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☆ The top places for digital nomads are miles from the hottest Zoomtowns. Cities in the Midwest and West have an advantage on rents, restaurants, and transportation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Midwestern cities were prominent in Zumper's list of best places for digital nomads. Zumper also took transportation, restaurant, and entertainment offerings into account. In 2021, the number of these digital nomads rose 42%, topping 10 million, MBO partners, a self-employment tech provider, found. It based its findings on myriad factors including short-term rental prices, ease of access to airports and other transportation, restaurant and entertainment offerings, air and WiFi quality. The cost of a short-term rental held the most weight in the ranking.

Persons: —, Zumper, It's Organizations: Service, Nomads Locations: Placer.ai, Austin , Texas, Florida, Columbus , Ohio, Kansas City , Missouri, Chicago, Detroit , Michigan

☆ The author of 'Eat, Pray, Love’ set her latest novel in Russia. Now she’s asking her own publisher to withdraw it after Ukrainian readers expressed their disappointment.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Lauren Steussy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elizabeth Gilbert set her latest novel, "The Snow Forest" in Soviet Russia. "It is not the time for this book to be published," she said in a Twitter video Monday. Elizabeth Gilbert told her fans Monday on Twitter that now "is not the time" for her book, "The Snow Forest," to be published. Gilbert's best-selling memoir "Eat, Pray, Love," about finding love and wanderlust in midlife, was made into a 2010 blockbuster starring Julia Roberts. Readers also took to social media to reach Gilbert and urge her to reconsider publishing the book.

Persons: Elizabeth Gilbert, —, Gilbert's, Julia Roberts, Gilbert, Readers, hasn't Organizations: Twitter, Penguin Random, Riverhead Books, Riverhead, New York Times, PEN America, Wall Street Locations: Soviet Russia, Russia, Ukraine, midlife, Siberia, Soviet, russia

I should've known better than to travel during the holidays, and I paid the cost for doing it anyway. I let my travel partner plan the trip, and a delayed flight meant that all his plans went awry. The trip cost me thousands of dollars and put me off international travel. My ill-fated trip to Morocco in 2019 put the final nail in the coffin of my romantic relationship and a nasty dent in my finances. The impossibly brisk pace of the trip and the time difference meant that our cancelled flight resulted in thousands of dollars lost on cancelled hotels, tours, and transportation.

Persons: —, I'd, Mercedes, we'd Organizations: Service Locations: Morocco, Montreal, Old, Toronto

☆ Top 5 trending summer travel destinations in the U.S. 2023—Florida didn't make the list
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Money might be tight, but people are still traveling, according to a recent American Express Travel survey. In April, American Express Travel released its ranking of the top summer destinations in the U.S. for 2023. "The top summer destinations offer something for every type of traveler." Pop culture is a big driver for travelers booking trips, according to American Express Travel. 61% of younger travelers say they have chosen a destination because it looks great in photos and videos.

Persons: Audrey Hendley, Gen Organizations: American Express, Card, Amex, CNBC Locations: U.S

☆ Travel costs fell in April's inflation reading. The dip may be short-lived, experts warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Typical trip costs increased by 9% in the first quarter of 2023, according to the NerdWallet Travel Price Index, which includes prices for flights, hotels, car rentals and dining out. When expressed in dollar terms, travelers would have paid an extra $180 per person for a $2,000 trip, NerdWallet found. "As has been the case ever since the onset of the pandemic, travel prices have been volatile," said Sally French, a travel expert at NerdWallet. "I think you're going to enjoy it a little bit more," Griscavage said of off-season travel to popular cities. Use your rewardsMany people built up frequent flier miles during the pandemic by using their credit cards that carry travel rewards benefits, Josephs said.

☆ Airbnb's CEO thinks your summer vacation will be cheaper this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Dan Latu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Airbnb predicted nights booked and prices would drop compared to last year at this time. US travelers are "price-sensitive" and favor the cheapest accommodations possible, Chesky said. CEO Brian Chesky told analysts that he expects hosts could be motivated to reduce their nightly rates to stay booked. "Just like Amazon, the more affordable we are, with the wider selection, the more people will come to Airbnb," Chesky said in the earnings call. So I've gotta make sure I remember the 26-year-old me that didn't have a lot of money when I started the company," Chesky told Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief of technology news site The Verge, this week.

☆ U.S. passport delays may be four months long — and could get worse. Here's what to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S. State Department must also restaff positions that were reassigned or eliminated as passport demand cratered in 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on the State Department 2024 budget on March 23, 2023 in Washington. (A traditional passport — a passport book — costs $130 to renew; there's an additional $35 acceptance fee for first-time applicants.) Importantly, Americans may not be allowed to travel if their passport expires within a few months after their trip. The State Department website has information about passport and visa requirements for specific countries.

