Many people have the desire to travel hoping to see what the world has to offer, but sometimes our bank accounts don’t match up to our dreams. Well, what if someone told you could have the opportunity to travel all year around for a fourth of the price would you believe them? With Wander Women Inc.’s new travel community your wish can become a reality. The company has recently launched a unique program offering remote professionals and families a one-year journey around the world.
My Wander year is set to embark in August 2016 and is now accepting applications. Only 30 to 50 qualifying individuals will have the chance to experience living, working and playing in exotic destinations like Prague, Czech Republic; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Cape Town, South Africa and Panama City, Panama.
Company founder Libryia Jones shared with rolling out why she created My Wander Year to live out her dream of traveling while being a single mother and to be an inspiration for others to do the same. Jones also filled us in on the living arrangements and educational offerings being provided as well as the actual cost for joining the trip.
“I want people to leave with the belief and the understanding that your life does not have to be the way we have been programmed to think it is supposed to go. We have been taught grow up, go to college, get a job and then vacation once a year. I want regular people to leave this trip feeling like they did something extraordinary with their lives,” Jones says.
How did the concept for My Wander Year come about?
I have wanted to live out of the country since I was 19 years old. In grad school, I was given the opportunity to do an internship in China and I was super excited. The school wouldn’t let me go because I had a kid. They didn’t want to be held responsible for the liability of me having a child. I offered to sign all kinds of waivers and they still wouldn’t budge. Recently, I have been trying my hardest to get to Abu Dabi because I have a friend who lives and works there, but there are not a lot of job opportunities for people who aren’t teachers or nurses. She came up with this idea that we should travel the world and homeschool our kids. I was completely on board to do that. I found a few programs that actually do travel abroad for a year as a group, but none of them allow children. I just wasn’t satisfied with getting a “no” because of my daughter. I decided to create the opportunity for myself and for other people who thought they couldn’t do it for whatever reason.
What kind of qualifications do applicants need to join My Wander Year?
We are looking for participants that are at least 21 years old to apply, and if you are bringing a child along with you, the child needs to be the least 8 years old. The person that is flying needs to have been out of the country at least once. Traveling a whole year is a lot for even a seasoned traveler and we don’t want people to be in this extreme kind of situation if they have never been in it before. The people that they bring with them don’t need the same experience because they will have the love and support they need. Aside from that, we are really looking for people who are adventurous, have a real passion for traveling, learning and expanding their viewpoints. We want to bring people that have actual goals they want to achieve while being on the trip. We are building a community while traveling and hopefully develop some life long friendships.
What are some of the destinations participants will be traveling to?
The destinations are set in stone. We are starting out in Prague for three months. The great thing about Prague is that it is in close proximity to so many cool places in Europe. We will then go to Chiang Mai in Thailand followed by three months in Cape Town and the same amount in Panama City. The great thing about the literary is that there are some amazing activities for us to do in each of the places that we are going to during the time that we are there. I sent out a survey to quite a few people to find out what they are looking for when traveling or where are some of the places they want to go. The places that were selected were chosen because the cost of living is low, the safety index is high and there is a good amount of English-speaking people in the area.
Will your company assist in providing jobs for the participants on the trip?
We aren’t providing jobs, but we are going to help them identify jobs that might work for them. We are providing all kinds of resources for them to get remote work and just kind of talking to them to find out what they do for a living to see if we can find jobs in the area to get them settled in. Right now were are building partnerships with recruitment firms and business coaches that can help people start thinking outside of the box and use their passions to build their own businesses.
What are the costs for one participant to travel with My Wander Year?
There is a $2,000 recurring fee. The fee is strictly on them and that is part of the reason we are trying to provide resources to help them pay for the costs. I am planning to sponsor one single mother to go on the trip.
