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I Ended My Engagement to See the World
I’m usually pretty good at starting articles. I like writing introductions. I think they’re fun. But full disclosure: I have no idea how to start this one. So here it is: the story of why I broke off my engagement to see the world. Let me start with some disclaimers. Yes, my ex knows that I’m writing this article. And no, I’m not going to bash him or talk shit about him – if that’s why you’re here, you can go ahead and ctrl+w out of here. Ok. So let’s back up to a time in May, when I moved to Ireland at the beginning of the month. Immediately, I…
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Why Your Study Abroad Friendships Are the Strongest
As difficult as it is to believe, I just reached the four-year anniversary of hopping on a plane to Salzburg, Austria. I had never been out of the country and had never even flown by myself. As you might imagine, I was absolutely terrified. And when I’m terrified, I kind of quit functioning. Most of my social skills see themselves out the door and I turn into this sarcastic bitch-faced lone wolf. I realized that I had morphed into said lone wolf on about day 2. I was homesick, lonely, and wanted desperately to tuck my tail between my legs and fly home. Friends for a lifetime But then something…
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How To Not Blow Your Savings On Plane Tickets
As travelers, we spend a lot of the time in the air. But before you can get to the airplane food, getting creative with how to keep your feet from falling asleep, and hours spent on plastic airport seats, you’ve got to buy your ticket. And it’s no secret that plane tickets are one of the most expensive parts of traveling. To help cut down on this big chunk of money, here is some of our very best advice about how to find the top-notch deals on plane tickets. via GIPHY Clear your cookies and browsing history Full disclosure: I’m not a computer geek nor am I very internet-savvy. But…
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Is Travel Insurance Really That Big of a Deal?
“Add travel insurance to this purchase?” “No.” Sound familiar? Probably. Most of the time when we book a flight, hotel, rental car, etc. there is a little pop-up message just before confirming your payment. Would you like to purchase travel insurance? And I would put money on it that 99% of us say, “No, ma’am!” I always thought that travel insurance was a big waste of money and was a scam. Why else would anyone be offering me something? Clearly, they’re out for blood. But actually…travel insurance is not the giant scam that we all think it is. Turns out it’s actually a pretty great thing. I know, I know.…
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How to Use Your Phone When Traveling Internationally
Anybody who travels internationally knows how confusing it can be when it comes to using your phone in foreign countries. Search online and you’ll find so many articles that mention pre-paid calling cards or satellite phones but those are neither realistic nor needed in today’s technological world. So if you’re not dropping hundreds of dollars on pre-paid calling cards and satellite phones…what exactly are you supposed to do? Worry not, we’ve rounded up our favorite ways to use your phone internationally. Viber (Available on iOS and Android) As you may have expected, there are lots of apps for calling and texting over Wi-Fi. Some popular ones include WhatsApp and Viber…
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The Best Kick-Ass Backpacks for Your Travels
Confession: I always thought that a wheeled suitcase was just as good as a backpack. Actually, I probably would have told you that I preferred it. I loved being able to wheel all my crap through the airport. ***This article contains affiliate links, and we will be compensated for any purchase made by clicking on them. Thank you for supporting The Coddiwomplers and our adventures!* A wheeled horror story Until that one time when my wheeled bag was too big for international carry-on standards. I was flying with RyanAir, a budget European airline, and my bag was too big by – seriously – one inch. The crabby gate agent…
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The Best Travel Apps to Help You on Your Journey
Friends, in case you haven’t noticed, we are living in an era of technology. I personally rely heavily on my phone when I am traveling – it helps me navigate, entertains me on long flights and train rides, and keeps me connected to family and friends when I am away from home. And I do almost all of this with apps. Apps for pre-trip Hopper (iOS and Android ). Hopper is a nifty little app that will alert you when the flights you’ve been craving are at their lowest. You enter your flight details as you would on any flight booking app (departing airport, arriving airport, date, time, etc.) and…
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Products Every Traveler Needs to Look For on Black Friday
When you’re an avid traveler, there are certain things you can’t be without. And let’s be real, if you’re going to be traveling with this stuff, you’re probably going to be pretty hard on it. You never know when something will get tossed into the underbelly of a plane, stepped on in a hostel dorm room, or run over by a raging taxi. Because we need our gear to be such great quality, it usually ends up costing an arm and a leg. And any traveler knows that money spent on gear = less money to be spent on traveling itself. Worry not, friends! Black Friday is upon us and…
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Volunteering Abroad: What You Need to Know
Volunteering abroad is a great way to see hidden gems around the world. I often feel as though there is an abundance of information when it comes to mission trips and other religious-centered travel programs and there is an abundance of information pertaining to pleasure travel but there’s not much out there for the average Jane who wants to leave a place a little bit better than the way she found it. I got hooked on volunteering while traveling in college when I was a member of a service team. Every year we took a trip somewhere and mixed pleasure travel with volunteering. And I LOVED it! It was such…
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A Girl Has No Money: Saving Money for Travel [Part 1]
Raise your hand if you’re bad with money. You can’t see me but both of my hands are hiiiiigh in the air and I’m waving them like I just don’t care. Except I do care. Because I’m horrible with money. And I’m moving to Ireland in May and need to have a certain amount in my bank account. Do you see where this is going? I need to be saving money for travel. I’m not an expert I feel totally unqualified to be writing this post. I’m not kidding when I say I’m horrible with money. I get my paycheck and immediately turn around and spend it on new clothes,…
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5 Greatest Reasons Why Millennials Should Move to Ireland
Listen up, folks, I’ve got something important to say. Ireland is the mother freaking bees knees. I have visited Ireland twice in my 24 years of life for a combined 14 days and let me tell you that 14 days is all it takes to fall head over heels in love with the Emerald Isle. And oh man, can I give you the reasons why you will fall head over heels in love. It was such a stretch for me to narrow this list down to just five reasons why you should move to Ireland but I did it. Because I love you. And because I want you to stick…
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Taking a Gap Year is the Best Crazy Decision You Can Make
“So what are you doing when you graduate?” Ah, yes. The age-old question that every graduate, whether high school, college, or graduate school, has heard. This well-meaning query often comes from the mouths of an older person, possibly a grandparent, a friend of your parents, or *gasp* your parents themselves. Most people are expecting the traditional answers: “I’ll be starting at Kansas State in the fall,” “I’ve been accepted to a great graduate program in Michigan,” “I’ve been offered a position at Big Corporation in Chicago.” Most people expect the routine high school –> higher education –> career path. But what if you mixed it up? What the heck is…
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Why I Decided to Travel the World Instead of Growing Up
Allow me to introduce myself. I am 24 years old, I hold a Master’s degree in Leadership, I have been with my fiance for nearly six years now, and I have a fur child named Dash. And despite the fact that all signs point to “settle the hell down,” I am choosing to see this wonderful, beautiful world. I am deviating from the classic American dream and choosing to move to Ireland and travel the world. Choosing to See the World Instead of Settling Down Given where I’m at in life, moving to Ireland is not the conventional choice. I know that. I have been told that. Many times. And…