☆ ‘Wanderlust’ Review: A Giant of Polar Adventure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Dominic Green | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The age of European exploration was also the age of empires. When wild-bearded white men committed bold acts of derring-do on the margins of the map, they smoothed the path for the machinery of commerce and government. Reid Mitenbuler’s “Wanderlust” is a detailed, digressive and frequently fascinating biography of the Danish polymath Peter Freuchen (1886-1957), a man who explored Earth’s second-last and second-coldest frontier, the Arctic. In 1906, Freuchen, a 20-year-old medical student at the University of Copenhagen, enlisted in an expedition to Greenland as a ship’s stoker. Freuchen’s mother, Frederikke, the daughter of the Paraguayan renegade, approved of her son’s endeavor and wrote that he was “doing the right thing” by following his “restlessness and spirit of adventure.”

In 2020, while working as a staff nurse at a hospital in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Aspen Tucker came across a job posting for a travel nurse. In 2020, Aspen Tucker left his staff nursing job to become a travel nurse, a move that came with a significant bump in pay. "I'm able to have a high salary as a travel nurse, but also come back to where the cost of living is low," he says. That month he split an Airbnb with his girlfriend (also a travel nurse who occasionally takes jobs at the same hospitals) in addition to paying his mortgage and utilities back home. When he's traveling work, Tucker pays friends and family to take care of his dog, Skye.

☆ A side hustle that 'feels like a paid vacation': These 20-somethings make money ice skating through Europe and Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Lila Werner, second from right, was paid about $5,700 for seven weeks of travel and ice skating in Belgium and Saudi Arabia this winter. But there's a downside to being an international ice skater: Werner says she'll return with very little remaining from her paycheck. Other contracted ice skaters who quit their jobs and performed abroad during the holiday didn't earn much money — but they got to travel essentially for free. "This almost feels like a paid vacation," Werner says. Werner, for example, still paid rent on her one-bedroom apartment while she traveled.

☆ School lunch, eggs and airfare: Why inflation soared for 10 items in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here's a look at the 10 items with the largest price gains, as measured by the annual inflation rate in December. Food at school: 305.2%The price of a meal at elementary and secondary schools spiked the most in 2022, by a whopping 305%. Overall food prices have been pressured on many fronts, too, funneling into school meals. Oil prices retreated in the second half of the year, though, as fears mounted of a possible recession and an accompanying weakness in oil demand. Monthly milk production among major suppliers fell each month from September 2021 to June 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

☆ Why Paid Sabbaticals Are Good for Business: Better Employees, Less Burnout
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Crissie Hoskins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

And through it all, I didn't get fired, there was no formal reprimand, and I got paid the entire time. Sabbaticals provide a proactive hedge against employee burnout, an antidote for attrition, and a protection from career wanderlust. Some employers argue that offering paid time off won't help keep employees around, but my sabbatical made me more passionate about my work — and my workplace — than ever. I love my job and want to be sure my team and clients get the best of me. Sabbaticals are good for businessMy sabbatical wasn't an anomaly — research shows that sabbaticals help employees fight burnout and improve their well-being.

Although international travel may not return immediately to pre-pandemic levels, companies, industries and countries that rely on Chinese tourists will get a boost in 2023, according to analysts. Elsewhere in the world, Cambodia, Mauritius, Malaysia, Taiwan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, South Korea and Philippines are also likely to benefit from the return of Chinese tourists, according to research by Capital Economics. Saxon said he expected China’s outbound international travel to fully recover by the year end. “Generally, individuals are pragmatic and countries will welcome Chinese tourists due to their spending power,” he said, adding that countries may remove restrictions quickly when the Covid situation improves in China. “It will take time for international tourism to get going, but it will come rushing back, when it happens.”

☆ A weak economy will test consumers' wanderlust, but these stocks could prove resilient in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The U.S. Travel Association anticipates domestic leisure travel demand will hold up, although growth may be a bit slower in 2023. The stock has an average analyst rating of buy and 47% upside to the average price target, according to FactSet. Marriott has an average analyst rating of overweight and 13.5% upside to the average analyst price target, per FactSet. Norwegian has an average analyst rating of overweight and nearly 27% upside to the average analyst price target, while Royal Caribbean has an average analyst rating of overweight and about 24% upside to its average price target. However, Carnival has an average analyst rating of hold and 24% upside to the average price target.

☆ Here's how much more you're paying to fly to see your family for the holidays this year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Jason Lalljee | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Consumers have spent $11 billion more on flights this year than they did by this time in 2019, Adobe found. People have been "revenge travelling" all year despite high inflation. That data comes as high inflation hasn't stopped people from traveling, and as they've opted for experiences abroad rather than goods in stores. The number of flights booked are only up about 5% this year from 2019, Adobe said, but the prices are considerably higher. "Despite elevated prices, demand remained strong," the Adobe researchers said, of other product categories.

☆ Busking Brit crosses Iraq on his way to COP27 without flying
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Charlotte Bruneau | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Briton Dan Hodd, 29 years old, who left Spain about a month ago to go to the COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh without flying, but mostly biking and using public transportation, plays the violin in Baghdad, Iraq October 26, 2022. “I am trying to illustrate the importance within the transport sector to do more about the climate crisis,” the 29-year-old Briton said. After a drop during the coronavirus pandemic, air traffic is expected to bounce back to 2019 levels by 2024-25, he said. Avoiding flying is not only part of Hodd’s message to delegates at COP27. His trip to Egypt is part of a long-term project to visit 100 countries in 10 years without flying, busking with his violin to earn enough to go on.

