We took a 6 week trip to Saratoga Springs in Upstate NY in September/October to re-energize and re-boot after our daughter headed back to college. This video provides some of our observations about the value and impact of staying in a destination for a month or more.
This video provides a brief overview of the potential affordability for some of the lower cost expat and slow travel destinations. It also provides a basic general budget for travel in a lower cost overseas destination (Thailand).
Here are a few tips to help you maximize your slow travel experiences. Please add you own tips in the comments.
It can become easy to slip into a "Groundhog Day" type of stagnation.
It's important to proactively engage with something new in your environment on a regular basis to keep your brain stimulated. Try to find new or different activities. Actively seek out new experiences.
We use Slow Travel to keep ourselves engaged and stimulated. Maybe it can work for you.
Some of my random complaints about creating travel videos for YouTube.
Downsizing the footprint of your home can be a great idea for people when your living needs change, but how much downsizing is too much. We went a bit too far, and are now looking to upsize a bit - to "right size". This video describes some of the issues that we encountered when downsizing too much, and how we plan to address them in our new home search. It also identifies some of the typical issues reported by people who downsized too much. Maybe these issues can help you succeed when adjusting your living arrangements.
As a leadership coach and certified retirement coach, I often hear about how challenging it can be making friends and new social connections in midlife and beyond. As you get older, it can take conscious effort to meet new people and nurture relationships. Social isolation can be a serious issue that impacts your overall health and emotional well being. So it is a good idea to take proactive measures to build and maintain your social interactions. In this video, I go over 15 common and simple strategies that adults can use to put themselves in positions where they can meet new people that may be compatible with their interests, and build new friendships. Maybe one of these can work for you.
We usually rent short term apartments when we travel - sometimes AirBnB, but most of the time from local companies. But we have been seeing how increasing restrictions in short term rentals is impacting the availability and price of these rentals. This video is intended to identify the ongoing anticipated reductions in short term accommodations, and prompt travelers to plan ahead for alternatives
In the spring of 2024, we decided to make an investment in eBikes - for our health and for entertainment. We did our research and bought two bikes.
The results were great. These bikes are turning out to be much more fun than we expected. We're having a great time getting out into nature and exploring new trails and streets.
We think that eBikes are a perfect tool for health and leisure for anyone over 50 who is less interested in endurance, may have some physical limitations, and wants to have control over the amount of exercise that they undertake.
This video describes our initial experience with our eBikes. Maybe it will help contribute to you selecting the best eBike for your needs.
For more information about eBike selection issues and suggestions for 50+ folks, visit our website. www.89daysaway.com/blog/what-to-look-for-in-ebikes-for-50-peopleIf you want to find out more about the bikes that we ended up buying, here is a link to the manufacturer site. We got Velotric Discover 2 Step Thru Frame eBikes. We have a code you can use at that site to get $60 off - REF601620
Please note that the Velotric links are affiliate links, which means that if you click on a link and purchase a product, we receive a small commission at no cost to you.
If you like this kind of content, please like this video and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
In the spring of 2024, we decided to make an investment in eBikes - for our health and for entertainment. We did our research and bought two bikes. The results were great. These bikes are turning out to be much more fun than we expected. We're having a great time getting out into nature and exploring new trails and streets
This video breaks down some of our criteria for selecting an eBike. Maybe it will help your research, and contribute to you selecting the best eBike for your needs.
If you want to find out more about the bikes that we ended up buying, here is a link to the manufacturer site. We got Velotric Discover 2 Step Thru Frame eBikes. We have a code you can use at that site to get $60 off - REF601620
Please note that these are affiliate links, which means that if you click on a link and purchase a product, we receive a small commission at no cost to you.
This video discusses a key issue when considering how to spend your savings and investments during your 50s and beyond - Anticipating how your health will impact your ability to undertake the activities you have planned to pursue once you have reached your post-work years, and when to anticipate spending down some of your savings and investments to undertake these activities.
Planners call this the "Go-go, Slo-go, and No-go" phases, and they are based on a person's overall health and physical capacity during their later years. Keeping these phases in mind is important when mapping out your financial outlays during your post-work years.
Consider working with a professional financial planner to get this right. Creating a detailed financial plan projecting your financial heath during your retirement years is key to being able to evaluate how much you can spend, and the impact of this spend on meeting your ongoing expenses.
DISCLAIMER: This video is not to be considered financial advice. Meet with a professional financial advisor to create a plan based on your specific resources and needs.
We have been keeping track of some issues that expats say they wished they knew before they moved to a new country, and put together a list of some of the common issues and how to address them, to help ensure that your expat journey has a better chance of succeeding!
You are looking for something to re-energize or re-boot your life. Like a change of setting via living somewhere else for a while - its a great option if it is possible for you.
Maybe you were thinking about becoming an expat and moving to another country, or about slow traveling overseas for long periods. But you are a bit hesitant about making the leap.
One option is to consider a slow travel trip in your home country first to see how you like living in another place for an extended period. It's an easy way to do a test run before making the leap. And a great way to get see your home country in more depth.
Or just a fun way to "reboot" your life via a dramatic new experience.
A summary of our experience closing down our US residence and heading to the EU on a scouting trip (to Portugal), to facilitate an overseas move. We talk about what prompted the move, how we went about the initial steps, what we experienced, and the results of the trip. It was an amazing experience for us.
It was something we will look back on fondly for the rest of our lives. But in the end we decided to put off the full expat move (for now), and instead opted to do a part-time expat or slow travel approach.
Some random commentary recorded during week 4 of our recent slow travel trip to Scotland. We talk about some pros and cons of the slow travel experience.
