Interview With Chris of Working Holiday How
Chris, please give my readers a background about yourself. What made you want to start workingholidaymelbourne.com?
Im just a guy whose used working holiday visas to travel around the world and as a hobby have put together some websites to let others out there know how to get these visas and offer advice about popular working holiday destination cities, such as Melbourne. I wasn't born wealthy, so these visas helped give me the chance to live, work, and play in countries and cultures different from my own which have been life changing experiences to say the least. Ive also lived, worked, and spent extended periods of time in several other countries besides the typical working holiday visa destinations. Basically, I have some good experience living and working in foreign countries, and helping lots of my non native-english speaking friends find work...or at least ways to make money while traveling.
Workingholidaymelborne.com is actually a sub-site of my main website www.workingholidayhow.com - How to get a working holiday visa. Besides Melbourne, I also put together sub-sites with info for working holiday travelers headed to Sydney, Perth, Auckland, Vancouver, Toronto, Whistler, and Singapore...with a few more cities planned to be online in the near future.
In all of your travels, in your opinion what country has the best food? and the worst food?
My favorite food discovery would have to be Norwegian Brown Cheese - its goat cheese that has a bit of a caramel taste to it. Really good on toast. Worst food would have to be Salmiakki in Finland which is a licorice flavored candy (sorry my finnish friends...). Black licorice is a really popular flavor in Finland.
When you first started traveling, did your family support your decision?
They were worried at first but as I continued to successfully live and work in more and more countries, they kinda realized that Im a motivated enough person to where I usually land on my feet no matter what I do.
If you had to choose one favourite destination, which one would each of you chose?
One of my favorites would have to be Golden Bay in New Zealand, near the end of the Able Tasman hiking track.
What has been the least exciting destination you've traveled to?
Hollywood Blvd in Los Angeles. Dirty, smelly, nothing special about the place...
Did you always have a love of travel or did you develop your passion for traveling as you got older?
I got a late start to traveling, going on my first working holiday when I was 23. After I graduated from uni and got a job, I was convinced there had to more to life than sitting in an office staring at a computer so quit and got a WHV to New Zealand. That trip was pretty much changed my life and started my travel addiction.
What impact has workingholidaymelbourne.com had on your lives?
My sites are pretty much just hobby sites. I like to help people with free information about working holidays because theres a lot of companies out there that charge travelers money for simple services that they can take of themselves, like finding a job or opening a bank account in a foreign country. Moving to another country to work can be scary in your mind, but its not impossible if you just try. The sites basically provide me an outlet for creativity and a way to help, and maybe even inspire, people in some way, shape, or form to travel.
What has been the most surprising destination you've been to? Meaning, you had a specific mindset about a certain destination but it was totally a different experience than you had imagined.
I never really have had pre-determined mindsets about any place I was headed to, but the most surprising was Brunei probably because I knew absolutely nothing about the country before going there.
If you had to decide which destination has been the most influential in your life, which destination would you chose?
New Zealand would have to be the most influential because it was my first solo trip anywhere and really showed me what I could accomplish once away from everyone and everything I knew. It took my confidence to a new level.
What advice would you give to a newbie traveler?
If you have the slightest desire to travel - just go. Don't let anyone or anything stop you. You have to make it happen for yourself 'cause no one is gonna do it for you.
In 10 years, do you see yourself still traveling or slowing down?
Tough question. While I do sometimes get tired of starting over and over again when I move around different jobs, I do still enjoy exploring new cultures and new situations with new people. These are the pros and cons of a nomadic life I guess. At some point I would like to have a permanent place to live...but I reckin' I will always travel recreationally no matter where that is.
Thanks Chris for the interview. Please visit Chris Blog @ Working Holiday How
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