Hello and welcome to this month’s live chat! We’ve got a lot to cover – like last month’s wild Best City to Visit Tournament – and I’ll be taking your travel questions big and small too. I’m also excited to introduce my guest Russ Brooks, who is joining me in this month’s chat. One of my traditions with each chat guest is they’re someone I’ve met in person and I had the pleasure of coming across Russ in both Cairo and Valencia last year during his RTW trip.
Click here to jump right into the chat happening for the next 2 hours!
The Live Chat is only open from 13:00-15:00 GMT; (9am-11am US EST; 20:00-22:00 Bangkok.)Join me next month, Tuesday, May 1st!
Russ quit his job in late 2010 and traveled to over 40 countries on a career break and is an avid diver. He has since returned to the US and is currently in chatting in from Washington DC, his new home, while he plans his next break. As for me, I’m currently in Tbilisi, Georgia. Feel free to jump in, hang out, and send any travel, round-the-world (RTW) trip, diving, or tech questions you may have our way. [In English or Turkish too. Plus I hear Russ is learning Arabic, so maybe I can put him on the spot to practice!]
I haven’t done this before but in case you haven’t seen the discussion thread of The Best City to Visit 2012 Finals between Guimaraes and Sarajevo’s supporters definitely check it out. Good reasons to visit both cities and a generally gracious attitude on both sides. You’ll find some of the best comments from March there.
Alright, now on to the chat – and a big welcome to Russ and all of you. Thanks for joining…
Thanks Anil! Really happy to join you this morning….or evening.
I think I’ve got the two mixed up at this point, it’s late afternoon but all the flights come into Tbilisi around 4 am :/ How have you been since I’ve seen you last?
After a while, it’s just about the sun coming up. Actual times really lose value on long term travel.
Life’s good. Getting settled in DC (you’ll have to kick me some tips as a former resident) and learning what it’s like to be back working fulltime.
I’ll give you a good one – not in DC but close. Well, two actually in Arlington. Swing by Pupatella for some good Neapolitan pizza:
http://foxnomad.com/2011/08/09/a-slice-of-naples-at-pupatella-in-arlington-virginia/
…and tell Enzo (cook behind the counter) I said hi. He’s a good friend that makes damn great pizza. Also in Arlington is 4 Courts Pub; go on a Wednesday night for the live music and plan on a rough Thursday morning 🙂
Been looking for some good pizza and that’s over near my sister, so double win. Couldn’t pass up saying hello to an Enzo. 🙂
How’s Georgia treating you?
Really a beautiful city Tbilisi is, my first day here and the people are warm and there are no tourists around. It’s one of the most unique capital cities I’ve been to. It’s also incredibly cheap which is a nice bonus too – about 20C ~72F today 🙂
What are your impressions of DC so far – had you been before?
DC is, but isn’t a new city for me. I worked here for 5 years before my career break, but only “commuted” here one week a month, so it’s really still new.
So far, I really like being here. I love how compact and easy it is to get around. I walk, bike or metro everywhere. There’s tons of cultural and historical things to see and the cherry blossoms were truly wonderful when in bloom. Totally changes the feel of the city. But, i will say after living abroad (and being from Minnesota) I’m still struggling with the cost of living.
I can imagine that is a huge jump in cost!
Massive hike! The rent on my tiny little apartment, emphasize tiny, is more than I spent all month while traveling…
I’ve been hearing a lot about Georgia lately. What makes Tbilisi different from the other cities you’ve traveled to? Beautiful, cheap and good weather always make a nice start.
Underneath the surface there is a wide variety of people here, but hardly any tourism so it seems. It reminds me of a very quiet Bucharest that nobody knows about. Like someone just dropped it in the middle of nowhere as a little secret.
The people are incredibly friendly; which is really surprising considering their recent history.
That sounds really nice. I’ve always found that the places with the darkest history often have the kindest people
Fairly easy to get to as well, via Istanbul, Moscow, and Kiev as the major connections. I can’t wait to get a better taste of this place.
and yes, أنا أتعلم اللغة العربية… but I don’t think I’ve learned enough to take questions yet…
surprised to see arabic haha 😀 ur learning classic arabic?
