Epic Mexican Adventure

[Josiah]

Hey guys, I'm Josiah and I'm 19 years old. This is an introduction. Sorry for the Length :o

Through my readings and experiences, I wired different.. To say the least. I'm more like you :) My mindset ended with me getting a GED instead of Graduating, and not yet even considering college, until recently. I moved out of my parents house and am living very cheap (actually racking up a bill with them until I can get a job). My dad is Army and I've had the opportunity to visit and live in several different countries. I love it.

Long story short; I'm broke, in some debt, hoping to have a job next week, not in school, wonder what am I suppose to do next. I've had interest in Real Estate Investing for some time, but found out quickly that while it's legitimate business its not as easy and quick as I thought it going to be. I'm not afraid to work hard but I'm in a new place and lack of work and school has brought my social interaction to a minimum, I haven't been doing anything, and I was basically a potato with no motivation.

Now its a new year, I just got back from a great road trip, I'm reading through the 4HWW and I'm really excited! After I got back from the trip I was looking at the snow and thinking of the beach. I thought of Cancun, how I also wanted to check out a Mexican beach (seems like everyone loves it there). And then it was born.

This Idea just kind of exploded into formation. I was think about moving to Cancun for a year, getting whatever work I could and just living and enjoying it. Speaking Spanish fluently with the natives, just experience the culture and lifestyle (largely influenced by that story in the book, about the fisherman). The idea grew to be this. I move to "A coastal Mexican city", probably one with some tourism but not as much as Cancun (I'm checking out Loreto). I spend a year there, immersing myself in it, learning all I can, making connections/networking ect. After the year I would find some friend or family to stay with, and work on putting all the information on a website(using Site Build It (http://www.sitesell.com)) , which would eventually generate passive income through several mediums. The site would be for people looking to vacation or move to the city I stayed in.
After all that I would do it again in a new location(Garmisch, Germany anyone?). Spend 6 months studying up, learning the Language, and then just go.

I'm still reading the book, but I'm sure there is some way I could come up with a much more profitable business than the websites, though I'm sure eventually and collectively they'd be able to sustain me at some level.

Anyway, that is my current epic Idea that I working towards. I hope to learn alot from the books I'm reading (will read all recommended in 4HWW) and from you guys in the forums.

If anyone has any experience with the kind of thing I mentioned, or ideas of how I could generate any kind of income (will need a cushion going into this I'm sure) That would be greatly appreciated. Even if it is just books or other resources about travel/moving to a different country, getting work ect. Know anything about Mexico in particular, and Especially if you know a great coastal Mexican city that isn't overrun by tourism, but has enough that would make a website worthwhile, but most important, is just a great place :)

Thanks alot!

P.S. I have written a short mission statement if anyone has enough interest I can email it to you. Its the first draft and I just kinda slapped it together. I'm excited and feeling a little overwhelmed at the same time. I don't know where to start!

[Marcie]

Sounds good to me, I think the only thing I would change is don't wait till you get back to put the site together. Go ahead and set up a blog and document everything there. You'll be able to pick up some followers early and be sure you don't lose anything (retention-wise) by waiting. You might want to check out some sites like http://www.nomadicmatt.com

Otherwise, you're just taking a big ole vacation on the hopes you'll be still willing and able to profit from it later...

Oh and Kevin Rose mentioned what he thinks is the best 'unkept secret' type of place in this video:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/12/10/random-kevin-rose-and-tim-ferriss-top-3-travel-spots/

Although now it's not so much of an unkept secret anymore!

[TimW]

Given the current geo-political situation, I am unsure I'd consider Mexico for my "adventure". I've traveled there on numerous occasions for business to visit friends, and refuse to go there under current circumstances.

One other thing to remember about small villages, etc., is that the Spanish you learn might not be the best if you're looking to use it in business, etc....just as if someone came to learn English and lived in a small rural town in America. Depending on the "what state" and the "level" of English, they could end up speaking Standard American English or sound like a hayseed. Do your research.

[Josiah]

I forgot to say thanks for the tips btw. Those are good points. At this point in time I think I'd still go to Mexico, but I'll definitely be checking it out first. I've also considered putting it off and moving back in with my parents. I moved away(well techniqually they did first) when they moved to Tblisi Georgia for my dads job. I could go out there for free (thanks for paying your taxes ;) ) and spend whatever amount of time I wanted out there, probably working at the US embassy. Then this summer my family is going to spend some time traveling around georgia, and then a few days in Greece. I'd really like to spend more time in greece (originally the plan was a month) but they just don't think they'll have the money.

Ideally If I could produce something BEFORE I went over that would generate some money, it would all go towards that trip, that would be excellent.

Is the stuff in his book something I could apply from anywhere? If I wanted to make at like 5-10k ideally by August how would you go about doing that? having no money (barely enough for gas and ramen noodles)? The only way I can think of is writting up a very good business plan and finding private investors who understand the risk to losing their money..