I'm in Lagos Portugal right now because of your videos. I absolutely love it. I wanted to thank you as well as say it was a good place for me to come to for my first retirement trip. I'm from the Seattle area as well. It was sunny and 60 degrees today and I was walking around in shorts and a T-shirt. For me the weather is perfect especially for early February.
Regarding the question on switching back and forth; if you have a mid level to flagship level phone, they should be able to have two SIMs active at once. Note that Google Voice is available in the US only, so it won't work for Canadians. Canadians will probably want to look at porting over to Freedom Mobile. If they just need 2FA, incoming texts are free on most carriers but can be very delayed, but Freedom has free Wifi calling/texting worldwide, so you can get a cheap annual pass. If you're going home regularly, then the better Freedom plans ($35 to $55 CAD per month) will give you lots of gigs in Canada/US/Mexico plus 10 to 20 gigs in over 100 countries. The would cut you off, though, if you aren't spending any time in Canada.
The best country for 30 days if money were no object: New Zealand. Best country for safety: Japan. Best country for culture: France or Italy. Best first international trip: Fly to London and then take the train to Paris (or the train to Edinburgh). Best travel tips: Fly open jaw where you land in one country and return from another at no extra cost, or fly an airline that gives you a free stopover on the way to your destination.
I hope this isn’t a repeat question. But did you say that you keep your VPN turned off and only turn it on when you need it? I had a VPN on my phone last summer when I was in Europe and I had a lot of trouble with it slowing down or certain apps not working.
When in Faro and Lisbon last year it was a more of a box spring than a mattress. Going to Alicante and Madrid in two weeks hope we have better luck. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
It's so interesting that you mentioned the prices in the US for cellular service is more expensive than elsewhere in the world. As a Canadian I have a US plan because it's so cheap, and have many other friends that do as well. In Canada our prices are outrageous as we just do not have the population base to get the great deals like there are in the US. Just goes to show that perspective is everything 😊 As usual, a great video! Thank you for all that you do! Cheers 🍻
FWIW, I'm using a non-US eSIM now and don't always have VPN running on my phone and I get 2FA codes with no issues at all both for banking and for professional work. I wasn't sure how this would go, but it seems to be fine. Not sure if the fact that I'm on an iPhone helps with this.
Books- Richest Man In Babylon and The Wealthy Barber. Winter- Argentina or Chile Antartica Cruise...Freestyle Adventure ..just did a 23 day Epic Cruise with them and was great!
To the snow birds asking for good winter places, don't forget Crete. Again, as B&C said, it's not summer, but 60 degrees is common, and even hits low 70s sometimes. At least, these last two years it did. Also, I stay on the north coast - could be better in the south.
the most cultural enrichment you can get from 1 month in Italy, Spain, France each. It will not be cheap, but I would recommend it because of 3 months limit in EU on the first try... and hard mattresses are good if you like to be active...
I really enjoy the information on your channel as slow travel is my absolute favourite! By the way, I also really enjoy how Brian’s playful personality and your banter is coming through more too! It’s relatable and fun 😊
I love how Carrie says hobbling home is "a great idea" 🤣 We are traveling to Spain and Portugal this spring, but so is everyone else we know. It's going to be CROWDED! I love Mel Robbins too! Also, CROATIA, CROATIA, CROATIA!
Loved all the questions and comments!! You MUST make a video with step by step describing the google voice and system you use for calling , authentications, etc. I currently have GoogleFi, which is a $50-60/month step up service from the free of $10/month service you mentioned. Works well enough, but find I rarely use the actual cell calling or texting when abroad. End up using WhatsApp for messaging and calling, which wifi or internet based as opposed to the “actual calling or texting” we tend to use in the US
We use Nord VPN. Here is the link. 💻 VPN we use: www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=cl&merchant_id=d4bfb5df-f0c4-499b-bbb0-4734c69aa265&website_id=07ce4335-e112-4c0a-932c-33a2e51dc93e&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnordvpn.com
We're right with you re. Turkey and Portugal being top places.. Must be careful with Turkey however, as they've really ramped up their internet/ISP censorship at the end of 2024 - to the point where VPNs are being blocked. As a workaround, we used our Apple devices when we needed more security - vs the Laptop, however - this still isn't secure as VPN.
@@pjcline8878 The censorship is taking place "in country" at the ISP/telecom level. We couldn't connect/use our VPN either through Wifi/ISP or Data (Tmobile/Turkcell).
I'm in Lagos Portugal right now because of your videos. I absolutely love it. I wanted to thank you as well as say it was a good place for me to come to for my first retirement trip. I'm from the Seattle area as well. It was sunny and 60 degrees today and I was walking around in shorts and a T-shirt. For me the weather is perfect especially for early February.
Long stay in winter in MX, 100% La Paz. I'm here now and it is absolutely AMAZING.
