Where do I start?

Right. A little about me and where I am in life and what I want next...

22 year old, single, male from Ayrshire, Scotland. Living with parents, very little ties. Graduated last year with a degree in Graphic Technology. Never really thought/was overly interested in travelling when i finished uni, so i decided to get a job. Ended up in a sales job which was pretty much a joke. However it was OK money and work experience. Since then, i've moved jobs but stayed in sales. Now i realise this is NOT what i want out of life.

So now the thought of getting off for a year appeals to me a wee bit. I'm not a massive adventure guy, not really interested in the outback or vietnam etc... I'm thinking of starting in Canada then onto America, maybe Hong Kong too. Definately want to include Canada, Calgary, Edmonton, the rockies appeal to me.

Not sure on how long i want to go for either. Suppose it depends on money and whether i can find/am allowed to work in the places i visit. I'd probably be travelling alone too, unless i can convince a friend(s) someone to come along!

The thing is, since i've never really thought about travelling up until now, i don't know where to start with planning or the do's and dont's or where i can go, how i can work etc etc...

How far will £3k get me for starters? Should/do i need to save more?
Can I legally work in Canada? Bar/restaraunt work? Do i need to apply for some kind of visa?
Where should i look to plan accomodation in advance? How much am I looking at per week in Alberta area?

Would I be dreaming to think i could fly to Canada, live in a hostel for a week or so, find a bar job and stay there for 2months or so? Living comfortably enough, with money to go out and meet people, then moving myself across the country or to America somewhere and doing the same again for a while?

Like I say, i've literally never thought about this before, so i'm in the dark, i've no idea what my next step should be with regards to planning/researching etc...

Any help is appreciated!

I can't answer too much of your questions since I don't have sufficient knowledge about them. But here's a link, for you to look into youth mobility scheme (which is like a working holiday visa). You cannot legally work in Canada otherwise, so no can do on just arriving and find a job in the bar.

Apart from Canada, New Zealand and Australia also have similar programmes in place for youth under 30 who want to travel and work to fund the travel. May be something worth looking into.

I feel bad, living in Canada but have never been to the west. I don't think it's too hard to find cash paying wait jobs/bar tending types of jobs, if you have previous experience.
The only thing is consider when you would be going. It's COLD in the winter, and I mean COLD! Calgary and Edmonton are smaller cities - you can look into hostels but not sure if there will be as many choices as in Europe. What about Vancouver? I don't know one person who has been there and not love it.

If you plan on going to the US and Hong Kong, you will need more than the 3000 pounds in order to last a few months.

Good luck!

My tip: Consider other alternatives to Canada.

You wrote you are not a huge adventure type, but one of the reasons people go to Vietnam and other far-away places is because cost of living can be significantly cheaper there.

For the same things you can get for around 20 GBP in Thailand or Vietnam (place to sleep, food to eat, things to see) you would spend around 80-120 GBP in Edinburgh.

The problem with Canada (and USA) is that is has similar prices to Europe, so bargains are hard to find.

Bottom of the line: Your 3000 pounds would go a lot further if you went to India, South East Asia, Egypt or South America.

As for your options of working legally abroad take a look at this:

http://anyworkanywhere.com/whvukcit.html

I think you should visit Kerala, India since you feel that Europe and Canada have nothing much to offer. Here there are lots of things to see or else you can enjoy some nice yoga classes/ayurvedic massages. Believe me they are really good for both mind and body.

Hope this helps. Need more. Please feel free to ask.

Come further west into BC.
Edmonton and Calgary are big cities with big city perks.... but the lush mountain, forest and beautiful outdoor activities that British Columbia provide surpass that of our neighboring province. Think about looking into the Kootenay Mountain ranges, or the Okanagan Valley.