See The World
Seek Adventure Travel Happy
Yeah, it's Friday! What what! Sorry, I'm a little excited. I've been daydreaming a bit (by a bit, I mean a lot) about our trip to Italy coming up, and about everywhere else we want to go. I got to plan our big trip for this year, and Pat is going to plan our big one for next year. He wants to do a surf vacation. One where we go to an all inclusive lodge somewhere where part of the package is daily surf lessons...yeah, it sounds awesome and I'm totally on board...pun intended. So, in that train of thought, I figured I would share some of the locations that I'm seriously excited about visiting. 1. Costa Rican Surf Vacation: Costa Rica has awesome jungles for exploring and waves for beginners to experts. Pat and I have been surfing a couple of times (Hawaii and New Zealand), Pat, as usual, is a natural and I flail around a bit trying not to drown. But I think with a week of instruction and a steady stream of mojitos, I should be one with the waves or at least better at not drowning. 2. Greece: 2012 was a little rough for Greece, but 2013 and 2014 has been quieter. Still though, there can be protests, all though the risk of injury is quite low. If you are worried though, Santorini, Crete, Rhodes, Lesbos, and Corfu are all good options. These areas are calmer and rarely see the kind of turbulence that you would see in Athens. This is great news because Greece is beautiful! Ancient ruins, beautiful coast lines filled with sandy beaches and white washed homes. I just want to eat delicious food while I lounge in the sun and take in all the beauty! 3. Hawaii's Big Island: Volcanoes! Need I say more? Oh, ok, obviously the volcanoes would be blazingly amazing to see. So, that is on the list, as are some of the other islands we haven't seen. I mean, no since in flying all that way and not checking out Maui and seeing if our surf skills have improved any. 4. Spain: I have wanted to go to Spain for as long as I can remember. Spain has a rich culture, some of the world's most amazing architecture, beautiful coastline, and mouth watering food. I just want to wander around, get lost and see how much high school Spanish I can remember...it won't be much, I should bring a map. These are just a few, I have to restrain myself, or I'll go on forever. What are some of the places you've been daydreaming about? Share in the comments below and Happy Friday!
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While there will be some debate on this topic, (because there are lots of amazing places in the world) not all of them make it easy to move to and earn a living there. The following countries are the places that not only do that, but also offer up substantial quality of life opportunities. So, here goes the list! If you are under 30:
If you are over 30 or are thinking about a retirement location:
New Zealand has an immigration category for "Skilled Migrants" So, if you are a teacher, engineer, doctor, or other professional that falls into one of their categories, they want you there. New Zealand also has a pretty easy Retirement Visa plan as well. Malta is known for their ease of immigration. The only caveat here is that you cannot work in Malta. So if you have a pension that is sufficient or you can work remotely then you are golden. Mediterranean climate, relatively low cost of living (30-40% lower than mainland Europe), than this might be the place for you. Bonus, there's no property tax and English is one of their official languages! Costa Rica also has a pretty easy immigration system. In addition to the natural beauty, low cost of living, and abundance of recreation opportunities Costa Rica could be an excellent option. You'll need to learn Spanish, but this can be a plus as well. Costa Rica's cost of living is less than the U.S. but higher than some other South and Central American countries. With that though you get a more stable government and economy (yes,this is a generalization) but that can be worth a lot, especially if you've seen what is going on in Venezuela right now. Just a few years ago people were talking about moving there because gas is so cheap there. Everything comes with a price. This list isn't exhaustive. I know several people who have lived as teachers, missionaries, students, and backpackers all over the world. There's a visa for just about every scenario, but some countries make it extra hard. I once tried to get a visa to teach English in Italy...let me tell you that was rough. I eventually just figured it wasn't meant to be. Our visa to New Zealand on the other hand, took about an hour's worth of work and a week's wait and bam! That's all it took. I didn't need to pay some fancy immigration assistance service or struggle through lots of bureaucratic nonsense. Moving to the other side of the world is hard enough without being bogged down trying to figure out complicated immigration law for another country where you're not fluent in the language. Also, other countries who are members of the EU or are commonwealth countries have a much much larger network of countries that they can go to for working holidays. Americans have such few options because we do not offer reciprocal agreements to other countries. This is such a shame! If congress actually seemed inclined to do anything, I would encourage you to write them but I'd rather be planning my next trip...End political rant! Have you lived abroad somewhere? Comment below with any of your tips and suggestions! In the meantime I'm going to be house hunting in Malta! You may have heard they saying "If you want to test the strength of a relationship, go on a road trip together". I totally believe it's true. This applies to romantic relationships, friendships and family. One of the keys is to be honest about who you are. Are you a go-go must plan everything sort of person, or are you laid back and don't want to be strapped down by plans? Do you get lost everywhere you go, or are you great at planning all the logistics and have everything figured out months in advance? First knowing who you are will help you know what you need out of a travel companion. So here they are the 10 essentials to a great travel companion: 1: Balance: Balance is key to a successful trip. You can't have two captains. If you and your travel companion are both trying to be in charge, your are going to butt heads. It might seem all fine and dandy at the beginning. But you are bound to get tired and frustrated and that's when tempers will flare. Both of you need to be upfront before the trip about what you are hoping to get out of it. One of you may just want to lounge in the sun all day getting drunk. While the other one wants to go hiking in the jungle exploring all day. Knowing this upfront will prevent a lot of problems later. I once wanted to go ice skating while everyone else wanted to go to Tijuana. We did both, luckily no one died. I was right about Tijuana though, skip it and go ice skating. 