I Was Living For Free in Athens Pouring Shots In a Rooftop Bar With a View of the Acropolis & You Can Too
There are an Incredible Amount of Options To Travel For Free While Working Really Fun Jobs, I Am Here to Show You How To Find Them.
Of all of the different budget tips I can recommend, this is the most important one, which is how to live for free somewhere else.
When I first started planning this journey, I knew that I had a limited budget. So I started researching ways to eliminate expenses and potentially stay places for free. A friend had told me about Workaway before, so I purchased a subscription and started looking there for different places to stay. It had a ton of really cool options and I had even interviewed with a family for a nannying position in Athens. However, after spending some time applying to these various different positions I had a realization. I was solo traveling, and staying and working nanny type positions means I would have a hard time meeting others outside of just that family. I really wanted to meet people while traveling, otherwise it was going to be a really lonely experience. The friend who had mentioned Workaway from before had volunteered in a hostel, however I wasn’t finding many options for that on Workaway. I wanted to start looking at hostel positions, because what better way to meet others than working in a hostel? That is when I found out about WorldPackers. Worldpackers is centered around these hostel work exchanges, and so I started looking at different positions. I found a position for a hostel in Athens called Athens Hawks that needed volunteer exchange help. I saw a picture of the rooftop and was instantly drawn in, and the job description was helping in a rooftop bar…say less. I reached out, had a call with the owner and got the position! I couldn’t believe it and was unbelievably excited for this next journey.
Fast forward two months and I am there, ‘working’ (pouring shots and talking to people at the bar from all around the world.) My shift was 9pm-1am 5 days a week, and when I got off I would just stay up on the rooftop drinking and meeting people. Included in this work exchange was my accommodation, which was in a 12 bed female dorm, free breakfast, free laundry, and free drinks. Different hostels will vary in what they offer, how many hours of work they are looking for, and what the kind of work is, this is just the one that I happened to get.
Me and the two other volunteers, Naty and Melia (both from Brazil), in front of the bar that I worked in.
There are so many different positions in different cities available, and there is absolutely the perfect one out there for you. I also remember applying to be a boat party promotor in Split, Croatia, and they actually got back to me while I was in Split, but I was leaving Split like a day or two later. There are lots of different positions as bartenders, cooks, party promotors, cleaning staff, reception, and some of them even all of those in one. These different positions will all vary in length that they want you to stay, hours expected, job responsibilities, benefits provided to you in return, etc. I will say that most want you there at minimum 3 weeks, so it is a little bit more of a time commitment, but if you are a long term solo budget traveler, it is the perfect option. Here are some fun ones I found just browsing today:
“Have a lot of free time to go for the aurora hunt while volunteering with us!”
3 hours of work a day in Norway
“Will you be our pub crawl leader?”
20 hours of work a week as a pub crawl leader in Hvar
“Express your art in our place!”
25 hours of work a week painting and decorating a hostel in Ecuador
“Help at New Marigold Secondary School and experience village life”
This one is a volunteer/NGO experience in Nepal rather than a work exchange, but just wanted to show the variety of options available on this website.
I found that the work exchange in hostels really worked for me, but there are so many volunteer, NGO, eco projects, and more options available on this website. I promise that the perfect opportunity for you exists, whatever and wherever that may be.
If this sounds interesting to you, check out Worldpackers! My link below will give you $10 off your purchase! You can browse all of the different options available and see what is out there before purchasing a subscription to gain access to apply, to see if it is right for you. Working in a hostel is genuinely one of the best things I can recommend to solo budget travelers. It helps you eliminate expenses, and helps you meet people and make lots of amazing connections! It makes travel affordable while providing you with amazing experiences, connections, and memories.
Life’s too short not to spend a month of your life pouring shots in a rooftop in Greece, teaching people how to surf in Costa Rica, or promoting boat parties in Croatia, even if it is just for a month : )
-Lauren
