the 9 to 5 alternative

A couple of months ago I was nominated (by Angela Corrias – Travel Calling) to take part in a unique and collaborative online experiment called, “3 Best Kept Travel Secrets.” Started by the folks over at Tripbase–a new, personalized approach to travel planning–this exercise calls for travel bloggers to write about three obscure places they’ve been (restaurants, hotels, tours, etc.).

Katie Sorene, author of the original blog post on Tripbase, writes:

Been somewhere amazing you’d never even heard of? You want to let your buddies in on the secret, right? Read on for my top travel gems!

What’s interesting about travel is that the places / hotels / restaurants that everyone agrees are fantastic, are often not so fantastic.

And even if they are, it can all be a bit predictable.

Now what’s really fun is when you find somewhere obscure that is truly out of this world.

You can’t believe your luck to have stumbled across this travel gem. How could you not have heard of this place before??

You want to shout it from the rooftops.

So here goes… these are My 3 Best Kept Travel Secrets

Fortunately, my job has taken me to some fairly wacky destinations. Below are three that I would like to share with you.

Akagera National Park, Rwanda

An offbeat, cheaper alternative to the traditional African safari.

From Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city, Akagera National Park is only a few hours away. Why pay $700+ to see Silverback gorillas when, for a third of the cost, you can hire a private driver and guide for a personal safari?

Last February, I found a hotel employee in Kigali that had access to a four-wheel drive vehicle and negotiated a $200 day trip to Akagera. We left at 6am, and on arrival at Akagera learned that the ~$30 entrance fee included a complimentary guide. SWEET.

The safari was amazing. We drove around for 5ish hours and saw a herd of elephants, a Masai giraffe, several Cape Buffalo, Oribi, Reedbuck, and an Olive Baboon that tried to climb into our car! If you have more time, you can arrange to stay overnight–lion spotting anyone?

Click here for: my blog post on Akagera National Park

Chernobyl Day Tour, Outside of Kiev, Ukraine

An intimate, exotic and informative tour of the world’s most infamous radioactive disaster zone.

Many of you out there have taken a group tour. I’ll go ahead and say it–Chernobyl is the wildest and most fun tour I have ever taken. For $180 you can hitch a ride from Kiev with Solo East Travel. During your1-2 hour drive, you’ll watch an American-made documentary about the Chernobyl disaster.

The tour group was small–no more than 17 people. We drove into the zone of exclusion to take pictures and to Pripyat, the ghost town next to Chernobyl known for its abandoned school, hospital and playground.

Click here for: my blog post on Chernobyl

Old City, Damascus, Syria

The most vibrant and dashing city I’ve ever been to.

Get lost in the narrow and twisting conduits of colors and smells and shops. Become wildly intoxicated with the periodic call of the muezzin–an exotic soundtrack of sorts, a strange, permeating presence you have to hear to really..well..feel. Take a trip to Damascus’ Old City, the oldest continually habituated place on Earth.

Syria is an enigmatic country, psychologically inaccessible to most of us Westerners. Hop off the beaten path and travel to one of the world’s most interesting places, bar none. Take it from me; the culture is overwhelming in the most pleasant of ways, the food (and sheesha) is ambrosial.

Click here for: my blog post on Syria

Wad of Turkmenistani Manat
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 11/08

If there’s anything I’ve learned since stepping outside the college bubble and into the real world, it’s that financial literacy in America is piss poor. Every day, personal budgets are neglected, debts are magnified and irrational decisions are made. Did you know that at the end of 2008, the average credit card debt per American household–regardless of whether they had a credit card or not–was $8,329? Pretty wild, when you think about it. Given that the average interest rate on a credit card is roughly 15%, a household with that much debt can generate over $1,200/month in additional interest debt. Yikes.

Just over ten months ago I wrote Mapping Your Financial Infrastructure, an article about the importance of deconstructing your finances. You know, where money comes from. Where it goes. How much (and in what capacity) you save and invest. It was a good first-step in my adult life–systematically observing how money flows in and out, looking for ways to optimize.

In a continous effort to stay on top of my finances, I recently reread I Will Teach You To Be Rich, my choice when it comes to all things “personal finance.” Yes, the title is scammy-sounding and seemingly presumptuous,  but trust me, the author knows his stuff. Over the last month, I have taken his advice to heart and made a few infrastructural changes.

