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Hey folks, I'm considering a trip to Istanbul for the end of the year (around Christmas time) because it's cheap now and I have a friend I'd like to visit. I haven't made a decision yet due to the State Dept. travel warning and recent events. https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/turkey-travel-warning.html How serious is the danger, and is my desire to visit this place stupid given recent events? For what it's worth, I'm not white (Chinese American).
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Nov 29, 2016 22:57
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Saladman posted:then you're living in Zagreb. Zagreb is boring, and the language barrier is massive. Croatian language is dauntingly complex and chaotic. I know foreign people who have been living here for over 20 years and they still tend to gently caress up the tenses. You can get a pretty nice studio apartment in a 1970s commieblock for around $35,000, so there's that. Real estate price bubble has popped a few years ago.
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Nov 29, 2016 23:04
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hi liter posted:Hey folks, I'm considering a trip to Istanbul for the end of the year (around Christmas time) because it's cheap now and I have a friend I'd like to visit. I haven't made a decision yet due to the State Dept. travel warning and recent events. Terrorism isk is probably somewhat higher than the risk in Paris or Marseilles or Tunis, but still pretty drat low. I was there in April and there were armed guards everywhere, which is probably even worse now but I guess at least it guarantees you won't get caught in a shooting rampage. I'd only worry if you had a Kurdish-sounding name. Otherwise youre almost certainly more likely to get caught in a random shootings (if you live in the US) than you are problems in Istanbul. Kurdish terrorism is a real threat but it usually targets police and government sites, and not tourist attractions. (Not that it makes it better, but it does make it not your problem, unlike Daesh attacks).
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Nov 29, 2016 23:16
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A SWEATY FATBEARD posted:Zagreb is boring, and the language barrier is massive. Croatian language is dauntingly complex and chaotic. I know foreign people who have been living here for over 20 years and they still tend to gently caress up the tenses. The language barrier isn't much bigger than in Portugal or France (just try going from 0 to proficient in Portuguese or French), but the problem is the expat community is way smaller in Zagreb than in Lisabon or Paris. Locals speak good English, though. As for the apartment, I don't know why he'd buy one and especially not in a "commieblock". You can rent a nice place closer to the center for €500 and you don't need a car. Still, the main (if not only) reason to pick Croatia would probably be to be close to the coast. You can go swimming, sailing etc five months a year.
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Nov 29, 2016 23:40
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Doctor Malaver posted:Still, the main (if not only) reason to pick Croatia would probably be to be close to the coast. You can go swimming, sailing etc five months a year. Absolutely this. I'd go for Split over Dubrovnik unless you really like tourists but they're both far better than Zagreb.
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Nov 30, 2016 00:04
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Julio Cruz posted:Absolutely this. I'd go for Split over Dubrovnik unless you really like tourists but they're both far better than Zagreb. I'm not sure I fully understand you, but in any case I'd never go live in Dubrovnik. It's expensive, tiny, deserted in winter and overcrowded in summer.
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Nov 30, 2016 00:37
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Woah there! We're being a bit more timid and sticking to western europe. Spain, Italy, France. Maybe Portugal? Ireland and the UK being the more straight forward but less exciting options... I just learned about the 40k salary examples today and the more I look at the numbers the crazier such a salary seems. I'm bothering all my EU cousins on facebook now trying to sort this out!
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Nov 30, 2016 01:24
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Hollow Talk posted:It's almost as if looking at EU-funded living adjustments for super-competitive postdoctoral fellowships gives little useful information about anything else. It's a good estimate of relative average costs of living between EU countries, which can help one to estimate what salary to expect if it gets adjusted to the living cost of the country. And the OP said quote:The main issue here is that the salary is going to vary depending on the cost of living of the country selected.
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Nov 30, 2016 02:13
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Doctor Malaver posted:I'm not sure I fully understand you, but in any case I'd never go live in Dubrovnik. It's expensive, tiny, deserted in winter and overcrowded in summer. If I had to live in Croatia I'd go Split, Dubrovnik, Zagreb as my choices. I feel like Dubrovnik would be pretty nice for about 4 months of the year but I don't know if the other 8 would make it worth it.
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Nov 30, 2016 02:37
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Just remember other people posted:My wife and tiny baby current live in the US but I have an EU passport (two, actually :o, UK and Irish) and we are trying to plan a move to Europe. So he probably wants to kid to grow up in some English speaking country. Instead of UK or Ireland I suggest the Netherlands. Unfortunately no one really speaks Irish and the language is still in the midst of a revival. Kid is going to be bilingual speaking English and Dutch, plus being in continental Europe beats living in UK. And if you ever get too stressed out just legally smoke some weed. Live in a small Dutch village and commute to the city for work or whatever. Oh and the Netherlands being so flat you can just bike everywhere and take trains across the country.
