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Originally Posted by BrainGardens
Does anyone living in MA want to move to California or another western state with me? I ask because it would be a good way to save money. I would drive there. Then we could get an apartment together until we have financial security because that also saves money.
I want to try stand-up comedy but also get a regular job.
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You don’t mention anything about having money saved up or having a source of steady income such as Social Security, etc. That would be important for someone to know, and since you’re the one making the offer you should be willing to volunteer this information up front. You don’t need to disclose actual numbers, but you should be able to reassure anyone that you
HONESTLY have a short-term financial plan in place.
You also don’t mention the Western states you wouldn’t mind living in. Arizona is out West. But, so is Montana. The weather and cultures of the two states are vastly different. If you don’t have a preference let that be known. Give people something to work with.
You mentioned stand-up comedy, so I’m going to assume you want to relocate to the LA vicinity. Everything I’ve read suggests that the COL there is expensive. Affordable housing is going to be the main problem. To get an apartment
all roommates must either have jobs, or a steady income source, that can be
documented – or enough cash on hand to pay at least 6 months rent up front (and some landlords and rental companies won’t even go for that).
What marketable skills/trade do you have? If none, you might consider web development. It pays well, you don’t need certifications (because there really are none), and you can learn for free at your own pace using several Internet resources, the best of which are:
Udemy.com
Coursera.org
edX.org
Codecademy.com
They have a lot of
other stuff you can learn, too, if web development is not your thing! Find something marketable that you can tolerate doing until you can do something different. If it’s going to take a while for you to be ready to move, start (now) working your way through whatever course you pick.
Ignore the certificate options. They’re useless unless they come with college credit (and they don’t), so save your $99.
If you don’t have savings or a job going in, some viable options for housing are below.
HOSTELS
Make a reservation for a “dorm” bed at one of the many low-cost hostels in the LA area. Private rooms are available, but the prices rival motels and that’s not sustainable long-term. Your goal is to have somewhere reasonably safe to shower and sleep at night while you bust your butt looking for work during the day. This is not the time to look for stand-up comedy work, save that for when you’re financially stable.
COUCH SURFING
From Wikipedia: “CouchSurfing is a hospitality and social networking service accessible via a website and mobile app. Members can use the service to arrange homestays, offer lodging and hospitality, and join events such as "Couch Crashes". The platform is a gift economy; hosts are not allowed to charge for lodging.”
Couchsurfing.com
WORK EXCHANGE
It’s just what it sounds like. You exchange your work/labor for room and board. You don’t usually work more than 25 hours a week. Terms vary depending on the host. There’s usually a fee to join, but memberships last anywhere from a few months to a whole year.
Workaway.info
WorldPackers.com
HelpX.net
RESORTS, CONFERENCE CENTERS AND TOURISM
Resorts, conference centers and tourism businesses are famous for employing people seasonally, but some also hire for year-round positions. There are some big names/companies in this industry. Most of the time you don’t need any special skills; you just need to be willing to travel and be flexible. This is paid work with room and board provided. This is an excellent way to travel and save up your money at the same time.
CoolWorks.com is really the best resource for these types of jobs. I think they might even have listings for jobs on cruise ships.
AIRBNB
AirBnB.com is a great website for finding housing all over the world. I used it to take my soon-ending five months long sabbatical in South America. There are a lot of stories of people who ended up clicking with their hosts and renting long-term. You can do a nationwide search for the USA just by typing in “United States” in the search bar. You will get suggestions such as “United States Homes” – choose that one. Use the top menu tabs to select the dates of your stay, the type of accommodation you’re looking for (an entire place, a room, etc), and your price. I’m doing that search right now (paused to type this) and got over 300 search results for a single room under $600 per month in the USA (I’m looking to relocate).
