Pros and Cons of Being a Solo Digital Nomad

Solo Travel with Anna
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Jenn: [00:00:00] Hey everyone and welcome back to the Travel Mug Podcast. Today we are joined by Anna and we are so excited to chat with her about long-term solo travel and making connections while traveling. So, Anna is a Canadian full-time traveler, content creator and digital nomad. Who is passionate about solo travel, experiencing local culture, and creating affordable trips.

We love affordable trips here. So she is also the founder of Your Travel Friend, which is a community connecting international folks to fulfill the need of a go-to travel friend who possesses all of the like insider knowledge. So the community allows humans to connect, support each other, share stories, uncover local hidden gems, and support to understand cultural nuances, and we'll definitely be chatting about that a little bit later. Welcome to the show, Anna.

Anna: Thank you so much for having me join, and join two [00:01:00] other Canadians and talk about travel. My favorite combination that is sometimes hard to find.

Jenn: Yes. Yeah, that's so exciting. So how did you fall in love with travel? Like was being a digital nomad a goal for you, or how did that sort of happen for you?

Anna: Oh yeah. So I think the, the bug I say for travel started, um, when as a kid, we lived in the Netherlands for three years, and I think that was when I got the taste of obviously hearing a different language even though it's, you know, many Dutch people speak English, the taste for other food, getting to travel around Europe.

And then when I decided to go to university, although I stayed in university in Canada, I decided to go to a different province. So I think that kind of like just wanting, a change of environment. and I was living in Vancouver and as many of us post pandemic, uh, we kind of were like, what are we doing with our lives?

Should we change it up? I think Jenn you had something similar happened. So, um, yeah. My story goes, at the time I was in a relationship, [00:02:00] I wondered, okay, where's this going? Going nowhere. Got it. Uh, had a career at that wasn't really an exciting job position. And I had freelance clients already at that time, it was probably about five years already.

I had some freelance work, and I told them, I think I'm gonna like do this from other places in the world. How does that sound? Um, you know, I had ultimate control. So I knew I wanted to leave Vancouver. Moved my base back to Calgary and then I thought, I don't know where I wanna be in Canada, so I'll just travel for a bit.

And here we're over three years later and I think I learned about the term digital nomad during that trip. So that first trip and meeting people who were more working a full-time remote job. And since then I've got such exposure to the variety of digital nomads, and

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Anna: still a new term because I definitely meet people who are asking me like, what is that term you call yourself?

So I sometimes call it just like working as I, as I travel. It's not a vacation for sure, but [00:03:00] yeah. So I just take my freelance work with me and it's worked out so far.

Meggan: Yeah, I would, I would call it vacation, uh, adjacent, I would call it.

Anna: I like that. I like that.

Meggan: No, and I, I think that it is a relatively new term, but I think it is something, people are getting a bit more used to hearing. And it certainly is one of those things that a lot of people won't do, but it's still probably like, oh, I would, you know, that would be my dream job. So just think about that.

If on days that are tough for you, be like. I'm living the life that people do dream of. So that's something a little nugget you can take away. , because so many people do dream of long-term travel. So guess, you know, to get to the meat and potatoes of it, can you share some tips for someone who's hoping to start traveling more long-term?

Like. I know you're working, but still, how do you manage your budget and plan your destinations? Because a lot of times when people have like the three or four weeks of vacation, they put so much time and [00:04:00] effort into that one trip, and that's sort of what you're doing all the time. So, or more frequently I should say.

So talk us through sort of how you travel long term.

Anna: Yeah, definitely. And also I love that you said meat and potatoes of it. 'cause that is such a Canadian slang.

Meggan: And then I thought, you're vegetarian, so I probably should have said like beans and potatoes. But

Anna: No, for people who dunno. It's so funny because, uh, I got a, I gotta digress of how I found you both and, and I was looking for other travel podcasts just to like stay inspired. And then I heard car, one of you said Car and I was like, that is an East Coast accent. And I just got so excited. So it's interesting 'cause since coming back from one of my longer trips, um, just coming back to my base in Canada for a little bit of time, it's so funny the slang that you don't realize is Canadian slang until you. Come back and then so meat and potatoes as well. Um, but back to your question. . I guess I've kind of stumbled [00:05:00] upon it in the sense of like, I didn't wanna go home.

Jenn: Yeah.

Anna: I'm having fun, um, working it out. And I think there's, I always preface there's no right way to do it.

So I do think there is some social comparison happening with digital nomad lifestyles. there's such a mix of people, so I've met folks that really base themselves like. Three months of the year in four different places. That's how they live their life. They go three months, three months, three months.

Um, some people do six months and six months. You know, we have the classic snowbird as we call it in Canada. , and then there's friends of mine who work remote jobs in a nine to five in their time zone of wherever their job is located, yet their travelers at heart. So the first priority is like still exploring and somehow they figure it out, like taking calls at 5:00 AM in Kyrgyzstan because they're on like Pacific time. It's crazy. So for me , it's a lot about energy levels in terms of social battery, in terms of how I'm feeling, not trying to get burnt out. So often if I find myself in a very social environment, a [00:06:00] co-living or surrounded by other digital nomads, I usually follow it up with a bit of solo time.

And that's also a bit more work time. So if you can plan ahead, if you have control in like owning your own business or being self-employed, you can kind of play with that. If you know that one week's gonna be event focused and then the next you can kind of, you know, you literally just live in a city as if you were at home.

