Back to travel logistics

After staying in one country for a while

Slow traveling through Albania since December 2023 has been nice. Really nice. Nicer than I realized, until we started approaching the end of our time. We picked Albania as a good spot to work on job searching and starting up business ideas due to the combination of the ability to stay for up to 12 months visa-free with a US passport and the low cost of living.

Albania has come through for us with flying colors. Wonderful people, beautiful places, and some ruins and history we did not know about before we came here.

But after we travel to Sarandë soon, we have to move on from Albania in just over a month.

One of my pet projects since we launched this life was tracking our travel plans so we could tell how long we’ve been in the Schengen zone, the temperatures in a given month, etc. This started as an Excel spreadsheet and evolved into an Access database light application, including API calls for things like population data, cities, countries, continents, and weather averages.

So, while our ability to search and plan has become a little more sophisticated than it used to be, when you are trying hard to stick to a tight budget and you don’t want to melt into a puddle during Summer, planning where to go next has become more difficult.

Dusting off our usage of Google Flights, Rome2Rio, and AirBnB (ok, that one never got dusty), we have booked MOST of our next leg now, with just some minor gaps.

As I thought about my feelings during the long analysis over the recent weeks leading up to our plans, I realized that there is a very real difference in the mental impact of travel planning when you are receiving a regular paycheck vs. when you are not.

I know, duh. But I have done a pretty good job convincing myself that we are ok because we were disciplined and had financially prepared for this possibility. So even though we are ok, it is not the full story.

Since Sarandë is a small beach town, you either have to travel the full length of Albania to Tirana to fly out, or you take a ferry to the Greek island of Corfu to fly out of their airport. Feels like a no-brainer.

But how we would have done this before vs. how we are doing it now is completely different.

Instead of spending a full 4 weeks in Corfu, slowly enjoying the old town, beaches, and all the rest, we plan to take the ferry to spend two nights in Corfu before flying out to our next location, Novi Sad, Serbia.

And while we normally would like to start in Belgrade, where the airport is, we will fly into Belgrade and take the bullet train to Novi Sad to save money, and book later in Belgrade when we find a deal.

I know some might be saying “Tough life” sarcastically, and I get that. But the reality is that to be a financially responsible nomad, it starts with selling almost everything you own, sacrificing the perceived stability that a home affords, and daring to strike out, unsure of the outcomes.

We chose this life, and at times like this, I am incredibly thankful we did.

So, we still have to book travel from Vlorë to Sarandë, the ferry from Sarandë to Corfu, figure out transit from the Belgrade airport to the train, and book the train.

But as I gain some perspective and a better understanding of my feelings in this time of transition, travel logistics are moving back to just another set of checkboxes.

As they should be.