The Internet is full of listicles and advice on “How to Make Money While You Travel,” “How to Earn Money Traveling While Working Remotely,”or “How to Get a Job Abroad.” You’ve probably clicked on a few of these articles yourself, in your idle time (or on your employer’s dime). And if you’re anything like me, these articles are usually disappointing—they lack solid details, or the sites they recommend don’t have any opportunities for anyone but super-skilled software developers. They’re the results of a $10/hour content writer who has been charged with slapping together an “SEO-friendly” article about “remote work,” “Location Independence,” “Working while traveling,” and similar search terms. In other words: they lack both authority and investment.

How to Find (REAL) Remote Work and Travel Jobs Abroad

I’ve spent the last 18 months of my life looking for remote work, working while traveling, and job-hopping. I have actively been searching for new and different roles throughout that 18 months—because despite what some sites might tell you, it’s not a quick and easy process.

So I’m not going to present you with a long, meandering list of websites and strategies to try. Nor am I going to recommend UpWork. Instead, I’m going to give you the cream of the crop. From my own experience, these are the four, absolute best resources for finding remote work, travel jobs, and/or international jobs which will sponsor your visa and relocate you to a foreign country.

I hope it helps you chase your dreams!

Jobbatical

This Estonia-based startupEstonia-based startup is the first place you should look if you want to relocate to a foreign country. Maybe you are feeling insecure in the U.S. due to political reasons, or maybe you call somewhere else home and you have a serious case of wanderlust but don’t have the financial security to up and go. That’s where Jobbatical comes in. This website connects global talent to international, career-type jobs in countries across the world.

They need online marketing professionals in Colombia just as much as they need them in Ohio. Are you a good people person and manager? That’s a skill that can be used all across the world. Know how to talk to computers? You already know that you’re wanted everywhere. Jobbatical helps you take that first step.

All the jobs on Jobbatical use English as their primary language. Some roles require bilingualism, but this will always be specified in the job description. If it isn’t, then the job is entirely in English.

Additionally, by posting a job on Jobbatical, the company is actively recruiting international talent, and is thus open to sponsoring a work visa and/or residence permit. This paperwork often deters people from looking for jobs overseas—these companies will take care of it for you

Jobbatical does tend to lean rather heavily toward development positions (unfortunately), but if you take the time to peruse their full list of open positions (usually no more than 100-200 at any given time), you may find something you’d like to apply for. Lots of these jobs don’t even require tons of experience—sometimes you’ll even see a true-entry level position, which is almost impossible to find these days in the US job market.

Types of jobs: Development/Computer Engineering, Digital Marketing, HR, Management

 

Modern Day Nomads (Twitter Feed)

Modern Day Nomads also has a website, but to be clear here, I’m referring to the Modern Day Nomads Twitter feed. They also run an email newsletter which (I assume) contains most of the same content as their Twitter feed. I should probably subscribe to it. But let’s stick with what I know. The MDN Twitter is a superbly-curated list of seasonal, remote, and international jobs. You’ll also find artists’ fellowships and residencies mixed in there, as well as writing and photography contests.

This mixture of content makes MDN a great place for creative types to troll for job opportunities or new clients.

Any time I’m feeling the itch for new work, or wondering what kinds of different gigs I could get into while traveling, I point my browser to Twitter.com/moderndaynomads. Seriously, their page is the first thing that pops up when I try to go to Twitter! (Followed by two venture capitalists/angel investors, Donald Trump, and a post about exploring the mountains of Mont-Blanc. Sounds about right for me!)

They are constantly finding new, fascinating opportunities. Some are remote, some require full-time relocation, some are seasonal relocations— the diversity is awesome! Perusing this Twitter feed is the most seamless way to find high-quality leads on jobs that will allow you to travel and see something new. No trolling through endless listings on Monster or Glassdoor, no need to play around with filters— just scroll down the Twitter feed until you something interesting. Then click.

Types of jobs: Seasonal work, Artist/writing residencies, fully-remote marketing and development positions, among others

Craigslist

I know what you’re saying here. Craigslist?! I thought you said this was going to be a useful list!

Craigslist is where I have found a majority of my best-paying and most-satisfying clients, gigs, and full-time jobs for the past two years. Yes, really. Craigslist.

That said, there are a few important tips to getting the most out of Craigslist. This is why I left it until last. Jobbatical and MDN are both a lot more user-friendly. But if you’re willing to put in some time and effort, Craigslist is also a great resource. Let me break it down into a few sub-points:

The Human Element

Here’s why I prefer Craigslist over almost any other “traditional” type of job board: every single e-mail and resume sent via Craigslist needs to be reviewed by a human. When you apply for a job using software like Greenhouse, LinkedIn, or Monster, your resume is run through a keyword filter which looks for certain terms the employer has specified. That means a large quantity of (potentially qualified) resumes are removed before they’re ever been seen by human eyes. That’s not fair to you.

This is where Craigslist comes in. When you apply for a job on Craigslist, you send an e-mail, and you attach your resume. (Usually). Disregard any listing on Craigslist which tries to direct you to a third-party website to apply. Following those links will negate the human advantage that Craigslist gives you.

Simply put: Craigslist gives you a much higher chance of your resume actually being seen by a human. Which, in turn, makes it exponentially more likely you’ll hear back about a position. We’ve all experienced the soul-crushing silence that comes after you send off your resume for a position you think you’re incredibly qualified for, only to hear nothing in return.

There are Tons of Remote Jobs

Now, I’m a writer. So I speak from a position, mostly, of writing and digital marketing. If you’re a bartender or a receptionist or a person whose role involves a lot of in-person contact, maybe this point is a little less true for you.

But about half the work I look at on Craigslist can be done remotely. There’s even a “Telecommute okay” filter to make your life easier.

You’re Not Restricted to Your Local Listings

If you point your browser to Craigslist.org, it’ll automatically geo-locate the listings to your city (or a city near you). But you don’t have to stay on this local craigslist. You can easily troll the listings for major metropolitan areas, where you can often find really good opportunities which are completely remote.

This is a really simple hack: just change the URL. If your local Craigslist is, say San Francisco, your URL will look like this: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/

All you have to do to see a different city is change that URL to http://newyork.craigslist.org/

Boom. That simple. Happy hunting.

Honorable Mention: WeWorkRemotely

WeWorkRemotely is a good job board entirely dedicated to remote positions. Again, it skews more towards development positions, but that’s just what’s in demand these days. If you don’t have those skills, you just gotta look a little harder.

In Conclusion

I Hope those four resources help you on your quest to become a digital nomad, find a gig that helps you work while you travel, or to find a job working abroad! They have certainly been a great help to me while I pursue a location-independent lifestyle.

Do you have a website or resource to recommend for working while traveling? Post it in the comments below!