April 28, 2019
Greetings from Antalya, Turkey!
I realized that I haven’t done one of these newsletters in a really long time (the last real newsletter dates back to last October). We’ve had a lot of things happen to us in the last few months, including in our personal lives, so I figured it was time for one of these updates.
For those not familiar with my newsletters, it’s where I write behind-the-scenes stuff that doesn’t fit into regular posts. Sometimes you’ll see stupid photos, uncensored thoughts, or stories of the sometimes weird interactions we have as travellers. Sometimes, as in this newsletter, I’ll update readers on what’s happening in our personal lives and on our upcoming plans.
Lissette loses her job is “downsized”
What would you do if one day, after working 20 years for the same company, your boss called you and told you that you are out of a job? As of right now?
That happened to Lissette 2 months ago.
It wasn’t a huge surprise. The industry she’s been working in has been suffering for years and we always figured it was a matter of time.
But it’s still a shock when it happens.
What do you do the day after?
In a way it happened at the ideal time because we were just starting our rushed (by our standards) overland trip that would take us from Italy to Turkey. It’s allowed us much more time for exploring and taking it easy.
But I’d be lying if I said that it hasn’t been hard on her. When I lost my job a few years ago I was excited because I had other plans to work on. I also had this blog which had always been a hobby. The adjustment wasn’t hard for me. But it was always different for Lissette. Her job filled up a lot of her time and whatever time she had left over she’d be either at the gym or doing yoga. Now, suddenly unemployed, she’s got all this time on her hands. And while we try to go to the gym in the different places we visit it isn’t the same as having a gym or yoga center that she’s familiar with.
It’s also the realization that she’s 51 years old and that this will most likely be the last job she’ll ever have (her background is in marketing, but the industry she’s worked in all her life is very specialized).
It’s not a bad thing. There are many positives to her no longer working. She’s more relaxed than I’ve ever seen her. Any negative feelings are not from actually losing the job. It’s about disappointment in people. But right now it’s all about adjusting to a new reality.
If there are any retirees out there I’d be curious how you adjusted from working 8 – 10 hours a day to suddenly having all the time in the world…
How it’s changing (nor not) the way we travel
Although we’re in a comfortable financial situation, Lissette losing her job means we’re more careful on how we spend our money. I don’t want to be working at Burger King when I’m 80. The main thing we’re cutting back on is restaurant outings. We’d rather spend money seeing places than eating out. So we’re cooking more. But we still make a point to have at least 1 meal in a traditional (non-touristy) restaurant in every destination.
Above: snacks and wine in Lecce, Italy
We’re also more flexible now with the apartments we rent. It used to be that we always needed at least one good working table. We would often rent 2 bedroom apartments while Lissette was working because she always needed her work space. With shorter stays on our route to Turkey we’ve been more conscious on cost. In Corfu we had a small apartment with bunk beds. In Plovdiv we had the cheapest apartment we’ve ever come across – a very nice place (but in a semi-basement) that cost us $169 Canadian ($127 US) for 7 nights! So being more flexible we’ve been keeping an eye on our expenses.
One thing we’ve confirmed though is that the cheapest way to travel is slowly, ie. staying longer in places. I’ve previously written about how and why we slow travel. That’s been confirmed through the last 3 months travelling “fast”…have a look at our bookings so far this year.
Maybe you’re surprised by how cheap some of the apartments below are. Believe me, some of them are really nice. Most have 2 bedrooms. Have a look at this one in Split, this one in Lecce, or this one in Sofia (no longer renting).
But it’s more than cost. Just this week Lissette was telling me that she can’t handle one week here, another week there…she’s looking forward to being somewhere for a month. It’s fun seeing different places and moving on. And sometimes we’ll do that. But generally we prefer staying somewhere for a longer period.
Above: Mt. Pinacle, Quebec. One of our favorite places in Quebec.
