Freedom
Let’s Go Exploring! Zagreb, Croatia: Quirky Museums and Eye-Opening History
- Why HomeExchange Beats Airbnb - May 22, 2023
- Let’s Go Exploring! Da Nang, Vietnam: The Next Digital Nomad Paradise? - May 8, 2023
- The Worst Travel Day Ever - April 24, 2023
Most travellers use the capital city of Croatia, Zagreb as a stop-over on the way to more exciting destinations like Split, Dubrovnik, Hvar or Plitzvice. But that’s a mistake, because even though it’s not as popular as cities along the Dalmation coast made famous by Game of Thrones, it wins for its quirkiness, history, large variety of food and craft beer. Plus, the cost of living in Zagreb is only a 3rd compared to the tourist-mobbed places. In Dubrovnik, you’ll be paying through the nose. In Zagreb, you simply live like a local. I also enjoyed the quirkiness of Zagreb. […]
Our 2022 Expenses
- Why HomeExchange Beats Airbnb - May 22, 2023
- Let’s Go Exploring! Da Nang, Vietnam: The Next Digital Nomad Paradise? - May 8, 2023
- The Worst Travel Day Ever - April 24, 2023
Early retirement isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, especially when you have to deal with what I like to call “The 4 Horsemen of Early Retirement.” Specifically, running out money, losing your identity, losing your friends, and dealing with inflation. Because we’ve lived through multiple market downturns in the past 8 years of retirement and built a solid recession-proof portfolio, I wasn’t afraid of the first horsemen. And we managed to slay the 2nd and 3rd, by building whole new author identities, and an amazing community through Chautauqua and the digital nomads. But this past year, the 4th horsemen reared its […]
Can You Buy Happiness?
- Why HomeExchange Beats Airbnb - May 22, 2023
- Let’s Go Exploring! Da Nang, Vietnam: The Next Digital Nomad Paradise? - May 8, 2023
- The Worst Travel Day Ever - April 24, 2023
I went to the mall the other day to pick up some family Christmas presents, and boy was it packed! What happened to all the doom and gloom in the media, complaining about inflation and recession fears? Apparently, according to research conducted by Ipsos, who surveyed participants from Asia, North America, South America, and Europe: “85% feel excited about celebrations and one-third on average feel more excited than last year. For many the party must go on, with Germany, the US, and the UK leading the way in saying rising costs will have no impact on their celebrations.” So, I […]
What I Learned After 8 Years of Early Retirement
- Why HomeExchange Beats Airbnb - May 22, 2023
- Let’s Go Exploring! Da Nang, Vietnam: The Next Digital Nomad Paradise? - May 8, 2023
- The Worst Travel Day Ever - April 24, 2023
Back in 2015, I struggled with the idea of early retirement. I thought after escaping my cubical prison I’d be gleefully cartwheeling out of my office, but things didn’t quite go according to plan. The evening after I officially gave my notice, I started feeling this weird tightness in my chest and it was getting hard to breathe. I waited and tried to ignore it, thinking it would just go away but it didn’t. Before long, negative thoughts started ricocheting in my brain, and no matter how many times I looked at my spreadsheets (yes, they are my soothing security […]
The Dark Side of Quiet Quitting
- Why HomeExchange Beats Airbnb - May 22, 2023
- Let’s Go Exploring! Da Nang, Vietnam: The Next Digital Nomad Paradise? - May 8, 2023
- The Worst Travel Day Ever - April 24, 2023
You’ve all heard of the Great Resignation, but recently, there’s a more fashionable, inconspicuous quitting style called “quiet quitting”. What is “Quiet Quitting”? Instead of quitting your job and losing out on a severance package, why not just do the bare minimum? Welcome to Quiet Quitting. Inspired by the Chinese Lying Flat (躺平) movement, this idea came about after employee burn-out during the pandemic. Employees grew sick and tired of not getting paid to do extra work outside their responsibilities or taking on the double load from their ex-colleagues after the Great Resignation. This was their way of fighting back. […]