I’ve just started taking arabic 101. It covers Fus-ha, Masri and Shaami
Mina probably remembers this one – but have your learned – “beshe, minfatlak eis wella”? yet 🙂
(No clue how to spell any of that…!)
All i get is minfadlak – please??
haha, it’s something like, “my brother, can I please get some more coals (specifically the shisha kind!) I picked that one up right away… 😀
Lol, definitely haven’t learned that yet
I’m curious also how this transition back to work has been…but before that, what advice would you have to anyone thinking of taking a career break to travel? How long did it take for you between idea and reality?
Transitioning back to work has been good, but tough. Having to dress up everyday and head back in to an office is definitely an adjustment. That being said, I really like working again and have lucked in to a great group of people to work with.
As for the career break, I’d been dreaming about taking a long term trip for many years before pulling the trigger. After attending Sherry Ott’s Meet, Plan, Go, it gave me the confidence to know that there were others out there like me and I walked into work the following day and gave notice…
Soup to nuts, probably 6 months…
My fear of doing this is after I’m done traveling for a bit (I know no one can ever be “done traveling”, but I mean money has a limit)
Don’t know if employers will see this “gap time” as something bad..?
I’ve used the gap as an ability to talk about wanting to be passionate about my work. It also shows them that I’m independent and willing to take risks, etc. It hasn’t really been trouble for me so far…
I think the gap is a common fear – one question I like to ask people in your shoes is, any regrets on taking a career break or taking off on the long trip?
Not in the slightest. Only wish I stayed longer and did more. There is so much more I want to see and do. I am really planning my next one already 🙂
Any non-secret plans you can share? 🙂
So far, it’s just Middle East and Africa heavy, hence the Arabic tutelage. Probably a year from now or so. Just need to figure out the financing portion 🙂
Very cool; not sure if you’ve been but I’m planning a trip to Kuwait at the very end of April.
Speaking of Arabic, Georgian sounds like a mix of that an Russian. Very unusual…
Kuwait! Nice! Where will you be going? For how long?
I wouldn’t have guessed that about Georgian, but it starts to make sense.
I’ll be in Kuwait I think a little under a week since it’s so expensive (and tiny!) I’ll rent a car – love that cheap, cheap gas, and drive around the country.
Before that though it’s Moldova next week and Azerbaijan after that.
haha 😀 yes i do remembr this 😀
this is “real” masri arabic. should be more like “basha, minfadlak ayez welaa” which means i want coal (for shisha), and basha is like the french “pacha” but pronounced in the egyptian accent 😀
haha, on a random note, shisha is a huge deal here. Lines of cafes full of hookahs — just no people in them! They’re ready for tourists here; I think just the tourists don’t know it yet!
Mina, and upcoming travel plans?
is it as expensive as everywhere else though? I never tried shisha outside of egypt but i heard it costs way more than in egypt (most expensive shisha here would be EGP 10? thats almost 1 Euro…)
I’m still in the “idea” phase. Not sure where to go, or where and for how long my money can cover me, but I’m thinking specifically end of July I’ll be out of Egypt – fingers crossed
or if i decided on more expensive travel then it will be by january 2013
I haven’t checked prices (though I’ll find out soon 🙂 but Egypt was shisha heaven, it’s well overpriced most everywhere else in the world. US a good price would be 13$ and in Istanbul it’s about 15-20TL (~12$). That’s a lot considering the small amount of tobacco and coal cost hardly anything!
Anil, Brooks, I would have loved to continue with this chat with you, but I have to go now. Work time (damn it)
I’ll be checking it out again once I’m there though
Enjoy your day and travels 🙂
Thanks for joining us. Safe Travels!
Thank you for stopping by! (and talk soon, just quietly from the office 😉
Speaking of Istanbul I mentioned above, if anyone will be in Istanbul on April 25th, I’m planning on swinging through the city for a meet up that day. I’ll post details soon on my Facebook page.
