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Showing posts with label Oceania. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oceania. Show all posts

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!

Sunday, 29 December 2019

My Dream Travel Destinations

I haven't blogged for a while as I've been busy celebrating Christmas and starting my new job! I am now working as an online English teacher, and so far I've found it to be a really fun and interesting job. Hopefully it won't be long before I also have a job in a school in Chile!

Now that I have a bit more time to blog, I'm going to write about some of my dream travel destinations. To be honest, I would like to go everywhere in the world, but in the interests of conciseness, I will try to pick just one dream destination in each continent!

Europe

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


South America

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


North America

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


Africa

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


Asia

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


Oceania

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


Of course Antarctica is also a continent, but it's a bit tricky and expensive to visit. However, if someone offered me the opportunity to go there, I would jump at the chance!

So that's my list of just a few of my dream travel destinations. Hopefully I'll be able to visit at least one in the near future!


Check out my 2023 update of this post right here!