Enjoy Living Abroad
  • Start Here
  • My Blog
  • My Travel Books
    • LOOK INSIDE NEW BOOK
    • ENJOY MOVING ABROAD
    • MOVING TO SEVILLE
    • EASTERN EUROPE
    • PACKING GUIDE
    • 101 EXPAT TIPS
  • Comfort Recipes
  • Quarantine Cuisine
    • Aunt Bev's Pie Recipe
  • Med Comfort Food Tour
  • Dive Bars
  • Travel Tips
    • Packing
    • The Expat Lifestyle
    • Enjoy the Best of Seville
  • About
  • Contact

NAVIGATING the PANDEMIC journey TOGETHER

Working Remotely? Why Not Do It Overseas with One of the New "Digital Nomad Visas"?

1/20/2021

11 Comments

 
Digital Nomad Visas / Enjoy Living Abroad / Karen McCann / enjoylivingabroad.com
My digital nomad friends Lindsay and Ross have held online jobs and lived all over the world since 2008.

After the earthquake last Saturday night, as soon as the couch stopped shaking, I turned to Rich and said, “So it’s true. Mother Earth really is trying to kill us.”
 
It wasn’t Her best effort; a mere 4.2 on the Richter scale, just enough to startle. By the time I realized it might be wise to dive under the furniture, it was all over. The previous quake, which struck on December 31st — a little parting gift from our old pal, 2020 — was even weaker, but with the epicenter just a few miles away, that one bounced me like a trampoline. Ah, the joys of living in California.

Earthquake preparedness / Digital Nomad Visas / Enjoy Living Abroad / Karen McCann / enjoylivingabroad.com
Like all California kids, I grew up preparing for earthquakes.

It’s been pretty wild around here lately, but with the state’s Covid numbers (finally!) dropping a bit and vaccines on the way (yes, they are!), there’s room for optimism. For months, those vaccines were like Bigfoot — the stuff of legend without any reliable sightings. Now a few people I know have received their shots, including someone who joined a high-priced concierge medical service to get one, and a veteran who's flying to a military base that's doing inoculations.
 
“Do we have to up our game?” I say to Rich whenever we hear such stories. “Bribe or hustle our way into line?” I don’t mind waiting behind nursing home residents and essential workers but hate to be outdone by the rich and crafty.

Vaccine availability / Digital Nomad Visas / Enjoy Living Abroad / Karen McCann / enjoylivingabroad.com
Pharmacies are inundated with requests for information, tests, and vaccines they don't have.

“I think things are about to get better,” Rich said yesterday, and sent me the NY Times story, “Biden’s Covid-19 Plan Is Maddeningly Obvious.”
 
The real shocker, says the article, is that these no-brainer solutions weren’t in place months ago: “Loosen the restrictions on who can get vaccinated (and when). Set up many more sites where vaccinations can take place. Mobilize more medical personnel to deliver the vaccinations. And use the might of the federal government to increase the vaccine supply by manufacturing whatever is needed, whenever it is needed, to accelerate the effort.” Amen to all that! The plan calls for FEMA to set up vaccination sites in gyms, sports stadiums, community centers, and mobile units. “They’re evaluating how to eke out more doses from the existing supply — there is, for instance, a particular syringe that will get you six doses out of a given quantity of Pfizer’s vaccine rather than five, and they are looking at whether the Defense Production Act could accelerate production of that particular syringe and other, similarly useful goods.”
 
Reading those plans gave me a first flicker of hope that we might actually be on the verge of moving past this phase of our lives into a — dare I say it? — post-pandemic world.

Digital Nomad Visas / Enjoy Living Abroad / Karen McCann / enjoylivingabroad.com
What will it be like the day we finally put away our masks for good? Photo by Getty

​Naturally everyone’s speculating madly about what the future will look like, and the only thing they all agree on is that we won't return to pre-Covid normal. For a start, many of the 100 million Americans now working from home will keep doing so in 2021, possibly forever. 

​And that, my friends, is the sound of opportunity knocking.

As many of my expat pals have learned, working remotely means you can live anywhere, moving on whenever you’re ready for a change of scenery. For those fed up with staring at the same four walls and the same old view out the window, that’s a heady idea. Just think about becoming a digital nomad, working remotely in another part of the US. Or even more excitingly, doing your job from abroad, which just got a lot easier thanks to new digital nomad visas designed to attract working visitors as soon as travel restrictions are lifted.
 
“Portugal, as of February 1st, 2021 will take the most significant leap yet, with the islands of Madeira embracing nomads with their very own village,” observes travel writer Gilbert Ott. “Ponta Do Sol will become the first pilot project village aiming to create a symbiotic relationship between locals and digital nomads, who are actively being encouraged to visit.”


Before you start downloading Portuguese language tapes, take a moment to consider some of the other places waiting with open arms. I’ve compiled a list (you’ll find it below), but before we get to that, let me fill you in on how it works. 
 
