Citizens of the World: A Stoic Podcast for Curious Travelers

Travel expert Jema Patterson from the site 'Half the Clothes' discusses how to house-sit around the world and other free accommodation travel tips on this week’s episode of the Postcard Academy (visit postcardacademy.co for detailed show notes).   We break down the best and worst house-sitting sites, how to write a profile that will get homeowners to choose you, and other important information you need to get into house-sitting. Even if you find the idea of living in someone else’s house insane, hopefully you’ll still get some educational value out of this episode.   Jema has been wandering the globe non-stop since 2010 and just started a podcast called Ticket 2 Blog, the no-BS podcast about how to be a blogger and a nomad (without losing your mind or selling your soul).    We literally talked for hours, so I narrowed down our conversation to focus on house-sitting, work exchanges, and other ways to score cheap or free accommodation around the world.    In other news, I just wrote a blog post on Medium titled Women Don’t Need to be in Crisis to Travel.    Not long ago, a guy asked me if I was traveling so much because I had a divorce to work through. It was an innocent question. And who can blame him for it? Most films and books about female travelers are about women in crisis struggling to find themselves.    Yes, those stories are important and have inspired many people. But a lot of us already know who we are. In fact, that’s a big reason why I started this podcast — to share more stories of women who are out there exploring this world simply because they want to. My guest today is one of those fun and fierce women.        The Postcard Academy podcast is hosted by me, Sarah Mikutel. You can sign up for my newsletter here, if you so please. And thank you so much for listening to this show. I know you’re busy and have many listening options, so it means a lot to me that you’re here. You are the best.    Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Mole, memelas, and mezcal — oh my! If you enjoy Mexican food, you will fall madly in love with Oaxaca, Mexico. In this episode of the Postcard Academy podcast, my favorite travel expert, Cristal Dyer, and I eat our way through one of the world’s best gastronomic regions. You’ll learn where to find the best food and drink in Oaxaca’s capital city, and how to entertain yourself during a four- or five-day stay in this gloriously sunny and colorful UNESCO World Heritage Site. We also talk about our experience staying in a youth hostel when we’re no longer youths, an awkward yet hilarious encounter with restaurant management, and acquiring a taste for mezcal. Seriously, why aren’t we all living in Oaxaca? I’m already planning my return. Your travel itinerary to Oaxaca is waiting for you at postcardacademy.co If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗   Instagram, Twitter, Facebook Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

There’s a reason Colombia is at the top of so many ‘must-see’ travel lists this year. Forget about Pablo Escobar. This beautiful — and affordable — Latin American country has moved on. Get ready for some beautiful colonial villages, Caribbean coast, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites.    In this episode, American expat Andrew Dier, who’s also author of some of the most popular books on visiting Colombia, chats to us about the villages we should see, the empanadas we should eat…everything we need to know to enjoy a vacation in Colombia, from Bogota to Cartagena and beyond. (for photos and links, visit postcardacademy.co)     I’m your host, Sarah Mikutel. If you so desire, you can sign up for my newsletter here. And thank you so much for listening to this show. I know you’re busy and have many listening options, so it means a lot to me that you’re here. You are the best.   This podcast is brought to you by Audible. Not a member yet? Postcard Academy listeners can get a FREE audiobook and a 30-day free trial if you sign up via audibletrial.com/postcardDo you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

There’s one question that American listeners of this show keep asking: How can I live abroad?    It often feels like you’re stuck at home if you’re not from the EU or a Commonwealth country. But there’s hope! You have options to live abroad that don’t involve marrying some random.     In this episode, I talk to Tim Leffel, a travel writer and author of A Better Life for Half the Price. We get into specific options that are open to you, how to test out a country before committing, the questions you need to ask yourself before becoming an expat, and more.    Thanks to this conversation, I’ve added a few more countries to my ‘must visit’ list for this year. I hope find some inspiration, too.   I’m your host, Sarah Mikutel. If you so desire, you can sign up for my newsletter here. And thank you so much for listening to this show. I know you’re busy and have many listening options, so it means a lot to me that you’re here. You are the best.   This podcast is brought to you by Audible. Not a member yet? Postcard Academy listeners can get a FREE audiobook and a 30-day free trial if you sign up via audibletrial.com/postcardDo you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