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Nov 30, 2016 04:30
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other people posted:My wife and tiny baby current live in the US but I have an EU passport (two, actually :o, UK and Irish) and we are trying to plan a move to Europe. Don't forget to factor in Brexit for any plans involving the UK or your UK passport. Nobody knows what's going to happen but it's looking increasingly likely that British passports will cease to be EU passports (though your Irish one will continue to be) and who knows what will happen to the economy or jobs there. Keep an eye on the British press such as the Guardian and the BBC news to keep informed of developments. Currently Article 50 is set to be triggered in March 2017 and Brexit to happen 2 years later.
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Nov 30, 2016 07:38
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other people posted:Woah there! We're being a bit more timid and sticking to western europe. Spain, Italy, France. Maybe Portugal? Ireland and the UK being the more straight forward but less exciting options... I guess you need to figure out what those COLAs will be for each country. Probably they don't make it so simple as to offer you a list? If it's reasonable, you could even consider something like Switzerland. Childcare is expensive as poo poo, but if you work from home anyway then I guess that doesn't matter. You'd want to make at least $60k/year to even consider living there—which even so would be tight—but I'm assuming your wife would try to find a job? Healthcare is pretty expensive, probably at least $600/mo for the three of you, but taxes are low (10% for the lowest tax canton, 20% for the highest). I doubt Brexit and Scottish independence would really have too much direct impact on you living in the UK tbh unless your job is banking or something where EU integration is important. VVVV caberham meant to write "non-English speaking country". Saladman fucked around with this message at 12:18 on Nov 30, 2016 |
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Nov 30, 2016 11:48
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caberham posted:Just remember The kid would grow up bilingual anyway if the parents speak English to them, that logic is weird.
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Nov 30, 2016 11:53
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other people posted:Woah there! We're being a bit more timid and sticking to western europe. Spain, Italy, France. Maybe Portugal? Ireland and the UK being the more straight forward but less exciting options... You seem to be under the assumption that you should be able maintain an equivalent lifestyle in the EU. That's not how people in the EU get paid or live. Professionals living in the EU get paid less than the US and simply make do with less since cost of living is not substantially lower. They cut expenses in various ways like living in smaller houses, a single car or if you live in a city no car, etc. You need to be willing to change your lifestyle to live and work there or be one of the lucky few that gets paid well by US standards.
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Dec 3, 2016 19:49
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asur posted:You seem to be under the assumption that you should be able maintain an equivalent lifestyle in the EU. That's not how people in the EU get paid or live. Professionals living in the EU get paid less than the US and simply make do with less since cost of living is not substantially lower. They cut expenses in various ways like living in smaller houses, a single car or if you live in a city no car, etc. You need to be willing to change your lifestyle to live and work there or be one of the lucky few that gets paid well by US standards. Except for the smaller house thing which is pretty much universal, the entire rest of that depends on what country you live in--and where in said country--and what your profession is. Also if he can't maintain an equivalent or more comfortable lifestyle in Europe, then moving doesn't really seem to make sense given how much of a PITA it is to move trans-Atlantic with a family (or even by yourself). No one immigrates because life and opportunities are worse in the target country.
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Dec 3, 2016 21:07
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Saladman posted:Except for the smaller house thing which is pretty much universal, the entire rest of that depends on what country you live in--and where in said country--and what your profession is. I don't think she/he is saying life will be worse. It will more than likely be less comfortable financially. That doesn't mean that the change in culture and lifestyle don't make it worth it.
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Dec 3, 2016 21:48
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I'm headed to Athens on Tuesday for 5 days and am starting to worry a little bit about the language since Greece is the first country I've been to that doesn't use the Latin alphabet and has a tougher language than all the Western European countries I've been to. I'm learning a few basics like hello, goodbye, please, thanks, etc. but will I generally be OK with mostly English?
MagicCube fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Dec 4, 2016 |
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Dec 4, 2016 23:38
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MagicCube posted:I'm headed to Athens on Tuesday for 5 days and am starting to worry a little bit about the language since Greece is the first country I've been to that doesn't use the Latin alphabet and has a tougher language than all the Western European countries I've been to. I'm learning a few basics like hello, goodbye, please, thanks, etc. but will I generally be OK with mostly English? "Greece has attracted 26.5 million visitors in 2015 and is projected to attract 30 million visitors in 2016, making Greece one of the most visited countries in Europe and the world" I doubt you'll be the first English speaking guy in Athens.