So. I think it's like breaking down that because I don't know for you both if I'm, correct me if I'm wrong, we're planning more vacations and like really tight pack trips, whereas this, we might do one week of a really tight pack trip or the first week we arrive somewhere, we're doing walking tours and exploring the city, and then the next week I'm just kind of like. I dunno. I wake up, I get a coffee, do a couple hours there, do lunch, maybe go for an afternoon walk a little bit more work, have dinner, and that's my day. And people are like, why didn't you explore more? And you know, you have to remember, it's like I always think too, you have to, [00:07:00] if you want to keep traveling longer term, you have to build habits and be sustainable 'cause you don't have that, oh, I'm gonna go home on Friday. Like, let's push ourselves to the very end and we can sleep on the flight home. You know? So, I dunno. Yeah, it's um, it's kind of a, an experience like that.

Jenn: Yeah, it's definitely.

Meggan: oh, go ahead, Jen.

Jenn: Sorry, I, it's definitely a different mindset for sure, like when you're, you're essentially, you know, living there that you, you have to switch out of that, like vacation I have to see everything mode and switch into like, this is where I'm living for this period of time, and so I need to balance like things that I need to get done in my life.

Like work and you know, like regular stuff like cooking meals and laundry and getting groceries as well as the like sightseeing and like getting out and exploring type stuff too. For sure.

Anna: Yeah, I definitely think for me it's a mix of, I usually would do like a work hard, play hard kind of analogy. So maybe, [00:08:00] you know, I love working in Europe because actually I don't usually start diving into my laptop till like two or 3:00 PM So I spend the mornings, if I'm seaside, I go to the beach, I enjoy the daytime, and then I kind of dive into the evening, or I do that walking tour and then I dive into work.

So it's a nice like. So you're not doing a full day of activities, you're only kind of doing that maybe 30%. So you can like break it apart over a couple days. And sometimes you hear about things more too. So like being there longer term is better because someone might say, oh no, no, no, let me like help you get on this boat.

Or like just come with me and it's cheaper and it's a better experience 'cause you're with the local. So that's kind of how it works out.

Jenn: yeah. I'm, I'm taking my first like, working trip, soon in, in May, and so I, it's, I mean, it's only 10 days. It's like a much shorter trip, but I am working my regular like nine to five job while I'm there and I'm already feeling some like anxiety about [00:09:00] how I'm balancing everything, and I'm sure it'll be fine, but it's just a, it's a totally different mindset for sure.

Anna: Do you feel like your, what is your like big fear with taking, trying to vacation or experience while also stay focused with your job.

Jenn: Yeah. Yeah, I am, honestly, I am like anxious about not being able to see everything that I want to

Anna: Mm-hmm.

Jenn: um, because I do have to spend those eight hours, you know, like on my laptop. So hopefully I'll be able to balance that by like, working from a local cafe and like going for a walk at lunch. But yeah, it's, it's just, it does shorten the time that you have to like, see things.

Anna: Definitely, I think, yeah, just you, you maximize the time. So your lunch break is gonna be probably a little bit more exciting of a lunch break than perhaps in your day. Your, you know, your home base. But also it's so cool that you don't have to take vacation time and you can do this,

Jenn: Yeah.

Anna: remotely and once you're done work, you get to like step outside to a whole [00:10:00] new environment.

So I think that's my favorite thing is you know, you're like, wow, it's so cool. Like, you know, your laptop's a familiar space. You close your laptop and you're like, wow, look where I am. Like, you kind of come back to your, your present self, and you're in a really epic place.

Meggan: Yeah,

Jenn: for sure.

Meggan: agree. And I think, know, we also wanted to talk about how you sort of balance traveling and working, and I think you've covered that a bit, but I, I did wanna go back on one thing that you mentioned about how sort of like overstimulation, when you're cohabitating with people in the next week needing to be you know, a more quiet space or just by yourself, do you find that doing this, uh, or having this type of, you know, work life lifestyle, you've really gotten to know who you are and what your boundaries are and what you need for yourself? Because I think when you're in your home and your own space, it's pretty easy to, to do what you wish and you know what works for you.

But have you really sort of had to get to know yourself differently by living this type of lifestyle?

Anna: Oh, for sure. I, I feel like I'm hyper aware of [00:11:00] myself, almost like it's a detriment now because I'm like so in tune with my emotions and I've always attested it to, like, I grew up dancing and like as a dancer, you're like hyper aware of your body and every tiny movement and how one thing's gonna make the next move happen or how you feel in your body.

And I feel like that's come to like my mind and just my, my workflow. So I, I'm used to being in control of my day-to-day as well, which I say that in the sense of like, I really have ultimate control over like what my energy levels are. But yeah, I'm, I'm definitely an extroverted introvert, so I get so excited meeting new people and I'm like, in there, in there, in there, and then like one week later I'm sick and I'm like, what happened?

And I was like, oh. So I call it like, everyone needs to schedule Netflix breaks in. I need to go have my reality TV binge. That's kind of like, that just brings me back to this like calm, just kind of taking that break from people. And I've also learned like naturally we're attracted to extroverted people when meeting, new people, whether that's like a short-term engagement with someone, or like you meet a friend and you hang out with them for a month.

