This month: NYC, Detroit, Houston and Pilly.  Don't mind any of these except Houston.  I despise that place and have to go 4-5 times per year.  Possibly the last place in the US I'd ever want to live.  

posted by Dr Winston O'Boogie

This month: NYC, Detroit, Houston and Pilly.  Don't mind any of these except Houston.  I despise that place and have to go 4-5 times per year.  Possibly the last place in the US I'd ever want to live.  

Elaborate.  I only ask because I've never been. 

Hot as hell and the people are assholes and can't drive for shit. I've never been, but this is what I've heard. :) 

posted by ernest_t_bass

Elaborate.  I only ask because I've never been. 

Horrible hot and humid weather much of the year, ugly mismatched new commercial construction everywhere, sprawling growth makes distances immense, huge overburderdened freeways with horrible traffic, flat as a board topography with ugly scrubby greenery all over, etc.

Somebody likes it because it continues to grow.  It is not my taste at all though.  

Yeah, but Torchy’s!

posted by justincredible

We're trying to decide on a vacation destination for March. I'd love to go to El Salvador, but not sure I want to deal with flying right now. We're looking at the St George Island, FL area right now.

I can't recommend Amelia Island, FL enough. You should take a look. 

Other than the increased prices? What's the issue with flying? 

I've had nothing but pleasant experiences while flying in the Covid era. 

posted by Automatik

Other than the increased prices? What's the issue with flying? 

I've had nothing but pleasant experiences while flying in the Covid era. 

I've flown more in the last two years than probably the prior 10 combined.  The pricing has (largely) been great during covid.  Hopefully most of the airlines hedged their fuel when it was inexpensive, otherwise things will be changing. 

Yeah I got some killer deals the past 12-18 months, but they've pretty much dried up. I'm looking at a few months out in spring and prices have doubled. 

One is Denver to Nashville, which used to be great, now $450+.

I havent flown nearly as much as I used to, but the prices have seemed fine. The service and planes and all that has stepped up imo. Planes are much cleaner. Masking for a long flight can suck, but you get the breaks for drinks and food -- so really, WTF is the point in enforcing it at all. 

My biggest issue has been that so few people are travelling, the flight times get changed constantly to accomodate cancelled flights elsewhere or whatever.

I don't want to deal with flying internationally. I'm not gonna wear a mask for that long. I'm also not interested in taking a covid test to get back into the country.

I have a beard too Justin, you can do it!

Tests to get in are a joke and completely overblown. There are literally booths on the side of the streets in Mexico that handle it. Takes 5 minutes, PDF gets emailed. Upload to airline app. Done.

What happens if I test positive?

You get an extra 14 day vacation.

Edit: Actually, I'm unsure if that's the case now. I believe you can get tested every few days and if you string 2-3 negatives in a row you're free to go. 

That's why I always buy the option to change my flight with no extra charge. Getting stuck isn't a huge issue for me, but would definitely be a problem for others. 

Sounds expensive.

Getting stuck for several more days would definitely be an issue for us.

I'll chime in to provide the flying across EU borders perspective.  TL;DR: it's a pain in the ass and sometimes depending on how long the trip is, the juice is not worth the squeeze.  You can also tell me "QQ/STFU like_that, because you get to travel Europe for cheap."

I don't understand what the purpose of the EU is anymore other than trying to keep the Euro relatively strong.  None of these countries are in sync and they change their COVID policies anytime they take a piss.  For instance, Italy's policy (like most countries) was you can enter without a COVID test as long as you are vaccinated.  Exactly one day prior to flying to Paris, the Italian Government decided they didn't care about vaccines anymore and now require a negative test if you are entering from ANY EU country.  We were just going to Paris for a weekend, so we had to scramble to find a pharmacy for testing, which is a lot harder than you think if you need to get that test on a Sunday.  Most of Europe shuts down on Sundays.  Luckily, our airbnb was right next to a pharmacy that did tests on Sunday mornings.  Logistically and for planning purposes it's a real pain in the ass.  I can't remember the last time we have booked a trip longer than 10 days in advance, because these countries change their regulations so suddenly.  Also, the amount of documentation you have to carry with you when you travel now is obnoxious (passport, covid pass, negative tests, etc).   The best part is you're still crammed in these 100% capacity flights sitting next to strangers (most airlines have 3 seater rows).    It's all a dog and pony show. 

