Visiting Ilha das Flores in the off-season
It baffles me that people don’t visit Flores in the winter. In fact, all of the places in the Açores that are mobbed with tourists in the summer are empty in the winter. This, despite the fact that the temperatures are in the low 50s to mid 60s (10 to 19...
How I travel full-time without losing my mind
Traveling full-time is one of those things that seems very complicated and mysterious because we don’t have realistic examples of how it works. In reality, it’s not necessarily more or less complicated than living in one place. When I’m feeling...
An escape guide for Americans
How far can your US passport take you? Here are your options for a temporary or permanent escape.
I probably spend less on travel than you do
In The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett quotes an elite travel agency saying that the normal traveler spends $10k a year. I was pretty sure that their idea of a normal traveler is a skewed. I was also certain I spent...
Everything you need to know about house sitting
Most people leave their homes empty while they travel, while also renting a place to stay at their destination. Paying for housing twice is part of what makes traveling so expensive (and why home swaps are so popular). Traveling gets even more expensive if you have...
13 of the Strangest Places People Quarantined During the Pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has shaped many different aspects of our lives throughout the year so far, including how and where we live. When states began issuing shelter-in-place orders in March and restrictions were placed on various types of travel, a lot of us...
That thing I packed and never used
Somehow, no matter how much I travel and how light I pack, I always end up with something I never ended up using. Often, the item that’s indispensable on one trip ends up being totally unnecessary on another. Other times it’s a product of hope — the...
Adjusting to life at home after traveling
It’s no secret that it’s a challenge to adjust to life in another country or life on the road. However, many people assume they’ll be able to pick up right where they left off when they return home. Nope. It can be just as challenging to get back...
I Want Out: How to go abroad during COVID-19
Despite all the rhetoric that we need to #stayhome, there’s no requirement that you literally stay home. Those whirlwind tours of 14 cities in 14 days are verboten, but it’s easy to travel while following all restrictions and guidelines for staying safe...
Quarantine reads to embrace staying home
People are eagerly sharing tips on how to “travel without leaving home.” What about accepting where we are? Is travel about finding the “exotic” or is it a way of seeing the world? As Jonathan Franzen reminds us, “The first lesson reading...
Staying home when going home isn’t an option
The news is listing off a daily COVID-19 death toll. The world has shut down to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Everyone is frantically learning to adapt to working from home, homeschooling kids, living without cleaners, personal care assistants, and someone else to...
Who I am in the beds of strangers
I have stayed in a lot of different homes. I spent three years subletting apartments in Prospect and Crown Heights, Brooklyn in an era before AirBnB. I have stayed in well over 100 homes through CouchSurfing and the personal networks that have sprouted up through the...
Washington DC: A digital nomad’s guide
Sure, any tourist knows what to see for a weekend in DC. But what about those of us who aren’t just any tourist? As a nomad we have time to explore, but we’re there for a lot longer than the typical tourist. While I’m free to spend an afternoon in a...
How to stay connected on the road – without going broke
Your life may be location independent, but your cell phone plan isn’t. If you’re getting directions on Google Maps, posting to Instagram, or using your phone as a mobile hotspot, you don’t want to wind up with an astronomical bill. Sure, you can turn off your data and...
How I became a remote managing director
I spoke with Kathryn Hunter, host of Compass Pod. Her podcast is all about women who have built location independent careers. We chatted about using your multidisciplinary background, scaling back when ambition is exhausting, and the power in simple ideas. You can...
Travel and reinventing yourself
I’m startled by the number of people who, when they find out I’m a perpetual traveler, get excited by the assumption that I reinvent myself every time I arrive in a different place. Which is probably the positive spin on people assuming that I’m...
How a $5K Windfall Changed My Life
When you think about life-changing money, a million-dollar lottery win or huge inheritance come to mind. But it turns out that, at least for millennials, a smaller amount would really make a difference. According to data collected by SelfLender and OnePoll, most...
Volunteering as a nomad
When people think of volunteering while traveling, they usually think of digging wells in African villages or building houses with Habitat for Humanity. Those are the sort of volunteer opportunities that require a few weeks of time — a commitment a lot of us...
Ottawa’s best places to work remotely (that aren’t a coffee shop)
Can’t drink another latte? Here’s where to get some work done on your laptop in Ottawa that isn’t just a list of coffee shops.
Destination resolutions
People make a lot of fuss about New Years resolutions, but as a traveler, I enter each temporary home with a new resolution. The world is eager to remind me that I can’t escape myself by traveling, but they seem to have little understanding of just how much a...
Forget a carry-on, I’ve gone personal item only
A few months ago I accepted the challenge to go personal item only for six weeks…and I basically haven’t looked back.
How I got my first house sits
Curious about house sitting but don’t know where to start? Here’s how it works.
The ultimate guide to getting into museums for free
Forget free museum nights, go for free on your own schedule If you’re a nerd like me, museum admission fees can add up quickly. Sure, many museums have free nights. I’m sure they’re a lot of fun in some cities, but in places like New York or Toronto...
