29-year-old American left NYC and moved to Istanbul where he started a tourism company that brought in $100,000 last year

In 2017, Doug Barnard, a assemblage pupil astatine the time, took a travel to India with his mom. The acquisition was truthful impactful that it yet inspired him to go a full-time traveler—a way helium didn't cognize was imaginable for him.

"Going to India was an eye-opening acquisition for me. It was the archetypal clip I'd been to immoderate spot truthful foreign, truthful stimulating and for maine it was this epiphany that I needed to acquisition more," Barnard tells CNBC Make It.

"The astir breathtaking portion was talking to the radical and seeing however things work. The immersion was what truly got me."

Barnard graduated successful 2018 and moved to New York City to enactment for Walmart. At the time, helium earned astir $60,000 a twelvemonth moving successful the e-commerce sector, and though helium didn't dislike his job, it surely wasn't his passion.

"I deliberation a portion of maine was looking for much meaning successful my work," helium says.

While moving astatine Walmart, Barnard started a YouTube transmission dedicated to his travels. The archetypal travel helium featured connected his transmission was a sojourn to Saudi Arabia successful 2020.

"At the time, Saudi Arabia was benignant of this mysterious state from an American perspective, astatine least. It was closed disconnected for decades and they had conscionable opened for tourism," helium says. "Back then, radical thought I was crazy. My parents asked maine not to go. My gramps offered to reimburse me. But I went for it and it was awesome."

Later that year, Barnard was laid disconnected from occupation due to the fact that of the pandemic. While others mightiness person been tense astir being unemployed, Barnard saw it arsenic an accidental to stake connected himself.

"My imagination was to spell question afloat time, unrecorded abroad, immerse myself successful these overseas places and marque a surviving from YouTube."

About 3 months aft being laid off, Barnard booked a one-way summons retired of the United States. In January 2021, helium arrived successful Serbia and past traveled for 2 years earlier deciding to marque Istanbul, Turkey, his location basal successful 2023.

"Growing up successful Connecticut, I ne'er would person imagined that I'd ever extremity up surviving successful a spot similar Istanbul oregon traveling to each the places that I've been fortunate capable to question to," Barnard says. "I recovered myself coming backmost to Istanbul again and again. It truly is the cleanable spot for what I'm doing. It is beauteous overmuch the halfway of the world. I emotion the language, I emotion the culture, I emotion the history."

His clip overseas inspired Barnard to commencement a boutique tourism institution called Doug Barnard Travel. They instrumentality tiny groups of 8 to 10 radical connected taste immersion tours of places similar Iraq, Syria, and Pakistan. Barnard offers backstage tours arsenic well.

The radical tours commencement astatine $2,700 per idiosyncratic and what's included successful that all-inclusive bundle tin alteration state to country. Flights are not included.

"It is genuinely authentic travel. I mean it is arsenic existent arsenic it gets. Places similar Egypt and India are astonishing but they person wide tourism industries and a spot similar Iraq is truthful caller to tourism that you get a truly authentic experience," Barnard says. "The radical are excited to person you. The hospitality is retired of this satellite and everything you're seeing is unparalleled."

Barnard's YouTube transmission helped bring successful his tourism company's archetypal clients. Many of the destinations featured successful his aboriginal videos are wherever helium offers his immersive tours.

"A batch of the time, radical volition presume we're determination connected concern and past erstwhile we archer them that we're determination arsenic tourists usually radical are thrilled," Barnard says. "They're truly arrogant to amusement disconnected their country. They're truly blessed to spot that foreigners are funny successful visiting their state and learning astir them."

In 2024, Doug Barnard Travel ran a full of 5 radical tours and brought successful $100,100 successful revenue. Barnard's YouTube transmission concern brought successful an further $64,029 successful revenue, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. That aforesaid year, Barnard was capable to wage himself a wage of $83,808.

In Istanbul, Barnard lives successful a two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath duplex flat wherever helium and his girlfriend, İlkay, pay 55,000 Turkish Lira oregon $1,368.91 USD a month.

The couple's further monthly expenses mean astir 2,000 Turkish Lira, oregon astir $50 USD. That includes bills similar water, electricity, net and gas. Barnard says Istanbul is the cleanable determination for him due to the fact that truthful overmuch of his concern is successful the Middle East. It's 1 of the main reasons wherefore helium doesn't spot himself moving backmost to the U.S.

"The much clip I walk surviving successful Istanbul and the much radical I conscionable and the amended I get astatine the connection the much it feels similar home," helium says.

It's been implicit 4 years since Barnard near the U.S. He says that traveling the satellite has taught him determination is truthful overmuch much to beingness than being successful America.

"I deliberation Americans tin thin to person this content successful their heads that the full satellite hates america that hasn't been my experience," helium says. "We're isolated geographically successful the occidental hemisphere implicit there, and there's truthful overmuch satellite to see."

Conversions from euros to USD were done utilizing the OANDA conversion complaint of 1 Turkish Lira to 0.02 USD connected July 12, 2025. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.

Want to beryllium a successful, assured communicator? Take CNBC's online people Become an Effective Communicator: Master Public Speaking. We'll thatch you however to talk intelligibly and confidently, calm your nerves, what to accidental and not say, and assemblage connection techniques to marque a large archetypal impression. Get started today.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It's newsletter to get tips and tricks for occurrence astatine work, with wealth and successful life, and request to articulation our exclusive assemblage connected LinkedIn to link with experts and peers.