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Showing posts with label North America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North America. Show all posts

Sunday, 10 August 2025

Before the Blog: My Previous Travel Adventures

I've always loved to travel, and I think that being taken to various different countries and places by my parents when growing up contributed to that. Experiencing different cultures, languages and landscapes gives you a lot of curiosity to keep discovering more of the world.

I first started blogging about travel with My Year Abroad Blog in 2017 and then started Charlotte's Travel Adventures in October 2018. So all of my trips of the last 8 years have been documented on those two blogs, but I've realised that all the different places I visited during my childhood and up to June 2017 have not been written about, though I've mentioned some of them on here from time to time. Therefore, I thought it would be fun today to go through some of the trips I've had in the past!


Jersey (1998/1999)















Image by Bob Jenkin from Pexels.com

The first time I ever went on a plane was at around 3 or 4 years old when I went to Jersey with my parents and sister. To be honest, I don't remember much about it apart from the hotel room and choosing which of my cuddly toys to bring beforehand! 


The South of France (1999/2000 and 2003/2004)

























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My first trip abroad was to the south of France to visit my granddad and his wife, who were living in a gîte near Cannes. I feel like I remember a lot more of this trip than the one to Jersey, but that's probably because we went back a few years later and I'm mixing up the two in my head.

On both occasions, I remember enjoying lots of time swimming in the pool, as well as taking trips to Cannes and Île Sainte-Marguerite, but I also found it really interesting to go to the supermarket, try French foods, and visit the clothes shop Kiabi. It was my first experience of a different language and culture, and I think it probably had some influence on why I came to love languages and travel!


Menorca, Spain (2002)














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During my first visit to Spain, we stayed in a villa on the island of Menorca. I loved seeing all the lizards and being right next to both the sea and a swimming pool. I also remember going to a monastery on top of a mountain, which was very impressive.


Zakynthos, Greece (2003 and 2007)



















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The other Mediterranean destination I visited as a young child was Greece, specifically the island of Zakynthos or Zante. This was my favourite of them all! 

Again I loved swimming in the hotel's pool and the sea. We also took boat trips on both holidays there. The first time, we went on a tour to look for turtles - although we didn't see any, we got to swim at different beaches and even in caves, which was a magical experience. The second time, we went to the famous Navagio Beach, which was incredible to see, even though I felt very, very seasick!


Dublin, Ireland (2004/2005)

















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As my mum is Irish, this trip was an opportunity for her to see family and friends, so there was a lot of sitting around while the adults chatted, which was a little boring for 8 or 9 year old me! I think I also expected Dublin to be like London, and I was a bit surprised to find it was a lot smaller and more provincial.


Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland (2004/2005)

















Image by Graeme Travers from Pexels.com

My first and (so far) only trip to Scotland was to stay with friends of my dad in Dumfries and Galloway. I remember arriving at Glasgow airport and expecting their house to be nearby and then being in the car for what felt like hours and hours, seeing miles and miles of empty countryside! I also remember everything being very green, trying Irn Bru for the first time and visiting the National Museum of Costume in Shambellie House. I also think I saw a cow like the one in the picture, but I might be imagining that!


Prague, Czechia (2006)

















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I think my parents wanted a change from Mediterranean holidays when they booked this trip, but to be honest, Prague was always going to be a difficult destination for a 10 year old to appreciate. I wanted to be swimming in the sea under the sunshine, not traipsing through a crowded city to look at old buildings! Of course, I appreciate this kind of holiday a lot more these days, but still wouldn't put Prague at the top of the places I'd like to revisit - I remember it being pretty crowded 20 years ago (long before Instagram) so I imagine it would be absolutely packed nowadays.


Budapest, Hungary (2008)

















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A couple of years later, we had a similar holiday in Budapest. It is undeniably a beautiful city with stunning architecture, but again, it wouldn't have been my first choice of destination as a 12 year old.


Northumberland, England (2009)

























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The following year, we stayed in the UK and went to Northumberland for our summer holiday. To be honest, I wasn't very enthusiastic about going, but I enjoyed it much more than I expected. We stayed in a cottage on a farm, which had an adorable and very friendly pet pig! We also visited Alnwick Castle, which was used for some scenes in the Harry Potter films, and the island of Lindisfarne (pictured above), which made us feel like we were stepping into the past.