The digital nomad idea became practical around 2008, when advances in internet and cell phone services made it possible to interact seamlessly with clients and employers thousands of miles away. That’s when my friends Lindsay and Ross, Americans working in Seville, found online jobs through Craigslist and decided to make their home in the larger world.
 
“We threw all the chips in and bet everything on this decision,” Ross told me.
 
They reduced their entire worldly goods to two suitcases, a small roll-aboard, a backpack, Ross’s guitar, and their dog, Rocky. Strict travel protocols were developed; if one of them bought a t-shirt, they had to get rid of t-shirt; no extras allowed. Like most young couples, they lived in modest rented apartments and worked hard five days a week. But when they walked outside after hours, they were always someplace new and exciting.
 
“It’s really not a question of why we do it,” said Lindsay. “It’s more a question of why doesn’t everyone do it?”    
 
This year we’re seeing another giant leap forward in the digital nomad lifestyle. Until now, most traveled under tourist visas, which usually limit the stay to 90 days and prohibit working. But now (drumroll, please!) more than a dozen countries are offering some version of digital nomad visas, which allow you to stay a year or more while you continue doing your job from, say, an apartment in Greece or beach house Costa Rica.
 
The amount of paperwork varies considerably, as does the application fee, which can be a modest $100 or run as high as $2000 for an individual, $3000 for a family. In some cases, you may be asked to demonstrate you’re actually employed or a business owner, not just a vacationer looking for excellent wifi and other perks— such as the access to healthcare, telecom, utilities, and all the other benefits offered by Dubai.
 
So what countries offer some version of the digital nomad visa? 

Barbados
Bermuda
Cayman Islands
Costa Rica
Czech Republic
Dubai
Estonia
Germany
Greece
Mexico
Norway
Portugal
Republic of Georgia

Rich and I have visited most of these countries, and there's no question they can be a lot of fun.

​Sensibly, most countries won’t allow Americans to enter until we get our pandemic numbers under control. But hey, that just means you have sufficient time to consider whether the digital nomad lifestyle is for you. Not up for living abroad? If you’re working remotely, retired, or otherwise untethered to a specific geographic area, this may be the year to explore new horizons nearer home.
 
A recent study showed that when you’re on the fence about a major life decision, choosing to make a change is overwhelming more satisfying than clinging to the status quo. Actress Goldie Hawn said, “We have to embrace obstacles to reach the next stage of joy.” I think we’ve all embraced more than our fair share of obstacles lately. Is it finally time to think about getting out there — whenever it's safe — and embracing a little joy?

Estonia / Digital Nomad Visas / Enjoy Living Abroad / Karen McCann / enjoylivingabroad.com
Erge and Martin, our Airbnb hosts in Tallinn, Estonia, filled our time there with joy and laughter.

​YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY
Estonia / Digital Nomad Visas / Enjoy Living Abroad / Karen McCann / enjoylivingabroad.com
ESTONIA'S BRIGHT FUTURE
Greece / Digital Nomad Visas / Enjoy Living Abroad / Karen McCann / enjoylivingabroad.com
THE GREEK ISLAND OF LONGEVITY
Czech Republic / Digital Nomad Visas / Enjoy Living Abroad / Karen McCann / enjoylivingabroad.com
THE LOONINESS OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Digital Nomad Visas / Enjoy Living Abroad / Karen McCann / enjoylivingabroad.com
MY BEST TIPS FOR MOVING ABROAD
Lisbon, Portugal / Digital Nomad Visas / Enjoy Living Abroad / Karen McCann / enjoylivingabroad.com
WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE LISBON
Eastern Europe / Digital Nomad Visas / Enjoy Living Abroad / Karen McCann / enjoylivingabroad.com
EASTERN EUROPE BY RAIL
​
This post is part of my ongoing series of articles on surviving the pandemic and (if we're lucky) beginning the transition to a post-Covid world. Each week I provide tips, strategies, comfort food recipes, and reasons for hope.
​

Sign up HERE to get free stories in your inbox each week.

Feel free to share this Digital Nomad Visas post with family and friends.

https://www.enjoylivingabroad.com/my-blog/working-remotely-why-not-do-it-overseas-with-one-of-the-new-digital-nomad-visas

​
11 Comments

Let's Not Give Up on 2021 Just Yet

1/14/2021

6 Comments

 
Chef Lenny the Lizard / 2021: it just gets goofier / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
Lenny was just a house pet until, like so many of us, he got into cooking during quarantine.

OK, 2021, the hour of reckoning has come. Yes, already! You can't deny we performed all the proper rituals — red underwear, grapes, buckets of water out the door, 360 million glasses of champaign in the US alone. Frankly, we gave you the most enthusiastic welcome of any year in the history of time. What did we ask in return? Just a little relief from the chaos and madness of past twelve months. But no, you couldn’t resist the opportunity to outdo 2020. You just had to start off the very first week with an insurrection designed to derail American democracy. What’s next? No, don’t tell me. I’m not sure my nerves can take it.
 
