thursdaysd

"Would it be easier for me to become a citizen if I acquire a working visa and how hard are those to obtain?"

Yes. But you would have to live in (e.g.) the UK for five years after you arrived with the work visa.

"how hard are those to obtain?"

Very difficult in your case. (My US work visa was obtained by the multinational company for which I worked in the UK, and which wanted to send me to the US.)

I suggest you spend some time on the embassy websites reading the regulations. But you would do better to accept that you are limited to 6 months in the UK and 90 days in the Schengen zone and that you need to have enough money to support yourself for that time before you arrive.

Nikatkins23

I now see that I my trip isn't going to be about me moving over there now but more about the 3 months I can spend over there. Are you saying that it is going to impossible for me to even visit for 3 months with that budget? Even if I am camping in living as minimal as possible?

Nikatkins23

You are all so brutally honest but I'm glad. I was having visions of grandeur like I would be able to just go over there and stay as long as I wanted. That idea is out of my mind for a while now. I do intend on still going over to Europe for the allotted time and camping as much as I can. I appreciate all of the insight you have given me.

StCirq

You can go online and google what it costs to camp in whatever countries you're planning to visit, but keep in mind, as already mentioned, that campsites are always outside (sometimes far outside) cities and towns, so if you're planning to do any "typical" sightseeing in cities and towns, it will cost you something to get there and back in most cases. And if you're planning to move around among countries, there are transportation costs involved. And you do have to eat. And it would be wise to have enough money for the occasional emergency.

There's no telling how detailed a grilling you may get at your point of entry, but it is well within the rights of immigration authorities to demand that you show evidence of an address you plan to stay at, even temporarily, a ticket home, and ample funds to live on during your stay.

And don't start thinking in terms of "three months." It's VERY specific - 90 DAYS! One day over and you're breaking the law.

Odin

nytraveler wrote: >>Switzerland and Scandinavia are VERY expensive - expect everything from food on up to cost at least twice what it does in the US (a big Mac meal can be the equivalent from $18 to $20).<<

The cost of a big Mac meal costs about $10 in Sweden. The cost of food in Scandinavia are often exaggerated by certain posters.

Nikatkins23

I'm joined a site that shows me all the campsites in each country and the price of the campsite. $2,000 is a rough estimate really, I will have a credit card for emergency/flight home. I know that with this budget I won't be eating fancy meals anytime soon or visiting all the major sites, but for me it is about getting out of the US and experiencing something outside of the norm. Living on what I know how to do. I don't want to sound ignorant or oblivious to the whole money situation but I'm going to stay as long as I can "inside the 90 days"

jamikins

You will want to have booked your flight home prior to arriving. Booking a one way flight home at the last minute will be HUGELY expensive - plus if you are asked at immigration controls on entry you need to be able to prove you have transportation home...

I assume you are North American?

StCirq

Good! Just keep in mind that if you stay the full 90 days, that is about $22 per day (or about E15). It will be very hard even to camp and eat on that, never mind move around. And when you enter the country the authorities may ask to see an actual ticket home - unlikely they will want to see just a credit card that you might use to buy one with (how would they know the credit card is even valid?). Also, what is the point of just carrying a credit card to pay for a flight home? It will almost certainly be WAY more expensive to purchase a one-way fare back home from Europe at the last minute than to buy a RT fare before the trip.

janisj

>>I'm too lazy to do the actual math, but I think the GBP number is supposed to less than the Euro number. <<

OOPS (and I even knew what I meant - I goofed and typed the $ amount per month instead of the £ amount)

In any case - it doesn't really matter at this point since neither is doable.

>>How can people spend their lives traveling the world if you can only spend a few months at a time in each country.<<

to clarify - it isn't a 'few months' in <u>each</u> country.It is a few months (90 days) in all of the Schengen zone. If you spend a few months in one country - that is all you get. 30 days in 3 different countries, 60 days in one and 30 in another, six days in fifteen different countries . . . as long as it is only 90 days total.

And I'd bet you haven't read any sites that have said it is <i>easy</i> to get citizenship in any of those countries. That is silly. Some sites probably do give hints/tips for over-staying in Schengen but most likely you'd get caught, fined and deported.

thursdaysd

As others have said, you should buy a return ticket, which will in any case be cheaper. Look for an open jaw/multi-city ticket - arrive in London, leave from somewhere else.

You need to read Lonely Planet's "Europe On a Shoestring", but bear in mind it was researched in 2010 and the prices are way out of date. Also read Let's Go Europe.