Toronto, the Niagara Falls and Montreal, Canada (2010)















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This was one of my favourite holidays of all time! We spent an amazing two weeks in my mum's country of birth, visiting Toronto, Montreal and the Niagara Falls. I loved both cities, and the Niagara Falls remains one of the most beautiful and incredible places I've ever seen. In fact, this was the trip that really gave me my passion for travel and that motivated me to learn French and other foreign languages.


France, Italy and Monaco (2011)

















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In 2011, we went back to France and stayed in a charming B&B in the town of Juan-les-Pins. This turned out to be a three-country trip, as one day we went over the border to San Remo in Italy. I was really excited about this, as I'd never been to Italy before, and it was at the top of my bucket list. We went to a restaurant next to the sea, where I had pizza and tiramisù while watching people passing by on Vespas. It was a dream come true! After that, we drove to Monaco and went round the race track a couple of times, which was also a really cool experience.


Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2012)

























Image by Robert Dan from Pexels.com

Another of my favourite holidays of all time! This trip was the perfect mix of relaxing and swimming at the beach combined with cultural discovery of new places. We stayed in an amazing hotel with a private beach in the village of Slano in Croatia, and took day trips to Dubrovnik, and to Neum and Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We were super lucky to get to see the beautiful city of Dubrovnik in the pre-Instagram era, when it wasn't too crowded, but my favourite place we visited was Mostar. It was the first time I'd visited a country that wasn't majority Christian, and it was a really interesting experience. Highlights for me included the mosque, the Turkish house (where we saw a family of tortoises!) and of course, the Old Bridge (pictured above).


France and Monaco (2013)

















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My first trip abroad by myself was to Nice for a language course and homestay. I was 17 and really nervous about it, but ended up enjoying the week a lot. The lady I stayed with was really nice, and I got on very well with the other students at the language school. One day, a group of us took the train from Nice to Monaco, which was my first time properly setting foot in the tiny country - the race track experience in 2011 had been fun, but it was nice to explore on foot and see the sights in more detail.


Málaga, Spain (2013)

















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Later that year, I went on a school trip with my A-Level Spanish class to Málaga in Spain. We enjoyed some fun experiences, including celebrating the San Juan bonfires on the beach on our first night, and visiting the caves at Nerja and the beautiful white village of Frigiliana. We also had a couple of afternoons of free time in Málaga city centre, where our teachers visited museums and art galleries, and my classmates and I spent hours looking round Bershka and Pull&Bear. To be honest, though I didn't say it at the time for fear of looking uncool, I would have much rather gone to the museums!


Paris, France (2013)



















I had been desperate to visit Paris for years, so I was delighted when my parents treated me to a couple of days in the city for my 18th birthday. A lot of people who visit Paris say that it's overrated and disappointing, but I absolutely loved it from the moment I arrived, and it's been one of my favourite cities ever since. I've since been back twice, and my most recent visit was one of my most special trips of all time!


My Gap Year (2014-2015)

From June 2014 to September 2015, I took a Gap Year. It wasn't a typical Gap Year - I spent a lot of the year working and volunteering close to home, rather than going on a big backpacking trip somewhere exotic - but I did travel to Slovenia, Austria, France (twice), Spain and Belgium, as well as several places around the UK. You can read all about it in this post right here!


Valencia, Spain (2016)




















I didn't go on many trips during my first two university years, because for some reason, I felt like being single and being a student without a job meant that I couldn't travel. It took going on my Year Abroad for me to gain more confidence to travel both by myself and on a budget. 

Anyway, during the summer between my first and second year, my mum sent me off on trips to language schools in Spain and Germany. For my Spain trip, I went back to the same school I'd been to in Valencia during my Gap Year, but I didn't enjoy it quite as much second time around. The first time, I'd had my classes in the morning, so had most of the day free to go and explore, but the second time, classes were in the middle of the day, which I didn't like so much, as it split my free time. However, I did really enjoy going on a day trip to Montanejos (pictured above), an area of thermal springs located in the mountains.


Berlin, Germany (2016)



















This also wasn't my favourite trip ever; mainly because of a bad experience I had one day on the metro. I'd bought the wrong ticket purely by accident, and was made to pay a 60€ fine, even though I explained the situation and offered to buy the correct ticket (in Spain the previous month, I'd had a similar situation and the guard there had let me buy the correct ticket with no problem). The way the guards treated me was really horrible and frightening, and led me to file a complaint afterwards. Unfortunately, the transport company wasn't able to refund the fine, but they did issue me a grovelling apology, which was something at least. I was a much less confident person at the time than I am today, and it did basically ruin the entire trip for me, which was a shame, because I'd actually really enjoyed exploring Berlin up to that point.