Freelance Writing
Sometimes when something like losing a job happens it gives you a kick in the pants. I’d approached a few newspapers previously about doing articles for them. I never heard back, got a bit discouraged and gave up. After Lissette lost her job I decided to get more aggressive. Writing people, writing them back, pushing a bit…and then Postmedia (owners of the Vancouver Sun, Montreal Gazette, Toronto Sun, Ottawa Citizen and many more Canadian newspapers) got back to me.
They were only interested in domestic destinations. So I wrote an article on Montreal and another on places to see in the province of Quebec. It’s been 5 years since we lived there so it was a bit of a stretch…They paid $500 for those 2 articles. I had gone into it with the idea of reaching a larger audience for the blog, I hadn’t thought I’d actually get paid.
Yesterday I was told that they wanted two more articles from me…with a possible 3rd. One of them will be a feature article on us and how we’ve managed to travel the world on the cheap.
When I started the blog it was because I enjoyed writing. I dreamed of getting published. So for me it’s a pretty big deal and I hope I can leverage these articles into more freelance articles going forward. Truth is that most bloggers don’t make money solely from their blog. But having a blog is like an artist with a portfolio – it gives you a bit of credibility and “a body of work” as people like to say. It can lead to other things.
All to say that it’s something new and I’m pretty excited by it.
Blogging & Monetizing
Earlier this year I started monetizing certain aspects of the blog. I’ve tried not to be spammy about it and have made it a point not to have big flashing ads or pop up boxes (I hate pop up boxes). But after 5 years of blogging I figured it was time to try to offset some of the costs of travelling and blogging (I actually spend more time on the blog than Lissette did working). Now, with Lissette losing her job, I’m glad I went that direction and we’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many readers have made their travel arrangements through the blog.
So if you enjoy this blog please consider using our affiliate links when booking your next hotel, car rental or tour. It doesn’t cost you a cent, we get a small commission, and I don’t get crap from Lissette when I’m up late writing my posts.
Speaking of which, Lissette is promising to help me out on the blog. Her marketing experience would help out with SEO, social media, and blog outreach. All the stuff I don’t like. I’m also hoping she can contribute a post once in a while. Most readers are female and I think her voice would balance out the blog a bit.
But for now she’s still recovering from the job loss. Which means watching a lot of Netflix. Her favorite right now is RuPaul’s Drag Race. Because what’s better than watching guys dressing up like slutty-looking women and having to lip sync for their lives?
Speaking of Netflix: they have a new series called Street Food. Very interesting and it’ll give you inspiration to travel.
One of those Frank jokes that didn’t go over so well
Sometimes jokes don’t always go over because of language. That’s what I usually tell myself when people don’t laugh at my jokes (“oh, they just didn’t understand”). In Croatia I’ve learned anything religious doesn’t go over very well.
We were having a dinner party with our Croatian friends when Lissette says, out loud, “Frank, why don’t you tell everyone what happened last night?”
I did. But I added a little twist at the end, it was the joke part of the joke. Here is how the whole thing went:
So yesterday I was in the kitchen cooking diner. The door buzzed. I ignored it. It buzzed again. I ignored it. For about 3 minutes the person kept buzzing until I decided to open the door. I opened the door. Standing there was a priest. He said hello, I said hello. He introduced himself as the priest from the local parish. I said “ah”. Then he asked me, “can I come in? We can pray together”. I didn’t want to offend him but I didn’t want to pray either. “Sorry, no, we’re not practicing” I said. He looked a bit surprised and gave me a card with an image of Jesus on it. “Thank you” I said, “my wife will like this”. He stood there in the hallway and I wasn’t sure what to do or say…
And that’s where I added the joke on the end of my story
…so I told him he better go or that I would have to call the police.
I had 10 Croatians and one dumbfounded American/Canadian staring at me. Not a sound in the room.
I explained that it was a joke and that I didn’t really tell the priest that I was going to call the police. That lightened the mood a bit. But nobody told me “Hey Frank, that’s a pretty funny joke”.