So much for my foolish notion that 2021 would be better than its predecessor.
 
I was preparing to write this year off as a total washout (why wait until the last minute?) but then I paused to reflect on some inspiring stories that have already come out of it. Stories of those who are finding ways to stay engaged in the world in spite of everything. For instance, I’m still basking in the sheer delight of my latest discovery: a lizard (specifically a bearded dragon) who has published his own cookbook, Chef Lenny: Cooking for Humans. True story; I couldn’t make this stuff up.


“It was my quarantine project,” says Valerie Musser, Lenny’s owner, ghost writer, and publicist. When her catering business was derailed by the pandemic, she began writing a long-postponed cookbook and amused herself posting Instagram photos of Lenny in a miniature chef’s hat she found on Etsy. “He actually loves wearing hats and posing for photos, so I started making miniature food for him to show off with.” Moreover, Lenny has a classic chef’s temperament. “He is very pretentious. His body language is kind of crazy, he wants what he wants, he’s very demanding and he’s kind of a snob about food, very fussy, so this project fits him very well.”
 
Lenny isn’t the only unexpected new celebrity. Fans of fungi will be pleased to know the once-humble mushroom has had series of makeovers and is now popping up everywhere. Adidas’ line of “vegan footwear” includes sneakers made of “mushroom-based leather” derived from the fast-growing roots known as mycelium. A Stanford designer is growing mushrooms on a diet of sawdust and using their mycelium to make bricks that are said to be “stronger than concrete.” And never worry that demand will outstrip the supply, because a Dutch inventor has created a coffin that turns bodies into mushrooms.  It takes just a single week to create a “living cocoon” by growing mycelium around a box-shaped frame with an open bottom. When the time comes, you just lay your loved one to rest inside, and he or she will spend the next few years decomposing gracefully back into the earth, adding nutrients to the soil. Not surprisingly, getting this product to market will require overcoming some serious legal hurdles and the creepiness factor. If only Tales from the Crypt was still around to serve as the sponsor.


​In the constellation of new superstars, perhaps the most astounding virtuoso is Secret, a young Australian shepherd who’s become an adept practitioner of doga, or dog yoga. When not mastering complex asanas (yoga poses), Secret enjoys spending time with his human, Mary Peters, painting, doing housework, and learning CPR.


​Another creature-human relationship that’s taken the quarantined world by storm is the heartwarming platonic romance between Craig Foster and a female octopus living in the kelp forest of South Africa’s Cape of Storms. “What Charlotte’s Web did in the popular imagination for the humble, much-maligned barn spider, My Octopus Teacher sets out to achieve for the eight-limbed mollusc of its title,” says Variety in a review titled “An Eight-Legged Freak Becomes a Friend in Netflix’s Gorgeous Hit Nature Doc.”

The film is sensitive, intelligent, and mind-expanding, so naturally somebody had to do a goofy parody. Filmmakers rose to the challenge with My Kreepy Teacher, the story of a man bonding with his Kreepy Krauly-brand pool cleaner.

My Octopus Teacher / My Kreepy Teacher  / 2021: it just gets goofier / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
Can you tell which is the real octopus and which is the pool cleaner?

With the possible exception of the dog Secret, relationships with members of other species (let alone inanimate objects like the Kreepy Krauly pool cleaner) are severely limited by physical, verbal, and social differences. Despite all its complications, we are hard wired to need human companionship.
 
During a recent Zoom call, my sister Kate remarked that on top of everything else, we hardly ever get to meet new people these days. She’s right. Except for brief encounters with neighbors and sales clerks, I rarely speak to anyone who isn’t a relative or long-time friend. That got me thinking: How can we connect up — safely, online — with new people, preferably in a lively interactive format?
 
One of the best ways is via Meetup, an online organizer started by New Yorkers in the wake of 9/11, when encounters with neighbors gave them a fresh appreciation of the value of human connection in dark times. It costs nothing to join; you just sign up with any group that looks interesting (like the drive-in movie group I belong to) and they send you notices of events. Nowadays everything is tailored to helping us through the pandemic, with categories such as Learn New Skills, Live Mindfully, Deepen Your Tech Knowledge, and Make Lasting Connections. There are also 3,700 board game groups and 2,500 card game groups where you can play with locals or people around the world.

But what really caught my eye was Meetup’s 5,382 book clubs. 

Meetup Book Clubs / Mushroom sneakers / 2021: it just gets goofier / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
If none of these book clubs appeals, you can always check the website of your public library and local book stores, many of which host monthly online book discussions.

