Life in immigration

Last Updated: 01/23/20 | January 23rd, 2020 I’ve left pieces of my heart in many places around the world: New York, Paris, Stockholm, and Hong Kong to name a few. But no place has a bigger piece than Thailand. It was my home for a long time (and in many ways still is). No amount of time there is long enough, and any amount of time away is too long. Whenever I miss it, I head to a Thai restaurant, shock the staff by speaking Thai, enjoy a quick conversation with them, and eat my weight in food. But I always leave disappointed. Even the best dishes at the most authentic restaurants are never as good as in Thailand. The food only temporarily fills a hole in my heart. I walk away satiated but never satisfied. It only makes me miss Thailand more. But then I came to Berlin, and my world changed. A few months ago, my friend Jodi found delicious soup at a Thai weekend market in Berlin and proclaimed it the best she’d had outside of Thailand. I stared at the photo of her red pork noodle soup. I...

Updated: 02/04/19 | February 4th, 2019 It’s 6pm in Bangkok, and all over, street vendors are busy selling food. Thais do almost all of their grocery shopping on the street. Locals walk around with little bags full of rice, curry, noodles, or soup. With food so cheap and kitchens so few and far between, very few Thais in Bangkok cook their own meals. Sidewalk chairs are filled with coworkers sharing meals before they go home. Eating here is a social activity where hunger pangs, not the time of day, tell you when to eat. Bangkok is a gastronomical dream, and wandering its streets is heaven. Stalls line the streets, selling everything from snacks to sit-down meals. Sections often specialize in certain products, and the time of day dictates which stalls will be where with the precision of a Swiss watch. Waking up for breakfast, I strolled down the street. All around me Thais were buying breakfast (usually fruit or soup). Workers were buying their lunches, loading up on rice and curry, nood...

Updated: 11/13/19 | November 13th, 2019 When I saw him in the hostel, I couldn’t help but smile. There he was, a man who could have been my grandfather, hanging out with college-aged backpackers and having the time of his life. The younger travelers were enamored with his stories of past travels and his ability to drink them under the table. No one cared he was in his 70s. Age mattered not one bit. So when I learned more about Don and Alison, I had to share their story. They are a “senior” couple limited by some medical issues yet still engaging in adventures I only dream about. I think their story can teach and inspire a lot of us. Check it out! Nomadic Matt: Hi guys! Tell everyone about yourselves. Don: I’m a 70-year-old retired neuropsychologist. Two years ago, I made a decision to retire, because I’d developed a number of medical problems due to stress from work. I was working myself into sickness. Alison (my wife, who is 63) and I didn’t have enough savings ...

Posted: 7/31/17 | July 31st, 2017 (Updated resources on 7/7/2020) One of the biggest challenges for people is saving up for a world trip. It can be daunting trying to save thousands of dollars for your next big trip. Yet I always say “If you can’t save, go work.” The world has an abundance of jobs that travelers can get. Millions of travelers fund their trips by working their way around the world. Today, I want to profile one of our community members who does just that. Angela works as an au pair. This funds her round the world travel dreams, let’s her stay in a place longer, and get to know a culture better. Today we share her story and tips for being an au pair. Nomadic Matt: Hi Angela! Thanks for doing this. Tell us about yourself! Angéla: I’m Angéla and I’m 28 years old. I was born near Lyon, France, and am the eldest of four sisters. After graduating from school when I was 21, I started working as an au pair in Germany. I wanted to get out of France and work...

Last Updated: 11/12/20 | November 12th, 2020 Motivated people can achieve anything they set their minds to. But how does one stay motivated, especially to travel, when you are busy working and living life while your family and friends disparage your ideas, you’re overwhelmed planning your trip, or maybe just burnt out from being on the road already? Motivation is not an unlimited wellspring but a battery that needs to be kept charged. All too often, life gets in the way and hinders our plans or throws us off track. If we don’t pay attention, that battery becomes depleted and our travel goals fall to the wayside. All of a sudden, years have gone by and you’re still nowhere near reaching the travel goals you’ve dreamed about. For example, my trip to Iceland had been years in the making. I always talked about it but it kept getting delayed because “stuff came up.” It wasn’t until I finally said “enough” and booked my ticket right there that the trip became a reality. And ...

