I don’t usually take holidays, it’s just the way my life is. Well, at least in my own mind. According to my friends I’m always on a holiday. It might look like that because of my job, which I can do pretty much anywhere. I just need my laptop to work. And I sometimes do that in my home country, sometimes I go somewhere warmer. But it’s never a holiday, it’s never a vacation. When I travel somewhere I always go there for a month, or more, and while other people might consider it a vacation – for me it’s just another place to live for a bit and do my job.
And when it comes to vacations, I didn’t really take a vacation for around 10 years. Only in the end of last year I finally took a trip to Tenerife which even I considered a holiday. Although I still worked the same as I normally would. But I guess it’s all about your state of mind.
Should I decide to go somewhere else this year, I’d probably base my decision on where to go on the same things as I did when deciding to go to the Spanish island – weather and prices. While rental costs in Tenerife weren’t too cheap, life in general was very affordable. Even surprisingly affordable – you could get a coffee and a small sandwich and a fresh orange juice for EUR 2.50 ($2.80) total, and a beer in the evening for EUR 1.80 ($2). So what are the options if I decided to go to a vacation this year?
Mexico
There are many cities to choose from – Cancun, Mexico City, Merida. Independent of the news you might be hearing from the United States, Mexico is a nice country with beautiful sandy beaches, nice weather, and in addition to everything else it can be affordable enough. If you’re into gambling, you can also visit the local casinos or play some slots while while visiting Mexico.
Thailand
I have only heard good things about Thailand – and when it comes to areas for expats the name I’ve heard the most is Chiang Mai. Because of just the fact that everyone are talking about it, of course, it might mean that it’s going to be slightly too expensive soon, but for now, it should be pretty okay. It should be possible to rent a room for something like $300-$400 per month and food should be very affordable as well. Of course, it’s possible to overpay anywhere, if you really wanted to, but I’m not really in a habit of doing that.
Argentina
I’ve never really thought about Argentina before, but it does sound like an option – weather seems to be good, prices for beer at around $1.50 and even hotels might be quite affordable.
Vietnam
A friend mine mentioned around a year ago that he’s living in Hanoi and had only nice (although sometimes strange) things to say about it. The prices are on the cheap side with domestic beer prices starting at something like 70 cents in meals for just a few bucks as well.
Portugal
I was Portugal a few years back, sitting in cafeterias and doing my regular job with my laptop and I have to say it’s a nice country. And neither is it too expensive. I especially liked the Algarve area, and Porto. In Algarve, somehow we even managed to find a hotel room for two for just under EUR 10 total through one booking site. Of course, that was VERY cheap even for Portugal, but it means weird prices like that might still be possible. And beer prices should still be affordable enough as well, possibly ranging between EUR 1.50 and EUR 2.50.
A week ago I might have also added Sri Lanka to this list, but due to the recent events that might not be a good idea, at least not for a short while.
To read more on topics like this, check out the travel tips category.