☆ How ‘White Lotus’ Creator Mike White Tries to Replicate a Reality Game Show With Every Season
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Donna Bulseco | Photographs Jenny Sathngam For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

AS A KID, Mike White had weird interests. That makes a lot of sense if you consider “The White Lotus,” the Emmy-winning HBO series he created: Its first season also involved quirky characters and disastrous turns of events in a glamorous setting, namely Maui. Promising the same heady cocktail, season 2, which premieres Oct. 30, unfolds in Sicily at San Domenico Palace, Taormina, a Four Seasons Hotel. “In Taormina, you see villas on terraced hills, Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea,” said Mr. White, 52. Mr. White brought his penchant for traveling, and troubleshooting, to his role as a director and showrunner, too, opting to film both seasons of “The White Lotus” on location.

☆ This 31-year-old spent $2,300 on an acre of Arizona land—less than a decade later, it's worth $15,000
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Louis Herron, 31, spent $2,333 on an acre in Arizona in 2013. Now, the land hosts his two tiny homes and is worth up to $15,000When Louis Herron spent $2,333 on an acre of land in 2013, he knew was getting a good deal. But he never predicted the property in Flagstaff, Arizona, a 30-minute drive from the Grand Canyon, would become over six times more valuable in less than a decade. Now the acre, which currently hosts two tiny homes, is worth up to $15,000, according to an appraiser estimate reviewed by CNBC Make It. "I was 21 or 22 years old at the time, and I had no idea I could even buy property," Herron, 31, tells CNBC Make It.

But when the pandemic hit I put off my trip, and my travel fund sat in a high-yield savings account. It was earning the highest interest rate of any savings account I could find at the time — a whopping 1.05%. Why not put my Italy fund in a brokerage account and get the double-digit returns I can in the stock market instead of 1% in a 'high-yield' savings account? I knew better than to put my vacation money — money I knew I'd be spending in the next two or three years, max — into growth stocks that are designed to be held for at least five years. Despite the small returns, I'll definitely be using a high-yield savings account for all future Italy savings.

☆ The Talented Kitchen Spice Rack Keeps Your Cabinets Uncluttered
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-13 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

And while we both enjoy cooking, I’m the one who expanded our spice collection from merely encyclopedic to multi-volume-unabridged (i.e. Luckily, I found a solution: the aptly named Talented Kitchen Wall-Mount Spice Racks. Talented Kitchen Stainless Steel Spice Racks with 24 Spice Glass Jars $38 at AmazonI had initially looked for a free-standing spice rack with a tiny footprint. Then I realized I’d been overlooking a 3- x 4-foot sliver of wall that runs from our kitchen counter to the ceiling. I ordered two sets of Talented Kitchen wall-mount racks.

☆ A British guy crashed her Thanksgiving dinner. They’ve been married for 20 years
▼ + stars: | 2021-11-26 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on Thanksgiving 2021 and was updated and republished for Thanksgiving 2023. CNN —It was November 1997 and Dina Honour was hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. Courtesy Dina HonourWhen he’d traveled to New York, Richard had been seeing someone back in London. Here's a recent photo of Dina, Richard and family in 2023. Courtesy Dina HonourWhen Richard and Dina first moved to Cyprus, they tried to recreate traditional US Thanksgiving traditions.

Persons: Dina Honour, Dina, She’d, “, ” Dina, She’d busied, ”, Richard Steggall, He’d, Dina’s, Richard, ” Richard, they’d, ” he’d, Brit, he’d, Ophelia, –, ’, who’d, she’d, CNN Dina, hadn’t, it’s, Richard ., marveling, ’ ”, limos, they’ve, It’s, “ It’s, Here's, we’ve, they’ll, “ Dina Organizations: CNN, New York City, CNN Travel, Brit, London, Heathrow, ”, New, Valentine’s, United Nations, UN, Harbour, Manhattan Penthouse, Empire, Broadway Locations: New York, Brooklyn, Boston, NYC, London, Chelsea, Dina, Majorca, Spain, York, Richmond, Dina’s, Central, British, Union, –, Europe, New York City, Australia, Nicosia, Cyprus, Copenhagen, Berlin, ”

It doesn't take a million followers to start earning thousands on Instagram, as Emily King and Corey Smith of @wheresmyofficenow have learned. Users with a few million followers, like the couple Jack Morriss and Lauren Bullen, make six-figure incomes and as much as $9,000 per post traveling the world and snapping eye-popping photos. The second most popular post was of King wearing a bikini, standing on the van's front bumper. In the next most popular, King is in a bikini, slicing lemons. "'They want to see Emily in a bikini, they want to see a sun flare, they want to see the van,' Smith said.

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