That trip was nine years ago, but it really feels like a lifetime ago, compared to my Year Abroad, which I started only a year later. That year was definitely a turning point for me, where I gained a lot of confidence and started to become the kind of person I'd always wanted to be. And that was where my story with blogging began!

It's been fun to go back over the trips I had up to the age of 21 - I feel lucky that I got the chance to visit some fantastic places at an early age. And since starting blogging eight years ago, I've been lucky enough to have visited just as many amazing places. Here's to hopefully many more exciting travel adventures over the years to come!

Tuesday, 8 July 2025

Year Abroad: The Most Popular Destinations

My travel recaps have all been written up, so now it's time for something a little different. This week, I feel like returning to my Year Abroad Series from April 2021, as I have at least another post or two to add to it!

Today I'm going to be writing about the most popular destinations to spend a Year Abroad in, and how to choose which one or ones are the best for you. As with my previous posts in the series, this is going to be focused on destinations for people who study languages at university and take a Year Abroad as part of their degree, but I'll also be looking at destinations for a general Gap Year.


Year Abroad Destinations by Language

At my university (the University of Nottingham), the languages taught were French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian and Chinese. I think most UK universities are quite similar, except they generally offer Italian instead of, or as well as Chinese.

So the most popular destinations for a Year Abroad are as follows:

French: France (and occasionally Québec)

Spanish: Spain and Latin America (I know that there are placements available in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. When I was at university, placements in Colombia weren't available, but that might have changed since then.)

German: Germany and Austria (I'm not sure why, but there don't seem to be so many placements in Switzerland)

Portuguese: Portugal and Brazil


Russian: Russia (but this won't be possible at the moment due to current affairs)

Chinese: China

Italian: Italy


People's Opinions

I spent my own Year Abroad in France, Austria and Chile, and overall, had a pretty amazing time, though of course, there were downsides.

I had a great time doing a language course in Montpellier in summer 2017, but other than that, my time in France was a bit of a mixed bag, and often quite stressful, as I had a couple of work placements that didn't go to plan.

My time in Austria, working as a teaching assistant with the British Council, was a lot more straightforward. I lived in a fairly quiet, rural area near the border with Italy and Slovenia, and though I did feel a bit isolated at times, I really enjoyed the experience overall. The highlight for me was the amount of travel I was able to do at weekends: I went to Italy three times, Slovakia, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as around Austria.

But the most memorable part of my year was the semester I spent in Chile. Despite the fact that I went through a real low point during my time there, I absolutely fell in love with the country and my life changed while I was there. In total, I was there was nearly five months, and while the first few weeks were great, the following six weeks were full of highs and lows, followed by a really difficult month or so in which I had to fight the urge to go home. But the last month was one of the very best of my life - this was when I met my now-husband! I also had some exciting travel adventures while I was there, visiting the coast and the south of the country, as well as Argentina.

In fact, I came back to Chile to live there for another 15 months from 2022 to 2023. Although life there isn't perfect (as in any other country), there's so much I really love about it, and even though we're now happily settled in the UK, I do miss it at times.

In terms of my peers' experiences abroad, Europe got pretty mixed reviews on the whole, but people generally loved Latin America. I think that's because it's very exciting to experience life in a completely different part of the world; these countries are often more chaotic than Europe, but can also be more fun and vibrant, with landscapes unlike anything you've seen before. I remember that Mexico in particular got really positive reviews, and nearly everyone had a great time in all other Central and South American countries. It was only Cuba that got more negative reviews, as it's a very restrictive country to live in, with a lack of internet, and regular water and power outages.

Overall, I believe that, if you're studying Spanish and/or Portuguese, and you have the opportunity, you should definitely step out of your comfort zone and spend at least a few months in a Latin American country. Of course, Spain and Portugal are both beautiful countries, and you can have a great time there, but most people will have been to one or both of these places on holiday before, so it's not quite the same new experience.


Reasons Why (And Why Not) to Choose Them

Leaving aside the languages where you pretty much only have one choice of country to go to, here are some pros and cons for the different countries you could choose...