This is not a comprehensive list of what everyone can expect, and it personal to our own preferences, but we hope it could be useful to people thinking of doing a slow travel or expat trip. And this represents our personal reactions – you may have different results. And we realize that we can be a bit fussy at times.
This video was recorded after a few weeks of both of us having very bad colds, braving terrible weather, and tacking issues at work. So we may be a bit cranky at this point. It is a good idea to keep in mind that all travel is not non-stop "amazing experiences" - sometimes it can be normal life, or it may become an ordeal.
This video is an overview of the types of travel-related benefits provided by travel branded credit cards that would be valuable to expats and slow travelers / part time expats, and how to use them to enhance your travels. Use this video as a comprehensive introduction to the main issues, and a first step to maximize the returns from these types of credit cards if you have plans for travel in your future.
If tracking these types of deals is something that you find interesting, there are a number of in-depth online resources and newsletters available to keep you informed of current deals and benefits. Some online resources that focus on Credit Card issues include:
- https://thepointsguy.com/
- https://upgradedpoints.com/
- https://www.nerdwallet.com/
- https://www.dailydrop.com/
Some of these also have newsletters that can be useful to alert you about special offers and sales.
Note that these types of sites receive commissions for directing you to a credit card company, so as always, be a vigilant consumer!
We are not getting anything from any credit card companies for this video, or from the above links.
And for a in depth and robust discussions of credit cards issues, tips, deals and hacks, check out the CreditCards subreddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/.
We are visiting Great Britain for March and April 2024, spending a bit over a month in a very nice short-term furnished apartment in Edinburgh, Scotland. This video provides a brief tour of the apartment, and some tips for selecting a apartment for slow travel and part time expat trips.
More videos coming soon!
We put together an quick online assessment tool that is intended to help you to evaluate and rate your motivations for wanting to leave your home country and become an expat. It's free to use, and may help you better identify what you are hoping to achieve in your transition to a new living environment. You can access the assessment at www.ExpatTest.com It will take about 15 minutes to complete, or a bit longer if you linger over the content.
You will review 15 common areas that are part of the reasons people want to become expats, and rate 3 statements about each area from 1 (Not important to me) to 10 (Very important to me).
Once you complete the ratings you receive a summary screen that provides the average of your rating for each category.
For each category, the assessment provides some criteria to help you determine your rating, and once you provide your ratings, some suggestions for evaluating how well the countries of interest will support your identified needs. This is the first in a series of online assessment and elearning tools focused on the Expat and Slow Traveler. Sign up for our newsletter "Notes from the Road" to be informed when we release additional topics. And please like and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
This video provides some examples of essential items that you should consider bringing along on your next overseas trip. Check out our blog post for links to to examples of these products: www.89daysaway.com/blog/24-essential-travel-products-for-2024
We have this recurring question that seems to come up when we travel to new special places. We look around in wonder and ask each other "How is this a place?" The experience of an amazing destination that you often encounter when traveling can be profound, and have a lasting impact on how you view the world. This video describes the impact of the feeling many may get when experiencing an epic or intimate special location during their travels. It is the reason why many people travel.
We tried taking the expat route and it didn't really work for us. This video describes some of the issues that impacted our decisions at the time (2021). Taking the expat route will be a big change in your life, with a wide range of impacts - financial, lifestyle and personal. It may work great for you, or you may have some reactions similar to ours. Each person will have their own specific circumstances that will impact the suitability of an expat move to their life. The key to evaluating the suitability of an expat move is to obtain as much information and possible, on all sides of the issues, to determine the full range of issues you will confront, and assess the impact of these issues based on your specific circumstances and needs, to see if the expat route is right for you. Hopefully this video can contribute to a small part of that information.
This video talks about the value of wandering around a foreign location, as a slow traveler or part time expat to get a more intimate feel for the location, and get in sync with the culture.
We have this recurring question that seems to come up when we travel to new special places. We look around in wonder and ask each other "How is this a place?" The experience of an amazing destination that you often encounter when traveling can be profound, and have a lasting impact on how you view the world. This video describes the impact of the feeling many may get when experiencing an epic or intimate special location during their travels. It is the reason why many people travel.
This video describes some practical tips that international travelers, slow travelers, and part time expats should consider when planning out their trips. This includes some tips on passports., visas, using a US cell phone outside the country, etc. Much of this will be second nature to frequent travelers, but maybe we have stumbled across something new that could help you on your next trip. This video also links to our Travel Checklist that you can download and make your own by adding your checklist and packing items.
If the commitment of becoming a permanent full time expat sounds a bit difficult to imagine, consider longer term travel to a single overseas location to get a similar experience of a foreign country.
We tried the standard expat route, and found it a bit too big of a lift, so instead, we now take trips lasting several months to a single foreign location, rent a furnished apartment, and get into the local lifestyle, while maintaining residency in our home country (US), and a home base to come back to when we are ready.
This video provides a brief overview of this part time expat approach, why it may be right for you, and some tips on how to prepare. Our channel title "89 days away" refers to the EU Schengen limit of letting visitors stay 3 months (in the Schengen zone) during a visit - living away for 89 days before having to go home. If you want to stay away for longer, other countries let you stay for 6 months, so you can put together an agenda that allows you to stay overseas as long as you need to get what you are looking for.
We have a lot of lessons learned on our journey, and a number of other videos about this topic in the pipeline that will be posted soon, so stay tuned, like, and subscribe so you can be informed when we post new content.
This video is 2 hours of 4K video of the driving experience around the Isle of Skye, in northwest Scotland. It was shot with a GoPro 7 mounted to the hood of our car in April 2023.
This is a quick video captured from the front seats of an open tour boat passing through the canals in the city of Bruges, Belgium, recorded in April of 2023. The video includes some interesting facts about the history of Bruges. It was shot using an Insta360 X3 360 camera.