It’s fun to think about joining one of the giants, such as the London Philosophy Club or Dharma Drink: the Hangout for Buddhists (& like minded) in New York, each of which has about 10,000 members. No doubt they break out into smaller discussion subgroups, but even so, I’d feel lost in a crowd that large. You can find smaller book clubs on Meetup or through your local public library or book store. Before joining any group, be sure to find out if they read the kind of stuff you actually like. Years ago I was flattered by an invitation to join a highbrow literary book club, where I floundered through pedantic discussions of classics I admired but didn’t enjoy one bit. As you can imagine, I hightailed it out of there as soon as possible and joined a different book club.

​We humans are social creatures. Our survival as individuals and as a species has always depended upon connection and cooperation. These days few of us are called upon to help the neighbors hunt a mastodon or raise a barn, but even when we’re simply partnering in a game of online Monopoly, we’re making a vital contribution to the community. Everyone needs a sense of support, the warmth of laughter, and some reassurance that we are not alone in this time of crisis. “Love and compassion,” says the Dalai Lama, “are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” That’s never been truer than in 2021.


DEAR READERS
I write these posts to contribute a little cheeriness to the general conversation, in hopes it will help us all get through these troubling times with a bit more grace and comfort.  Please feel free to pass on the link to your family, friends, Zoom acquaintances, and book clubs. All are welcome here.

https://www.enjoylivingabroad.com/my-blog/lets-not-give-up-on-2021-just-yet

And before I close, I can't resist including one more small delight to brighten these dark days: an astonishing 3D animation from Le Petit Chef, a small country restaurant northeast of Paris. They project it onto your table while you’re waiting for dessert. Bon appétit! 

YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY
Healing with Chocolate / 2021: it just gets goofier / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
THE HEALING POWER OF CHOCOLATE
Yoga for Insomnia / 2021: it just gets goofier / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
YOGA & OTHER CURES FOR INSOMNIA
NEW COMFORT RECIPES
​
​
This post is part of my ongoing series of articles on surviving the pandemic while holding on to some shreds of our sanity and sense of humor, however weird things get.
​

Sign up HERE to get free stories in your inbox each week.
6 Comments

What I Promise Not to Watch, Buy, or Eat in 2021

1/5/2021

18 Comments

 
New Year's Resolutions 2021 / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
Sheltering in place, many of us are finding solace in old-fashioned pastimes we have around the house. Photo by the Saint Paul Winter Carnival Puzzle Contest

​I no longer make New Year’s resolutions — which only 8% of people keep anyway — but this time around I’m making an exception. And I’m serious. No matter how desperate I am for something new to watch, I will not stream the movie Songbird. Haven’t heard of it? Here’s the premise: It’s the 213th week of pandemic lockdown from Covid-23. I know, right? It’s beginning to feel like that already. But wait, there’s more. A hundred and ten million people are dead, officials can test you remotely, and if you resist going to one of the squalid quarantine camps, they shoot you on sight. Being an optimist, I watched the trailer and said to Rich, “See? We don’t have it so bad!”


Rotten Tomatoes gave Songbird a single star and called it “an appalling melange of insipid disaster drama and implausible romance with a bit of dystopian satire thrown in. This is a crass cash-in meant to prey on our pandemic anxieties, not grapple with them.” Yikes!
 
So I’ve already found one thing to make me happier in 2021: avoiding Songbird. Whew! I feel I’m making progress already and we’re only a week into the year.
 
I’m also determined to avoid impulse-buying unnecessary stuff — a pastime that gave 2020 yet another nickname: The Year of Buyer’s Remorse. Apparently panic-stockpiling toilet paper was merely the warm up; many people are now stuck with clothes they can’t wear, electronics they don’t need, even houses they can’t stand.

New Year's Resolutions 2021 / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
At a time when thousands of businesses are cutting back and going under, Amazon expanded its work force to more than 1 million people to meet the demand for online shopping.

Paula Gillespie, for instance, was aghast when her husband surprised her with a camper. “The thing is too big for his truck and dangerous, and I absolutely refuse to go anywhere with it due to the dangers of it,” she said. The camper now sits idle near the fishing boat her husband bought, despite the fact they live nowhere near a boat-worthy body of water.
 
Maureen Rashidifard’s pandemic splurges include a resistance-training apparatus, a sewing machine, a TV with a DVD player, roller skates, and a program designed to teach her kids every language on the planet. So far, nobody in the family has buffed up or learned Mandarin. As for the skates, “I fell so hard that my hat flew off my head,” she said. “I had to walk home in my socks carrying my skates, and I haven’t touched them since.”

New Year's Resolutions 2021 / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
Shopping releases dopamine, the neurotransmitter which controls pleasure inside the human brain. The pleasure is stronger during the anticipation phase than it is when you actually receive your purchase.

​One of the hottest commodities? Puppies, especially the easy-care, ultra-adorable breeds that make you want to spend the rest of the pandemic snuggling on the couch with your new best friend. Sales of goldendoodles — a mix of good-natured golden retriever and low-shedding poodle — are reportedly up 700%, despite the fact that top breeders charge $4000 a pup. City folks reluctant to hit the streets on a schedule suitable for a puppy’s bladder have generated a 200% rise in the demand for doggie diapers.
 