We were told by our friends that it is traditional for a priest to come to your house in Croatia and to offer to pray with the inhabitants.
Above: Garbage in Greece
Observations travelling Europe over the last 3 months
We’ve seen many of the difficulties facing Europe over the last 3 months.
In Italy we were shocked by the number of migrants. They are everywhere and if you take the FSE train between Lecce and some of the small towns south of Puglia you’ll think yourself somewhere in Africa. We had heard about the issues with migrants in Italy – but to actually see it with your own eyes you really see the extent of it. It makes you understand why Italians voted for the new anti-immigrant government now in place. I feel bad for the hopelessness of some of these migrants, almost all of whom are young men who left their countries in the hope of getting jobs in Europe. Instead they are panhandling on the streets of Italy. But I feel even worse for the Italians. Their towns and cities are inundated with them. I wouldn’t be happy if it was my town. Funny enough, just a few days ago we were watching this documentary on Al Jazeera on exactly this issue. Even migrants are complaining that there are too many migrants in Italy.
Greece. Corfu is a tourist town and is well maintained. We did notice a few things however. 1) We were there a week and during that time we never saw the garbage bins emptied. They overflowed and many locals placed their garbage bags around the bins. Of course the cats and squirrels got into it and spread the garbage around everywhere. 2) Some tourist highlights, like the colossal New Fortress were closed. Both cases were signs of cost cutting in government services. 3) We noticed a lot of closed stores. We got to talking to a local (interesting lady, she had lived in Chicago for many years and had come back to Greece. Now she wants to go back to the US) and she told us that the stores were permanently closed. “There’s no economy here”, she said, “nobody has money”. In Thessaloniki we saw much of the same: heaping bins of garbage and tons of stray dogs. I don’t follow economic reports but Greece seems to be suffering heavily.
Bulgaria looks much better off than Greece. The streets of Sofia are clean, the transport modern and although there are some stray dogs the amounts pale in comparison to Greece. And they look a lot less mangy than the ones in Greece. Bulgaria was a pleasant surprise.
We enjoyed travelling through all 3 countries and met lots of friendly, interesting people along the way. But it was interesting seeing with our own eyes some of the issues these countries are facing. And you just wonder how it will all turn out…
Above: Lissette in Edirne, Turkey
Turkey…and upcoming destinations
We’re in Turkey right now. There’s censorship going on here. Wikipedia for example is blocked. I never realized how much I used Wikipedia before coming to Turkey. On TV there are some strange things being blurred on the screen: Blood, cuts, weapons, the labels on bottles of beer…and cigarettes. The weirdest thing is cigarettes because everyone in Turkey smokes. But turn on a movie and whenever someone is holding a cigarette you just see a blurred image moving around. Ever watch Japanese porn? Anyone who’s (accidentally) seen Japanese porn knows that all genitals are always blurred. So when someone is getting their knob polished you don’t actually see it but you have a pretty good idea what’s going on behind the blurriness. Watching a movie in Turkey is like that. You end up wondering if the guy bringing that blurred thing to his mouth is smoking or sucking dick.
It’s been a weird time in Turkey which I’ll write about soon.
Coming up: 2 months in Georgia and Armenia. We’ve never been to the Caucasus so we’re really looking forward to it.
Ok, that’s our update. Thanks for reading!
Note: You’ll find all of our newsletters right HERE. I’m going to try to write them more frequently going forward.
So sorry to hear that Lissette lost her job so abruptly and, having had this happen to me once years ago, I remember how devastating it can be, whether you expect it or not. Fast forwarding to now, I’m coming up on my 7th anniversary of early retirement and can honestly say that it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done besides traveling full-time and basing myself in Portugal. I used to work 60 hours a week and I’ve always marveled that the days fill up just as fast now as when I was employed. However, time goes by much faster when you’re enjoying what you’re doing, learning about yourself and the world, pursuing a multitude of hobbies and things “I always wanted to do someday” and putting in time with treasured friends. Hopefully, since I’m several weeks behind in replying to this newsletter, Lissette is fully enjoying having her own time and being master of her own universe!