I might be in Istanbul with family early june, any chances you’ll be there?
Unfortunately not, I’ll be leaving this part of the world in the first half of May 🙁
And on a random note, there is a group of people filming some kind of interview or movie scene. I’ll see if I can take a discrete photo to share 🙂
Before I can do that though (I don’t want to look too creepy!) here’s a look at Althaus Cafe where I am right now:
Looks pretty nice. How’s the coffee?
Tastes a little weak actually, I’m thinking of switching to beer now though – if they have it. That and cognac seems to be what they serve *everywhere* here so I’m hopeful.
How’s the local beer and what’s the cognac like?
Strong and strong 🙂 I’m going to try the local wine brew too while I’m here; have heard it’s light but drunken in high quantities!
Well, enjoy it, but try and make it out alive 🙂
Maybe they’ll hold me hostage! haha, the rough life of a travel blogger 😛
Kuwait should be great. Same with driving around the country. It sounds like you’re following Katie around these days 🙂
I know, it’s been crazy – she’s been a load of information about Moldova which is great. In fact, I think I’m leaving Tbilisi the day she arrives. We might just cross paths in Istanbul at the end of April.
That’s great. She’s a great resource and is definitely spending time in these places from the ground up. Hopefully you’ll be able to get together.
There’s a chance you and I may cross paths too; I’ll probably be stopping in DC on my way to either Calgary or Las Vegas this summer 🙂
That’s awesome! I could use some solid traveler company here in DC. How long would you stay around the area?
Not quite sure yet, but if it looks like I’ll be crossing the Atlantic a few times, it could be at least 2 weeks to catch up on work and jet lag 🙂
Sweet! Well, I would offer to put you up, but I’ve got no room. Let’s stay in touch about it though…
Thanks and no worries, it would be great to meet up while I’m there.
Yep, we can make it three countries we met up in then…
So, how was your trip back home? How long were you in Ankara?
It was a short visit for a few days – but my family is now coming to Istanbul at the end of the month so I’ll catch up with them then 🙂
That’s great! I’ve always really enjoyed traveling with my family. Last year my dad and I did a few weeks together in Vietnam. One of the highlights of the trip
Power went out on the block, I’m back!
If you guys are still on, Any tips about actually taking the step and traveling, knowing my money won’t be supporting me for too long, maybe 2-3 months at the most…
Pick cheap destinations and travel within a region. Give yourself a monthly budget and then begin travel hacking from there. Take a look at your final destination and if flying, get a single ticket to the hub (not round-trip) and then book a separate flight from there to the final destination if that makes sense.
Where you go is a huge part of how much you spend – and find an apartment rental will help also. For me what I’ve found is once I’ve got the route and budget down – getting out the door seems so much easier 🙂
I agree. I’ve almost always traveled within a region. It’s easier and cheaper to get around. My first 2-3 month trips were in Latin America. Def. cheap and easy to get around by bus. The next region was SE Asia and I did a couple of loops there.
On my rtw i would fly to a region, travel around for a few months and then fly to the next region and do the same. In total, I hit 4 different regions over the year.
I think I’ll end up in SE Asia or India, can’t find other places where I can stay for around 3 months on $3K or less (Including flying back and forth) 😀
Georgia is also very cheap 🙂 and pretty. Both the landscape and the population! (The crowd that has gathered here is like an episode of top model or something.) I’d consider also eastern Europe as well if you want cheap and less traveled.
I’ll consider all options and in a month from now i’ll be making the final decision and buying plane tickets
it just can’t go wrong in anyway, wherever I go i’m 100% sure i’ll love it 😀 so no big deal 😀
Let’s definitely catch up about it during the next chat, I would be excited to hear where your decisions take you!
Both are amazing places as well as being easy to travel cheaply. Just do it 🙂
For me, a lot of it was just about the logistics of leaving and coming back. What to do with my stuff, what to do about money, what to do about work, etc. Once I was able to work through some of those things, the trip came more into focus and created the confidence to do it.