France
Pros
- A range of diverse destinations, from the beautiful city of Paris, to the snowy mountains of the Alps and the sunny beaches of the south
- Lots of cultural attractions
- World-class food and wine
- Close to the UK, so relatively cheap and easy to get to
Cons
- Difficult to find decent work placements
- Some can find the culture difficult to integrate into
- Some areas, especially Paris, can be very expensive
- Bureaucratic

Québec
Pros
- A country with breathtaking nature
- Good opportunity to explore North America
- Very friendly people
Cons
- Super cold in the winter
- Expensive to get to

Austria
Pros
- Beautiful landscapes and architecture
- One of the best countries if you want to take lots of weekend trips around Europe
- People are generally more laid back than in Germany
Cons
- Aside from Vienna, it is a very rural country, so can make you feel isolated
- Expensive
- Very cold in winter

Germany
Pros
- Lots of big cities all over the country with a lot of variation between them
- Beautiful landscapes and architecture
- A great base for exploring different parts of Europe
Cons
- Can be very cold in winter
- A less open culture than other parts of Europe, so can be hard to integrate into

Spain/Portugal
Pros
- Sunny, warm weather most of the year
- Lots of vibrant cities with beautiful architecture
- Fantastic beaches
- Close to the UK, so relatively cheap and easy to get to
Cons
- Extreme heat in the summer
- Gets overcrowded with tourists in the summer especially

Chile (and other Latin American countries)
(I'm basing this mainly on Chile because that's where I have experience living, but I think the same points apply to most other Latin American countries)
Pros
- Incredible landscapes that are very different to those in Europe
- An opportunity to discover a part of the world that would be new to most people
- A warm and vibrant culture
- Generally very good weather
Cons
- Often more dangerous and unstable than Europe
- Less developed than Europe, which can be difficult to get used to
- A lot of bureaucracy, as many processes have not been digitalised yet
- More risk of natural disasters
- Expensive to get to

Most Popular Gap Year Destinations

Of course, more general Gap Year destinations tend to be located on the other side of the globe; Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand are all super popular. And with good reason - Southeast Asian countries have beautiful beaches, amazing food and stunning temples, and Australia and New Zealand have incredible nature, and are also very safe English-speaking countries.

Aside from that, travelling through Latin America is also a popular choice, as is interrailing through Europe. (Personally speaking, my own Gap Year was a bit of an unusual one, with trips to Slovenia, Austria, France, Spain, Belgium, and different places around the UK!) Unlike with a languages Year Abroad, you don't have any kind of obligations to spend certain lengths of time in countries that speak certain languages, so you have a lot more freedom to choose where you want to go and how long you want to stay in each place.

Whatever your reason for taking time out to travel, it's useful to go through the pros and cons of the different places you're considering visiting or living in. But I also think, in a lot of cases, it's good to just go with your gut and choose the destination that really calls your name - you're sure to have an amazing time!

























Destinations from my own year abroad from left to right, starting from top left: Bratislava, Slovakia; Cap d'Agde, France; Florence, Italy; Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve, Chile; Vaduz, Liechtenstein; Sargans, Switzerland; Velden am Wörthersee, Austria; Mendoza, Argentina

Sunday, 7 July 2024

Travel Tips: The Best Destinations to Live in - Part Two

Welcome to Part Two of Travel Tips: The Best Destinations to Live in!

In my previous post, I wrote about the places I've lived so far, and what I liked and disliked about each of them.

And in this one, I'll be writing about the places where I'd most like to live, and also taking a look at the cities that have been judged to be the most liveable in the world.

To be honest, there are a lot of places around the globe I'd be happy to try living in for a few months or even a year, but when it comes to choosing somewhere to put down roots permanently, it's a much harder decision. Everyone has different preferences, and I'm pretty sure about mine at this stage. I know I'd like to live in a big, global city, preferably somewhere not too remote from other countries. It would also be nice to be located close to the sea, if possible.

Here are six places that I think fit the bill pretty well!


My Dream Places to Live...


London (or the surrounding area), UK



















Pros

- One of the centres of the world, both in terms of business and culture
- Lots of job opportunities
- A beautiful city, filled with incredible historic landmarks, modern skyscrapers and plenty of green spaces
- So much going on there - West End theatre is what excites me most, but there's something for everyone
- Close to mainland Europe - France, Belgium and the Netherlands are only a train ride away
- Huge public transport network
- Several airports make it easy to travel abroad

Cons

- Cost of living is the obvious one!
- Crowded and over-touristed

Why I'd Like to Live There

Hopefully, this will be where I live next! If my partner Claudio's visa application is approved, we want to make a go of things in London. We plan to work within the city itself, but we're thinking that we'll probably choose to live either on the outskirts of Greater London or a little further out. Living just outside London is not as expensive as one might imagine, and the extensive public transport network makes it easy to get into the city.

