Citizens of the World: A Stoic Podcast for Curious Travelers

Yay! I’m so psyched to share this episode with Kathy McCabe, host of the travel TV series Dream of Italy. This season, Kathy interviewed several people, including Francis Ford Coppola, who did something that both Kathy and I have done — return to our ancestral homeland to reconnect with the villages our relatives left behind. Kathy and I talk about our personal experiences with this, and of course...

Hello! The Postcard Academy is on a little break this week. I’ll be back on Friday with a really fun conversation with Kathy McCabe from the TV show Dream of Italy.     This week, however, I wanted to let you know about a new podcast I just launched called Podcasting Step by Step . This show is very close to my heart and I’m excited to share it with you.   I love podcasting so much and I know ther...

I’m bringing back my Brexit buddy and former colleague, Mark Robson, to explain in easy-to understand terms how Brexit is affecting life today, and how we might be able to get out of this 2.5 year quagmire. In this episode, you’ll also get another lesson in British history, and who doesn’t love that? You’ll find show notes, including a funny and useful Brexit explainer video, on postcardacademy.co...

On March 29, 2019, the U.K. is scheduled to exit the European Union (Brexit). But no one has any idea what is actually going to happen.    My fellow expats and immigrants are worried about our future legal status in the U.K., which we have made our home. Business owners, especially farmers, are losing business contracts due to economic uncertainty. Mental health issues are on the rise. People are...

Happy International Women’s Day! I never even heard of International Women’s Day until I move to Italy in 2010, and La Festa delle Donne is a pretty big deal over there. So it got me thinking about the cultural differences between Americans. and Italians, and I thought it would be fun to share some of these today. I picked 12, but there are many more.   This episode is not about one country being...

Little Estonia, with less than 1.5 million people, has been running itself like a tech company for about two decades now, giving everyone a digital ID and letting them access almost all government services online. Now they’re letting foreigners become e-Residents of their digital nation, and this week, I'll teach you how you can become one (find links to what we talk about on postcardacademy....

Wired magazine has called Estonia “the most advanced digital society in the world.” The President of Estonia (a woman — yay!)  just published an article about how “Estonia is running its country like a tech company” and that “governments must learn to provide public services as efficiently as Amazon sells books: no physical presence, no cost of application, no opening hours.”   Sounds pretty great...

Have you ever returned from a trip and a friend says, “How was it? Tell me everything!” And then you start saying things like, “The food was great. Nice people. Incredible sunset.” Pretty soon you’re both bored and move on.     But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are storytelling techniques that we can all learn to better connect with people, not just about our travels, of course, but about...

Anna Mazurek recently published the book Good with Money , in which she shares how she “maximizes her savings to travel the world with no debt, all on an average income of $30,000.”   Not only do we talk about actions we can take to make better financial decisions, Anna also shares the best credit card for travelers; her favorite bank, which refunds any ATM fee you incur on your travels; the vagab...

Ever dream of being a travel writer? Who hasn’t?! My guest Nardia Plumridge actually made it happen. In addition to writing for global publications, including Lonely Planet, Nardia also penned a book — Lost in Florence — that is due out this spring. In this episode, Nardia shares how she broke into the travel writing biz and offers tips on how to get your own work published.     I’m your host, Sar...

Bangkok can feel frenetic and overwhelming to newcomers who imagined Thailand to be all gorgeous temples and beaches. In Bangkok, you’re more likely to see luxury buildings going up next to shacks and people sitting in traffic for hours. But don’t give up on it just yet — once you get off the main streets, chances are you’ll love this vibrant city. Today’s guest, travel writer Nardia Plumridge, is...

Last week’s episode was all about setting goals and designing more freedom into your life. I’m happy to say, that I have actually taken action and filled out the business plan template that Natalie shared with us — you can find that at postcardacadey.co/freedomplan Even if you have no plans to start a business this year, it’s still a handy tool for putting any kind of goals on paper and and mappin...

New year, new you? Hopefully, yes! But forget New Year’s resolutions that feel like a punishment. How about designing a life in which you have the freedom to do what you love?  ( get started on postcardacademy.co )   I am definitely focusing on this personally, and in 2019, in addition to world travelers and expats, I’ll be interviewing lifestyle experts, authors, and others who can help us live o...