Rich and I have resisted impulse-buying any pets, as we know it’s impractical given our plans to return to Spain when all the stars finally align. But I have to admit feeling puppy envy when I talk to my sister Kate, who recently adopted a miniature Australian shepherd. It’s her second of the breed, and while the first was a mild-mannered Clark Kent-type, this one’s a superdog called Bear who’s bursting with energy and creative ideas for enlivening lockdown.
​
Pandemic puppies / New Year's Resolutions 2021 / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
“Why no, Dad, I haven’t seen your avocado toast. Why do you ask?” Photo by Kate Harding

​Speaking of food, another thing I’ll be avoiding is restaurant dining. Luckily I love to cook, especially on Sundays. In Spain, that's when families gather for late, long, leisurely lunches, and early in the pandemic, Rich and I decided to maintain this satisfying European tradition. We devote Sundays to rest and relaxation (no writing posts, jumping on the stair stepper, or even taking long hikes) so we have plenty of time to experiment with new dishes. I find I do my best work to Dean Martin singing “That’s Amore,” “Volare,” and “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” (which I’ve nominated for the pandemic’s theme song).
 
Thanks to Dean, I was inspired to kick off 2021 with an Italian dish: Potato and White Bean Puttanesca Soup.

New Year's Resolutions 2021 / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com

​This easy, heartwarming dish ​[see recipe here] is enlivened by a topping of capers, Kalamata olives, and fresh parsley. The recipe, now enshrined in our permanent collection, is the first — and apparently last — to be clipped from an actual copy of the NY Times. A month ago we subscribed to the Sunday edition, seeking a pastime that had the novelty of not including a screen. Week after week we received a flurry of apologies instead of the paper. Only once did a copy materialize at the end of our driveway; I can only assume there was a substitute delivery person who didn’t get the memo about the circulation department's mysterious vendetta against us. We're now resigned to the fact that subscribing to the Times is yet another activity we are destined to forego this year.
 
Fortunately, we found an alternative pastime in the latest craze: jigsaw puzzles. Sales are booming during lockdown. “The surge in demand,” CNBC reported,  “is comparable to demand during the Great Depression, according to one puzzle historian.” So puzzle historians are a thing now? Who knew?
 
Most of the time, I find puzzles soothing and absorbing. Only rarely do I fling up my hands, exclaiming, “This one’s incomplete! Defective! There is no corner piece with a dog’s — oh wait, here it is.” Afterwards, disassembly requires the kind of spiritual strength Buddhist monks display in destroying their sand mandalas immediately upon completion.

“You know the cabin puzzle we just completed?” Rich remarked at breakfast this morning. “I just saw it on Etsy, assembled and framed, for $400.”

​“Seriously? People buy one and — what? Pretend they did it themselves?” Hmmm, I thought. This could be a great little cottage industry for us.
 
But then I recalled the article “How to be Happier in 2021: Toss Out Your Usual List of New Year’s Resolutions, Says Study.” Scientists pointed out that most resolutions are essentially selfish (get skinnier, richer, more productive); their research showed happiness most often arrives as a byproduct of helping others.
 
Evidently Rich was thinking along the same lines. “I know!” he said. “When we finish, we’ll disassemble the puzzles and send them to friends as a surprise gift. Everyone’s looking for cheerful pastimes these days.” Genius!
 
So in addition to not watching Songbird, buying skates, adopting a puppy, or reading the NY Times in hard copy, we’re won’t be hoarding puzzles. Instead, we’ll set them free to entertain other families who need a break from screen time, politics, and pandemic headlines. The payoff will be a feel-good moment each time we drop one off at the post office. We’ll know that what we’re sending forth is not just a puzzle, but a message of comfort and fellowship in dark times. Now that’s a New Year’s resolution I can get behind.


What are you hoping to avoid in 2021? What new pastimes are you embracing? Please let me know in the comments section below.

[See Potato and White Bean Puttanesca Soup recipe here]

YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY
Pandemic impulse buying & buyer's remorse / New Year's Resolutions 2021 / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
A MINIMALIST'S SHOPPING & PACKING GUIDE
Rich McCann on Life, Love & Good Times / New Year's Resolutions 2021 / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
RICH TALKS ABOUT LIFE, LOVE & GOOD TIMES
Healthier eating with five meals a day / New Year's Resolutions 2021 / Karen McCann / EnjoyLivingAbroad.com
EAT FIVE MEALS A DAY TO STAY HEALTHY
​
​This post is part of my ongoing series of articles on surviving the pandemic while holding on to some shreds of our sanity and sense of humor, however weird things get.
​

Sign up HERE to get free stories in your inbox each week.
18 Comments
    PictureKaren McCann
    Welcome! 
    I'm an American travel writer based in Spain and currently living in California.