Regarding the question on switching back and forth; if you have a mid level to flagship level phone, they should be able to have two SIMs active at once. Note that Google Voice is available in the US only, so it won't work for Canadians. Canadians will probably want to look at porting over to Freedom Mobile. If they just need 2FA, incoming texts are free on most carriers but can be very delayed, but Freedom has free Wifi calling/texting worldwide, so you can get a cheap annual pass. If you're going home regularly, then the better Freedom plans ($35 to $55 CAD per month) will give you lots of gigs in Canada/US/Mexico plus 10 to 20 gigs in over 100 countries. The would cut you off, though, if you aren't spending any time in Canada.
The best country for 30 days if money were no object: New Zealand. Best country for safety: Japan. Best country for culture: France or Italy. Best first international trip: Fly to London and then take the train to Paris (or the train to Edinburgh). Best travel tips: Fly open jaw where you land in one country and return from another at no extra cost, or fly an airline that gives you a free stopover on the way to your destination.
I really like your delivery speed. Many other channels I increase the playback speed to 1.25 or 1.5, but not yours. Great vid. Thanks for the info!
I hope this isn’t a repeat question. But did you say that you keep your VPN turned off and only turn it on when you need it? I had a VPN on my phone last summer when I was in Europe and I had a lot of trouble with it slowing down or certain apps not working.
Loved the mattress discussions! Great video.
When in Faro and Lisbon last year it was a more of a box spring than a mattress.
Going to Alicante and Madrid in two weeks hope we have better luck. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
It's so interesting that you mentioned the prices in the US for cellular service is more expensive than elsewhere in the world. As a Canadian I have a US plan because it's so cheap, and have many other friends that do as well. In Canada our prices are outrageous as we just do not have the population base to get the great deals like there are in the US. Just goes to show that perspective is everything 😊 As usual, a great video! Thank you for all that you do! Cheers 🍻
FWIW, I'm using a non-US eSIM now and don't always have VPN running on my phone and I get 2FA codes with no issues at all both for banking and for professional work. I wasn't sure how this would go, but it seems to be fine. Not sure if the fact that I'm on an iPhone helps with this.
Books- Richest Man In Babylon and The Wealthy Barber.
Winter- Argentina or Chile
Antartica Cruise...Freestyle Adventure ..just did a 23 day Epic Cruise with them and was great!
Us too!
To the snow birds asking for good winter places, don't forget Crete. Again, as B&C said, it's not summer, but 60 degrees is common, and even hits low 70s sometimes. At least, these last two years it did. Also, I stay on the north coast - could be better in the south.
Super excited for this video!
the most cultural enrichment you can get from 1 month in Italy, Spain, France each. It will not be cheap, but I would recommend it because of 3 months limit in EU on the first try... and hard mattresses are good if you like to be active...
I really enjoy the information on your channel as slow travel is my absolute favourite! By the way, I also really enjoy how Brian’s playful personality and your banter is coming through more too! It’s relatable and fun 😊
Do you have the free version of daily drop? Love your videos! One of my favorite RUclips travel channels!
I love how Carrie says hobbling home is "a great idea" 🤣 We are traveling to Spain and Portugal this spring, but so is everyone else we know. It's going to be CROWDED! I love Mel Robbins too! Also, CROATIA, CROATIA, CROATIA!
As I understand it Google Voice is only available for US phone numbers. In Canada we have to have Google Workspace which is a paid service.
The hardest mattresses I ever came across war in Southeast Asia.
Western mattresses are too soft after we traveled SEA 😂😂😂
Mine is Turkey for sure!🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷
Great info!!
Loved all the questions and comments!! You MUST make a video with step by step describing the google voice and system you use for calling , authentications, etc. I currently have GoogleFi, which is a $50-60/month step up service from the free of $10/month service you mentioned. Works well enough, but find I rarely use the actual cell calling or texting when abroad. End up using WhatsApp for messaging and calling, which wifi or internet based as opposed to the “actual calling or texting” we tend to use in the US
Thank you for answering my google voice question!💕
Even Turkey for solo female!
Love Mel ribbons ❤
I just learned to use Google Translate to do conversions if needed. I eventually get to things. LOL
In your professional capacity, what is the BEST VPN to get? What is the cost? Thanks for your amazing channel.
Brian, "i'm a little bit older than I used to be,"...Nah. 😂Both of you are full of energy! JP Porto
Thanks, JP! 😁
When you decide to be more permanent in the US have you considered a US travel log? There are so many diverse locations state side
What VPN do you use?
We use Nord VPN. Here is the link.
💻 VPN we use: www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=cl&merchant_id=d4bfb5df-f0c4-499b-bbb0-4734c69aa265&website_id=07ce4335-e112-4c0a-932c-33a2e51dc93e&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnordvpn.com
We're right with you re. Turkey and Portugal being top places.. Must be careful with Turkey however, as they've really ramped up their internet/ISP censorship at the end of 2024 - to the point where VPNs are being blocked. As a workaround, we used our Apple devices when we needed more security - vs the Laptop, however - this still isn't secure as VPN.
@jwinters9974. - Clarification: Turkey doesn't allow use of VPN, even if I'm on Booking or AirBNB?
@@pjcline8878 The censorship is taking place "in country" at the ISP/telecom level. We couldn't connect/use our VPN either through Wifi/ISP or Data (Tmobile/Turkcell).