[00:12:00] So I think for me, I'm attracted to the extroverted people to bring me the energy, but then I usually end up hanging out with more of like the quiet, more introverted people because I can sustain that relationship or like those engagements throughout a longer chunk of time, whether it's a month, two months.

Even if it's just a day, it's like, okay, your energy is a lot and at the end of this day, I know I'm gonna be really burnt out. So how about we just do coffee and then I'm gonna go by myself. So I think you have to learn too, like, I dunno if you've ever met someone where you've had to, like, you deny their friendship, you know, you do a walking to, they're like, let's have lunch together.

And you're like, um, no thank you.

Meggan: I good, but I appreciate the offer.

Anna: Walk the direction to the restaurant and then yeah.

Jenn: Yeah.

Anna: I'd rather eat alone. Thank you.

Jenn: Yeah.

Anna: So the balance of travel and working is so hard. Like it's um, it's a constant like battle of Yeah, like you wanna see things you have to eat and you have to do laundry at some point. So I think it's [00:13:00] always prioritizing. I think that's a big thing, is learning what is a priority, what's the fun priority and what's the you can get it done quick, but you know, a laptop at a laundromat is a great workstation. Just saying, so you birds.

Jenn: Yeah, yeah. I mean, work life balance is a challenge no matter where you are. Like, it literally doesn't matter. So yeah, we, we all struggle with that. I wanna circle back to the budget because feel like when I am exploring a new place, I want to do all of the things, I want to eat at all of the restaurants.

So how do you sort of, you know, budget to make sure that you are getting to do those exciting things, but also like not eating in restaurants every single day.

Anna: For sure. So I think different to, so we can use your upcoming 10 day trip and as, as an example, of course we said that you're working, but in 10 days you might have put aside money or you have an expected budget that [00:14:00] you're going to spend. So maybe you're like, okay, it's like, you know, flights and everything included.

It's $2,000 for this 10 day trip. I'm totally pulling a number out of

Jenn: Sure.

Anna: But you kind of have like, okay, I can spend however many dollars a day on food, but with longer term travel. And in my situation, I have a fluctuating income, so I, I can't really base that. And if you're changing countries too, it can very much vary.

Going from France to Turkey is gonna be a way different eating budget. So my rule of thumb is I always try and have one meal in, at least if it's somewhere where I can't properly cook and have a stock of groceries, which is usually like a one week stay or more, I usually do, I think like an easy yogurt and granola.

Like if you're staying somewhere for two, three days and you have access to a fridge, grab a couple of those in like single yogurts a bag of granola and a couple of bananas, bam, you got breakfast. And then you can have less guilt about lunch and dinner. , or if there's a [00:15:00] really not Michelin star, like I've never been at that budget level, but there's like, you know, some kind of restaurant they're really interested in.

Or you want to have that kind of three course wine pairing kind of experience maybe that you do find just that street sandwich shop for lunch. So I think kind of that street fast food combined with a sit down eating. Um, that's kind of how I balance it out. Honestly, it depends on the work schedule too.

So sometimes I'm like, I'm in a really great workflow. I'm just gonna literally go and I can be, I remember being in, um, in Prague, in the Czech Republic and there was like a great just like kind of sandwich, um, salad shop that, I don't know what we would call it in Canada, like almost an Extreme Pita or a Subway, which I hate.

And you guys talked about subway. I haven't been in a subway in so long, but, you know, it wasn't the fancy thing. It's not like prague's traditional food, but I do feel like it was busy, like people eat there, you know, it is part of their culture and their life now. So kind of finding it, yeah, budget's really hard and I think it really depends on [00:16:00] what, um, it sounds like, Jen, you're, you like food a lot, so you're gonna,

Jenn: yeah,

Anna: you're gonna budget heavy on the food side where someone might b budget heavy on the activity side and not care at all what they're eating, so.

Meggan: Before we get to the next question, I'm gonna interrupt and say.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: You say Canada in sandwich and I know exactly where you are from, so I'm just gonna, just gonna put that out there. Maybe we say car differently, but Sandwich in Canada the way you say it tells me you're from the Western part of this country.

Anna: If there's any native English speakers, they might pick up on this. But for any international friends listening, if you don't understand what we're talking about, that is a okay because. For me, they say car, like really hard emphasis on the R almost like an Irish accent, which of course makes sense with the history of the East Coast, but I didn't know Sandwich, I sounded different.

So.

Meggan: you are heavy on the "and"

Jenn: yeah, yeah. We would say [00:17:00] sandwich like and.

Anna: And

Meggan: yeah. And you say, and which like, like your fancy um, we're just more, we're more laid back with that.

Anna: I love that though.

Meggan: I. I, I couldn't control it any longer. I was hearing it and I'm like, I can't, I can't not say it. Um, so in terms of downsides or a downside, they have to exist of what you are doing. Nothing is perfect.

Anna: Yeah.

Meggan: I'm just looking for you to share with our listeners. things or something to keep in mind when considering possibly being a digital nomad or a long-term traveler, because I think, you know, it's great to talk about, you know, all of the lovely things that are involved, but I think it's important to give realistic snapshots as well.

Anna: A hundred percent and I am like maybe a little bit more on the pessimistic side because I think, of course Instagram gives a highlight reel. YouTube gives a highlight reel, but there's so many, I wouldn't say downsides, but you know, challenges that come [00:18:00] up that are different. Primarily if you are solo traveling.

