White makes you look larger. Black makes you look thinner. Orange makes you look orange. – Boden Day, Former Army Journalist, Newark, DE, USA
02/19/14
A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.
* Happy birthday to us: we just hit issue #100! Thanks for your support and if you upgrade to being a paid supporter, we’ll reward you with an e-book soon that has 104 of our best travel and living abroad tips from our first two years.
Mark F. stumbled upon this VisaList site that is an alternative to some of the digital nomad visa guides we’ve highlighted before. This one has a clean layout and reflecting the governments’ habits of “announce first, plan later,” most are still listed as “developing.” This is a very minimalist site with frequent grammar errors, but it does show fees and income requirements and it links out to the official government page for each of the 56 countries and territories.
You don't see many review blogs talking about USA-based Tom Bihn or Red Oxx luggage because you can't buy them at retailers that pay commission like REI or Amazon. They only sell directly to consumers, allowing them to maintain high standards without having to sell their products for low margins at half the retail price. Also, unlike the big companies that need to keep retailers excited, they can sell the same classic bag for 20 years and not feel pressure to make changes. I just used my 14-year-old Tom Bihn Aeronaut for two recent short trips and forgot how much faster you can move if you have a light carry-on bag with no wheels. (Read the 96 5-star comments to see what real brand devotion looks like.)
You’ll need to be 27 or younger and be touring France at the busiest time of year, but if that’s you or someone you know, you could ride the rails around France this summer for just €49 for 2 months. The most populated area around Paris is excluded, but that still leaves a big chunk of the country to explore and it would only take a few trips to come out ahead. See more details here. (Note that Germany runs a similar scheme with fewer age restrictions.)
Last year I spent about five months in Europe, this year I’ll be there somewhere between two and three months. The continent has a reputation for being expensive, but it doesn’t have to be if you’re savvy about the when, where, and how. Here’s my advice based on a few decades of visits: Touring Europe on a Budget: 11 Money-saving Travel Tips.
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