Advice For How To Cut & Run
For the second time in my life I have purged my house, fit everything I couldn’t bear to part with in a small storage unit, and gone abroad. Both times it was a response to years of workaholism that left me mentally and physically depleted. I miss being on the scene but I have a new one comprised of new places, new people, lots of books, and a lot more time to just live. Here are some things I have learned.
You don’t actually need to know where you’re going.
You know all those places you talk about visiting? Pick one and go there. For at least a month. Preferably three. It’s called Slow Travel and it beats a two week vacation any day. I’ve been traveling for the last year. Right now, I’ve been in Mexico City for three months. I’ve been to the museums. I’ve been to the historical sites. But I didn’t have to do them all in a week. I spend a lot of time wandering the city and am on a mission to eat in as many restaurants as possible (this is pretty much always my mission). I hang in the Sky Bar at the Ritz. It has a an incredible view of the city. I’ve been waiting for a tremor to see what it feels like on the 38th floor. I have loose plans for the next year but they may change.
Suggested Packing List
5 T-shirts (one to wear)
3 Dress shirts
1 Sweater
1 Cardigan (one to wear)
1 Jacket
1 Sweatshirt
3 Pairs of pants (one to wear)
1 Dress
10 Underwear (one to wear)
2 Bras (one to wear)
4 Socks (one to wear)
2 Pairs of shoes
Sneakers (to wear)
Dressyish, like low heeled sandals
1 Handbag (carrying)
Sunglasses (in bag)
Reading glasses (in bag)
Contacts
Meds
Face cream with SPF
Makeup
Computer w/charger (in bag)
Phone w/charger (in bag)
Book (in bag)
Coat (wearing)
Your overall packing will be lessened by whatever you are wearing while traveling.
Fit everything into a carry on bag.
Yes you can. You don’t need nearly as much crap as you think you do. Put your carry on onto your bed. Pull all the things you want to pack. When they don’t fit, start the process of elimination. I traveled to Tanzania, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands and England over a period of six months with just a carry on. It’s liberating to travel with just a bag you carry on your back and you have the advantage of being in control of your stuff at all times.
The Two Shoes Rule.
This is the single most important thing about packing light. Shoes take up a ton of space. All you need are sneakers and a decent looking pair of shoes that you can wear to dinner. My second pair is always a low heeled sandal. I may not be the best dressed person in the room but I’m on the road and everyone will let this slide.
Stick to basic colors.
Other than a pair of jeans and my red sneakers, everything in my bag is black, white or grey. This guarantees that I have a bunch of outfits to choose from. No one notices if I’m wearing the same thing more than once and, truly, no one cares.
Don’t bring jewelry.
Or more specifically, only bring what you can wear. You don’t need it, it will get lost, and will be just one more thing to trouble yourself about.
Bring one book.
This was hard for me but it works. Paper is heavy. When I was teaching in Tanzania, I brought one book to read (Dark Star by Paul Theroux) and my Lonely Planet guide book. Any excursions I took, I would just tear out those pages and shove them in my backpack. This worked to keep my weekend trips light and also lightened my load along the way. There are book shops everywhere. If you’re really brave, pick up a book in the language of the place where you are staying.
What’s your eyewear situation?
I wear contacts. I also can’t get my scrip renewed unless I have a checkup every year, so I preordered two years in advance.
Watch your meds.
Hopefully, you’re not on any, but make sure you plan for this. Have your doctor send you off with what you need for the time you are traveling. Also, most GPs will provide you a prescription for an antibiotic that will come in handy when you get sick.
Your going to get sick.
Travel stress, airplanes, new environments—it’s going to happen. The antibiotics will save your ass.
Limit your toiletries.
It goes without saying that you have to keep this to a minimum. You don’t need all that shit anyway.
Forgo the makeup.
Same thing. Keep it basic. A little lipstick goes a long way.
You need a mailbox.
Someone has to get your mail. A child, a lifelong friend, but you need an address in the states. For receiving abroad, I utilize a temporary PO box usually at a UPS store or a hold for pickup.
Renting & AirBnB.
There are other ways to find short term rentals than just AirBnB. I recommend The Listings Project. It’s not a huge list but the listings are all real people looking to sublet for various reasons so they are not gouging and there are no corporate fees. I use AirBnB when I have to. It’s a good way to find a place quickly but beware. Many listings are from people in the business of renting AirBnBs. They are jacking up the rents to target tourists and AirBnB fees can be astronomical. I found a place on The Listings Project in Mexico City that was less than a third of the price of the original AirBnB that I rented, was a better apartment and in a great neighborhood.
Your kitchen will probably suck.
It’s a sad truth. Most people have terrible cookware, dull knives and cheap cutlery. I’m a cook so this is always a disappointment. However, I’m also a restophile so I exploit this loophole to justify eating out all the time. When I lived in Rome, my apartment had a toaster oven and a hot plate. I still made it work.
Learn the fucking language.
Go to MichelThomas.com. Download the starter module for whatever language you are looking for. These lessons will get you speaking at a basic level right away. Focus on the words you are going to need to know especially for getting around and eating in a restaurant or shopping. There are tons of people giving free language lessons on youtube. Some of them are excellent. LingQ is a great way to do some regularly studying and will help you build a database of new words. I use it for studying French and Spanish. Lingopie is super fun. It translates everything on Netflix. Casa de las flores is hilarious. If you’re serious, get a tutor. There are a lot of options but some of the online sites gouge and give less than half the fee to the actual tutor. Verbalplanet is an excellent resource for finding a tutor in any language and the prices are reasonable. I have had the same tutor for Italian for the last five years. She has pushed me to become more fluent than I ever thought possible. I especially love learning slang and curse words.