Post: #1

Early next year I'll be moving to the Balkans for work. I'll be in a capital city of a country of about 20 million, and will be there for 1.5-2 years.

I'll be here for work, and will be making a western salary in a city that is quite cheap. I plan to save a lot of money, but would also like to take frequent trips to surrounding countries, and 2nd-tier cities within this country. Since I'll be in Europe, with plenty of cheap flights, I'd like to take advantage of that.

The goals of these trips would be for both sightseeing and gaming. Realistically, I won't be able to score high-quality girls in a weekend, but am down to go out either way. Budget is not a big issue, but may stay in hostels if that is ideal.

I'm wondering for guys that have spent significant time abroad, what would you recommend in terms of frequency for these weekend trips? It will be tempting to travel as often as possible, but I don't want to go overboard and let productivity fall to the wayside, or to spend excessive amounts of money on short-term trips. My thoughts now are to travel every 3-4 weeks. I'd alternate trips between international cities and domestic, 2nd-tier cities.

Appreciate any insight on this! Cheers.

Post: #2

Dude, it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out you're going to Bucharest, if you know anything about the Balkans you'll know that no other Balkan country comes close in terms of population.

It depends on whether you will be working for yourself, or working for a company. If it's the latter then you don't want to roll into work on Monday morning, still hungover and sleepless from the weekend.

If you're looking to score high quality women as you say then hostels are not ideal.

Post: #3

No sure if i understand your question. But just travel whenever you feel like.. nothing to worry about

Post: #4

Thanks, buddy. I was simply making it so that when people searched my name with that city it wouldn’t come up. There’s a reason I didn’t spell it out. Just a little way to keep my privacy in a world so bereft of it. I can see you’re new to this forum, but privacy is big here and you better learn to respect it. Maybe I’m being too paranoid...

Yeah I’m working for a company.

Essentially just trying to gauge guys who live abroad and how often they travel while posted up in a “base” city as opposed to backpacking form city to city. I want to balance a normal life with a weekend trip every now and then. It’s not a complex question just trying to get an idea of what others do.

Post: #5

(11-16-2018 08:09 AM)Seth_Rose Wrote:  Maybe I’m being too paranoid...

Yes you are.

(11-16-2018 08:09 AM)Seth_Rose Wrote:  Essentially just trying to gauge guys who live abroad and how often they travel while posted up in a “base” city as opposed to backpacking form city to city.

When my job wasn't as full on as it is now, I frequently popped over to Russia at least once a month as well as a weekend in Austria, Baltic's, Germany and Scandinavia whenever I could.

As you'll be in Romania, you're ideally located for many of the countries with the most beautiful of women, flights are cheap and plentiful, go whenever you can but take advantage of the fact you'll be living in Romania, craft a social circle and plow through it

Post: #6

Great. So around once per month, occasionally twice per month? Sounds very doable.

Post: #7

When you first move overseas it seems like a great idea to be able to go to so many places in an hour or two. But after awhile the novelty wears off and you'll probably want to spend more time exploring your city/country and meeting people there. Also once you get friends and social circle, if you want to keep them you need to meet them regularly and a lot of times that will be weekends.

If you plan to go back home to visit, that will probably be a week right? And then you have summer vacation and end of the year holidays? After all that, for me one trip every 2-3 months is good. If you take advantage of long weekends and so on, you can make some of those trips last 3-4 days. Then even if you have a decent sized budget, sometimes you'll decide it's better to travel less and get more out of a trip.

Post: #8

Since you'll be working for a company, the main issue will be time. I suppose you'll have weekends off. And for someone who's not familiar with Europe and its lifestyle it sounds like a dream come true. I'll just travel every second weekend to a different destination!

But it's not that simple. While most destinations within Europe will be a three hour journey or less away from you, it's not as pleasant to be hopping on a plane on a Friday evening and heading back home Sunday. This might differ from person to person but I personally find it somewhat off-putting and it takes the joy out of the whole experience. Knowing you'll only have one complete day doesn't make things better either. But at the beginning that shouldn't be an issue if you're enthusiastic about it. Unless of course you're super flexible with your company. Having at least three or four full days is much more relaxing.

Try travelling if that's what you'd like to do and see how it fits into your schedule. But just like another member above already wrote: sooner or later you'll learn to appreciate your new hometown. And there's always some extended weekends and vacation so don't sweat it if you can't make things work at the beginning.

Last piece advice: most people underestimate the cost of short trips within Europe. Sure, you'll stumble upon some 20$ flights here and there but transportation cost will be the least of your worries. Unless you're swimming in cash or don't prioritize saving money.

Enjoy your time and make the best out of it!

Post: #9

Why not try real backpacking? You know, backpack, tent, sleeping bag. There are trails in the Carpathians, villages where people still do almost everything by hand. You'll hear wolves, bears, wild boar, owls at night, stags bellowing in the autumn, maybe wild cats fighting/mating. Be careful of ticks, that's the main danger, especially spring and early summer. You won't meet girls, of course, but you'll definitely return to work feeling like you've traveled far, far away from the big city.

Post: #10

Even a 1 hour flight is actually more like a 5-6 hour endeavor:

1 hour to pack your stuff
30min -1 hour to get to the airport
2 hours for security control/boarding
1 hour for the actual flight
30min - 1 hour to get to your hotel

Delays are not uncommon.
Traveling on Friday night after work and returning on Sundays is generally very tiring and expensive (Monday/Tuesday flights are usually much cheaper) Ideally you need to take Friday and Monday off or Monday and Tuesday. You fly on Thursday/Friday and return on Monday/Tuesday morning so you can rest after those sleepless party nights

So take the amount of days of vacation you have and divide by 2. That's basically how many trips you can do every year.