Ask almost anyone thinking about retiring from a modeling career what they plan to do, and you will often hear, “I want to travel.”
While many people think of traveling as getting into RVs and taking a jaunt across Australia or Europe, that was never my type of thing. I was thinking bigger. I wanted to jump into long-term travel where I could enjoy my journeys, unencumbered by having to deal with cleaning, cooking, and all that.
Since I quit modeling, I have been all over the place. From Brazil to Japan, South Korea, Mexico, the UK, Russia, South Africa, and Australia, among many other countries. I have had quite a successful career in modeling, and hence I had a good nest egg for expenses. So how did I manage to quit my job and travel all over the world?
Treat Modeling as a Business
I got into modeling as a seventeen-year-old and immediately had all the freedom, which can be as tempting as it is overwhelming. The best thing I ever did was to remain in control and maintain a decent schedule. With enough discipline and keeping myself fit, I impressed many clients and was able to get some serious jobs and pay, a huge chunk of which I saved up.
Take Advantage of the Travel for Work Opportunities
As an escort, I had traveled all across the world. To China, Hawaii, Thailand, Europe, Japan, California, and New York among many others. All that traveling and meeting people of different cultures got me out of my shell, and I was able to meet and make many friends. These friends now come in very handy as I can visit many places in Europe, Asia, and South America and have a place to stay for a few days while being a tourist. This significantly lowers my costs, and I can visit so many places than if I were to stay in a hotel.
Visit some Exotic Destinations
While there are many true and tested destinations that I would have loved to revisit, I found that there were some wildly new destinations that blew my mind. Travel to places on the East African coast in Tanzania and Kenya blew my mind away. Some of these places are to be found in third world countries, which means the costs are significantly lower, and my money goes much further than if I were to holiday in Paris or the UK.
Stay at an Airbnb
One thing I learned very early on was to avoid the hotels as they can be very expensive. On most of my journeys across the world, I have been staying in Airbnbs. One great thing about staying in Airbnb is that you can choose a homestay where you get to live with the locals. This has been one of my best experiences as they have introduced me to local experiences, language, and culture. This is worth so much more than just sight-seeing as you get to make many new friends too.
Go On Longer Trips
Since I no longer have to go on short vacations and report back to work, I can leave and be away for weeks at a time. The thing with taking longer trips is that I can see much more of the different travel sport. For instance, when I was touring Europe, I went on vacation for a week in Spain and then spent a fortnight in Italy. This saves a lot on airfare as I do not go back and forth as I would when I was still working. I can also rent out my house and supplement what I have to pay for my travels across the world.
Traveling as a retired model can be a lot of fun as long as you plan well ahead and have all things in place. While I enjoyed my career as a model, I have never had as much fun as when I quit and started traveling.