    As we journey through the pandemic together, my blog provides a regular supply of survival tips, comfort food recipes, and the wry humor we all need to lighten our hearts on dark days.  ​

    I think of my blog as an ongoing conversation, so please join in and leave comments at the end of my posts. 

    Sign up below to get updates when I publish anything new.

    GET UPDATES
    See all my books
    See my videos
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    BLOG ARCHIVES 

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011

    CATEGORIES

    All
    100 Days On The Road
    1950s Sci-Fi
    2020
    2021 Puzzle Craze
    32 Years Together
    3 Food Tribes
    7 Best Travel Tips
    Acupuncture
    Address To A Haggis
    Adriatic Sea
    AirBnB
    Air Travel
    Air Travel Myths
    Albania
    Albanian Farm Food
    Alicia Bay Laurel
    Ali Kali
    Amazon
    American Resistance France
    American Taboos
    A Month Of Italy
    Amsterdam
    Anthony Hopkins
    Anxious Traveler
    Apocalypse Chow
    Apps
    Arizona
    Armadillos
    Artichokes
    Artwalk
    Atomic Bunker Museum
    Attention Test
    Austria
    Authentic Travel
    Automation = Apocalypse?
    A Year Of Travel
    Bagpipe Music
    Balsamic Vinegar
    Baltasar
    Banana Bread
    Bari
    Barletta
    Barrio Abierto
    Bathroom
    Batman
    Beastly Spasm
    Becherovka
    Bed Bugs
    Beer
    Belgrade
    Best Apps 2016
    Best Foodie City
    Best & Worst
    Bet
    Better Homes And Gardens Cook Book
    Betty Soskin
    Betty White
    Bev's Peach Pie
    Bey's Soup
    Bhutan
    Bigfoot Museum
    Big Rail Trip 2016
    Biohazard Bag
    Biosphere 2
    Bird
    Black Angels
    Blogs & Websites
    Book Club
    Book Cover
    Books
    Bookstores
    Bosnia
    Botiza
    Brain-enhanced Chimps
    Brains Of The Pig
    Breakfast In Seville
    Bucharest
    Budapest
    Budget
    Bulgaria
    Bulgarian Festivals
    Bulgarian Folklore
    Bull's Head
    Burns Supper
    Buzzworthy Words
    CA
    Cabalgata
    CA Cheese Trail
    Ca ‘de Anime
    Caganer
    Cagliari
    Calvin Trillin
    Camels
    Carbon-Conscious Rail Travel
    Cars Vs. Trains
    Castle Houska
    České Budějovice
    České Budějovice
    Chained Wallet
    Chakra Stone
    Chef Lenny The Lizard
    Chickens
    Chocolate Nativity Scene
    Chocolatour
    Chris Brady
    Christmas
    Christmas In Seville
    Christmas Traditions
    Chulalongkorn University
    Clara Bensen
    Climate Change
    Coca-Cola
    Coffee
    Comfort Food
    Communism Museum
    Coping With Pandemic
    Coronavirus
    Coronavirus & Travel
    Costa Women
    Covid Weddings
    Cows Come Home
    Crete
    Croatia
    Cruz De Mayo In Seville
    Cuba: 10 Tips
    Cuba: Legendary Snafu
    Czech Please
    Czech Republic
    Dan Brown's Inspiration
    Dance
    Dancing In The Fountain
    Dancing In The Foutnain
    Dancing On Bars
    Dark Tourism
    Debunking Travel Myths
    Detours & Delays
    Devil's Museum
    Digital Nomad Visas
    Diners
    Disappointing Destinations
    Disaster Survival Tips
    Dive Bars
    Dive Bars Of Italy
    Dive Bars Of Seville
    Doga (Dog Yoga)
    Dogs
    Doing Good
    Doing It
    Donna Red Wing
    Dragon
    Dragonpit
    Drink-Ease
    Driverless Cars
    Duck Plaza
    Duquesa De Alba
    Earthquakes
    EatWith
    Emergency Measures
    Emergency Preparedness
    Endangered
    Enjoy Moving Abroad
    Entrails Soup
    Epiphany
    E-readers
    Erratic Boulder
    Estonia
    Eurail
    European Dinner Plate
    European Food
    Evernote
    Exercise On The Road
    Expat In Dark Times
    Expats In America2.0
    Expect Delays
    Eye-popping Landmarks
    Fake Wallet
    Family
    Farruquito
    Fellini
    Finland
    First Aid Kit
    Five Meals A Day
    Flat-Earthers
    Flea Market
    Flophouses
    Folklore
    Fondu
    Food Photo Secrets
    Food Tours
    Foreign
    Foreigners
    Fork In The Road
    Fountain
    Free Wi-Fi Finder
    French Bistro
    French Women Don't Get Fat