Updated: 12/04/19 | December 4th, 2019 As an American, it’s easy for me to travel the world. My dollar goes far and I only have to worry about visas to a few countries around the world. But not everyone is blessed with a golden passport and it can be very hard to not only save money for travel but also obtain a visa to most countries around the world. Today, we talk to Vikram and Ishwinder, an Indian couple who not only managed to save money for their round-the-world trip but also navigated the tough process of getting tourist visas with an Indian passport. Nomadic Matt: Tell everyone about yourselves! Vikram: We are an Indian couple in our late 20s that loves to travel. I am from a city called Aurangabad, close to Mumbai, while Ishwinder is from New Delhi. We were both working in London when we decided to get married in January 2012. Within a year we decided to quit our jobs, sell what little we owned, and travel the world. We have been on the road for 15 months now. We have trav...

Updated: 02/03/2020 | February 3rd, 2020 This is a guest post by Laura of A Wandering Sole. Laura has been a solo female traveler for several years and has journeyed everywhere from Jordan to Namibia to Egypt. Laura will be writing a column on female travel for this site every other week. As much as I love to write, this is one topic I’m clueless about. So take it away, Laura. It’s dangerous. How will you get there? Where will you stay? By yourself? But, you’re a girl! If you’re female and have an interest in travel, then you’ve probably heard these things before. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had someone criticize my travels — where I go, how I go, or the fact that I go myself. I’m currently on a round-the-world trip, and I can assure you that solo female travel is an incredible experience and one that you should not miss out on due to fears and hesitations. Here are five reasons it’s safe to travel alone: The world is small. Even strange, foreign lands us...

Warning: This is not a budget-friendly post, but it will make you thirsty! Last Updated: 01/17/2020 | January 17th, 2020 I love the 1920s — a lot. Midnight in Paris is one of my favorite movies. I had a Prohibition-era themed birthday party for three years in a row. I own vintage clothes. I listen to a lot of jazz. I swing dance. If I could live in any other time, I would pick 1920s NYC or Paris. The Jazz Age and I are besties. And that’s one of the reasons I love NYC so much — there are a lot of other people here who love the Jazz Age. There are events like the massive Jazz Age Lawn Party, swing dance clubs, Facebook groups, daily events, and lots and lots of Prohibition-style bars serving classic drinks while pumping out live jazz and swing music. While the fancy cocktails they serve may not be cheap ($12–15 USD), I’m hooked on the atmosphere. Stepping into these bars with the music playing, people dancing, and everyone dressed the part transports me back in time to an era when thing...

Updated: 10/30/2018 | October 30th, 2018 When I was younger, I was very socially awkward. I used to get anxiety when I talked to strangers. Travel forced me to get over that and become what is termed a “learned extrovert.” It’s sink or swim on the road and, since I wanted to travel and be on the road so much, I decided to swim. I had to learn how to talk to people if I didn’t want to be alone. For many, it’s an even harder challenge. Many people are scared to travel and suffer from travel anxiety. My friend Lauren of Never Ending Footsteps suffered such bad panic attacks when she was younger that she barely left the house, developed an eating disorder, and never took public transportation. Today, Lauren writes in-depth about her panic attacks and travel anxiety, how travel helped her cope with that, and what others can do to get over their fears and travel the world. I was 16 when I had my first panic attack. I thought I was going to die. I was drenched in sweat within seconds, I ...

Updated: 10/10/19 | October 10th, 2019 Long-time readers know I love travel credit cards because of the huge amount of points and perks they bring. (New readers now know this.) In fact, this month alone I signed up for an Amex Platinum (50,000 points) and United Airlines card (60,000 points), with more sign-ups planned next month. Points bring lots of benefits like free flights, elite status, free checked bags, and priority boarding. And, while I know a lot about this subject, there are people who spend their whole day figuring out how to maximize points. People like Brian Kelly. Brian Kelly runs The Points Guy, a website dedicated to maximizing reward programs and credit card offers to get as much free travel and elite status as one possibly can. He knows the reward booking systems, points programs, and credit cards inside and out. Today, Brian shares his secrets. Nomadic Matt: How did you become “The Points Guy”? Brian Kelly: I started young. I’ve been passionate about points since I...