything sells. Often it’s about the marketing.

3          Getting Ideas – Fiverr and Upworks

Are you starting to be overwhelmed at the possibilities? Wondering how to pin down a remote job that works for you? Struggling with how to turn your passion or hobby into a job?

Check out Fiverr and Upworks.

These are casual job forums and excellent ways of exploring ideas. Use them to help you hone down possibilities. The platform allows members to both advertise their skills, or to look for help.

Check out the categories which appeal to you, and look at what is being advertised – what is on offer, and more importantly, what people are looking for. Let your imagination get to work for you about how you might be able to sell something that you are good at or like doing.

The key is not to pin yourself to what’s most popular, but find a niche with good demand but fewer people offering the help. IT is now hugely popular with an over-flooded availability of people. But it all depends on the area – there are areas which do pay well with a limited number of skilled workers available. That is the sort of spot you want to fit into.

4          Develop Your Skills

If you haven’t got skills you’re happy to use, explore Fiverr and Upworks for inspiration. If there’s something you like the idea of, something you’ve always wanted to do but never had the time, now is your opportunity. Especially if you can spot a gap in the market.

Having made your decision, get busy and learn how to. Enroll in a course, troll the net, check out YouTube, ask on help sites and social media pages, and develop the skills you need. Even pick up an extra language to expand your marketability.

5          Passive Income

This is the ideal way if you have the resources. Passive income is income derived without having to work. The biggest option is by investment – owning houses, or flats, or shops, and renting them out. This of course requires an input of funds, so you will need to have some capital behind you.

However, if you already have your own home, in downsizing for a nomadic life, don’t sell it. Rent it out. Or rebuy into the same market something that is a good rental property, even downsizing to decrease any payments you may have left on your mortgage.

Like everything, do your homework. Find out what makes a good rental property. Cities with big universities, or are popular holiday places, will have a certain market. But these are also seasonal, so take that into account.

You want a house in good condition. You need to set aside 10% of the rental income for repairs and emergencies. And it’s a good idea to have an agency take care of the property on your behalf – a fee which is generally well worth it.

This isn’t the only type of passive income, but it is one of the biggest ones. You can also set up a course. This takes a lot of work, but once finished it can become a passive income, needing little maintenance.

Surviving While you Build Your Funds           

Many feel they need a decent amount of funds before they leave. This is entirely a personal choice. For myself, impatience always over-rides. I invariably decide that my 2-year savings plan has had enough of a headway at 6 months, head out, then find a job.

My first steps doing this were decades before digital was a part of our lives. Nomading is not a new concept. I came across the trail in Europe where the English especially would follow the seasonal farming demands – oranges in Spain, apples in France, olives in Italy, greenhouses in Greece… being a golf caddy in Japan, jackeroo in Australia, scuba dive instructor in the Philippines or Egypt…

Some more location-based options can be a good way of stretching your funds while you get your business plan building to self-sustainable levels. They are also a way to get a much greater insight into a particular country and its culture.

For me as a slomad, and having started long before digital, I love these ways and will use them just as happily as the more mobile options of online jobs.

Ways to cut costs while you build your remote business might include:

·       Working holiday visas

·       Workaways via Workaway and Worldpackers

·       Pet and Housesitting - Trusted Housesitters

·       Yacht and ship crews with and without experience

·       Teaching, nursing, cheffing, waitering and other short term casual labour jobs.

What your options are will depend on your passport, your visa, age and some other factors. For more on these options, check out the related article. They don’t even have to be limited to digital. There are many options which can be short term stays, especially for the slomads. These might include:

• Nursing

• Teaching

• Barister and cafe work

• Bar work

• Restaurant work and waiter

• Movie extra work

• Casino table dealers

• Firefighting

• Diving schools

• Oyster harvesting and other seasonal work

I have met all of these people, or someone who knows them.

PostScript

And what of me? How have I been surviving?

I started long before digital - it is a lifestyle, and has been one for millennia. Digital just increases the options for survival work. In 1985 I stumbled on the European seasonal work route, and ended up in Ierapetra in Crete working in the greenhouses with some Brits - a daily bus ride to a cafe where the farmers went looking for the help they needed, throwing in lunch as a part of the deal.

In 1988 I headed out again, initially to Japan for 6 months where I stepped off the plane and into the classroom for 4 years. (My plans always change). I prefer face to face, but teaching is versatile and can be done in many places, as well as online. I have since worked also in China, Italy, Australia, and Morocco. It can be survival money, or in certain countries it can be a great savings opportunity. And it doesn’t take a lot to get started.

Since heading out this time, 5 years ago, I have:

• Taught English, Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology, Health, Citizenship, Drama, Craft, Storytime, children - teaching Japanese is the only thing missing.

• Rewritten reviews on online gambling sites and real estate in Spain

• Started my blog on my misadventures

• Written travel and culture blogs on Tangier especially, and Digital Nomad information

• Written mini-stories for special events for individuals (like birthdays)

• Editing and writing my stories for traditional publishing

• Written pirate stories for a pirate hotel menu

• Done movie extra work

• Worked in Real Estate

• As a researcher and contact for a DJ and music events manager in Shanghai and Japan

• Been judge for English spelling bees

• Considered setting up a restaurant as a passive income

• Auditioned for movies - 2 French ones and one Spanish one

• Babysitting in 5 star hotels

Currently I am on my final edit of my current story, write the blogs, rewrite the gambling articles, do movie extra work, Workaways and a little teaching still. The work is a mix of online and location based, but being open and saying yes to offers, you never know what might turn up.