How long can I roadtrip for??

[faultproof]

Hi,

I have been thinking a lot about a roadtrip but up to this point this has all been fairly vague so I was hoping for advice.

I'm 22 years old, from England and about to graduate from university. I'm at the point where I think if I dont do this trip now then I never will. As I am at the stage between education and employment i figure that there is no real time restraint on my travels. I also have a fair amount of money saved.

The main question which I have is how long could I expect to travel for. After factoring in flights etc I would expect to have a maximum budget of $10k (although hoping to spend less). How long could I expect to travel for on this money? I would aim to make this money go as far as possible - avoiding big cities, couchsurfing or sleeping in truck stops or cheapish motels, rarely eating out etc.

My second question is about getting around. Hiring a car might work out expensive because of my age and ive read that buying one isnt feasible. My plan would be to travel pretty slowly, spending a few days in places and moving on as I please - would busses and trains suit this style of travel and would they be cost affective? Also is hitch-hiking an option in rural America?

As I'm hoping to extend this trip for as long as possible i'd be very keen to make some money when travelling. What are the chances of getting a couple of days casual labour in a small town occasionally? Or even offering a few hours work for a meal and bed? Are these unrealistic ideas?

As you can tell my plans are very vague so any input would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Yours is a case where money likely isn't the biggest limiting factor.

Red tape is certainly a large one. Visiting the US for 3 months is easy, because of the Visa Waiver Program. Going longer than that requires a full tourist visa, which can be a very very time consuming and fairly difficult process.

Along those same lines, you certainly can not plan to work while on this trip. Even if we weren't in a severe economic recession where locals are struggling to find work, trying to do so while visiting as a tourist would likely be a violation of your visa and could be grounds for deportation.

The transportation issue is also a significant one. Getting around by bus or train will work alright, although the challenge is visiting areas that are not within cities. Hitchhiking is generally not legal, and certainly can't be considered safe.

As far as money goes, I'd guess $10k would allow you to survive for maybe 6 months if you live very frugally. That would really be similar to someone who is living on a "fast food" type wage, that's not much above the poverty level. You do need to remember that nothing is free. Even getting a "free" place to stay via couchsurfing requires a level of "payment" to your host, in the way of a gift or other sign of gratitude. Even if you don't eat out much, you still have to buy food and cook it, and those things add up quickly.

[Lifemagician]

i figure that there is no real time restraint on my travels.

Your first restriction is going to be your visa. A tourist visa is typically a maximum of 90 days.

The next restriction will be the under 25 car rental fee, which comes to around $25 per day on top of the rental.

Lifey