How To Plan a Cultural-Immersion Vacation

Have you ever wanted to take a few months off and explore another culture? Many people take immersion trips and stay in a foreign country for between one and 12 months. Most reside with host families, who sign up to welcome visitors into their homes and receive modest financial compensation to offset food and other expenses. Dozens of international organizations offer prospective travelers varying arrangements at all different price levels. However, typical costs are quite reasonable compared with staying in hotels and traveling on your own. What's the best way to plan for such an excursion? Here are some of the essential tasks you'll need to attend to as soon as you decide to take the cultural plunge.

Find a Host Family

In addition to applying for either a cultural or extended-travel visa, the most crucial chore is locating a host family with whom to stay. Any of the agencies who specialize in these kinds of trips can help match you up with a compatible host, but be prepared to fill out a rather long questionnaire and spend several weeks for the pairing.

Be Creative with Financing

If you have enough money in savings to cover the entire cost of a stay that could run for up to a year, that is great. Most people do not. One excellent source of income is a life insurance policy you no longer need. The advantage of selling a policy is that it enables account holder to receive cash payout almost immediately. If you need more information about how to get started, review an online guide that clearly explains how to sell a term life insurance policy. And, if you don't need to use the entire amount for the trip, simply invest the rest in a long-term brokerage account, an IRA, or a traditional savings account. For many long-term travelers, getting a life settlement on a term policy is a fast, effective way to cover the entire cost of a major trip.

Make a Detailed Activities List

Whether you plan to be gone for two months or twelve, spend several hours making a detailed budget and activities list. The same as you must track your spending to create your budget normally, you should expect to have to do so for an extended trip also. Do not expect the host family to entertain you every day. Their main job is to provide a safe, clean place to sleep and to eat. Your fun is up to you, so do a decent amount of research about all the nearby places you intend to explore, other in-country side-trips, and special occasion events like festivals.

Hire a House-Sitter

If you live in an apartment, speak with your landlord about sublet arrangements or taking a pause in your lease. This is why planning far in advance is so important. Homeowners have it only slightly easier because they can hire a competent house-sitter either through an agency or a trusted friend. Having a house sitter assume the costs of the home for a period is also a good strategy for struggling homeowners who want to embark on a long period away from home but are unsure how they can afford to pay for both the trip and the costs of their home. This financial tip for struggling homeowners is one of many that can help ease the total costs of a trip of this nature. Be sure to contact your insurance provider as well and let them know you will not be residing in your house for a few months but someone else will.

Deal With Medical Issues

Get a full medical checkup and remember to get special shots or vaccines if you will be spending a long stint in underdeveloped nations with strained health care resources. Also, stock up on prescription medicines and any specialized medical supplies you use on a regular basis.