2. Dependable: Everyone on a trip has to be dependable. You have to be able to rely on the other person to be where they say they will be when they say they will be. Everyone has to chip in and be there for the other person. This is important for safety, fun, and logistics. If they are the type of person who is always two hours late, this trip is going to suck...unless you are also that person then you can cry together in the airport when you've missed your flight...it happens, it's ok. 3. Travel Savvy: At least one person in your group needs to be a little travel savvy. This can come a number of ways, either through actual travel experience or lots of research. You need to know if you should negotiate your cab fare, if being out after dark is safe there, are pick pockets prevalent, and what to do in case of an emergency...hint you don't always dial 911. 4. Cool Under Pressure: I will be honest, this is where I have struggled in the past. After a long morning of traveling and one thing after another going wrong, we found ourselves in what seemed like a never ending line. Everybody in line had mickey mouse ears on and couldn't be happier. I, on the other hand was slowly building to an epic break down. After we finally made it to the ticket counter and the nice lady asked me for my passport. I rustled around in my bag, and I couldn't find it...que break down time! I then proceeded to fall to the ground and rip everything out of my bag and make a wee bit of scene in the Orlando airport. Pat on the other had was keeping calm, not feeding into my crazy and was mentally making a list of everything we could do in Orlando if we didn't make our flight to the Bahamas. While I am not proud of my dramatic emotional cracking, I can say that it was Pat's coolness under pressure that made it work out. One of you needs to be the person who keeps things together when everything is breaking down. We can't all get crazy in Orlando! 5. Share the Load: An awesome travel buddy will have your back, offer to sort out arrangements, remember the things you forget and share their snacks. One of you can't be shouldering all the responsibility, while the other one is off getting drunk and dancing naked on the beach. There's time for that, but you need a friend who's going to help with the hotel arrangements, find dinner and THEN go dancing drunk on the beach. 6. Responsible: On that note of drinking on the beach, you can't be the drunk girl passed out on the beach waiting for the tide to drag you away. I'll admit, Pat has held my hair back when I thought I could keep up with Kiwis...I can't, and both of us paid the price. You also have to be smart about drinking in places that you are unfamiliar with and with people that you don't know well. This is just good sense and it keeps your friends from having to appear on Nancy Grace to describe the seemingly nice guy that you wondered out of the bar with alone. Buddy system! 7. Open to New Experiences: Some people go on trips and never eat anything other than an American chain that you can get at home. What a waste! There is so much to experience, new foods, people, culture. A great travel buddy is going to be as excited as you are to go out there and experience it all. Yes, it might be shockingly different than you are used to, but that's the point. Embrace other cultures without judging and be open to learning something new about yourself and the world. 8. Flexibility: Sometimes the day you are planning on going scuba diving, it's pouring rain. Sometimes the museum you wanted to go to is closed. Be flexible, don't let a little hiccup ruin your day or your trip. There's always a way to turn lemons into Limoncello. 9. Spontaneity: Along with being flexible is being spontaneous. Sometimes an opportunity presents itself and you have to be ready to pounce on it. Don't get stuck in your schedule so much that you miss the chance to do something you never considered. Once, in Hawaii we were driving up to the north shore of Oahu and found out that there was a huge surf competition going on that we had no idea about. You're on vacation, sometimes the most freeing thing to do is to throw out the itinerary and do whatever you want. Make sure your travel companion can handle this kind of freedom. 10. Fun: With all this seriousness, lets not forget why you are on this trip in the first place; to have fun! Have a friend who is always critical and could find a reason to hate just about everything? Do not go on trips with them. They'll find a reason to suck the joy out. It's also important to go on a trip with someone who is as excited as you are about it. Pat is usually totally excited about most of the same things I am, but not always. I like to volunteer at the Sundance Film Festival, which Pat would hate. He's not a big fan of independent films, don't ask me why. He hates crowds, standing in line, and doesn't care at all about celebrities. So he and I don't go to that together. I've gone by myself and with one of best friends in the world. I can say she made it a million times more fun. She's an example of an awesome travel companion. Always upbeat even when we were both obviously exhausted, dependable, cool under pressure, and basically a blast! |
Skeeter
Hi there! I'm Skeeter. I grew up moving a lot and that makes me a bit restless for travel and exploration. I started this blog with my husband Pat when we decided to backpack New Zealand for a year. We are always looking for the next adventure and are loving life. We're just your average couple with two sassy dogs and a love for travel. We're sharing our travels and the tips we pick up along the way. LIZHello! I'm Liz. Blogging is very new to me, but I'm so excited to finally write as much as I talk! Archives
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