Chapter Two
Sabbaticals, Unpaid Leave, Career Breaks and Quitting Your Job
Escape 101: The Four Secrets to Taking a Sabbatical or Career Break, by Dan Clements (Brain Ranch, 2007, ebook and print)
Presents a step-by-step system to take as much time as you need from your job, career or business, without losing ground.
Lonely Planet: The Career Break Book, by Joe Bindloss (Lonely Planet, 2004, print)
A guide for taking extended time off from work. Includes tips on asking for time off, dealing with mortgage and pension issues, etc.
Unplugged: How to Disconnect from the Rat Race, by Nancy Whitney-Reiter (Sentient, 2008, print)
A manual for disconnecting and going on sabbatical.
The Career Break Traveler’s Handbook, by Jeffrey Jung (Full Flight Press, 2012, ebook and print)
Tools for dreaming, planning, and taking the trip of a lifetime.
A Year Off: A Story About Traveling the World, by Alexandra and David Brown (Chronicle Books, 2018, ebook and print)
One couple’s tips, guide, and memoir for taking a year off from work to travel.
Gap Years for Grown Ups, by Susan Griffith (Crimson, 2011, print)
Guide for professionals and mature travelers planning to take a gap year or career break.
Take Off Your Shoes, by Ben Feder (Radius, 2019, ebook and print)
The story of a busy executive’s self-prescribed sabbatical year to rekindle his passion.
Career Gappers
Community, resources, and guides for taking a career break to travel or planning to work remotely.
Be a Free Range Human, by Marianne Cantwell (Kogan Page, 2019, ebook and print)
A practical guide to quitting a job and creating a life of fulfillment. How to work when and where you want.
Digital Nomads and Location-independent Employment
The 4-Hour Workweek, by Tim Ferriss (Ebury Press, 2011, ebook and print)
A definitive “lifestyle design” bestseller that promotes the idea of working less and living more.
The Tim Ferriss Show
Tim Ferriss’s blog and podcast on a wide variety of topics.
Global Career: How to Work Anywhere and Travel Forever, by Michael Swigunski (New Nomad, 2018, ebook and print)
Tips for finding high-paying remote jobs while living abroad.
The Digital Nomad Handbook, (Lonely Planet, 2020, ebook and print)
Practical information for learning how to live and work on the road.
NomadList
Destination guides and cost-of-living estimates for becoming a digital nomad.
How to Escape the Rat Race with Science
Science-backed information for escaping the Rat Race and traveling abroad.
The Digital Nomad Survival Guide, by Peter Knudson and Katherine Conaway (independently published, 2017, ebook and print)
Practical advice, packing tips, budgets, and more from conversations with 20+ successful digital nomads.
Nomadtopia
Amy Scott’s blog, podcast, and community for digital nomads.
Expert Vagabond
Tips and stories from a nomadic life.
Digital Nomads on Reddit
Over a million current and aspiring digital nomads share notes in this subreddit.
Digital Nomads World
Guides, courses, and community for digital nomads and remote professionals.
Location-independent Job Resources
Flexjobs
A trustworthy list of remote and work-from-home job opportunities vetted by humans.
Upwork
A website where companies find, hire, manage, and pay location-independent contractors.
Guru
A freelancer job board.
Working Nomads
A curated list of remote jobs.
Remoters
Remote-work guides, job boards, lists of co-living spaces, and other resources for digital nomads.
Finding Jobs and Careers Overseas
Work Your Way Around the World: The Globetrotter’s Bible, by Susan Griffith (Crimson, 2017, ebook and print)
A country-by-country guide of opportunities along with firsthand accounts from people who have done the jobs.
Awesome Remote Job
An exhaustive, curated list of remote-work resources and opportunities.
Transitions Abroad’s International Careers Listing
Extensive rundown of links, resources and articles about finding work overseas.
ESL Teaching Resources
Dave’s ESL Cafe
One of the oldest and most useful Internet resources for overseas English teachers and job seekers. Includes discussion forums and job listings.
TESOL International Association
Home base for the largest professional organization of ESL teachers in the world. Journals, resources, training materials, and other useful information for teachers.
Transitions Abroad’s Teaching English Overseas
Extensive rundown of links, resources, and articles about teaching English overseas.
TeachAway
Courses, job boards, and resources for online teachers.
TEFL.org
One of the largest, most accredited places to get TEFL certified and search for teaching jobs in more than 50 countries. TEFL.org has been training ESL teachers to live and work abroad since 2008.
TEFL.com
Jobs and online resources for ESL professionals.
Go Overseas: Teach Abroad
Reviews and job listings for teaching jobs abroad.
Communication Resources
Skype
Free and low-cost video and voice calls over an internet connection.
Zoom
Video conferencing software for holding virtual meetings.
WhatsApp
A secure messaging and calling app with end-to-end encryption that enjoys worldwide support. Signal (Signal.org) is a secure alternative that isn’t owned by Facebook, but it isn’t as widely adopted.
Travel Safety
U.S. Department of State Travel Warnings
The U.S. Department of State tracks and assesses the safety situation in every country around the world then issues travel advisories and recommendations. Along with learning about current advisories, travelers can stay aware of potential safety threats, health conditions, political disturbances, and areas of instability. Each country’s U.S. embassy is linked to provide even more granular safety information.
U.S. Department of State Traveler’s Checklist
This traveler’s checklist by the U.S. Department of State includes general information to help travelers stay safe and informed. Travelers with special needs can find tips and information for specific scenarios such as student, adventure, and LGBTQ travel.
U.S. Department of State STEP Program
The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program is a free service provided by the U.S. Department of State for U.S. citizens who are traveling to or residing in a foreign country. Registration allows travelers to notify local embassies so the government can share warnings or provide assistance in the event of emergencies.
Choose Adventure: Safe Travel in Dangerous Places, by Greg Ellifritz (independently published, 2020, ebook and print)
This book covers useful topics such as hotel room safety, avoiding pickpockets, scams, corrupt local officials, and more.
The World’s Most Dangerous Places, by Robert Young Pelton (Collins Resource, 2003, print)
An extensive guide by journalist Robert Pelton to the danger zones of the world. This book evaluates threats in destinations around the globe (including the United States), and provides relevant historical, cultural, and geographical information. The message from the author is that travel can be dangerous if you want it to be, and it can be very safe if you want it to be, even in a war zone.
CDC Travelers’ Health Page
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides up-to-date info about disease outbreaks and warnings for events such as volcanic eruptions.
WHO Travel Advice
The World Health Organization provides health-related information such as recommended vaccinations and water safety for traveler destinations.
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