Then head over to Lonely Planet's website, where you will find people on the discussion boards who travel on very little, and where you will also find this under Destinations - Europe:

"Excluding transport costs, you can get by on about €40 to €80 a day in Western Europe. You might be able to squeak by on less in smaller towns and in Mediterranean Europe, but Switzerland costs at the upper end of the range.

Eastern Europe is the cheapest region, costing a daily total of €30 to €50, although Ukraine and Russia can be more expensive. Scandinavia is slightly dearer than Western Europe (especially when it comes to alcohol)."

Use xe.com to convert euro to USD, and note that it excludes transport costs. Then earn some more money.

thursdaysd

Also, as a matter of interest, how much does it cost you per day to live in the US?

Nikatkins23

I am North American. I realize that my budget is light, but i don't need a lot. It is only me and I have cut down much spending to become custom to using practically nothing. I want to buy a one way ticket because I need to buy the ticket soon and I don't have the money for and "open-ended" ticket. I've done my research on kayak and other websites and prices are nearly the same for any way you want to fly. I understand you are giving me information but now you are just telling me that I have to chance to do it on that budget.

StCirq

http://www.immigrationmatters.co.uk/...n-arrival.html

Scroll down and read about the questions that will be asked when you arrive. And note what it says about arriving on a one-way ticket.

thursdaysd

If you can't afford a return ticket you can't afford to travel, and you stand a real risk of beimg denied entry to your first country.

You didn't answer my question. How much are you spending per day in the US? Realize that you will spend more when traveling. If you want to cook for yourself you will need to stay somewhere with kitchen facilities, e.g. a hostel (check prices at hostelbookers and hostelworld). Otherwise you will eat take out or in cafes which will be more expensive.

Go read the books and website I suggested. And check out couchsurfing, it's probably the only way you're going to manage this trip.

Nikatkins23

In a matter of hours you've put my dreams in the gutter.

StCirq

Well, sorry, but better to know this now rather than buy a ticket and get turned away by the border officials.

Nikatkins23

Obviously I can't go for an extended amount of time. I don't understand, how can I have money and still be denied. All this "crap" makes me want to not even travel. This has been the most disheartening day.

sueciv

Nah, there not in the gutter...perhaps a tad postponed.
All the better to read more, figure out what it is YOU like...and save some money. Maybe joining the Lonely Planet website or some such, you'll meet someone with your interests.

Nah...not the gutter.

jamikins

The problem is that if you can't afford a return ticket the immigration officials will have to conclude that you will be a burden on the country you are entering (using the benefits that tax payers in that country pay for). How will you raise the cash to buy the return ticket once you are in the country if you can't work because you don't have a work visa? You are either going to work illegally which they won't like or you will need help to support yourself like benefits which they aren't going to like.

North America is the same - you can't just pick up and move to Canada or vice versa the USA because you want to!!!

Your best option is to wait and save your money until you can afford to do this trip. And in the meantime you need to do some research about travel and entry requirements so you know what to expect.

No one wants to shatter your dreams, but there are rules and laws you must learn if you are going to travel outside your home country.

PalenQ

I have camped all over Europe many many times and love it but it is more conducive to having a car - though cities like Paris have excellent camps in or near them and easily accessible by public transit commuter times can be an hour or so each way and if you do not have a car carrying camping gear around on trains is a pain in the .... rear - though I have done that many times to when younger.

I would say look at youth hostels and youth hotels - there are zillions of these places and the overnight fee may not be much more than camp fees where one person often pays a plot fee the same as several folks in one party would.

Plus camping can be isolating - in a hostel or youth hotel you will meet many other folks from all over the world of your age and this is one reason IMO to keep your itinerary flexible - I was your age when I first went and met some folks at various times and changed my travel plans to either go somewhere I heard was 'hot' or to travel with some gal I thought was hot - still remember that young Dutch gal I met at a hostel in Ireland!

Anyway even cars can be isolating - by all means take the train IMO and look strongly at the various Youthpasses - lower-cost rail passes for folks under the age 26 - younger folk from all over the world will be using trains to get along. Overnight trains link many cities - cover large swaths of ground at night and save on the cost of a hostel or hotel.

If you buy a Eurail Youthpass then you can get a BritRail Youthpass at 50% off - a great deal for taking trains around England, Scotland and Wales!

Check out these IMO fantastic sites for planning a European rail trip - www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download the latter's free and superb IMO European Planning & Rail Guide for lots of suggested rail itineraries in various countries.