Best of London episode! I realized recently that even though I’ve been an American expat in London for nearly eight years, I hardly ever talk about my favorite city. My website — postcardacademy.co — is filled with photos and travel guides for other places I've visited around the world. I want to share more about London with you, starting with this episode.     Today I’m the interviewee. My f...

Thank you so much for listening and subscribing to the Postcard Academy this year. If you’re a fan of this podcast and are feeling generous this year, leaving a review of this show on Apple Podcasts would be a wonderful Christmas present to me. Here’s how to leave a review . Or, you could become a patron of this podcast , which I produce voluntarily as a labor of love for you. Supporting the Postc...

My guest today is Kaelene Spence, who writes the blog Unlocking Kiki, a very useful resource for anyone thinking of moving or traveling to Iceland — and she puts together travel itineraries, too. Kaelene is an American who now lives in Iceland with her husband and baby boy. On this episode, she shares how she ended up in the northernmost capital in the world; her tips on how to land the job you wa...

What is an expat, anyway? On this episode, we define what an expat is and how to become one. I hand over the mic to   Gemma Thompson, who interviews me on my travel journey to moving abroad. This interview first aired on Gemma’s podcast: A Girl’s Guide to Travelling Alone.     I featured Gemma on the Postcard Academy’s Solo Travel episode. She is absolutely lovely and I had a great time chatting w...

Enough with Florence and Siena already. You should be walking the medieval walls of Lucca; eating aperitivo in Pisa; sipping Chianti at Castello di Brolio; or lounging by the sea in San Vicenzo.     On this episode, Toni Mazzaglia, founder of the food tour company Taste Florence, and I recap our recent road trip through Tuscany. After interviewing Toni for the Florence episode of this podcast, we...

Happy Thanksgiving, U.S. listeners! This year about 54 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles during Thanksgiving, and most of these people will be driving, estimates AAA. However, it’s a myth that the day before Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year (that honor actually goes to several weekends throughout the summer). But that’s not the only Thanksgiving myth out there.  (...

Glasgow had a reputation for being a down-on-its-luck former industrial hub for decades. But the Glaswegians worked hard to turn their city into a world-class tourist destination with museums, opera, ballet, and more. In 1990, Glasgow was named the European City of Culture and since then travelers from around the world have visited to enjoy its cozy pubs, great restaurants — which include a lot of...

My friends Daniel Bakken and Alinne Fernanda have been traveling the world together for nearly two years. They saved up their money before hitting the road, but its volunteering through a hospitality service called Workaway that’s financially enabled them to keep traveling as long as they have. If you listened to my episode on house-sitting your way around the world and other free accommodation ti...

New Orleans celebrates its 300th anniversary this year, and since it’s almost Halloween, I thought this was the perfect time to talk about one of America’s most haunted Southern cities. I’m joined by Hope Kodman, a tour guide with French Quarter Phantoms, which offers tours such as Saints & Sinners, True Crime, Cemetery, Ghost and Vampire, among others.   Hope and I talk about the history of t...

Whether you are single or a student, married, retired or a parent, you deserve time to yourself to do whatever you want and explore the world.     On this week’s episode, fellow podcaster and traveler Gemma Thompson and I discuss why solo travel is such a transformational experience and why everyone should do it at least once. We’ll talk about how to conquer your nerves and book that solo trip; wh...

Today is all about Munich, Germany, often ranked among the world’s most livable cities. I’m continuing my conversation with independent tour guide Maxine Ryder, who you heard on our Oktoberfest episode . She is a British Australian who’s made Munich her home.   You may know that Munich was the birthplace of the Nazi movement and that 80-90% of Munich was bombed in World War II. Maxine and I talk a...

As a vegetarian who doesn’t like beer, I never thought Oktoberfest would be an event for me. But, independent tour guide Maxine Ryder has convinced me otherwise! To start, did you know that at Munich’s massive event you’ll also find a Prosecco tent??     On the Postcard Academy podcast, Maxine, an British/Australian expat and Munich resident, and I talk about the history of Oktoberfest, the type o...