I can't speak from a longer term travel time of, um, traveling with a partner. I've traveled with friends or lived with a friend for apartment, often another digital nomad friend. But, um. I think the biggest thing is just kind of when you need those breaks or you're, you know, you're really, really heavy in work and you want something that from your home base that feels really comforting and like that doesn't exist.

There's been many times where I'm like three or four months into a trip and I just want to teleport myself to my couch and just like know that I have this big comfy couch and I can watch tv and it's definitely like a North American. Um, comfort and I wanna be zapped right back. Like I just want two days of this comfort where we have a pantry, which is also such a Canadian word.

Um, instead of always trying to have to find food and like, 'cause you're doing adulting while working, while traveling, while mixing culture and. To speak openly. It's [00:19:00] like as a female too, sometimes like you don't want to go out when it's dark, so you're like, okay, so dinner's a granola bar. Unless I want to take myself out in the dark and try and find food.

Well, I don't really wanna sit alone because I'm just, maybe sometimes it's about a confidence thing too. Like I'm not really in a good space to like sit and eat by myself and just really enjoy the meal. I'm, you know, I'm really hyper aware of my surroundings, so I can't just sit, eat, and enjoy my meal. So I think that's a, a big di downside.

And you're constantly a travel agent. So different again, to this kind of like one week to four week even trip where you know you have a return date if you're consistently going, going, going, even if you have breaks between, like you start to travel one week and then you're like, oh, where am I gonna live the next week or the next month?

So I've left it pretty tight sometimes about where I'm gonna live and I'm quite an organized person, but. Um, especially in Europe, I'm a bit too risky with the, like, oh, where am I gonna sleep in four nights? Uh, we should figure that out.

Jenn: Oh my God. I [00:20:00] think that just gave me,

Meggan: attack. Jen literally just had a heart attack.

Anna: But it's so funny because I'm like, I'm quite a planner. Like I, you know, I like to have everything. I'm like Mary Poppins, big kind of gal. But yeah, maybe in other, in other, um, continents or other places I'd be different. But in Europe, I'm a bit slack with it, so. Jen, is that like giving you anxiety, not knowing where you're gonna.

Jenn: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, it does. Yeah. I could not operate like that, and I don't like, I. When I started, so I have a travel blog that I started, I, I think in 2017. So like, it's been quite a while, um, Will Save For Travel. And so at that point in my life I was kind of like figuring what I wanted to do for work and, um. I really wanted to be not necessarily a digital nomad, but at least location independent, which I [00:21:00] am now essentially with my work. Um, I do work full-time for, you know, like a corporate company. There is some restrictions about where, like, countries that I can work from, but essentially I can move around. Uh, on the flip side of that, I have three animals. And a house from the 1850s. So

Anna: Wow.

Jenn: I'm not location dependent in that way because I've really tied myself down to this house. but yeah, it's, uh, I don't remember where I was going with

Anna: That's, I just wanna know, you don't, you don't have any like down, you can do trusted house sitters too. You can have someone come and care for your pets in.

Jenn: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, and we had, we do have people that, um, you know, come and, and stay with our animals when we travel. Um, but I, I don't, oh, I remember where I was going now. I don't think that long term travel is for me, like I do, like having my home base, my home office, [00:22:00] my home couch and my, my animals around me.

Anna: Yes.

Jenn: just really interesting that I kind of set out to be location independent and then decided that I don't know if that life is for me.

Meggan: Yeah, it's interesting because obviously not everything is for everyone and it, it's all about your comfort level and like what you want, and I can completely agree with that. I think for me like. I don't think long-term travel while working is for me, but I do think we have a bit of a plan in place where, you know, by the time we're not old but older, that that's what we want to do.

So that my husband and I, we don't have any kids. So I think that that is sort of, I our plan. 'cause I think, and not to be morbid, but our parents may not be here by that point. We won't have that to worry about as well. So I think, you know, that's definitely in life can throw you curve balls, of course. But that is sort of definitely, a longer term plan for us.

So we'll

Anna: Yeah, it's,

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Check back in 10 years, guys.

Jenn: Yeah.

Anna: it's really not for everyone. I met a, a gentleman, a [00:23:00] Swedish gentleman, and um, he set out on this like six month nomad journey. He had it quite planned. And after the six months, he wrote a really awesome Instagram post that I like should share more, because he said, it's not for me. He said, and this is why it's not for me, and I should read it back.

But it was just so nice to hear from someone too who you know, we think, oh, it's like trendy and cool to be a digital nomad. But he said, I love traveling. I would sometimes work remotely, but like the nomad lifestyle is not for me. And I will say, like those nuances of wanting a home base returning to a a, a location again, is kind of how I fix that problem.

So, for example, in Europe, I have some extended family in Germany. I've spent a, a chunk of time in Sophia, a chunk of time in the country of Montenegro as well. So. The familiarities of those places sort of become that like one, I dunno how to, it's not like one whole aspect, but you're like, oh, I know what to expect a little bit.

And then you just have that side of your [00:24:00] nervous system a little bit calmer, and you're like, I know what I can expect for food and I know where a good bakery is, at least.

Jenn: Yeah.

Anna: Yeah.

Meggan: That's a key. I mean.

