Where in the world should we go?!
Featured, Travel Files. — By Emily on October 11, 2011by Emily C. Sims
On July 1, 2012, Alex and I are flying out of McCarran airport to…um…. we have no idea. But it will be somewhere in western Europe, so we’ve at least narrowed it down to that much! Our plan is that we will rent an apartment in whatever city we choose for the length of our 30-day stay and do small trips from there. We are traveling slow–we have no interest in hopping from city to city, country to country every two or three days. That’s not our style. We want to get deep into the culture of wherever we are, really feel like locals for the time we’re there.
Where are we going to go???
We are having difficulty deciding where to stay. I am immensely attracted to the big cities–London, Paris–but the smaller cities and even more rural areas have great appeal to us as well. We do not plan on renting a car while in Europe, so we will need to choose a city that doesn’t necessitate one. I have strong leanings toward France, Alex prefers Belgium or Germany, and we’re both in love with the idea of England. There are so very many options that it’s overwhelming when I browse airbnb and homeaway. I haven’t even starting thinking about the potential of housesitting, though I love that idea as well. The goal is not to spend more than $2000 on housing, and from what I’ve seen on the sites I’ve browsed, that is 100% doable.
Here is our slim list of requirements:
- We want to stay in western Europe
- We must stay in a city that doesn’t require a car
- We don’t want to pay more than $2000 for our apartment rental
That shouldn’t be too hard to find… but maybe this grants us far too many options.
What are your thoughts?
If you were in our place, where would you plant for a month? Why?
Emily is a recovering cubicle monkey, former obituary writer, and ex-yuppie. In her free time, she volunteers for Wings of Hope and pretends like she knows how to use her fancy camera. Emily has lived all over the United States and France and currently resides in Las Vegas. Her favorite place in the world is Isla Espiritu Santo in La Paz, Mexico.
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19 Comments
I would recommend Valencia. I’ve been living here for a while now and I totally love it. You don’t need to rent a cat, the city is pretty much walkable, there are cheap bike sharing terminals all over, Madrid is less than 2 hours by train from Valencia, they make the best paella here (the birthplace of paella is in Albufera, just 10 minute outside the city). I don’t think you’ll need more than half the money you planed for the rent (but better check it out with the holiday rental sites). Plus, Valencia is celebrating the whole month of July, with lots of free events, medieval markets, free concerts and the most breathtaking of all Flower Battles (the last weekend of the month). Let me know if you decide for Valencia and maybe we can meet
Laura recently posted..Best Budget Fall Break Ideas For The Shoestring Traveler
I never even thought about Valencia! How long are you going to live there?
I have now idea, but a few more years for sure.
Laura recently posted..Valencia’s Great Bike Share System – Valenbisi
I don’t know why, but Alex in Europe makes me laugh. If you could get a TV deal I would watch a reality show about this whole experience. My votes are Spain first, England would be second and then Germany third. I am excited to here your choice!
and to hear your choice.
Hahaha… it will be an adventure, that’s for sure
Hello Alex and Emily,
For what my opinion is worth, I’d recommend a City in Switzerland. All of the cities are beautiful, they are clean and run lime clockwork, the chocolate is amazing, the Alps are nearby for winter sights and skiing (Interlaken!), and it is central – a relatively quick and always beautiful train ride to France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands and more!
Thanks for the recommendation, Jim! I’ve been to Switzerland once (and only for a day!). It certainly is ideally located…I’ll add it to the list!
Spain!! I love Spain!! I think once you start looking into apartment prices, you’ll knock out a few expensive cities pretty fast.
Abby recently posted..Ojai, California Grand Finale: wine, shopping, cocktails
Gee, Abby, do you like Spain?
I really adored Innsbruck, Austria.
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I’ve heard a lot of good things about Innsbruck lately… I will have to add that one to our list of possibilities as well!
I don’t know much about it, but have you looked into Portugal at all?
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We talked about it, but Alex is more interested in doing a Spain-Portugal trip at a different time of year that will better coincide with his soccer interests
I spent 2 weeks in Portugal. It’s incredible and at the time (2 years ago) so much cheaper than other parts of Europe. I am guessing it still is. It was about 40% cheaper than a trip I did to Italy last year with comparable hotels, travel, etc.
Lisbon and the nearby coast is easy to do without a car, but not sure about other parts of the country, since we rented a car and drove around.
Jared Romey recently posted..Breads of Chile Picture Guide
You should have a look at house-sitting options, we use trustedhousesitters.com. There are a lot in Western Europe (incl. UK) and that would definitely be within your budget for accommodations (free).
We just started a 3 week sit in London and are loving it!!!
A house sitting gig would be so perfect, though we’ve never done it before! Do you think it would be more difficult to get a long-term housesit as newbies?
go to Belgium!!! Great food… great chocolate… GREAT BEER. And you can get a rail card for ten journeys anywhere in the entire country for just 50 euro… you just fill in your start points and destinations and you are off. dont stay in brussels though… ghent or antwerp is better
Jade Johnston recently posted..EcoTourism in New Zealand – The Great Walks
Well … I LOVE Madrid, but Madrid in July is hotter than hell. Maybe somewhere like Galicia in Spain?
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