Ballin’ on a Budget in Expensive Countries
Switzerland, Japan, Norway? Here’s how broke-ass travelers still eat well, sleep comfortably, and live large on a tight budget.
Switzerland, Japan, Norway? Here’s how broke-ass travelers still eat well, sleep comfortably, and live large on a tight budget.
If not speaking the language is your excuse for not moving abroad, scrap it.
It’s useless.
We’ve all been there, returning home from a trip feeling more drained than when we left.
You just landed in Tbilisi or Kyiv, fresh off the plane, feeling like a seasoned traveler.
After all, you’ve tackled the Paris Metro, survived a tuk-tuk ride in Bangkok, and even navigated New York City without getting scammed into a $40 hot dog.
What could possibly throw you off here?
I once made a man in Ukraine go from smiling to staring at me like I’d just asked for his bank PIN and his grandmother’s secret borscht recipe in one breath.
The first time I moved abroad, I thought I was just changing my location. I didn’t realize I was about to reprogram my brain.
I used to think I was a pretty savvy traveler.
I’ve navigated post-Soviet Ukraine in the late ’90s, dodged aggressive taxi scams in Tbilisi, Georgia, even survived the on-street survey scams of Phuket, Thailand.
But then I almost booked a hotel that didn’t even exist.
I thought I was prepared.
I once met a fellow traveler in Bangkok, Thailand who had been lured in by the Instagram fantasy of digital nomad life in Chiang Mai: cheap rent, endless coconuts, and a laptop lifestyle that looked effortless.
I thought the best travel experiences had price tags.