Jenn: Yeah. Yeah. So I would love if you could talk to us about a place that you've traveled that maybe you went with some like lower expectations and then it like was super amazing or like really exceeded your expectations and what maybe would've changed your mind about that destination.

Anna: Yeah, it's like everyone always asks, what's your favorite place? And I always say, for what purpose? Like, give me a second context to plan it with. Um, my last trip was mostly in the Balkans for a longer period of time, and overall, it surprised me a lot about the Balkan countries because I think perhaps coming from Western Canada, and I wanna speak like lightly on this, but I think there is a little bit of a stereotype of them being behind in technology or just kind of rougher or, um, [00:25:00] not as economically stable and like just I don't know if messy is the right word. And I would just, I wanna like break those stereotypes because for sure we have some things that are like in technology or advancing and maybe our economic, our economic state, well I don't know right now, but in normal times is a bit more stable and the government is less corrupt.

So I'm not getting political or economical 'cause those are not my strong suits. But I think what I like about the Balkans and what surprised me, and I'm speaking more in like Montenegro, Bulgaria. Um, also, I mean, Hungary is a little different 'cause Budapest I think is a world in itself, in, in, . Hungry, but like some of the, uh, yeah.

Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, they're just chill. Like they are a mindset in my experience of like, we make money, we spend money, we have coffee, we have coffee, multiple times a day with people. You just call up your friend and they show up at the coffee shop. Whereas Western Society is like in three weeks at 2:00 PM [00:26:00] um, are you available? Can you make it? And the day before, oh, suddenly I can't make it. And then it's like, why do I even schedule it in? So I think what surprised me about the Balkan culture and I really do like, is just, it is simple. It is a little bit of that, like less of that hustle mentality maybe because they don't have the opportunities we have.

It makes me more relaxed. Like I don't feel that pressure, you know, in Montenegro. This one town I lived in, they built one story of the house and they left the rebar in for the second story. And the joke was kind of, we might finish it one day, maybe the next generation will, if we get enough money, but me, we don't really need to.

Meggan: I love that for them.

Anna: I love it. I was like, oh, cool. Like, and they just, it's content, like it just feels. Even tone. So I think overall the Balkans are really surprising, but I did, I had Slovenia written down in my head because um, I didn't know anything about Slovenia and it is gorgeous there [00:27:00] and it is absolutely beautiful.

It's so easy to get to country surrounding it, but it was more expensive, um, than I was expecting, but a huge push for sustainability there as well. And wow, just like stunning nature and would love to explore there more. I.

Meggan: Excellent. Now, we've referenced this already, so you are a vegetarian, so I'd love for you to talk to us about any shifts you've seen in accommodation of your eating preferences from maybe when traveling. I. To now if there have been any, like where have you found maybe the best vegetarian food in your travels?

Like sort of talk to us how that's evolved. As you know, societies' evolved to understand that it isn't all just about meat and potatoes.

Anna: I need some context here because I have a feeling you two may be meat and potatoes people.

Jenn: No, um, the ver very opposite. So I, I eat like 80% vegetarian. Um, I grew [00:28:00] up in a very meat and potatoes household and yeah, I think Megan's the same. Yeah, we, uh, we are definitely, I would like to be more vegetarian, but, yeah, my husband has some food allergies that make ve vegetarianism, like a little bit difficult. Um, but yeah, so it, it can be challenging. I've found like when we're traveling to, in some places to, find vegetarian food, like specifically at restaurants, obviously if you're going to the grocery store and, uh, and cooking for yourself, it's a lot easier.

Meggan: Yeah, and I was a pescatarian for five and a half years. I just, uh, I started eating meat again in 2022, but I would say eat compared to me prior to 2017, which is when I started as a vegetarian and then moved to pescatarian. I, I eat a lot less so, and we still eat full meals without meat. So yeah, it's, uh, it's definitely not all meat and potatoes.

Anna: I mean, I grew up in Alberta, which is like for those listening is a heavy, heavy beef [00:29:00] industry and we had steak like almost every Sunday in the summer. So I think, um, there's a reason I'm not vegan just to preface, and that is because that is way more difficult when traveling. And I was spending a month in Albania with a very strict vegan to the point of reading the back of chip labels.

And as much as I respect that, that was her choice and that was what it is, I just found it such a break in how we could enjoy ourselves. So I find vegetarian quite easy because it's such a single thing on a plate. So it's like I'll have all the sides. I don't care if there's cream, sauces, I don't care if there's anything else.

Just don't gimme that piece of chicken. And I do find it hard at times to find a direct replacement protein, and I'll say that in the sense of like a chickpea, any kind of bean or legume, any kind of soy product. Again, going back to the Balkan, some of the countries don't have soy products. It's just not in their, you know, in their grocery stores.

Um, so [00:30:00] protein, like granola bars are kind of my backup plan in terms of like, if I'm grabbing a snack, I'll always grab that, but I never really found an issue. I guess it's just part of my lifestyle that it's really easy for me not to, I always find there's grilled vegetables and potatoes on a menu. Um, but Germany I think is kind of at the top for veganism. Um, I was in Hamburg and there was like a Korean vegan restaurant and I was like, I went there twice 'cause it was so good. Like two nights in a, she's like, you were here yesterday, weren't you? And I was like, yeah, it was good.

Jenn: Yeah.

Anna: it was 10, it was 10 euros. It was like such good food.

Meggan: tomorrow.