Thank you for your feedback Anita, very helpful 🙂 Lissette still finding her way but ideas are coming. Before long I’m sure she’ll have a brand new project that she’ll enjoy (and knowing her, that makes us money!)
Another great wrap up. Tell Lissette I wish her a lot of happiness and less stress in her next endeavor. And, Frank, congrats on working with the newspapers in Canada and in monetizing the blog. You deserve it. A lot of great content and hard work here.
PS I enjoyed your joke about the priest. Don’t hold back. 😉
Thanks Ric. Oh great, happy someone enjoyed it 🙂
Hey Frank & Lissette ~ I always enjoy your newsletters, you should write them more often, but then again maybe that would change the flavor of them. I can’t relate to losing a job after 20 years, but I suspect once over the hump (maybe, Lissette, you already are) this new chapter will bring a sense of calm and freedom. It sounds as if you’re both making it work, adjusting, shifting, gearing up.
I thought your reflections on traveling in Italy were interesting, I like the reality of your thought process. What you found in parts of Italy immediately reminded me of our visit to Marseilles, France. No sooner had we stepped off the train I wanted to turn around and get right back on the train. Somehow I hadn’t done my homework on the city and I was stunned by the nitty gritty, and the smells, of the city. I did not feel at all as if we were in France. I lasted 3 hours before I begged Abi to leave. But, I think that’s one of the best lessons of travel… reality -vs- fantasy.
p.s. I loathe popup boxes. I’ve stopped reading so many sites because they are inundated with advertising, to the point one cannot find the content.
Thanks Patti. I’m going to do more of these Newsletters. Lissette is pushing for once a month, I’m thinking once every 6 weeks is more realistic. But I think people like reading more off-script stuff…
I think there are a lot of issues in Western Europe. And for all the negative press Eastern countries like Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland get, they’ve maintained their identity. I’m open minded and was raised in a melting pot in Ottawa. But that’s not what’s going on in countries like France, Italy and Germany…
I’m with you on popoup boxes. I’m sorry we’ve introduced some advertising Patti but we’ll try to keep it background noise 🙂
Congratulations to Lissette (and you) on her new found freedom. I took an early retirement in December 2018, while my husband continues to work full-time (for another few years). I was a bit lost for the first few months because I just couldn’t get into a routine – many a morning I took sleeping in to a new level. I’ve now picked up some part-time work from my old firm, so some months I work and some I don’t, depending on my personal travel schedule. Since I’m a bit on and off again with work, I haven’t gotten any better at finding a schedule that works. I think people who have a well-honed hobby seem to have less trouble adapting to retirement. Unfortunately for me, I have yet to develop one – other than traveling, which I guess is a hobby. I am in the process of starting a blog, so that might also become my hobby. In short, 1 1/2 years after “partial” retirement, I’m still adapting. I look forward to hearing about your travels in Tbilisi as I will be there in late July (also Istanbul in mid-July, the Ukraine in July/August, Poland and the Baltics in August/early September – if you have any tips). I hope you and Lissette enjoy all the new time you have with each other. ?
Hi Lynn,
Thank you for your comment. I mentioned that I was pretty content after I finished working – but I still had moments where I felt very isolated being at home and not at the office. Lissette worked in an office at the time and everyday I would meet her for lunch (I’m sure she got fed up with that but she never said).
We’ve been a week in Tblisi and really like it. Very nice people, good vibe. If you’re in Lviv in July or August let me know, would be a pleasure to meet you.
(as you probably know, we loved Ukraine but not a big fan of Poland)
Frank
Aw, sorry to hear about Lissette’s job.
I just had my one-year retirement anniversary and honestly there was really no adjustment needed for me at all. I’d been looking forward to retirement for years.
Maybe it’s different for you guys because you’ve been traveling extensively for so long? For me the thing to look forward to after retirement was the free time to travel, whereas you’ve somewhat had that all along.
