Like a limited series on TV, sometimes it’s nice to listen to a podcast where you know there’s an ending. The Leaving America Podcast is a 12-episode one from the person behind Deep Dive with Shawn Fettig and you can find it on whatever player you use or directly here. I make a few appearances in some of them, including the Latin America episode, but he covers some not-cheap places too like France and New Zealand.

Osprey Sojourn Shuttle Carry-on Suitcase

“Wow, I really like this suitcase,” my wife said when she used it for the first time on our most recent trip together. “I’m using this one from now on.” That’s saying something considering I used to run a travel gear blog and she’s probably packed at least 15 different suitcases that I got as review samples. This one was the Osprey Sojourn Shuttle 22 with two Rollerblade-style wheels that can take on uneven surfaces, plus hidden padded backpack straps if you need to scale stairs or a gravel path. Compression straps help you keep the width in check for the overhead bin. As with all Osprey products, certainly not the cheapest, but guaranteed for life. Get it on Amazon or direct from the company.

Prepay Your Rent, Get a Visa

I’ve run across a lot of strange visa options out there, but this is a new one on me: pre-pay a year’s worth of rent in Croatia and you can get a residency visa! This came from International Living so I’ll just quote them. “The ‘Croatian Apartment Visa,’ as it’s known, requires that you find residential property in the country and prepay rent for one year. If you can prove sufficient funds to support yourself, have health insurance covering your time in Croatia, and pass a criminal background check, you can stay in Croatia indefinitely, as long as you keep prepaying your annual rent. You can work remotely as long as your income is foreign-sourced.”

New Amtrak Route

It’s rare that you hear about a new train route in the USA, but one just opened that has been closed for 20 years: Amtrak between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama. This connects the two longest-running Mardi Gras cities and stops at some other Gulf of Mexico towns along the way. That link goes to Afar magazine where you can also check out this article on the USA’s most scenic train routes. I was recently on one of them through upstate New York and it was terrific.

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.