Anna: Yeah. I dunno if you both, have you both been to Berlin in like maybe the last five years?

Meggan: no.

Jenn: No.

Anna: It's been a while since I've been in Berlin, but I know that that is just a hype place for, for veganism. And veganism, I say that because of course then there's vegetarian food, so I think Europe is definitely winning there.

I find Canada super accessible for vegetarian and vegan eaters. I find most [00:31:00] restaurants, um, I'll say in France there's very good vegan food, but I find it to be a whole restaurant that's vegetarian versus, how do I explain it? Like there's a whole restaurant dedicated to it. Easy to find. But a normal restaurant won't have an alternative.

Whereas my experience in Canada is many restaurants have at least one or two vegetarian alternatives. So if you're hanging out with meat eater friends, then they're like, oh, can we go to like a normal restaurant tomorrow? So,

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Do do you mind?

Anna: yeah, and I don't mind people eating meat around me. I think that's like a choice too, that.

It doesn't bother me. 'cause then you are limiting yourself to meeting cool people and like understanding people's purpose of eating meat. Um, it's been interesting. I've, I've spent more time with Muslim people, so of course they don't eat pork. So like sometimes it's actually, um, it makes it easier to find food.

'cause if a restaurant's all pork, then we both won't go there. So.

Meggan: Right[00:32:00]

Jenn: yeah, yeah. Cross it off the list. Yeah.

Anna: There is one restaurant though in Prague that I, I wanna like, and I cannot remember the name, but it is a vegan restaurant making traditional Czech food, but fully vegan. So you've got like a hearty, um, sitan, like the gluten, the wheat, kind of a beef. Like a pork beef roll. And then you got like the, it was so good, but I was like, this is crazy.

It's like hearty fatty food, but it was fully, yeah, so it's.

Meggan: would do, I would totally do that. Like my, my husband when I was pescatarian was very open to eating whatever I ate. He didn't care. He's not a huge foodie anyway. So if we are in a place and we see a cool vegetarian or vegan restaurant, we'll definitely go there because a. If your entire restaurant is focused around this one style of cooking and eating, you know that it's, and they still exist 'cause restaurants are fickle.

So, you know, that it's, it's going [00:33:00] to be most of the time. Good. So I love going to those as well, and we'll definitely add those to my itinerary if I see them For sure.

Anna: Yeah, I try and like I, I create map list as well, so I, I'm constantly like saving and writing notes at each place and I always try and make sure to include if it's vegetarian friendly or like, what does that mean? Like, is it just a potatoes and veggie place or there's, you know, obviously Indian food's really great because it has all the curries and you've got the lentils and legumes, so.

Yeah, finding out like certain soups are surprising. They might have, um, lentils in them, but in Turkey I found, I was like, why does it taste so good? And someone's like, well, it's made with like chicken fat broth, but it's a lentil soup. And I was like, oh.

Meggan: Of course it is.

Anna: was like, I definitely ate too many of them to like be, I was already too far in, so I was like,

Jenn: Yeah.

Anna: just keep eating it.

Meggan: You

Anna: So,

Meggan: eating it and looking around. You're just like, I'm gonna continue.

Anna: yeah. I was like, that's why it tastes so like rich, kind of. [00:34:00] Yeah.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: We're all just doing our best, Anna. That's all

Jenn: Yeah,

Anna: That's why I'm not vegan though, so I was like, there's no chicken chunks. So

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: That's right. It's just essence of chicken.

Anna: yeah, I was just, I was just trying to get some soup.

Meggan: It's all you were doing.

Anna: Yeah.

Jenn: Yes. All right. Let's switch gears a little bit and talk about solo travel and meeting new people.

Anna: Mm-hmm.

Jenn: And I feel like it can be tough sometimes to make new connections and especially if you're moving around often. So how do you find that experience and what tips do you have for some other solo travelers who want to like meet people and uh, yeah.

Anna: Uh, this one is like, I feel like I finally cracked the code last September, so we're already like two and a half years into travel and I feel like I've finally. In Europe, again, I'll give context of like how to meet people. Um, so one, I'm gonna definitely plug my travel community because [00:35:00] even this past week we had two people meet up in Columbia.

One who I had met in Albania and the other I met in Serbia. And they're not from either of those countries, but they met in Columbia and um, some others met up in Serbia this week. So that's a great resource to meet people, but. I always say, if you wanna make friends, you have to show people you wanna make friends.

So in a hostel situation is a classic, like if you feel, and as a female as well, if you're like in a mixed dorm room, you know, be cautious and like approach with the intention that you wanna receive back. So if you wanna be flirty and you're looking to like get romance and like you put that out there, if you're looking to meet like a very cordial friend, then you just say hi to someone.

So we have to remember, like there's such a variety of personalities and cultures. Extrover, extroversion, that's not the word. Being extroverted,

Meggan: Yes, yes.

Anna: being introverted. Um, so my first step is to say hi. Um, that being said, I have [00:36:00] learned as a Canadian, we are nice and our hi and our niceness can be taken accidentally for flirting.

So that is unfortunately like a downside in a way now. So I often might be a bit colder in the way I approach people just to make sure, like I'm just looking for a friend or I'm looking to have dinner with someone tonight. And you're also solo. So I'm looking to have dinner with the right type of people.