I just returned Sunday from a 3-month trip and that’s exactly the kind of thing I wanted to do after retirement. I’m already starting to plan the next trip but in the meantime I’m enjoying the lack of work-induced stress, reading lots of books, and loving the freedom to do whatever i want with my days!
Hi Patricia,
I think there’s a big difference between retirement (and planning for it on your terms) and being fired prematurely. But you’re right in that we’ve had the freedom to do whatever we want for years. In a way we’ve had the best of both worlds 🙂
Congratulations Patricia, I know you had been looking forward to it. You had mentioned it when we met you in Brasov back in 2015.
True, there is a big difference, but you did say you were curious to hear from retirees and how they adjusted. ? For me personally the adjustment was seamless and I hope Lissette adjusts to this new chapter in her life with ease!
wow. i had no idea about Turkey being censored in such extravagant ways! Sounds almost surreal! Whereabouts do you think you might be in Nov/Dec?
Hi Andy. No idea right now. Most likely somewhere in Europe but out of Schengen.
Why? Will you be in Europe somewhere?
I agree with the above poster. Spanky looks very pretty in that picture, and l feel her, I hate having my picture taken. Sorry to hear about the job loss. After l quit work, it took me a very solid three years to stop having a near heart attack every time l heard the phone ring etc.etc., so she is going to need some time to decompress from the last 20 years. As far as filling your time, I would say you will be screwed if you don’t like spending time with yourself (I think she’s safe there 🙂 ). I while away my day by doing mundane things. Wake up at about 9, go take a class at the gym, have a lazy breakfast, then work on the blog or read 2-3 hours, feed and play with the dogs then the walk them. Lunch, groceries, laundry and walking. Started a FB group and meet people through that and we socialize off the platform. Sometimes boring days, sometimes full…just like regular life anywhere in the world. Netflix and TV fills up the rest..and of course travel planning and actual traveling. I wouldn’t have it any other way and much prefer it to working :-). Once she starts helping with the blog, it’ll help. Congrats on the job!
Thanks Kemkem. I know how you feel about the phone ringing after work ended. For me I didn’t miss my job or the people, but at the same time it just seemed really quiet being at home and not talking to anyone all day. I would meet up with Lissette during her lunch hour and talk her ear off 🙂
You’re right also about establishing a routine. We had one when she worked and we have to get back to that. But it was easier when work dictated it for us, it’s pretty easy right now sleeping in until 10 without the need to wake up. Our apartment here in Turkey hasn’t helped either…maybe we can get on track at our next destination.
“their knob polished?” I laughed hysterically, thought I knew English pretty well, remember, I am a foreigner every place I go. loved this post!
Wish I could go to Turkey now, but I might be “arrested” there….dangerous for me and my likes too. BTW, please tell Lissette that she looks gorgeous in the above photo taken in Italy. I wish you both more travel excitement and if you see in Turkey (just in case) my idol (their most adored actor) and incredible talent Kivanc Tatlitug, hug him for me…ha…ha
Great, happy I made someone laugh Sara.
The photo actually dates back to last year in 2018…as you can see Lissette is camera-shy and I don’t have a lot of photos of her. Never heard of Kivanc Tatlitug (just looked him up – doesn’t he just do Turkish movies? He looks like a Turkish version of Tom Brady.) But yes, I’ll mention you if I ever meet him 😉
Well, congratulations on kicking your travel up to a new level, intentional or not! I well remember the summer after I left my job. It was quite unpleasant, for some reason. Having all that free time just wasn’t, ah, natural. Paula kept laughing at me. Eventually we went to Mexico and bought a sailboat. That kept us busy! Three years later we came back to California and we both started new careers, something I never thought would happen. Never say never… Now we’re traveling full time, having retired again. (I think retirement will stick this time.)
