I feel obliged to regale something that I've probably said dozens of times here before... Don't overplan. Just take it as it comes. Keep your mind open and listen to people that are of like mind. If someone that you're connecting well with tells you that he or she had a really good experience in a certain place, go check it out.
I met hundreds of people doing what I did for that 15 months. The ones that were having the best time were the people that were traveling alone and people that were traveling with people that they were prepared to break from and meet up with later. But mostly, the people that came to Europe to "work their way around" were having the best time.
My staff at the hostel was a revolving door of folks from (you name the country). Just some individual that would be staying at the hostel and see that it was a cool place and then approach me and ask if there was a job to do to subsidize their stay. And there were plenty of jobs. Cleaning, working the train station, selling pub crawls, selling guided tours... It's almost the wild west for people like us from western countries. We're so used to conventional employment. Over there, they'll hire you on the spot, you'll start working 5 minutes later, do that for a few weeks, and then you'll get the itch to move on and you'll give a couple days notice. And then along will come another traveler that wants to take over your job. It's quite awesome.
One important skill you'll want to learn if you haven't already is how to eat cheap. Avoid eating at restaurants for a filler meal. Embrace grocery stores and delis. Stay at hostels that have a fridge and a kitchen so that you can make a 2 euro lunch instead of dropping 7 euro on pizza or Crapdonalds. Those few euro translate into an extra beer or two at the pub that night. And since that's where most of the fun is...Well...Y'know? And don't forget to pregame when you go out. Booze from a store is always cheaper than from a bar, right? So have a couple before you go out and then nurse your drinks. You'll meet plenty of people and spend the bare minimum. And by god, when you can't afford to go out, stay in and read a book. And then spark up a conversation with the hot chick in the hostel that is doing the same thing that night. Then go out with her the next night...
Trust me, if you go over there with a few grand as a cushion and immediately focus on getting a job, you'll do fine. Save money whenever possible and try to spend less than you earn (afterall, you're constantly saving for a plane ticket to the next stop) and you'll be able to prolong the trip until the novelty is gone and it's time to go home. Or until you find the place you want to stay... Never know what will happen. But nobody is 'cheap' in Europe. At least not in your demographic. In your demographic, people are either wise with money or else they're idiots. It's not cheap to go home and eat. It's not cheap to not tip (they don't tip in Europe). It's not cheap to not buy a round of shots for the new people you just met. Everyone that is traveling Europe is just trying to prolong their trip and the people that are good with money last the longest. But you can buy a girl a drink once in awhile if you want a little more attention.
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