Um. Hostel world has a great chat. So if you're staying in the hostel, you get access to that chat 10 days in advance. And a lot of people are like, Hey, I wanna grab a beer tonight. Um, I wanna have dinner. And I find group settings are good because then if it's a mix of international people, then chances are one of them will be cool, even if the rest are weird or creepy, like they'll be one what you define as normal.

Um, but I think it's, it's a mix of. I think you have to join activities in a way, whether that's a walking tour, a biking [00:37:00] group, um, going for local events. Um, I once did a walking tour and then afterwards I wanted to have lunch but not alone. And I approached these two Irish girls and I was so bold and I was like, girls, you wanna have lunch with me?

And they were like, um, uh.

Meggan: You the weird one in the group, and they're

Anna: Yeah.

Meggan: we don't wanna

Jenn: No.

Anna: Well they were, they were on like a two, three day vacation. This was in Romania too. We ended up hitting it off. I'm telling you, the next day they were like, girl, we're getting brunch at 11 o'clock. Like, you should come. They're like, when are you coming to Ireland? Yeah, so it's getting like, let me tell you that first 30 minutes hanging out with them, I was like, I'm so stupid.

Like, I was like, I've ruined their day. You know I forced myself into a lunch with them. One of them seemed to maybe not hungry or was uncomfortable eating, you know, just with a stranger kind of thing. And I'm vegetarians. We add that in the mix and then it's just like, I was like, you know what? We [00:38:00] are having lunch and there's an exit.

So if they don't wanna hang out for the rest of the day, we both can leave.

Jenn: Yeah.

Anna: I think it's just putting yourself out there and. You know, doing it with caution and, and knowing what you want. So I think we, we said this before Megan, but, uh, understanding who you are and like what you're looking for in that moment.

Um, and also if you're solo traveling, like don't be afraid to call people from home. Like a walk and a talk can do great things to just feel that connection with people. Just saying hi to the bake, the bakery, the coffee shop, the chatting up with your waiter. Yeah. There's like, but you really have to put yourself out there and it can be hard and it can be to get that confidence and that extra energy when you're on top of things already working and traveling and moving.

So,

Meggan: Yeah. And a follow up to that actually, because you just sort of brought it up a little bit about calling home and whatnot. Do you get lonely?

Anna: Oh, oh my God. Yeah, let's just like, that's a for sure a downside. So. As much as I said Slovenia was beautiful. I was in [00:39:00] Ljubljana the, I believe it's the capital of Sylvania. I hope I have that right. But it's like one of the major cities and gorgeous, gorgeous place. I had a beautiful apartment that I was able to rent from someone within my community, but I was so lonely.

Like honestly, I was like, it was definitely a downtime for me and it was summer and it was gorgeous. Um, but in those moments, I wish I had these tips, like even just the hostel world or like just trying to find some kind of expat meetup or, but I took myself for a solo date to the castle. They were doing outdoor movie nights and I was like, okay, I'm just gonna go enjoy this movie.

So I at least tried to put things in my schedule as well. Um, it didn't lead to meeting anyone, but yeah, I gotta like go up and watch cool movies under the stars and the castle and um, yeah, I definitely get lonely and I think for me it's about navigating what is the loneliness. So if it's just boredom or is [00:40:00] it I'm needing some support, I'm needing some emotional connection, uh, I need a hug, you know, physical connection.

I think too, let's not even in the romantic sense, like just the idea of sitting close to someone. You know, you're meeting strangers all the time, being able to sit next to someone on a couch and not like, have to have your hands to yourself like sitting comfortably. These little things can like, make a big difference.

So, um. I mean, find the cultures that you bond with as well.

Meggan: That just brought back a core memory for me. So I spent a month in France in 2004. I won a work contest and

Anna: Ooh.

Meggan: was the prize. And uh, but I went there for the first three weeks by myself, which was magical and wonderful. But then for the last week, when I was back in Paris from the mountains, my father joined me and I remember the first hug. And it was only three weeks, the first hug of someone I knew and I was just like, this is exactly what I was missing. And it, I, it hadn't clicked into that [00:41:00] moment, but

Anna: Yep.

Meggan: as I was able to touch someone and feel comfortable doing it, it made such a huge difference. So when you said a hug, and that sounds like such a small thing, but it really isn't.

Anna: It's, I, I'm like, I can be an affectionate person, but I can remember a similar feeling. I was in Portugal and I just wasn't feeling, I wasn't having like the best day everyone else was going surfing. I didn't really just, I just didn't really wanna go surfing. I just, I wanted that homebody. I wanted my couch at that moment.

And, um, my friend Sam, a Belgian guy, he's, he is the nicest kid in the world, and he's like, are you okay? And I was like, no, I'm just having, like, I'm just down. And I was like, actually, Sam, would you be open to giving me a hug? Like just, it was very much like a friend hug. And I just remember being like, that was so nice, just to have a hug.

And that's all I needed. He was like 10 seconds and I was like, I feel seen or something in that moment, I guess. And I was like, that was just so nice of him to do that to me too. And. It's just you don't know what you're missing. [00:42:00] So I think sometimes if you feel loneliness, you have to sit in your thoughts and like, you gotta do the journaling.

You gotta do the, the thinking through of like, what is it I'm missing? Go to McDonald's. If that's your thing. Like, I don't know, what, what is it? You need an iced coffee? Like, you know, those little things that might just make you feel comfortable again.

