Deals & Daydreaming to Distract From the Chaos: This Week’s Travel Inspiration
How are we all doing?
I’m… erm, deciding how honest to be here. Life has been a bit unmanageable lately, let’s put it that way.
The photo above is from last winter’s travels near Matagalpa, Nicaragua, and I kinda wish I could run away to this enchanted stone church in the forest and hide out for a while.
It’s not nearly as zen around here.
Between work, parenting teens, medical appointments, and all the other adulting that comes due every few years (did every single thing in my life come up for renewal at once?!), I’m stretched a bit thin.
All the more justification for travel planning, I say.
Client work can wait! The laundry will still be there staring me down tomorrow. Tonight, we browse and plot and dream 🤩
(Maybe we even book? We shall see; the night is young.)
Here are some of the adventures and offers tempting me this week.
Disclosure: Midlife Nomads often refers and links to websites, apps, and products/services I actually use. Sometimes, I receive compensation if readers sign up or make a purchase. A girl’s gotta eat – and travel!
I haven’t travelled with Remote Year yet, but it intrigues me. They’re one of the original nomad travel groups and offer one month, four month, or one year itineraries.
Escape to Chiang Mai, anyone?
Yes, you could likely do this cheaper on your own if you found your own accommodations. But what I like about these groups is that they take care of the logistics and you get a bit of built-in community.
And right now, they’re offering discounts on a lot of destinations until Dec 4.
Which brings me to…
I’ve traveled with Hacker Paradise several times, and am looking forward to it again next year. They ran an offer a few months ago called the Paradise Pass, where you get a discounted rate for pre-purchasing for the following year.
I’m not sure where I’m headed, and don’t have to decide yet. But India and Sri Lanka next summer are high on the list.
Both are places I don’t think I would be comfortable travelling on my own, making them a great fit for an HP trip.
Then we have Outsite. I’ve been a member for several years and have had mixed experiences, although I think I can avoid some of those mishaps in the future.
Outsite has some of its own properties, and also partners with others, where they rent a few rooms for their members. Other rooms are booked out on Hostelworld, Airbnb… wherever. And that’s how I ended up in a party hostel in Mexico City when I was meant to be having an intensive writing session, with some young kid puking outside my door at midnight. 😑
I learned from then on to read the labels and descriptions carefully on Outsite, and make sure the property is only being used for remote working coliving members.
They have some decent rates, as in this example in a different Mexico City property for 336 USD per week. Outsite has properties all over the world, and typically gives discounts for those who stay a week, and then another discount for a month.
The dedicated Outsites are a big step up from hostels. You’ll usually have a shared kitchen and laundry, though not always. And you can choose from different types of bedrooms, and shared or private washrooms, depending on what’s available.
The dedicated private and shared workspace with Outsite is often better than you’ll find in an Airbnb (although some owners have been stepping up their game for remote workers).
The biggest thing (for me) is that your housemates are also there to work and enjoy the place you’re in, so there’s a remote worker community vibe you don’t get in hotels or even hostels.
So many decisions! And of course, there’s always the rabbit hole of flight discounts to fall down into. Maybe that’s where I’ll head next. 🤭
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