Growing up, I actually always wanted to live in London (and work as a musical theatre performer - that sadly didn't happen!), but then in my later teenage years, I became really interested in the idea of living abroad. And then as I got older, I was lucky enough to have some chances to both live and spend long periods of time in various foreign countries. I've really enjoyed all those experiences, and I hope that I'll have other similar opportunities in the future. 

But as a couple from two different countries, it's hard enough bureaucratically for Claudio and I to be able to live together in one of our own countries, let alone in a different one. London is quite a good compromise for me, as it's such a big, exciting, global city, and so different from the rest of the UK, that it kind of feels like being abroad.

Should Claudio's visa application be successful, we'll have 2.5 years in the UK. I hope that by the end of that time period, he'll have an Italian passport and I'll have an Irish one, so we'll have more options open to us. But I think we could potentially end up spending our lives in London - I feel a real excitement about the prospect of living there that I certainly didn't feel before moving to Bristol. 

Who knows what the future holds, but we're really looking forward to (hopefully) starting our London adventure very soon!



DACH region (especially Vienna) or Benelux region















Pros

- Better infrastructure and standard of living than in the UK
- Salaries are better aligned with cost of living
- Good work-life balance
- Central position within Europe makes it easy to travel all over the continent
- Lots of beautiful places to visit, from charming cities to lakes and mountains

Cons

- Not the best weather - either the same weather as England or very cold and snowy in winter, depending on the country/region
- Culturally a little less warm and welcoming than other parts of the world, so harder to integrate into

Why I'd Like to Live There

Along with the Nordic countries, the DACH and Benelux regions of Europe are considered to have some of the highest living standards in the world. While the Nordic countries are a bit too cold and dark for me, I think I'd be quite happy living somewhere like Austria or Switzerland. In fact, I did live in Austria before and made it through the winter more easily than I thought - it helps that the milder climate of the Mediterranean is only a train ride away!

Though I lived in a more rural area of Austria before, Vienna would definitely be my first choice of city in this part of the world. Other places that intrigue me are Geneva (speaking French rather than German would make life easier!), Zürich, Munich and Brussels (also French speaking).

However, Claudio is not quite so enamoured with the Germanic parts of Europe as I am. He has felt much more at home visiting the UK and France than visiting Sweden and the Netherlands, for example. So we probably won't end up living in this part of the world in the future, but I still think it's a nice option.



Spain (especially Barcelona)

















Photo by AXP Photography from pexels.com

Pros

- Warm, sunny weather most of the year
- Lots of nice beaches
- Good infrastructure
- Lower cost of living than in the UK
- More relaxed lifestyle

Cons

- Lower salaries than in northern Europe
- Very unwilling to hire foreigners
- Heatwaves in summer, which are getting worse due to global warming
- Many cities, including Barcelona, are very over-touristed

Why I'd Like to Live There

People have often suggested that Spain would be a good option for me and Claudio, as it's not far from the UK and it's a Spanish-speaking country, which would suit both of us.

Although I've been to Spain several times in my life (to Menorca, Málaga, Valencia and Madrid) and enjoyed all those trips, I've never loved it the way I have other countries, like Italy, for example. However, I've always felt it would be a good place to live - it's a country that has invested a lot in its infrastructure, so has very good public transport, among other things. Plus, I speak the language, and enjoy the warmer weather.

Though I've never been to Barcelona, it's the city in Spain that appeals to me the most as a place to live. (I did once take a connecting flight there, and saw the W Hotel and Barceloneta Beach (pictured above) while coming in to land at the airport - it looked amazing!) What I like about it is that it's a big, global city with some beautiful neighbourhoods to explore and plenty of great beaches. I really like the idea of living in a city right on the beach, and being able to go swimming and sunbathing after work!

However, although Claudio and I both applied for various jobs in Barcelona, neither of us managed to get even one interview. I actually spoke to a careers advisor about this, and she explained that Spain (followed by France) is probably the European country that is least open to hiring foreigners, particularly in the kinds of industries that we work in (marketing and finance). She said that our best bet would be to get our EU passports (easier said than done) and actually go out there and look for jobs within the country itself. Even then, it would be a challenge, as they would still choose to hire Spanish people in most cases.

Maybe a digital nomad visa would be a good option, but with our plans to live in London now pretty much set in stone, it's an idea we've put to the side for the time being.



