How We Do It: Money/The Job

There are many blogs on travelers, nomads, gypsies. There are even self-help how-to style books on it. No one is wrong. There are so many different lifestyles to lead that saying I'm a nomad, I'm a traveler doesn't narrow it down as much as you'd think. Reading this blog right now called Technomadia (look it up, it's pretty cool) got me thinking that even though there are millions of ways to live this style, I haven't seen my chosen path anywhere! So, here I am to describe it a bit for you. It may take a few blogs, but we'll start here....
Money/Job:
I am far from retired - not even 30! I have no source of income from a well of money sitting in some bank somewhere left by some loved relative or anything like that. I work.
 Not from home or via internet, but a get up and go to work job. This is where the seasonal aspect comes in. I cook for a living. Luckily for me, everyone eats. Think about that cool resort you went to last week. You think all those people live there? You think they'll all be there next time around? Sure, a lot of them live in the area and there is a group of people that will be there for years. But many people move on when the work leaves. You went there mid summer - mid winter they probably won't have the business to keep that much staff but in summer they HAVE to have it. So they hire a seasonal employee. Just like Macy's hired you last winter during Christmas. You knew it wasn't a forever job, but it was money and it would be over soon. That's what I do, but on a larger scale.
I apply for jobs basically anywhere and everywhere I want to go that has seasonal work. In a way, where you get the job kind of dictates where you will be traveling. I don't just strike out in the morning for Maine because I simply WANT to go there and think I'll automatically get a job when I get there. (Don't get me wrong, I've a few friends that do just that - they're a lot less OCD than I am I believe) This winter, for instance, I wanted to stay near Oregon so I applied in all the ski resorts on every mountain. This coming summer I am not feeling tied to Oregon. I applied in Michigan, Alaska, Yellowstone, Glacier Nat'l Park, Jackson Hole, and a LOT of other places. Applying everywhere gets old fast, but you do it. I've stopped mid application and not applied for companies that revealed just how up-tight or ridiculous they were going to be BY the application process. I've also refrained from applying if I realized anything about them was not what I wanted.
So I've applied everywhere, done phone interviews, even driven to the location a few times for face-to-face interviews (something I only do when they're within 3 hours drive of my current 'home base'). Now the pool of potential employers has narrowed. Now's when I start my research. That's the linchpin of my existence - research.
I research all my potential employers that are researching me. I've made the mistake of going to work for someone you don't really know that much about. Turns out it's a crap job or a crap employer or a crap living situation. There's a lot that can go wrong. Research is key. Do they provide housing? Meals? Transportation to/from the workplace if they're too far from the nearest town or in winter conditions? Do I have any major problems with their policies and ethic? What can I learn about the owner?
When I'm down to two or three employers that I really want, I start trying to nail down the details. No housing? Ok, start looking in the nearby towns for SEASONAL month-to-month housing. Rooms to rent from someones house. Monthly rated apartments. That sort of thing.It's MUCH easier when they provide housing. By the end of this summer I hope to have an RV/motorhome so looking for housing will be easier. Just need a hookup space.
So I've found the job. I've found the place to live. Now I travel. I travel and when I'm there I have six months (approximately) to really explore the new area I'm in.
And basically, that's how we do it. See, it's not so hard. I'll post more with more detail in other areas of what's required for this lifestyle.