    Fried Flies
    Full Catastrophe Living
    Galileo Offline
    Game Of Thrones
    Gates Of Hell
    Gazpacho Recipe
    Genoa
    Genova
    George Floyd Protests
    George Takei
    Georgia
    Georgian Grey Bear
    Germany
    Ghost
    Gin Joints
    Glass Wall Of Tourism
    Gluten-free Italian Recipes
    Going Spiral
    Good News
    Google-glass
    Google Translate
    ​Gourounopoula
    Gps
    Grandma Cooper
    Granola Recipe
    Grapes
    Greece
    Greek Coffee
    Greek Coffee Culture
    Greek Wines
    Group Tours
    Guest Blog
    Guest Etiquette
    Guests
    Haggis
    Halloween
    Handyman's Guide
    Hannibal Lecter
    Helsinki
    Heraklion
    Herzeg Novi
    Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy291cb11256
    Holiday Lights
    Holiday Shopping
    Holidays In Seville
    Holiday Survival Guide
    Hollidays
    Holy Grail
    Home For The Holidays
    Horse
    Hospitals
    Houseguest
    House Hunting
    House Of The Spirits
    Houska Castle
    How To Meet People
    Hrad Houska
    Hungary
    Hydration
    Iberian Lynx
    Ibrik
    Icloud
    Ikaria
    Immigrants
    India
    Indiana Jones
    In Search Of America Tour
    Ipad
    IPhone Photos
    Irail
    Italy
    Jacket
    Jan The Beachcomber
    Japan
    Jet Lag
    Jet Lag Apps
    John The Baptist
    Jo Maeder
    Joseph Campbell
    Joya Shoes
    July 4th In USA
    Kalamata
    Katka Lapelosa
    Kavarma
    Keep Going!
    Kgb
    Kgb Muzeum
    Kindle
    King Wenceslas
    Kitchen For The Mind
    Korçë
    Kotor
    Koyono Jacket
    Krakow
    Krakow's Dragon
    Ladies Room
    Lady And The Tramp
    La Font De La Figuera
    Laptop Ban
    Larissa Olenicoff
    Latvia
    Laughter Project
    Lederhosen
    Legal
    Legend
    Lesbos Refugees
    LGBT Rights
    Library
    Lindsay Lake
    Lithuania
    Little White Lie
    Little Women
    Live To 100
    Lockdown Survival Tips
    Longevity
    Lord Peter Wimsey
    Low-Tech Travel Tips
    Lübeck
    Lucky Grapes
    Lucky Red Underwear
    Luggage
    Luggage-free Travel
    Luggage-Free Travel? Try It
    Lviv
    Lynne And Tim Martin
    Magellan
    Maps
    Marijuana
    Mars One
    Mask War
    Matrimony
    Mbt Shoes
    Meal Schedules
    Meal Sharing
    Meaning Of Home
    Mediterranean Dive Bars
    Menlo Park Library
    Mentally Unpack Your Bags
    Mermaids
    Metropol Parasol Building
    Me Worry?
    Miracle Tile Of Vilnius
    Mobilize America
    Money
    Money Handling
    Monster Of Milpitas
    Montenegro
    Mood Food
    Most Dangerous Woman In America
    Moussaka
    Museum Of Communism
    My Octopus Teacher
    Mystery Spot
    Naples
    Napoli
    National Lampoon's European Vacation
    Nativity Scene
    Nepal
    New
    Newark Of Italy
    New Orleans
    New Year's Eve
    New Year's Eve Abroad
    New Year's In Seville
    New York Times
    No Cancelling The Holidays
    No-Jet-Lag
    Nomad Eating
    Obatzda
    Offbeat Roadside Attractions
    Olive Oil
    Optimism & Survival
    Orichiette Pasta
    Outhouse
    Pack For 4 Months
    Packing
    Packing Demonstration
    Packing For 161 Days
    Packing Tips
    Paella
    Painting
    Palacio De Las Dueñas
    Palermo
    Pandemic Humor
    Pandemic Infodemic
    Pandemic Makes Us Better
    Pandemic Solutions
    Pandemic Travel Story
    Parlor Games On The Road
    Parma
    Parma Ham
    Parmigiano-Reggiano
    Passport Issue
    Pasta
    Pasta Recipe
    Patriotism. US
    Peaceful Resistance
    Pécs
    Peruvian Pavilion
    Pesto Sauce
    Photography
    Picking Tapas Bars
    PIzza
    Platter Of Salome
    Plaza De España
    Plaza De Pato
    Plumbing Nightmare
    Podgorica
    Poltergeist
    Pop-culture Museum
    Pope Benedict
    Pop-up Restaurants
    Prague
    Predictions
    Print On Demand
    Propaganda Museum
    Pub Culture
    Public Library
    Purgatory
    Purpose-driven Travel
    Pussyhats
    Quarantine
    Quarantine Bar Hopping
    Quarantine Mini-Vacation
    Quarantine Nostalgia?
    Quarantine Thanksgiving
    Queen's Gambit