Credit Cards and Frequent Flyer Miles

I applied for a new credit card, the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard®. Long after my career as a cost-of-living surveyor is over, I still plan on traveling. This card has a much better airline rewards program than my previous card, the Bank of America WorldPoints Rewards Visa. I get 30,000 American Airline miles for signing up, and the annual fee is waived for the first year. Normally I’m against the idea of an annual fee (in this case $85), but all the best credit card reward programs have fees. Note: I did not close my BoA Visa! It has a really high credit limit ($13,600), so closing my access to that limit would significantly and negatively impact my credit score.

From Bank of America to Schwab

I moved checking accounts from Bank of America to Schwab. Lately I’ve had a couple of situational issues with Bank of America and I’ve been looking for a reason to move on to greener pastures. I chose Schwab’s High Yield Investor Checking account. Schwab comes highly recommended for a variety of reasons; customer service, the fact that they reimburse ATM fees and a strong paperless system, to note a few. I was also attracted to Schwab because they make it easy to set up and fund a Roth IRA.

Opening a Roth IRA

For the last few years I had been investing $100/month into Class-A American Funds. While the American Fund family consistently outperforms its peers 1-2% each year, each Class-A fund has a 5.5% load, or fee. This means that for every $100 I invest, I’m only really investing $94.50. It’s not much, but with so many other no-fee options out there, I want to capitalize on compound interest.

I stopped putting $100/month into the American Funds and chose to open a no-fee Roth IRA instead. If you’re not familiar with the benefits of maxing out your Roth IRA contributions, read this.

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The point I want to make is this. In today’s digital age, tracking and controlling and optimizing your personal finances has never been easier. The tools are there. The Internet makes it…so…damn…easy.  Over the last month, the two or three hours I spent making the changes above will no doubt save me thousands down the road.

Do yourself a favor this week. Take a peek at your financial situation and see if there’s any room for positive changes. Do a little research. Fill some holes. I’d be happy to entertain any questions you have about credit cards, savings accounts and the like. I’m no expert, but hopefully I can point you in the right direction

Case Studies in the 9 to 5 alternative: No. 5

Welcome to a series of profiles on alternative lifestyles. If you think that you (or someone you know) would make for an interesting interview, then drop me a line. I know there are plenty of you out there Hope you enjoy!

Meet the Redpaths. Living proof that just because you’re not a 20-something doesn’t mean you can’t travel! The Redpaths are a full-fledged family, four total; Brenna and Bob, Owen and Eleanor. Brenna reached out to me via email, and when I checked out their site, From Here to Uncertainty, I discovered that the Redpaths homeschool their children.

Truthfully, I knew very little about homeschooling when I asked Brenna about her family’s experiences. Methods. Perceptions. The logistical and psychological trials and tribulations. Brenna was more than happy to answer a few questions for us. If you’re interested in learning more, check out her post on homeschooling or her  interview with Christine at Almost Fearless.

Brenna, let’s get started!

Had you always wanted to homeschool?

We started thinking about the idea of homeschooling when our oldest kid was 3. I did a lot of research, and went to some homeschooling conferences to learn more. By the time he was school age we had decided.

What prompted the decision?

Not any one thing really. Our decision was never about avoiding public school, it was more about being able to dive deeply into interests, and follow passions. Here’s a quote that has helped to form our home school philosophy: “Education is not the filling of a vessel, but the kindling of a flame” -Socrates

Where have you traveled so far?

We have a pretty short list for our 7 months on the road! We slow travel, renting an apartment for a month or two in one city, and taking smaller trips from there. We started our trip in Serbia with friends. We spent a few weeks in Belgrade, and a few weeks in the Serbian countryside. We’ve “lived” in Krakow, Poland; Bamberg, Germany; Perth, Scotland; and Edinburgh, Scotland. We’ve spent a week or less in Vienna, Budapest, Venice, Stuttgart, Isle Of Skye, Oban, Rothenburg, Dresden, Germany’s Romantic Road, and taken day trips to other places.

How long have you been homeschooling?

Owen is 11, and Eleanor is 8, so 6 years (which some days feels like 60).

Are certain countries more kid-friendly than others?