France (especially Paris)



















Pros

- France is a beautiful country with many different types of landscapes, from snowy mountains to Mediterranean beaches, and Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world
- Known for its good food and cultural influence
- Good infrastructure compared to the UK
- Good work-life balance
- More relaxed lifestyle

Cons

- Not as efficient as countries like Germany (there are often train strikes, for example)
- Very bureaucratic
- Not very willing to hire foreigners

Why I'd Like to Live There

When I first started thinking about living abroad, France was the country at the top of my list. While studying for my GCSE in French, I fell in love with the language and culture, and dreamed of one day living in a cute apartment in Paris or a villa by the sea in the south of France.

Then I went off to study languages at university, and spent time in both the north and the south of the country for my Year Abroad, which I wrote about in my previous post. The French part of my Year Abroad was a bit of a mess - I wasn't able to get a decent work placement through my university, and so had to resort to finding more casual kinds of placement by myself. In summer 2017, I went to work as an au pair in the south of the country, and a year later, I started a placement at a holiday park in the north. For different reasons, both were pretty awful experiences, and I had to leave early. Both times, my mum quickly sorted something out for me using Halsbury Travel (now called Blue Stamp Travel) - in 2017, I did a language course in Montpellier, which I absolutely loved, and in 2018, I did two work experience placements and a language course in Rouen, which I didn't enjoy quite so much. Prior to that, I also spent a week in Paris, unsuccessfully looking for a placement and accommodation. 

The chaos of that year, and the fact that it was so difficult to find decent work, did make me a lot less enthusiastic about living there in the future. But then last year I started my current job, in which the work itself is based in France, although I work from the UK, and it made me start thinking again about moving back to France someday. And then in December, we had a wonderful trip to Paris, and I couldn't help dreaming about what it would be like to live there.

Unfortunately, France isn't much better than Spain for hiring foreigners, but I haven't quite given up on the idea just yet!




















Photo by Belle Co from pexels.com

Pros

- Great weather
- Beautiful beaches
- Huge country with unique flora and fauna
- Good base for exploring places like Southeast Asia, the South Pacific and New Zealand
- High standard of living

Cons

- Very difficult to emigrate to
- High cost of living (though salaries are also high)
- Very far away from most of the rest of the world
- Danger of climate-related disasters, like wildfires
- Spiders!

Why I'd Like to Live There

Again, as with Spain, I'm really attracted to the idea of living in a big city by the beach somewhere hot. (Sometimes I wonder why I ended up being born in a rural area in the west of England!) Sydney is the Australian city that appeals to me the most, but I also like the idea of living in Melbourne or Perth. Australia is known as the lifestyle capital of the world, and I definitely have this image in my head of living a really active, outdoorsy kind of lifestyle there and spending lots of time at the beach.

I think, if I hadn't met Claudio, I probably would have gone out there after university, either to travel around for a few months or to do a year's working holiday. In fact, we were thinking about doing a working holiday there together at one point, but unfortunately, Chileans have to be under 30 in order to get a working holiday visa (pretty unfair, given that British people can get one at under 35!). New Zealand would have been an option for us, but it doesn't hold quite the same appeal for us as Australia does, though I know it's a lovely place.

I once applied for a job that was based in London but which also had offices in Sydney, so employees had the opportunity to go and work out there for a few months if they wished. I actually feel that a position like that would really be the dream, perhaps even more so than actually living in Australia permanently. So it would be brilliant to land an opportunity like that sometime in the future!
















Image by Nextvoyage from pexels.com

Pros

- High standard of living
- Very friendly and welcoming people
- Lots of amazing areas of natural beauty

Cons

- Very long, cold winters

Why I'd Like to Live There

Though I haven't bothered to get my passport yet, I'm actually a Canadian citizen, because my mum was born there. Funnily enough, she only has an Irish passport now, and we have way more family roots in Ireland than in Canada, yet I don't automatically have Irish citizenship. I used to think it was much more unique and interesting to be Canadian than to be Irish, but since Brexit, I've definitely changed my mind about that!

Having said that though, I know I'm very lucky to have the option to go and live in Canada if I wish, and it is something I've considered. In summer 2010, we went on a family holiday to Toronto, Montréal and the Niagara Falls, and I absolutely loved it. The people there are the friendliest out of every country I've ever been to, and it's such a beautiful place. The only thing that puts me off are the winters!