How much do you know about Romania? If you’re like most people, the answer is almost nothing. On this episode, Debbie Stowe enlightens us about this former Communist country filled with castles, cobblestones, and Dracula impersonators. Debbie is a native Londoner who’s been living in Romania since 2002. She wrote the Culture Smart Essential Guide to Romania and several other books, and pens expat articles and reviews for Bucharest’s Business Review.    We talk about where to find the best food, music, and museums when traveling in Bucharest and beyond. And Debbie shares some hilarious cultural shock stories that are truly cringe-worthy — especially if you’re a Brit.    If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗   For more insider travel tips, visit postcardacademy.co     Instagram, Twitter, Facebook Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Author Jen Glantz — you may know her as the world’s first Bridesmaid for Hire — and her boyfriend Adam Kossoff don’t always know where they’re headed, but they know it will be a different city every 30 days.    A few months ago, they gave up their New York City apartments to become digital nomads who would spend every month experiencing life in a different American city.   We pack a lot into this episode, including dealing with getting laid off, starting over, building a location independent lifestyle, making friends in a new city, fun things to do in Portland, and more.    Of course, we talk about what a Bridesmaid for Hire is!! Visit postcardacademy.co to see a video of Jen at SXSW, where she talks about how she built her brand and offers lots of actionable tips to do this yourself.   If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗   Have a beautiful week, wherever you are ❤️ Instagram, Twitter, Facebook  Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

In the last episode, we talked about how the Great Depression had positives for many women.     Because of the financial crisis, people were putting off marriage and single women were going to work, and living and traveling independently for the first time. They needed advice, and 1930s author Marjorie Hillis became their celebrated guru to the single girl.    In this episode, I continue my conversation with Joanna Scutts, who just published a book on Marjorie’s life titled: “The Extra Woman: How Marjorie Hillis Led a Generation of Women to Live Alone and Like It.” Today, we’re sharing some New York travel advice — what women would have heard in the 1930s, and then some updates based on Joanna’s recommendations.   Enter to win a copy of Joanna’s book before January 10, 2018, by going to postcardacademy.co/extra-woman   If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗   For more insider travel tips, visit postcardacademy.co     Instagram, Twitter, Facebook  Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Before the TV series Girls or Sex and the City, Marjorie Hillis was America’s favorite bachelorette. But she wasn’t fretting about finding ‘the one.’ She was teaching women how to stand on their own two feet and enjoy their independence — and this was in the 1930s.    An editor at Vogue, Marjorie enjoyed living by herself, living by her own rules, and she wrote several guidebooks, including How to Live Alone and Like It, for women joining the workforce during the Depression.    Present-day author Joanna Scutts joins me on the Postcard Academy podcast to discuss her new book on Marjorie titled The Extra Woman: How Marjorie Hillis Led a Generation of Women to Live Alone and Like It. We explore Marjorie’s unlikely rise to celebrated guru to the single girl; New York life in the 1930s and 40s; why Marjorie’s advice is more relevant than ever; and why even President Roosevelt was photographed reading her book.   Enter to win a copy of Joanna’s book on Marjorie before January 10, 2018, by going to postcardacademy.co/extra-woman   If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗   Instagram, Twitter, Facebook  Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

When flames were scorching the Napa and Sonoma Valley wine regions in October, vineyard owner Amelia Ceja was speaking up for the California farm workers she saw picking grapes in the smoke. Amelia is the first Mexican-American woman ever elected president of a winery, and she was once a farm worker herself.   Amelia immigrated to America in 1967. Her father had come a few years earlier as part of an agreement between the United States and Mexico, which sent millions of laborers north of the border. With the Vietnam War going on, the U.S. had a labor shortage and needed people to work the fields.    I had to learn more about this woman who came to America without knowing English, and who went on to become the owner of a multi-million dollar winery. In this episode, we talk about pairing wine and Mexican cuisine; Amelia meeting Cesar Chavez; her involvement in helping the Smithsonian National Museum of American History tell a more diverse American story, and more.   If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗   For more insider travel tips, visit postcardacademy.co   Instagram, Twitter, Facebook  Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Have you ever seen a photo so beautiful, you thought, “I’m going here.” I feel that way about Lake Bled in Slovenia, which is one of the six former socialist republics of Yugoslavia.   This summer I traveled through a few of those other countries: Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, and Montegro, but I ran out of time to see Slovenia. Now I’m kicking myself because, increasingly, stunning photos of this hidden gem are cropping up everywhere. That’s it. In 2018, I’m making a trip happen! So I called up Slovenian expert Noah Charney for a little background research.    Noah is an American writer and art history professor who has lived in Slovenia since 2006. He’s written several books, including The Art Thief, which was an international success. Most recently, he wrote Slovenology: Living and Traveling in the World’s Best Country.    In this episode, we chat about Noah’s life in Slovenia, and come up with some great ideas on what to eat, drink, and do when traveling through its capital, Ljubljana, and Beyond.    If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover us. 🤗   For more insider travel tips, visit postcardacademy.co     Instagram, Twitter, FacebookDo you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.