Not in our experience. We’ve only been to relatively tame countries, and we tend to seek out more family-friendly places. We have been surprised at how much our kids have enjoyed more typically “adult” things: the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice for instance, and the ballet in Stuttgart.

Every country does have it’s own way, of course, and the kids have taken a watch-and-learn attitude. For instance, we lived very close to the Town Square in Krakow, where there was a large sculpture by Igor Mitoraj. Local kids as well as tourists climbed all over it, using it as a jungle gym and for photo ops. Coincidentally, just down the street from our apartment in Bamberg, Germany there was a similar sculpture by the same artist. No one even touched the sculpture in Germany.

As far as homeschooling, it varies. Most people assume we’re on vacation until we keep showing up at their cafe day after day. By then they know us. Scotland has a wonderful homeschooling community, and people are really open to it. There is a spectrum of homeschooling acceptance throughout Europe both socially and legally, but from our experience the US is one of the countries at the forefront of homeschooling.

Are there any countries you wouldn’t take your family?

Sure. Safety definitely comes before adventure, and we’re not “Adventure Junkies”, although it does sound fun! Having said that, one person’s prudent destination is another person’s nightmare. We had some family members who weren’t wild about the idea of us starting our trip in Serbia. We try to be smart. For instance, we’re planning a trip to Morocco in March. If we didn’t have kids we would probably fly into Marrakesh and then just figure out the rest. Instead we’re making reservations. We’re planning a month of volunteering in the spring, and I’m looking forward to venturing more outside our comfort zones. It will be good for all of us.

What resources do you use as curriculum?

Owen and Ella both use an online program for basics. We keep notebooks for their work. We do a lot of reading out loud on our Kindle, choosing books that are set in the places we’re visiting. We read The Thief Lord just before we hit Venice. Owen has become addicted to the  Sherlock Holmes series now that we’re in Edinburgh. He loves reading, and I build around that. For instance, we’re going to Stonehenge in a few weeks, and he is super excited. I made him a deal: I’ll spring for the tickets that get us inside the stone circle, and he reads up on Stonehenge so that he can be our tour guide. Ella is pen pals with a 2nd grade class in Illinois. We help her write emails about her adventures, and they tell her about what they’re doing in school. Ella is a lover of art, and I link as much to that as I can. The paintings in a church lead to a conversation about the social climate of the time. History and Geography, obviously, come pretty naturally this year.

Any specific companies, websites, social gatherings?

Time 4 Learning is an online curriculum, and it’s terrific in many ways. The presentation works well for my kids. They can advance as fast as they like, or as slow as necessary. They aren’t held to a certain grade level. All progress is documented online and accessible anywhere.

Handwriting Without Tears has been a great program for my kids for learning both printing and cursive.

Starfall is a learn-to-read website geared for younger learners.

And then of course there’s Google for all of the obvious reasons. I can’t imagine doing what we’re doing, the traveling OR the homeschooling, without the internet and Google.

We mentioned the Kindle, which we all fight over. It’s a hell of a lot lighter than the wall of bookshelves we had at home.

As far as social gatherings – it depends on where you live. In Southern California there is a vibrant homeschooling community (which I miss very much). Some areas of the US, and of the world, have more going on than others.

What’s the hardest part of home schooling for you, the teacher, and for your kids, the students.

Such a good question! The hardest part for me has changed over the years. I think that in the beginning I didn’t have a fundamental trust that kids learn because they’re built to. Give them the opportunity, and they’re sponges. These days it’s juggling everything: working, traveling, teaching, mothering. Just like everyone I guess.

Owen says: The hardest part is when there’s not always someone available to help me. I’m impatient.
Eleanor says: I don’t know – it’s not really hard.

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You can follow the Redpaths’ adventures in world education at From Here to Uncertainty. If you have any additional questions or comments, feel free to comment below and I’ll do my best to make sure they see them!

Pripyat, Ukraine

Soon I’ll be traveling back to survey-land. Back to a world of bribes and border crossings, Embassy escapades and interesting transits. A world of pseudo-espionage, where pussyfooting supermarket aisles for 4+ hours is the norm.

Can’t wait to get back on the road. I’ve been itching to cause more trouble out there. Here’s a brief outline of my trip. If you or anyone you know would like to meet up in the following 4 cities, get in touch!

