"Some people have the idea that if you travel nonstop you must be a trust fund baby with endless funds or a travel blogger making money from that and in reality, there are so many ways that people can make money online now," says today's guest, Billy Taylor, the Senior Editor of Travel Longer magazine, "The benefit of starting the magazine was hearing all of these different, diverse ways that people are able to perpetuate their travel." Equal parts journalist and photographer, Billy has been traveling the world writing, taking pics and eating anything he can find since 2010. He's a diver, designer, a former stunt performer, and a perpetual world traveler. Before that he got his start in his teens and then after a round-the-world trip, he realized how badly he wanted to travel more while also longer, to slow down and experience his destinations longer. Part of Billy's drive to explore and document is his pure love of people and their cultures, along with a belief that there are far more similarities that unite us as a human race, than there are differences that set us apart. He started his magazine, Travel Longer, to share this belief, vision, and purpose-driven mission with the world.
Words from an Explorer
"If you actually slow down and take the time to open your eyes and your heart a little bit there are so many of those little life changing moments that happen daily.”
More Quotes from Billy
"When you’re traveling, everything’s new and vibrant… if you’re traveling too quickly, those life-changing moments just rush past you."
"When some people say they travel perpetually, it doesn’t mean 365 days a year. To just travel longer, to embrace the fact that you can extend things just a little…”
"So much of work that we do is done online. It’s getting easier and easier for people to take their work on the road."
What We Discuss
What it is about New Zealand that Billy loves, from WOOFing to Couchsurfing, to a welcoming culture for an amazing community of travelers
How a bowl of soup in Malaysia changed Billy's life
How traveling longer allows you to let the experiences find you
All about Billy's magazine, Travel Longer, and why he started it
How he's able to get all his contributors and interview guests for his magazine
The way travel can change your perspective of and restore your appreciation for home
Billy's Best Travel Advice
The First Step: He quotes Alex Jimenez, "I'm an equal opportunity traveler. I don't care how you travel, just that do."
Money Saving Tip: Haggling for accommodation! Go in to a hotel, tell the people at the desk or the owners how much the room is listed for. Tell them on the spot that you're going to give them a lower price. What's the worst that can happen? This has worked for Billy in every continent he's been to. Listen to the show to hear about "Spludgeting!"
Cheapest Airfare: Get as many quotes as you can, then ring the airline. Tell them what you've found, tell them you're a little flexible, and ask them if they can do a little better.
Packing Advice: People pack things they 'might' need. That adds up. If you need it then, buy it there. And wear your heavy clothes on the plane!
Internet Travel Tool or Resource: Couchsurfing, amazing for free stays and access to local knowledge (not just from your hosts, but from the Couchsurfing community!). Stuck on Earth, Trey Ratcliff's app.
Favorite Travel Book: The Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien
Favorite Travel Gear: A scarf or sarong, which can be a towel, a cover up, a room divider, a camera prop, pillow... and it takes up no space or weight.
Weirdest Food: Pig Snout, at a Satay house in Malacca, Malaysia
Mentioned on this Show
Travel Longer, Billy's magazine
Travel Longer on iTunes
@travellonger
Alex Jimenez's travel fashion blog
The Planet D