You should move to London.

One of the many benefits of having so many Facebook friends from around the world, who love to globe trot almost as much as I do, is that they are constantly posting super interesting travel related articles…and I mean DAILY. (It’s no reason I am so addicted to the Book.)

I happened to come across one yesterday called “101 reasons you need to live in London once” and could not resist the urge to click immediately. 

You know, London always gets a bad rap for being cold and rainy all the time, and being filled with stuffy, rude English people, but it’s really not that bad. It is actually quite an incredible city, and remains one of my all time favorite places that I have lived.

When going through this list, I picked out the ones that rang true to me the most as some of the awesome reasons people should give living in London a shot…

15. Sitting in the park on a summer’s day

21. Whatever type of food you want, you’ll find it

26. Drinking by the Thames

32. Once you know you way around there is no greater feeling than a tourist asking you for directions and you actually knowing the answer

37. Every band who tours plays in London

42. Nightbuses. You can always get home thanks to nightbuses

43. The top deck on nightbuses: the party continues

45. EVERYONE goes for drinks after work

46. You can always drink without worrying about how you’re going to get home. NO ONE drives

47. Want to still feel like a student? Move to Clapham

50. Running along the river makes running much less depressing

56. Curries on Brick Lane

57. Laughing at the word ‘Cockfosters’

58. In depth conversations with taxi drivers

94. You’ll fall in love on the tube around 17 times a day

Don’t get me wrong, it still rains there more than I am used to, and English people can be can be quite rude, but I think that can be part of its charm too. 

What do you think? Have you been to London? Love it or hate it? 

Stay - Eat - Do | Split, Croatia!

Yesterday, I spent a large chunk of time (larger than I would have liked) going through backed up emails I have from my blog. Because I haven’t been incredibly active, and I feel like pretty much most of my readers are people I actually know in real life, I don’t really expect to come across anything exciting in my inbox.

I was mostly right, since 99% of the things in there were alerting me of spam comments on past posts or monthly newsletters from other travel blogs that I can never quite catch up with. 

But then I saw it. 

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Keeping My Passion For Travel Strong While Back Home

It is AMAZING how just spending one evening having dinner and drinks with someone from another country, swapping travel stories and life experiences can really effect a person. 

Yesterday, I reached out to someone on Couchsurfing who was passing through San Luis Obispo, and asked if they wanted to meet up. We ended up going out to dinner, walking around town, and talking for hours. 

It made me realize just how much I was starved for interaction with other travelers, and I am slowly starting to forget just how passionate I am about saving up as much as I can and embarking on my next adventure.

When you are back home, it is easy to justify spending your money on cute clothes in shop windows, going out with your friends every weekend, eating out at your favorite restaurants. I mean, I haven’t had the opportunity to go to these places or see these people in years, right?! I now realize that I am starting to do these things more in excess than moderation, and that I am missing out on saving more money and taking a longer time to reach my savings goal. 

We will most likely never see each other again (like most travel relationships), but it is incredible how just spending this one evening with someone can effect me so much. I am very thankful to my new German friend for helping me re-focus on the things that are important to me and get me back on track, saving again. 

If you are a traveler that is back home saving for an upcoming trip, I strongly (super strongly!) urge you to get on CouchSurfing. You don’t even have to host people (although I have before, and it is tons of fun). You can just offer to take them out and show them around the area. The conversation and good company, even if just for a day or two, will help keep that fire in you that is burning for travel, ignited. 

I know I’ll certainly be doing it more often.

Have you been on CouchSurfing before? What has been your experience of it? What else keeps you focused on saving for your travel adventures? 

Finding Happiness At Home

I am so excited to make my first big announcement of 2013…

I’M MOVING (BACK) TO SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA!

As most of you already know, I finished my last big traveling adventure (for now) in November 2012 and have been back in California the last 3 months, staying with some family friends in the Sacramento area. I chose to be up there in NorCal when I got back because I figured it would be easier for me to find a job in suburbia - given all the shopping and strip malls. Turns out, even though there may be more job openings, there are also a LOT more unemployed people, and, when you don’t have a car, you are kind of limited to places only within a few miles radius from home.  

Basically - I was screwed. 

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My Friend, The Traveler: “Swiggy” from the States

It’s baaaaaaack!

Man, I absolutely LOVE these interviews I have been doing with friends that I have made from around the world. They always remind me of my own stories and experiences I have had, and get me so pumped up for all the traveling I still intend on doing. 

It is my hope that by reading these, you also have a similar desire to embark on your own journey and have your own crazy stories to share with the world. 

Maybe skip that next Starbucks, or buy generic instead of name brand, and instead, put that extra money in savings towards a trip for yourself…that money starts adding up.

Even if you only want to go to a city that is only a 2 hour drive away, GO. It’s still traveling. It’s still adventuring somewhere new. 

This week on My Friend, The Traveler, we meet Mike “Swiggy” Swigunski. We met about a year ago through mutual friends when I was in Prague, and he was teaching at a university there. 

Swiggy has done quite a bit of traveling and living in different places, so he, of course, has a lot of insight to share with those who have never done much travel, or are just starting out. 

Enjoy!  

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