Plans after Ireland

My first post of a new year! Thought I'd do a run down of my plans (or dreams?) for when I leave Ireland. All too soon my one year visa for Ireland will be coming to an end - June 3rd 2015 - after which I will be let loose on the rest of Europe. So much to do! So much to see! Where to go first? Where to go next? How long can I stay? What if I miss something? How will I afford it?

What is scary for me at the moment is that most people, when planning a big trip through Europe, save their butts off with this in mind for a good year or two before setting off. Since I'm already travelling I don't have any 'savings cushion' left and I have from now till June to save up for any new venture. I'm currently looking for a new job here in Cork with more hours than the cafe can offer - as it's the middle of winter they don't have much custom so unfortunately can't really afford to have an extra person on. I'd still love to stay overseas for as long as I can but now more than ever it depends on being able to get my savings up again.

Cork on a calm winter's evening

All going well, the basic plan at the moment is to head over to continental Europe at the start of June and travel around there for as long as I can afford - hopefully all Summer - before heading home to start saving up for the next trip. That would work out well in terms of missing the winter at home and arriving in time for the summer again! I'd like to stay at home for probably 18 months or so after that, just long enough to get my savings back up again.

The old Cork Gaol and view to St. Finbarr's Cathedral, Cork

So to stretch out my travelling this coming summer I can either pick a country and get another working holiday visa, or move around a bit by doing some more Help Exchanges. After a bit of research into visas, it wouldn't be particularly hard to actually get one - most of the EU has some form of a one year working holiday visa and are welcoming to New Zealanders. However I don't think this option would work out for me as I don't really have the money to be able to set myself up in another new place this time around - it'd be a lot harder and take a lot longer to find a job where English isn't the first language. With this in mind I will try to just travel around as much as I can instead.

St. Finbarr's Cathedral in Cork

I really enjoyed doing Help Exchanges throughout England and Wales (click the links on the sidebar to see my posts on these) and I am definitely looking forward to doing some more! I could easily spend 3 or 4 weeks at each location, and get to know a country a bit better. I could be doing heaps of different things, from working in a hostel in Croatia or Hungary to helping on an orchard or farm in Italy or Austria.

I'm just researching countries and places I'd like to go to now, to see if I can work out a rough itinerary. So far I know I'd like to stop off in England for a few days after leaving Ireland, to catch up with Louis, Claire, Kate and others (and hopefully leave half a suitcase worth of stuff with someone for a little while!). I've also got tickets for the InMusic festival in Zagreb, Croatia near the end of June, which Anna and Garth will be joining me for on their European honeymoon trip. Other places I've got on my list include the rest of Croatia, Hungary (especially Budapest), Austria, Switzerland and Italy. There are many more of course but I'd be very happy if I just a bit of all these!