This week I’m curating some interesting articles from others. The first is strange and encouraging. It turns out that multiple studies with different methods have found that Bronze winners in the Olympics are happier than the Silver winners. There are probably lessons in here about drive and ambition, but maybe it’s just a good reminder to enjoy the moment when you appear on life’s podium. If you expect everything to go perfectly and to win every time, including on travel days, you’re going to suffer a lot of disappointment. Via Chris Guillebeau at A Year of Mental Health.

Payment Plans for Airline Tickets

My friend Kerwin McKenzie wrote an in-depth article for T+L on all the options that are out there for you if you need a plane ticket now but don’t want to pay for it now. Usually you’re better off putting the purchase on a credit card that earns you something back, but if that’s not an option, see these ways to buy a flight on a payment plan and stretch out the due dates. (Many budget airlines around the world offer this directly too in the purchase process.)

The Inherent Conflict of “Live Like a Local”

Despite the best intentions, you will never really see life from a local perspective if you’re on vacation or sticking around for two months as a digital nomad. As this sarcastic “live like a local” article points out, you can only scratch the surface. Most people who live there are working a physical job to pay the bills, dealing with family issues, fighting with the local government, and doing zero sightseeing. Working remotely for a Silicon Valley company at 10X the local salary while in a posh Airbnb rental is just not the same. Found via James Clark at The Travel Wire.

Bolting the USA

Nomadico partner Mark Frauenfelder, from sister newsletter Recomendo, interviewed me at Boing Boing for this article on escaping the USA. If you’ve got your eyes set on greener pastures, check it out for some ideas and considerations. Remember too that “moving abroad” doesn’t need to have a one-destination answer. Plenty of working travelers and retirees bop around to different places in the course of a year and having a home base doesn’t have to mean spending 12 months there.

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.