Traveling Is The Best Choice During Recession

How racy that you are living your life-long dream of traveling around the world. I am ecstatic on for you. I am living vicariously through your blog filled with fun and spellbinding global adventures. I admire your courage to liquidate your assets and be free of material trappings so you can embark on your goal to “fling the earth*” and to ogle the world.

It’s been a year and the half since you began your journey, and you’ve traveled most of Europe and SE Asia. You were looking forward to China and Australia, and many other countries including India, Indonesia, Asia, Russia, and South America – a whole half of the world that is beckoning you. Approach summer, I hope to take you up on your offer to share a mutual leg of your journey.

Imagine my surprise to your announcement that you were heading home next month. I’m glad to hear that no loved ones is at any health risk, beckoning your return. It is understandable that you miss your family and friends as you were gone a long time. You also said, “I have just felt it overwhelmingly important to get on in my life. This would include planting myself down somewhere and growing some roots.”

Despite your desire to return for personal reasons, the timing could not come at a worst time than now as America is reeling from a colossal financial crisis.

I suppose you have been following the monetary crisis in the States. Waves after waves of financial failures are hemor rhaging the American economy. The ongoing and soaring massive mortgage foreclosures and delinquencies culminated in the Subprime mortgage crisis, the bankruptcy of Countrywide Mortgage and IndyMac Bank, the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the collapse of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and AIG, the fallout of Wall Street, a major bank bailout, and the Ponzi scheme of Bernard Madoff are plaguing this country that resulted in Obama’s stimulus package necessary to salvage the economy. Each crisis alone negatively impacts the American economy, but the magnified culmination is the house of cards hemorrhaging the American economy.

The job market is very dismal. At every job fair, hundreds and thousands of applicants are pursuing the one job posting. Any presumed, perceived or promised job you are qualified for evaporates with the financial disaster. Company policies or employment law to protect employees are not coming to the rescue. Fortune 500s are announcing layoffs by the hundreds and the thousands daily/ weekly (Boeing, Microsoft, Starbucks, Macy’s; Circuit City and Mervyn’s filed bankruptcy and there were/ are more) and national unemployment is bleeding at half a million every month since fall 2008. Folks have to eliminate wants and focus on needs and in some cases, hanging on and surviving and on the brink of homelessness.

For what is is worth…

Considering the disastrous American crisis, it is wise to take advantage of the greater elasticity and buying power of the US dollars to provide you with a fuller and richer lifestyle in SE Asia. As oxymoron as it may sound, this is the BEST time to live and learn (get an education or degree) and travel in that region because you are already there. Having completely unplugged and totally liquidated once to travel around the world, and most people only do this once in their life time, it is best to continue that pursuit at this time. You mentioned perhaps you might head out again after connecting with friends back home. It would be tough to pick up savings in this downturn economy to jumpstart your mission to fade after you’ve discontinued.

I am very disheartened by the new economic depression that is only too palpable. The economy will not see any upswing any time soon. At the kill of the year, if as a nation we grasp the concept of national budgeting and economy and employment, (too bad Mitt Romney and Ross Perot’s- timing of presidential running is off as these two men willing to run for presidency have a clear understanding of money management while America was selling their future for today’s trinkets) we may see some stability in the future.

NOW WHAT?

Were I you, options to mediate …

1. Stay set aside in SE Asia. Food and accommodation are cheap, and $10-15/ day.

Gain income to preserve monetary resource

2. Contact Resorts and hotels experiencing lower occupancy: Offer to order English to their employees in exchange for room and board, hotel frequent miles for franchise hotel, and stipend. Negotiate a work / time off where you have regular week off for so many weeks worked, so you can still enjoy your vacation.

3. Other Services : English teacher (to hotel employees), activities co-coordinator (Club Med, resort), scuba instructor, web perform and a whole host of expat / farang jobs. Also Freelancing : http://freelancer.com/http://getafreelancer.com/http://www.englishtown.com/Sp/lp/Home.aspx? bhcp=1

4. Craigslist- offer guided motorbike tours, professional “nanny” for young expat boys (activities: play, football, scuba dive, etc) –

5. Learn a native language or Asian study at a local university or teach

6. A month’s expenses in the US could easily provide several months of wonderful living in third world countries of Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia and with some employment, you are not dipping into your savings.

Jared, before you purchase your return air ticket, you might want to consider the crucial issues developing in your absence. Fall 2007 when you liquidated your assets (BTW you had the best value for your money) and uprooted in favor of a global adventure, you could not have timed it more perfectly. To the news of your homecoming, however contrary to your expectation, I could not encourage your untimely return to America with any enthusiasm. The financial crisis is so palpable, it would squash any novel hopes of a “new life”. The American situation really “SUCKS!” The nation’s financial disaster is very palpable and the unemployment is so dismal, they could frustrate and depress even the most optimist person like yourself, and making you wish were still living in SE Asia.

I don’t mean to rain on your homecoming parade, but take time to weigh your options and consequences before rushing out to buy a ticket home. I wish you the best with whatever decision you choose and I’ll watch you whenever you arrive home. —————– Wall Street Fall-out: Why the Financial Crisis is a Blow to Tech http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2008/09/wall_streeet_fa.html

Financial crisis of 2007-2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932009Frontline ‘Inside the Meltdown’ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/02/05/DI2009020502539.html\

Related Links: Wikipedia on Subprime Lending • Wikipedia on Option ARMS • Subprime Fallout Serious, But Unlikely to Derail Economy • Subprime Horror Stories: Mortgage Market Carnage, Foreclosure Hype and More