To many, being a BBC producer sounds like the dream job. It certainly gave Dave and Carmen Allan-Petale a good bragging story at cocktail parties. But deep down, neither of them were happy with their high flying career jobs in London.  While at a seminar in Portugal, the two Aussie natives heard some travel bloggers talking about their lifestyle and it ticked all the boxes…could they do it too?

With some savings to their name, they headed off 2 years ago to start their journey. They’ve travelled through North and South America, the Caribbean and a good chunk of Asia, saving money along the way…yes you heard me right, these two make a living while copywriting along the road and are able to live comfortably on around US$2000 per month! You’ll enjoy their sense of humor on this interview, and can find out more about their travels on their blog www.double-barreltravel.com where they have recently launched their book  “ Make Your Travels Appy” where Carmen reviews 50 of the top travel apps that can save you time and money while you travel. (Check out the book here on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0166JPL8E )

What I learned from speaking with Carmen & Dave:

1. If you’re building business, Linkedin can be a great tool to help. You can find out who has been looking at your profile and follow them up. Something most other forms of social media don’t give you the opportunity to do.
2. Always carry business cards, even if you work online. There are lots of times where you can pick up business face to face so miss the opportunities when they come along
3. If you planning to go travelling, get some savings behind you to take the pressure off This provided Carmen and Dave with a buffer to enable them to choose their work when the time was right
4. Remember there are plenty of hubs you can work from in the world when you travel. These guys spent a period of time at Hubud in Bali and have seen nothing but growth happening in this type of working environment. Don’t forget we’ve also got we’ve got a link to the interview with Steve Munro from Hubud on this podcast page so you can check out more about them.
5. Travel can be lonely. Attending Travel Conferences can provide you support from like-minded people who get what you do. It can be a lonely world for the perpetual traveler. If you are looking to develop your travel blog, conferences like TBEX can be a great way to learn and grow.