Meggan: Definitely.

Jenn: yeah. So talk to us about Your Travel Friend. How did that start? How does it work? How can people join?

Anna: definitely. Um, so it's my little baby project. It's not a baby. I, I, my goal is like, to speak more confidently about it 'cause it's such an epic, um, group to be a part of. And the idea that came was I would have friends, for example, one of you could ask me? Like I. What tips do you have for Thailand?

And I'd be like, oh, I don't, I've never been to Thailand. But let me ask my friend Sally. I don't have a friend Sally, but we'll just call her Sally.

Jenn: Sure.

Anna: And I'm asking Sally, Sally's messaging me. I'm messaging you two, and then you two are being like, oh, can you ask Sally one more question? [00:43:00] And I'm like, oh, this is kind of annoying.

But I'm also learning. I love learning from Sally. So my idea was putting all my friends in a group chat where I can learn from the discussion you have with Sally while you can get the answers you need, she can support you. And that's how your travel friend kind of came to be. I found like I was meeting more people, people from home, not only digital nomads, but folks going on those 10 day trips wanting to test out remote working.

Um, so I've made it into a community on WhatsApp because most folks are on WhatsApp, although a lot of Canadians are not. Let's just, uh, if they have an iPhone, I'm like teaching people how to get on WhatsApp. It's crazy. So Canadians download it, it's a great app. Um. And there's a community within there.

And then there's groups within there too, of connecting locals and internationals with travelers. So if you've been to a place or you're local or knowledgeable, I ask you to join the groups. And then if you're curious or you have questions, then you can join the [00:44:00] groups as well. And um, yeah, some people have met in person, which is like so exciting to see around the world as people share you know, eSIM tips or hostel tips, or do I need cash in this place, or I'm only here for these kind of days. Anyone know of local events happening? of course, AI is a huge part of travel now and travel planning. But there is just this component of a friend, of a human, of a trust factor that I just don't think the robots right now are replacing for us.

Um. So, yeah, that's how it came to be. And you know, I'm, I'm looking to grow it, so to have some, some meetings in person. There's a future trip in the works for the fall. I don't say too much because by saying that enough, I'm holding myself accountable. Um, but yeah, I hope too, I, I host a community call once a month too, which will always be free because I want it as a chance for people to get to know the community.

And just like we're chatting now, it's like so great how people are [00:45:00] helping each other. One person was on a train just this past Sunday, was on a train in Italy with their dog helping someone in Canada who wants to fly to Italy with their dog. And I'm like, you two would've never crossed paths. So

Jenn: Yeah.

Anna: Travel Matchmaker, I don't know what to call it.

Something like this.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Well, it sounds to me like your little baby's growing right up, so congratulations on that. Obviously you've helped many, many people and I'm sure it will continue to do so. We'll of course, link your website, um, which we'll talk about as well in a moment and wherever else people can find you. But before we talk about that, what destinations do you have coming up?

Do tell us where you're headed so we can live vicariously.

Anna: So after a decent break, being back in Canada, which has definitely subsided my burnout, um, I will stay in Canada for most of the summer, heading to British Columbia, visiting a lot of, um, old acquaintances, some family, some old family friends. I have a wedding to attend, so trying to [00:46:00] maximize that and road trip out in BC 'cause it's just amazing.

And cross our fingers that the forest fires are, you know.

Jenn: Yeah,

Anna: Controlled, but it, it will be what it, it will be, I mean, Canada's gorgeous in the summertime, so I don't know why I was here in the winter. I should have just come home in the summer. But, uh,

Jenn: yeah. No.

Anna: and then my goal for the fall, again, like you're gonna freak out that I don't have anything booked, but my goal is to get back to Europe, to make my way to Southeast Asia for the first time.

So I'm excited to explore Thailand and Vietnam and a lot of the digital nomad hubs. I think I'm gonna take it slow there, kind of living like a month, a time at a place. Um, yeah, it would be much different to have a hot, hot winter. So, but that'll be my first time properly in Asia. I've been in Turkey, which is part of Asia, but um, more of the continent.

Yeah, so that's the plan.

Jenn: Amazing. So where can, uh, we and the listeners follow along on your travels

Anna: you can find me [00:47:00] anywhere, um, at your travel friend Anna. I have a YouTube channel. I'm on Instagram. Unfortunately, there's nothing going on TikTok because I'm personally addicted to it, so I've had to step away from TikTok. Um,

Jenn: fair.

Anna: website's also your travel friend anna.com. I've a free packing list on there.

You can find the community there as well. And yeah, that's how you can find me.

Meggan: Excellent. And um, you know what, that is it for this week's episode, but thank you again, Anna, for joining us on this episode, and I'm positive that you have done a lot to inspire others to think differently about how they might want to travel or at least maybe even give them the courage to actually do something they've been considering or join your community if they do have questions about travel so that they can share maybe what they know, but also learn from other people.

I think that that's amazing and I see that going big places. 'cause you're right, AI is excellent. We all use it, but I think the human, the human touch is, uh, still so [00:48:00] necessary. Um, and as always, you can find us, uh, on our socials at Travel Mug Podcast on our website at travelmugpodcast.com. If you can leave us a review on Spotify or Apple or support the show through by me a Coffee, the link is in our show notes as well.

We will include Anna's links too. And until next time, bye everyone.

Anna: Thank you.