Interesting what you say about blurring in Turkish movies, Frank. While in Turkey for the month of March we started watching Turkish movies on Netflix. Never saw anyone smoke, but pretty soon we discovered, on Netflix, “Resurrection–Ertugrul”, a Turkish historical drama about the origins of the Ottoman Empire. Osman, founder of the Ottomans, was Ertugrul’s son, so he’s a historic character (although no doubt the series plays fast and loose with history). It’s wildly popular in the Muslim world–sort of an Eastern “Game of Thrones”–with high production values and great slo-mo fight scenes. But no blood! Wicked-looking swords, but mostly pushing and kicking, little slashing and stabbing. The little blood shown is fuzzed out, as you described for the cigarettes (and funny, I had the same comparison, it’s like that Japanese porn on stumbled on several times). Now that we left Turkey, though, the series is much harder to find.
We’re looking forward to your future postings on Turkey, and, well, everything! Thanks for sharing your travels.
You nailed it on the head Paul. I think we’re so pre-conditioned to working that free time feels unnatural. What kind of new career did you get into? And what did you do previously? (just curious).
I was talking about movies showing up on Turkish TV, most of which are American. I’ve seen more and more Turkish movies appearing on Netflix though. I would think they wouldn’t go through the same censorship being on Netflix. Thanks for the recommendation, will give it a shot.
Glad you also stumbled upon Japanese porn. Don’t you hate when you’re browsing the internet, maybe looking for a how to video on cooking quinoa, and you somehow end up being forced to watch a full-length Japanese porn video. I don’t know how that happens but I hate it when it does 🙂
I jumped right on that note about RuPaul’s Drag Race being on Netflix….I’ve searched before and was so excited I could hardly contain myself…. but lo and behold, I am disappointed again. Can’t find it there. Sure there are related things, but not the real thing. How sad am I? Maybe it is one of those times the show is on Netflix if you are in another country, not the USA? Say it is not so and tell me how to find my dear RuPiee. And thanks for all your great blogs and sorry for Lissette. When I lost my job and decided I wasn’t going to go into the workforce again, it was a shock to the system, but the internet helps.
Hi Cheryl. Lissette laughed knowing there’s another fan out there. Sorry to hear it’s not in the US – here we can’t get the US version of “The Office” which we would love to see in it’s entirety.
Maybe we both have to get a good VPN? (a website which doesn’t track which country you’re logging in from) When we first started travelling in 2014 it was the only way to get Netflix. Since then we get it all over the world (but just different versions). Maybe somebody reading this can suggest something.
Hey guys, only 8-10 hours per day? I was doing 10-14 (with a siesta) in my web development business. Shut it down 6 months before my retirement date. Did a few cash only things for the next year during which I coded my own blog software and early on decided that 1-3 months (2 is best) in a place reduced the hassle, expense and I even made some new friends. I do take some short trips also but, as you say, it gets just a little pricey.
Was wondering how long it would take before the penny dropped (pun intended). You will find it a lot more relaxing and if you shop around you’ll find some nice apartments (even a studio will work just 2 of you for a couple of months) at very reasonable prices. I usually apartment share. Get word of mouth referrals for a place rather than newspapers, web etc., usually works out better. The initial kick off will be the typical pricey deals though. I normally find a place within a week, stay in a hostel and go from there, but then I travel solo.
Well, she was an employee and not a slave Ted 🙂 Ah, so you’re one of those IT guys. Lots of weird people in that business – not saying you’re weird, just saying a lot of IT people are peculiar. Went into an IT guy’s store in Prague and he had an old laptop hanging on the wall filled with bullet holes. Anger issues I think.
Thanks for your tips Ted. A thing I’d love to do is housesit. Would love to take care of a pet. Lissette however a bit nervous around animals.
House sitting sounds a good idea Frank. As long as the owner tells you everything and you’re not dumped with issues like extra guests arriving that you knew nothing about beforehand or having to pay their bills. I’m sure not everyone has an animal.
I think it’s something we’ll look into going forward Ted. Would suit our lifestyle and we’d save a lot of money, especially in Western Europe.