When you book through AirBnB you have to immediately pay the rental fee for the dates you book. Sometimes the host has to approve the booking, but many accommodations can be booked automatically – you can even set your search preferences for automatic booking. There are a lot of discounts that are applied for longer stays. You get the best rates and discounts for stays of 28 days or longer. I recommend only booking for 30 days at a time, because you must pay in full at the time of booking. Be sure to read AirBnB’s refund policy. Basically, don’t request to book anything unless you’re 100% sure you’re going to follow through.
To get more positive responses, fully complete your profile and add a picture. Be personable. Many hosts will contact you before the reservation is confirmed.
BOOKING.COM
Booking.com is an accommodations search website. I say accommodations because you can search and book motels, hotels, hostels, private rooms, etc. It’s international. It’s not as user-friendly as AirBnB, but unlike AirBnB, there are many hosts who don’t require payment upfront and who don’t charge a cancellation fee if you cancel within a certain time frame. There are even hosts who don’t require you to reserve accommodations with a credit/debit card. This would be the way to go if you’re not super sure about your travel plans and want to be able to cancel. The only caveat I’ve seen with Booking.com is that because of this the pricing isn’t as good as you would find on AirBnB.
TEACH ENGLISH ABROAD
If you have a BA/BS degree and don’t have to stay in the USA you can get paid decently to teach English abroad (some places only require an AA/AS degree). You’ll have to get a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) first, but that only takes about 6-8 weeks studying part-time. If your degree is in Education or English, you might not even need the TEFL certificate (but get one, anyway).
Most general certs cost between $200-$300 if you pay full price, but many can be had at a discounted rate, especially if you go through Groupon. Don’t pay any attention to naysayers who pan the “Groupon TEFL”. I got my
accredited TEFL certification through Groupon for $39… the price directly from the school’s website is a couple of hundred dollars. My program has job placement assistance too. Plus, they threw in some other certifications for free. I did them because the subjects were interesting, and I had the time. YMMV.
The most work to be had is in Asia and the countries that pay the best are South Korea, Taiwan, and China. However, there is fervent demand for English teachers all over Asia. You get a salary and the school pays for your apartment. You pay for utilities (low!), your food, and transportation. Some schools will pay for your ticket to their country up front and others will reimburse your flight expenses, it just depends. Contracts are usually for 1 year, but some can be for 2 years. However, watch out for Thai schools because many of them only want to offer contracts on a term-by-term basis, with a term being 4.5 months. By not doing a full year contract, they get out of paying additional benefits. Don’t completely rule out Thailand but this is something to definitely watch out for.
I hate to say this but avoid Latin America and the Caribbean (unless you’re a US state certified teacher or school psychologist who can teach in a private international school). These countries badly want English teachers but they don’t want to pay. If you teach in Latin America, you will have to supplement your teaching salary some kind of way (probably teaching English online) if you have any debts/bills to pay off back in the USA. The same goes for Africa (except for Morocco, maybe). You will NOT be able to save up any money. Stick to Asia if you go this route.
The best TEFL certification is the CELTA created and accredited by Cambridge University in England. It’s pricey, though. The reason it’s considered the best is because it includes student teaching, which is something that most general TEFL programs don’t require. There are even some non-CELTA programs that include student teaching, some of which may be offered by a university or college near you. If you can snag a TEFL with a student teaching component for a reasonable price, that’s the one you should go with. But, if you can’t, don’t worry about it. There are literally thousands of people successfully teaching English abroad with a TEFL that doesn’t have a student teaching component. Some placement agencies will pay for your TEFL program.
Last thing: Don’t try to teach English if you don’t take the job seriously. If you were a parent would you want an undedicated teacher who didn’t know his/her subject matter to teach your child? No, you wouldn’t. So, if you go this route, PLEASE don’t do what a lot of people do… don’t rush through the TEFL certification program, learning nothing that will stick, just to get the “paper” in your hand so you can “travel the world” and post pictures from exotic locales on Instagram. These are people’s CHILDREN.
Do these children justice or don’t teach. Period. Full stop.
That's all I've got, LOL. I hope this information is useful for you, or to somebody else out there. Best wishes to you in whatever you decide to do.
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