I do think that if life doesn't work out as planned for me and Claudio in the UK, Canada will most likely be our next destination.


The Most Liveable Cities in 2024


1) Vienna, Austria
2) Copenhagen, Denmark
3) Zürich, Switzerland
4) Melbourne, Australia
5) Calgary, Canada/Geneva, Switzerland
7) Sydney, Australia/Vancouver, Canada
9) Osaka, Japan/Auckland, New Zealand

The 10 cities listed above have been chosen as the most liveable in the world in 2024. It's interesting to see which places are objectively judged to be the best to live in. A lot of them are ones that I've already mentioned in this post, which I suppose makes sense.

But at the end of the day, it's hard to tell how good a place is to live in unless you've actually tried living there yourself. That's why I'm looking forward to moving to the London area and seeing what life is really like there. I'm hoping it will be just as good if not even better than I imagine!


Check out the rest of my travel tips here!

Friday, 7 April 2023

My Dream Travel Destinations: Updated!

Recently I've been feeling the need to blog about different travel-related topics again - I've been to so many places, near and far, over the last year that I've only written accounts of the trips I've been on and updates about my life here in Chile. It's been a real contrast to 2021, when I travelled very little, and therefore wrote many blogposts about a whole array of topics related to travel. During that time, I really craved a life full of exciting, international adventures, and I'm so happy that I'm living that life now. But all the same, I kind of miss the creative aspect of writing about different topics, so I'm taking the chance to write something a little different now, because I'm not sure when I'll next get that chance!

I have a whole list of post ideas in a Word Document, and it's probably going to take me years to write them all, but today I feel inspired to actually look back on a post I wrote in December 2019, when this blog was only a year old. (It feels like a long time ago now!) This post was called "My Dream Travel Destinations" and it was definitely a fun one to write. In this post, I chose the country I'd most like to visit in each continent of the world.

And now I want to see how much my travel dreams have changed over the last three and a bit years!

Let's go back in time...


Europe

2019: I've mentioned before that I have a goal to visit every country in Europe, and at the time of writing, I'm about halfway there. Although I've visited the majority of western, southern and central Europe, the Nordic countries are an area I'm yet to go to. If I had to choose just one to visit, I think I would go for Norway, as the nature there looks incredible.

Image of Flakstad, Norway by stein egil liland from pexels.com

2023: Well, I did achieve my dream of visiting the Nordic countries when Claudio and I went to Sweden in 2020. For this reason, Norway isn't quite so near the top of my bucket list anymore, though I'd still like to go at some point. Actually, I'd say that the top destinations on my current European wishlist are mostly places in countries I've already visited, like Rome in Italy, Athens in Greece, and Barcelona in Spain, rather than countries I've never been to.

But if I did have to choose a country I've never been to, Malta would certainly be at the top of that list, which is quite convenient, as I'm going to be doing a three-month internship there soon! Estonia and the Netherlands are two others which I'm also particularly intrigued by.



















Image of Valletta, Malta by Polina Kovaleva from pexels.com


South America

2019: Hopefully, I'll be living in South America again very soon and I'll have the opportunity to see more of the continent. So far, I have seen quite a lot of Chile and a bit of Argentina. Next time, I would particularly like to visit Rio de Janeiro in Brazil as it looks like a beautiful city with amazing beaches. I would also like to go to Peru and other countries if I have the chance.

















Image of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by Matheus Bertelli from pexels.com

2023: South America is definitely the continent where all my travel dreams have come true since writing this post! Although I didn't move to Chile as soon as I hoped (I didn't see Covid coming when writing this post!), I got there eventually, and since then I've tried to see as much of the continent as I can. It was incredible to finally visit Rio de Janeiro last year (yes, it really is a beautiful city with amazing beaches!), as well as Machu Picchu in Peru. And in the years since I wrote this post, I've also visited Uruguay, and many more places in Chile and Argentina.

Of course there are still more places I want to see in this amazing part of the world! Top of the list would have to be Colombia - I've passed through Bogotá airport twice now, and will be passing through again next month, but it's never been a practical moment for me to turn that flight connection into an actual trip. But I hope that at some point in the future, Claudio and I will be able to spend some time in Cartagena, and perhaps some other parts of the country. I also really like the idea of visiting Ecuador, particularly the Galápagos Islands, but that's quite an expensive trip that will probably have to put on hold for a year or two.















