A Sideways Life: The honest guide to living & working abroad

We call her 'patient zero'. She calls herself Melissa. The world calls her the Digital Nomad OG!

Coming up on Thursday, listen to our full interview with the very first Digital Nomad visa holder in Croatia.

You're gonna love this one!

 

In this episode we talk about:

- Top European cities for winter getaways

- Our favourite Christmas markets in Europe (including one that you may not have heard of)

- Current COVID travel restrictions to those markets (check before you book tho!)

If you do end up going somewhere we recommend, tag us into your photos on Insta - @asidewayslife.

 

Coming up in a day or so is our newest episode on wintering in Europe.

We tell you where we've spent winter, what we like (and don't like) and also our favourite Christmas Markets.

Looking for an Autumn city break in Europe? We've been to 159 towns & cities in the last 10 years and, naturally, we belie that we know the best places!

In this episode, we count down (quite literally!) the top 6 places to choose for an autumnal city break. So what are you waiting for? Press 'play' you fool!

Places we mention:

• Maribor, Slovenia
  • The oldest vine in the world
  • Wine museum (ask for Natasa or Marco) 
  • Wine Festival (San Martin) on the 11th November
• Lake Bled, Slovenia
• Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Belgrade, Serbia
  • Castle is Belgrade Fortress
  • The rooftop bar we went to is SkyLounge Belgrade
  • You have to try a burek!
  • The cobbled area that's the cultural quarter is Skadarlija
  • The cocktail bar that's like a speakeasy is the Riddle Bar
• Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina
  • The old bridge in Mostar is a must!
  • Čitluk is the village we mention with great wineries
  • The monastery in Blagaj (outside Mostar) is this one
  • We also mention this walking tour in Sarajevo 
• Istria, Croatia
  • The towns we mention are Rijeka, Optajia and Rovinj
  • In Rovinj, avoid the Monte restaurant (even though they have a Michelin star!) and instead go to Snack Bar Rio and get the truffle pasta
• Lisbon, Portugal
  • This is the famous custard tart that Al couldn't remember the name of 
  • The best chicken we ever had was from this takeaway shop (Google map)
  • Listen to our full episode on Lisbon here.
• Salamanca, Spain
  • The James Bond villain Al was trying to remember is Scaramanga, and the large lizard Leanne was getting confused by is the Salamander. Neither of these is a city in Northern Spain...
  • Learn more about the Salamanca Feria in September here. (Usually second week in September)
  • The square that we argued about is called Plaza Mayor 
  • Our episode on Salamanca is here
• Please check COVID entry requirements as they seem to change hourly!

Look out for this week's episode where Leanne and Al count down the best places to go if you want to enjoy autumn in Europe.

Worried about living abroad with children? What could go wrong? Will it have a negative effect on your family? 

Don't ask us - we don't have kids!

But our guest Yuliya does.

Listen as she gives a brutally honest account of living the ex-pat (and digital nomad) life with a 3-year-old daughter.

Oh, and go say 'hi' to her on Instagram @yuliyaxolina.

Coming up in a couple of days is our recent interview with the lovely Yulyia who is currently travelling around Croatia with her 3-year-old daughter. I think you'll enjoy this one as she's really honest about the challenges of ex-pat and nomad life with a kid.

We're gonna be really honest on this episode and explain exactly what it costs to live abroad.

We talk about:

• Cost of rent & bills
• How to find cheaper long-term accommodation
• The cost of driving a UK car abroad
• What we do about healthcare

Let's get cracking!

Resources mentioned:

• Safetywing.com for emergency medical insurance
• Cigna for premium healthcare and outpatient care
• Njuskalo is where we found our current house (far cheaper than the sites aimed at ex-pats)
• Stuart Collins insurance for long term stay in Europe (or try Saga if you're over 50)
• Credit cards that we use with no currency fee: Halifax Clarity & Santander Zero
• We use Starling Bank for our day to day banking (We use the debit card to get cash out at ATMs abroad)
• We use wise.com (formerly TransferWise) to send money from UK accounts to other European accounts (like paying landlords etc)
• Numbeo.com for cost of living in other countries
• NomadList.com to decide where you want to live

Don't forget: if you want the 100+ Airbnb hacks ebook, send us a message on Instagram - @sidewayslife

Let's just start by saying, we're not trying to put you off living and working abroad!

It's actually the opposite.

We want to give you all the downsides we've found of living and working abroad so that you can be prepared if you take the plunge.

Please do give us feedback (even if it's bad!). You can find us on Instagram (@asidewayslife) or email asidewayslife@gmail.com.