Just reading through the comments so far and Tbilisi seems like my kind of place!
And it’s always great to read about career-breaks as well….it’s amazing how nobody ever regrets making that kind of decision, yet it is still such a difficult to make.
I haven’t found anyone who’s regretted it either 🙂
Tbilisi so far is wonderful and it seems a small party is brewing here at this cafe… I was surprised at how picturesque the city is – build along the two cliffs with a riving running through it.
And beer prices, might just rival Bulgaria 😀
In that case, to Georgia I shall go (hopefully soon)!
…very cheap flights from Istanbul too and no visa required for you 🙂
That’s about as ideal as it gets. And my Fiji trip was just canceled (due to floods), so perhaps I’ll get to Georgia even sooner!
I was wondering if they’d continue that trip; but makes sense. Sounds like you might end up here after all – I should add is very warm too now. Makes Istanbul feel like Finland 🙂
I love the ease at which long term travelers make decisions about where to go 🙂
kind of makes me jealous 😀 As much as I love planning and looking places up and reading about what to do etc., I think it is still even more fun to just hot there and then find what could possibly be done in that part of the world 😀
I definitely miss sitting in random cafes around the world drinking local beer and soaking it all up
It’s certainly an unorthodox decision and most people did think I was crazy which made finding long term travelers and career breakers all the more important.
This question is for Brooks – what was the one moment/realization/factor that finally convinced you to go for it?
Things really started to come together nicely in my life at the time. I was getting burned out at work and wanted to leave, i split up with the woman i was seeing, my lease came up… And then i started to get know some of you travel blogger types and was able to see that I wasn’t crazy or alone. Someone suggested I check out Meet, Plan, Go and right in the middle of the event they asked if anyone was taking a career break soon and I stood up and blurted out that I was going to quit my job the next day…
That’s simply awesome…and it’s great to know that Meet, Plan, Go played a factor as that is definitely run by a great group of people. I can imagine what must have been going through your head after blurting that line out…probably a minute or two of “Oh sh*t, what did I just say!”
Did you actually quit the next day?
Actually, I wasn’t freaking out, but only because I was surrounded by people who were congratulating me.
Yep, I literally walked in to the boss the following day and gave notice… I gave him 3 months notice, but after about 20 mins of talking with him, he sped up the timeline to 6 weeks since there wasn’t much reason to make me stay. He looked at me and said “It’s real now isn’t it?) That’s when I freaked a bit 🙂
That is such a great story – everyone who is thinking long term travel should read this thread!
Haha…I think it would be unnatural if you didn’t freak out for at least for a few minutes at some point!
But it does make a difference to be around people that are supporting your decision…it’s often hard to find such support when it comes to making such drastic changes in our lives. Glad to hear it all worked out so well for you and I’ll be looking forward to hearing about your future adventures!
Finding that support was what was always holding me up. Before that, I didn’t really know anyone that had done what I wanted to do. As soon as I met them, the decision was incredibly easy to make and I’ve never regretted it.
Coming back has been an adjustment and I’ll admit, it’s tough to see all of you still out there traveling when I have to work again, but it’s just become motivation to earn more to travel more 🙂
Well, like I said, I’ll be following along and hopefully we’ll get a chance to meet up someday and talk more about career breaks and travel…
And if it helps, I spend about 50 hours minimum per week in front of my laptop working, so it’s not exactly as if I’m enjoying the rewards of travel all the time 🙂
I hate to say it but will have to wrap up the chat in a few minutes until next month…
and there is a giant some event going on in here now!
you mentioned top models? you better go and blend in “touch me I’m a foreigner” haha
Sorry to hear to it too, but thanks so much for inviting me! Please have a beer for me and enjoy your Top Model party 🙂
Before I close things down I just wanted to thank all of you for participating and especially to my guest Russ Brooks – thank you very much. You can catch up with Brooks on Twitter @BrooksOnBreak and on his site Brooks On Break.
Who knows, we might do a live chat from the same location next time if we cross paths in DC over the summer!
Thanks again and talk soon everyone,
-Anil