I haven't made a post on my travel blog in about 3 weeks. It's that infamous Q4 time for online shopping, so I've been spending A LOT of time focusing on getting my side gigs preparing for the season. I'm losing my mind a bit with so much focus on that, so I figure now might be a good time to take a break and give you all some insights for how I make side money to afford traveling more.It's worth noting that I live in Los Angeles which is an extremely expensive city, and I also just got my student loan debt down to under $100,000. I say that because I'm hoping it is some motivation that even someone with insane bills like me without a six figure salary can still afford to travel the world. Since my bills are so high, I took to side hustles to fund my travels. I never dip into the … [Read more...]
Get Paid $10k to Move to Vermont – Remote Worker Grant
Is this what kismet is? I'm looking to move back east from Los Angeles next year and this just showed up in my newsfeed that Vermont is going to pay eligible remote workers up to $10,000 to move there. This could be the perfect situation for travelers and online business owners that want a new cheap place to live, or just anyone obsessed with maple syrup and Bernie Sanders.This has been in the news before, but today S.94 was signed by Governor Phil Scott after it passed by the Vermont House and Senate. If anyone ever watched School House Rock, you know that this bill has now become a law! Just sub in the president of the governor when you're at the state level.Why is Vermont Paying for Remote Workers? Vermont is about to be dealing with a big problem their already tiny … [Read more...]
The Yellow Hostel in Rome – My 1st Day and a Hookup Story
Again with my all too honest travel stories.The first time I ever stayed in a hostel was in Rome. Plenty of websites had said that The Yellow was the best party hostel in Rome, so I was back and forth with the idea. This was going to be my first time doing solo travel, and my first time in a hostel. I wasn’t sure what to expect.Pricewise, The Yellow is on par with most of the hostels in Rome. It is cheaper than the boujie ones for sure. I figured I could book the room and if I panicked beforehand I could always cancel.Getting to The YellowIn terms of arriving at the hostel, this is ridiculously easy to get to. Odds are you’re going to be taking the train into Rome. From Roma Termini train station, it’s only about 4 blocks north.There isn’t too much to see on … [Read more...]
London Travel Blog Writers’ Guide
I feel like I always gravitate towards travel bloggers guides to cities over anything else. Sure I can go to Tripadvisor or some professionally curated websites about travel, but I like the candidness and passion you only get from travel blogs.Earlier this year I did a solo backpacking trip around Europe. I hopped around from Barcelona to Rome, then Prague, and ended up in London. I do like to sort of wing it when I travel, but that doesn't mean I don't devour information to be ready.When I was researching my London leg of my trip I started getting worried that my computer was going to crash from all of the tabs I had open in Chrome. The majority of the tabs were different travel bloggers takes on London. It was kind of a mess, but I got through it. The list below is the … [Read more...]
Mastercard Black Card for Travel – Worth the Annual Fee?
Today I was checking the mail and I had one of those nice envelopes that almost always means a wedding invite. It was a sleek black envelope that said "LUXURY CARD" in silver letters on the top left. The back of the envelope had nothing but the MasterCard logo on the bottom in the same silver coloring.Usually I'll just throw out any credit card mailers, but I'm a sucker for good marketing!I opened it up and read the first card: “Dear Michael…,You’re invited to become a Luxury Card member. Apply today for the MasterCard Black Card, offering 2% value for airfare redemptions and 1.5% value for cash back redemptions – the best rates in the industry versus the competition.” Ugh they are onto me. They know I love fancy packaging AND travel perks! Also, I’m just bolding the … [Read more...]