The best part is, once we arrive to Italy they never check any of these things.  I returned to Italy from Sudan (don't ask why, but fuck that place) last year when vaccines were not available.  It took me about 5 minutes to get thru passport control.  They didn't check shit.  All I had to do was fill a declaration form that said I was not feeling feverish and I do not have COVID.  

I won't confirm/deny now that we have several negative tests from several countries, it is possible to PDF and change the date since they don't scrutinize the tests.  We might or might not have taken advantage of adobe...

Don't get me wrong, we are still traveling and living our lives.  The fact that we don't have kids helps a lot.  I can't imagine doing this with kids. 

Edit:  The added layer of getting stuck in another country sucks too.  It would be better to test positive in Italy, because the worst case is we can rent a car and get back home.  If you're stuck in another country, that shit can get expensive, especially if you're just sitting in a small ass hotel room.

posted by Automatik

Going to Mexico at the end of the month....indefinitely. Can't fucking wait.

How does this work? Lol sounds awesome but are you just taking a one way flight and see what happens? Is it relatively cheap?

I'll make a post about it eventually, it's a pretty wild process.

I'm in the middle of getting my Temporary Residence Visa. It allows me to go back and forth freely without worrying about getting X amount of days if I entered as a tourist. Standard is 180 days, but lately they are cracking down and giving people less or grilling you at immigration. It's quite common for people to "live" in Mexico under a tourist visa, just pop back and forth to renew the 180 days. Due to the influx of remote workers doing this, things have changed recently. 

I'm in Denver currently, COL in Mexico is significantly less. The peso to the dollar exchange rate is amazing.

I have an apartment lined up for a few months, then I'll go from there. Maybe stay in that city or bounce elsewhere. Example of the COL difference. Right now I'm in a tiny studio in the suburbs of Denver. In Mexico I'm paying slightly less for a luxury building, pool, doorman, gym, etc. 5 min from the beach. And this is during "high season", so I'm getting gouged a bit. I can't afford property in Denver right now, it's outrageous, so I'm out.  

Sounds awesome.

posted by Automatik

I'll make a post about it eventually, it's a pretty wild process.

I'm in the middle of getting my Temporary Residence Visa. It allows me to go back and forth freely without worrying about getting X amount of days if I entered as a tourist. Standard is 180 days, but lately they are cracking down and giving people less or grilling you at immigration. It's quite common for people to "live" in Mexico under a tourist visa, just pop back and forth to renew the 180 days. Due to the influx of remote workers doing this, things have changed recently. 

I'm in Denver currently, COL in Mexico is significantly less. The peso to the dollar exchange rate is amazing.

I have an apartment lined up for a few months, then I'll go from there. Maybe stay in that city or bounce elsewhere. Example of the COL difference. Right now I'm in a tiny studio in the suburbs of Denver. In Mexico I'm paying slightly less for a luxury building, pool, doorman, gym, etc. 5 min from the beach. And this is during "high season", so I'm getting gouged a bit. I can't afford property in Denver right now, it's outrageous, so I'm out.  

What will you be doing there?  Do you know anyone or have a mate going with you?

Serious question...didnt you just pack up and leave NYC for Denver? Was this always an option, or did you not anticipate the COL in Denver before moving?

Just living and working. I’m wfh indefinitely. Hopefully DJing once I network more.

I’ll be in Playa del Carmen first. I was there for a few months in fall so I’ve made some friends. There’s a good expat community there, very diverse. 

posted by Laley23

Serious question...didnt you just pack up and leave NYC for Denver? Was this always an option, or did you not anticipate the COL in Denver before moving?

Full blown audible. I went on vacation with my fam to Mexico in June. Then extended a few weeks. Fell in love with the lifestyle and low COL. Then went and scouted different places for a few months.

I thought I'd be able to come to Denver and COL would be significantly less. It's simply not. Housing prices are insane and I didn't want to commit to paying high rent for a year lease. I plan to just go back and forth and get temp apartments until I'm sick of it or can get property. Hell, I might buy in Mexico. Lots TBD.

posted by Automatik

Just living and working. I’m wfh indefinitely. Hopefully DJing once I network more.

I’ll be in Playa del Carmen first. I was there for a few months in fall so I’ve made some friends. There’s a good expat community there, very diverse. 

Sounds good.  I think this is a good decision assuming you're the right personality to take this on.  Mexican culture is very nice.  I sometimes wished I'd tried something like this at an earlier stage in life.