Image of Salento, Colombia by Chris Rodriguez from pexels.com



North America

2019: I have been to North America once before, having visited Toronto, Montréal and the Niagara Falls with my family in 2010. In the future, I would like to visit some of the Central American and Caribbean countries. I would particularly like to go to Costa Rica to visit its beautiful beaches and national parks. I was thinking of going there on my Year Abroad to volunteer for a charity that helps turtles, and that's definitely still on my travel list! Other places I want to visit are Havana, Cuba and Yucatán, Mexico.



















Image of Costa Rica by Jose Acevedo from pexels.com

2023: Costa Rica really interested me as a travel destination because of its beautiful nature, including volcanoes, jungle and tropical beaches. However, since then, I've seen volcanoes in Chile, jungle in Peru and Brazil, and tropical beaches in Brazil. So while I would still love to visit Costa Rica someday, I have to say that Mexico has taken over as the place I most want to visit in North America!

Since seeing sights like the Atacama Giant, the Chinchorro mummies, and of course, Machu Picchu, I've become really fascinated by historical civilisations and archaeological sites, and went through quite a phase last year of watching documentaries about the mysteries behind different ancient ruins, from the Moai to Stonehenge. I watched one or two about the Mayan and Aztec ruins, and now I really want to visit Chichén Itzá, as well as some of the other archaeological sites around Mexico. I also want to discover the great beaches and nature the country has to offer!

















Image of Chichén Itzá, Mexico by Dick Hoskins from pexels.com


Africa

2019: Now I'm moving on to the continents I haven't visited yet! Morocco is only a few hours on a plane away from the UK and is one of the countries in Africa on my travel list. I would like to see the mountain and desert landscapes there, as well as beautiful cities like Marrakesh and Casablanca.

















Image of Casablanca, Morocco by Gabriel Garcia from pexels.com

2023: Since 2019, I still haven't been to Africa, and I still want to go to Morocco. However, because of my recent interest in ancient archaeological sites, I would now put Egypt at the top of my African travel list. It would be great to do a cruise along the Nile, seeing sights like the pyramids, the Sphinx and Abu Simbel. I would also really like to visit the southern part of Africa to see the amazing wildlife there!



















Image of the Sphinx and a pyramid by Pixabay from pexels.com


Asia

2019: Asia is such a huge continent with many places I'd love to visit. In particular, I would really like to go to Turkey to see Istanbul, which looks like an amazing city to explore, and the region of Cappadocia with its strange rock formations. And the fact that it's a country with lots of great beaches is another reason why I want to go! I would also really like to visit some of the southeast Asian countries in the future.

















Image of Turkey by Taryn Elliott from pexels.com

2023: As with Africa, I still haven't visited Asia yet. Turkey is still near the top of my list, but I'd also love to explore southeast Asia, especially Cambodia, because I really want to visit the Angkor Wat archaeological site. I have an idea of taking around a month of holiday (maybe in a couple of years' time, when I'll hopefully have a good job with a decent amount of paid time off) and spending that time travelling around southeast Asia and Australia. But we'll have to see how life pans out!

















Photo of Angkor Wat, Cambodia by allPhoto Bangkok from pexels.com


Oceania

2019: I have always dreamed of visiting Australia and going to cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, swimming and surfing at the beaches, and seeing the Great Barrier Reef. A couple of years ago, I was thinking of moving there after university, but things worked out differently than I expected! I would also really like to visit New Zealand to see some of the places of natural beauty there.

















Image of Sydney, Australia by Brett Stone from pexels.com

2023: Oceania is the one continent where my list hasn't changed at all! I'm still really determined that I'll travel to Australia at some point in my life, whenever that will be. And to be honest, the idea of living there still appeals to me a lot, but the huge distance between Australia and the UK is what puts me off - moving to Chile has been challenging enough, but at least I have my partner and in-laws here. I can't really imagine moving to another country on the other side of the world, but with no connections there whatsoever, no matter how much of a great place it is to live. So, I think Europe is probably going to be home for me and Claudio in the future. But all the same, I really hope to spend a decent amount of time in Australia at some point within the next few years - I'd love to go travelling there, and it would also be great to perhaps spend a few months working there!
















Photo of a kangaroo by Ethan Brooke from pexels.com


It was really fun to look back at my travel dreams from 2019 and pick some new ones, and it was also nice to see that I've achieved some of my European and South American travel dreams since then, despite the pandemic. I definitely feel much more well-travelled now than I did when I wrote the original post, but my travel list remains pretty long! I'll definitely come back to this post in a few years' time from now, and update again!