    Quirky Travel Pix
    Ramona Langley
    Reading Group
    Ready To Move Abroad?
    Recipe
    Recombobulation
    Recycling
    Red Underwear
    Rennes-le-Chateau
    Reptilians
    Republic Of Užupis
    Rescue Dogs
    Residency Visas
    Resistance School
    Resistance Summer 2017
    Retire Abroad
    Revisited
    Reyes Magos In Seville
    Rfidblocking Rogue Money Clipb4d0c62eac
    Rich Interview 2020
    Rich-on-packing
    Riga
    Risotto
    Roadrunner
    Roadside Attractions
    Robert Mugabe
    Rocket Scientists
    Rolling Stones
    Romania
    Romería Del Rocío In Seville
    Romesco Sauce Recipe
    Rooster Recipe
    Rosie The Riveter
    Ross Williams
    Rural Romania
    Ruse
    Russian Mafia
    Sacramento
    San Anselmo Flooding
    San Ildefonso Church
    Sarajevo
    Sardinia
    Sassari
    Science Museum
    Scottevest
    Scottevest 8-pocket Pants
    Secret Supper Clubs
    Security On The Road
    Seinfeld Episode
    Semana Santa
    Senior Gypsies
    Senior Nomads
    Serbia
    Setas
    Seville
    Seville Holidays
    Seville In Pandemic
    Seville In Winter
    Seville's Tapas Bars
    Sex Shops
    Shackleton Ad A Myth
    Shared Dining
    Shoe Bomb
    Shoes
    Shoestring Travel
    Shopska Salad
    Šiauliai
    Sicilian Grandmothers
    Silicon Valley
    Six-word Stories
    Skype Wifi7994daf88f
    Sleep/Insomnia
    Slovakia
    Snack Foods
    Snail
    Snail Museum
    Snail On The Rails
    Snail Slime Skin Cream
    Snakes
    Snowed In
    Social Distancing
    Sofia
    Sophia Loren
    SOS File
    Spaghetti
    Spain
    Spain Savvy
    Spain's Cold Soups
    Spam
    Spicy Shrimp In Mango Salsa Recipe
    Spiritual Path To Resistance
    Spiritual Weightlifter
    Springtime For Hitler
    Stanford Prison Experiment
    Staycation
    Stephen King
    Still Expecting Delays
    Stockholm Disaster
    Stone Lifter
    Strange
    Strawberries
    Suitcase
    Survival Food
    Survive October 2020
    Surviving Catastrophes
    Surviving Pandemic Holidays
    Switzerland
    Symbolic Thinking
    Tapas
    Tapenade Recipe
    Tapeo
    Taxi
    Tblisi
    Temple
    Thanksgiving Games
    The Balkans
    The Blonde Gypsy
    The Exorcist
    The Joy Of Eating
    The Mothership
    The Next Big Thing
    The Other Turkey
    The Power Of Myth
    The Producers
    Thessaloniki
    The Wave
    Three Kings
    Time Travel
    Track My Tour
    Train Lag
    Train Travel
    Transylvania
    Travel
    Travel As Political Act
    Travel Boosts Your Brain
    Travel Clothes
    Travel Companions
    Travel Destinations
    Travel Experiments
    Travel Fashion
    Travel Photography Tricks
    Travel Photos
    Travel Vest
    Travel With
    Triposo
    True Cross
    Tsa
    Twelve Days Of Christmas
    Tyrolian Alps
    Uber
    Uc Berkeley
    UFOs & Ghosts 2020
    Ukraine
    Ultra-Light Luggage
    Underrated Extras
    Upotonek
    Valencia
    Vampires
    Veliko Tarnovo
    Verona
    Vest
    Victoria Twead
    Vilnius
    Virgin Of The Napkin
    Virtual Tax March
    Visitors
    Vodka
    Vodka & Pickles
    Wall Street Journal
    Wandering Earl
    Warsaw
    Washington
    Water
    Watermelon Gazpacho
    Weasel Coffee
    Weird At The Holidays
    Weird Gifts
    Wenceslas Square
    What
    Whiskey Every Day
    Wild Goat Recipe
    Winchester Mystery House
    Winner
    Winter In Seville
    Wireless Generation
    Wolf's Lair
    Working Abroad
    World Chocolate
    Worst
    Worst Travel Moment
    Wow Finish To Long Trip
    Writing
    Xe Currency
    Yodeling
    Yoga
    Zagreb
    Zigzag Fountain953a67c066
    Zimbabwe
    Zurich

  • Start Here
  • My Blog
  • My Travel Books
    • LOOK INSIDE NEW BOOK
    • ENJOY MOVING ABROAD
    • MOVING TO SEVILLE
    • EASTERN EUROPE
    • PACKING GUIDE
    • 101 EXPAT TIPS
  • Comfort Recipes
  • Quarantine Cuisine
    • Aunt Bev's Pie Recipe
  • Med Comfort Food Tour
  • Dive Bars
  • Travel Tips
    • Packing
    • The Expat Lifestyle
    • Enjoy the Best of Seville
  • About
  • Contact