Charlotte, North Carolina

First stop, Charlotte! I hope to take a 1/2 day and drive to Asheville, a town known for its local culture, seasonal festivals and arts and crafts. Just my kind of place to explore. I’ll also be meeting up with a friend I used to row crew with back in college. Since my brother will be living here over the summer, I’ll do my best to scout out Charlotte’s finest dive bars and cheap eats.

Cincinnati, Ohio

Barbecue! I’ve already got a place picked out. I’ll also be meeting up with a good friend from college who, from what I hear, lives in a happening part of town.

Algiers, Algeria

Have never been to North Africa before, so this should be a pretty wild experience. Hoping to practice my French and digest Algerian culture and see some sites. There’s a part of town called Casbah which dates back to the 17th century and has some fun-looking mosques. There’s also a Serbian cemetery. More research to be done..

Tripoli, Libya

I still have my fingers crossed for the visa. First time I have ever had to translate my passport into another language (Arabic). My faith is strong–if my company can sneak me into Turkmenistan, then I’m sure I’ll have no problem with Libya. Right?

A lot to do here, and with a Mediterranean climate, I’ll be spending as much time outside as I can. I hope to sample Libyan cuisine and wash it down with a selection of non-alcoholic beers. They’ve got quite the selection from what I understand.

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I’ve got a few posts left in me before I go, so stay tuned. In other news, tomorrow morning I will take part in the 21-Day No Complaint Experiment. Click the link for details. What better way to kick off my 24th birthday?

What is a Niche Market?

One of my 2010 goals is to make at least $500 in supplemental income. While there a million and one ways to do this, I thought it would be an interesting (and ultimately beneficial?) experiment to focus on online niche marketing.

The core idea, from what I’ve come to understand, is a three-stage process:

1. Pick a niche
2. Build a website for the niche, focusing on search-engine-optimization (SEO) strategies
3. Monetize the website

Matt Kepnes (of nomadicmatt.com) and Kirsty Henderson (of nerdynomad.com) are good examples of people who have made this system work. By creating highly specific, keyword-optimized sites, both Matt and Kirsty generate enough money each month to sustain their world travels. Pretty remarkable, when you think about it. Oh, another thing. Once the site is set up, little to no maintenance is required. It’s a textbook example of passive income.

To give you an idea of what a niche site looks like, check out How To Teach English Overseas. It’s simple, mostly text-based and brimming with relevant information. Throughout the pages you’ll find Google Ads, but on the home page you can also see a small affiliate banner. One website, two different sources of monthly income–good work.

Picking and Evaluating a Niche

No one can tell you how to pick the right niche. There are several different strategies. That being said, the following steps should help get you started.

Step 1: pick keywords
Choose too broad of a niche and your site won’t stand out in the search engine’s algorithm. An example: “water bottle.” Type it into Google and you’ll see 22,800,000 competing sites. Yikes. Think about keywords that are smaller in scope. Instead of “water bottle,” try “thermos flask.” Or “stainless steel flask.” You’ll see why this matters in steps two and three. Of course, if you choose too narrow of a niche you won’t get any traffic!

Step 2: evaluate keyword metrics
Check out Google AdWords: Keyword Tool. Type your keywords into the search box and you’ll see a ton of information. Concentrate on the Global Monthly Search Volume. That tells you how many people are searching for those keywords in Google, around the world, each month. Write that number down.

Step 3: determine competition
Go to Google.com and type in your keywords. In the upper right part of the screen, do you see where it says Results 1-10 of about…? That tells you how many sites are competing for the same keyword set. Write that number down as well.

The key, you might have realized, is to find a set of keywords with high monthly search volume and low competing pages. If you’ve done that, you already have a huge advantage. Of course, there are several other elements to consider, but these are the basics.

At the moment, I’m working on building content for two sites of my own. Here are the statistics for both keyword sets.

Keywords 1: 22,200 global monthly searches / 291,000 competing sites

Keywords 2: 40,500 global monthly searches / 98,400 competing sites

Once I finalize my content (at least the first stage of content), I will show you both sites and walk you through my efforts at SEO, marketing and monetization.

Have you had any experience with niche marketing? Any tips you could provide? Did this post even make sense?