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Dec 4, 2016 23:55
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hackbunny fucked around with this message at 03:51 on Jul 2, 2020 |
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Dec 5, 2016 00:04
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Doctor Malaver posted:"Greece has attracted 26.5 million visitors in 2015 and is projected to attract 30 million visitors in 2016, making Greece one of the most visited countries in Europe and the world" σκούντημα για - Even this doesn't translate properly!
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Dec 5, 2016 00:11
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MagicCube posted:I'm headed to Athens on Tuesday for 5 days and am starting to worry a little bit about the language since Greece is the first country I've been to that doesn't use the Latin alphabet and has a tougher language than all the Western European countries I've been to. I'm learning a few basics like hello, goodbye, please, thanks, etc. but will I generally be OK with mostly English? My partner and I went to Athens with no knowledge of the language aside from a phrasebook and we were absolutely fine. It's a European capital city, you'll be alright. And please go and eat at Akordeon near Monestaraki. My partner and I stimbled across it and had amazing food, and a really interesting conversation with one of the owners before he and the co-owner's wife played traditional music and sang despite us being the only ones in the restaurant. They also took the time to stop now and then to translate, or tell us what the songs were about. It was such a unique and lovely experience that we would never have had if it weren't for taking a chance on some random restaurant down a side street!
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Dec 5, 2016 20:39
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Well it wouldn't have been a true Greek experience if I didn't get caught up in a huge strike/protest. It was a very orderly and friendly group though. No anarchists or anything, just unionists. Wasn't all bad though because all the museums I went to were either free or at reduced prices today and it was a nice day to walk.
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Dec 8, 2016 14:07
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I got back from Malta a few days ago—I think someone else was looking at going in January? It's nice right now, sunny and warm relative to anywhere else in Europe. Highlights for me were Dwejra, Victoria, Mdina/Rabat, St Paul's Catacombs, and just walking around the Three Cities. The comically-massive churches in Mosta and Xewkija were also pretty interesting to see, as you could probably fit every Maltese person who's ever lived in both of them. Seriously, who thought they needed Europe's third biggest domed church to be built, in 1970, on an island of 36,000 people that already has dozens of big, ornate churches? I'm not sure the Gozitans really have their right priorities in order. Un-highlights for me were the ancient temple ruins which were a spectacular "eh". YMMV and maybe you'll have a religious experience there. Tarxien ruins are almost certainly the closest to where you'll be staying, I wouldn't waste time going to Ggantija unless you have more than a day on the Gozo. Unfortunately the ancient underground temple that I was particularly interested in is closed to all visits right now. We didn't make it to the Dingli Cliffs but I think we did all the other standard tourist route stuff in the 4 full days we had. If you're at all comfortable driving a manual driving on the British side of the road (or are willing to spend 3x the daily price of a manual to get an automatic), I'd really recommend getting a car after your first day of checking out Valletta and 3 Cities. There's a reason why the country has more cars than people despite it being bite-sized. Public transport exists, but holy poo poo it sure is slow. Getting from Mdina to Hagar Qim takes more than an hour (assuming you catch your once-per-30 minuets bus, or once-per-hour on the weekend) even though it's only 9 km. I did not cherry pick a bad route—you really will only go about 10km/hour in a bus, meaning the bus is only about 2x the speed of a normal walking pace. If you don't stay in Valletta, then your connections will be 100% garbage—look at Google Maps and then add 25% to its travel time to get an idea of how much time you'll be sitting in buses. They actually drive reasonably fast, but many of the routes are ridiculously circuitous. Everyone said Malta is terrible to drive in and full of traffic, but in retrospect 99% of webpages about Malta only talk about going there in summer. In winter that's absolutely not the case. I guess Malta is to Italy in the way that Luxembourg is to France? It is very pretty and unique/interesting, I just don't think I'd put it as a top recommendation to someone who hasn't been to the countryside around Naples or Rome or Venice or Florence. Anyway, we went mostly to get somewhere warm and sunny for a few days and Mission Accomplished. It's also a dubious beach destination—there are only a handful of TINY beaches which was a surprise... although apparently it's really known for diving, not beaches, and the water did look super clear everywhere. Saladman fucked around with this message at 12:56 on Dec 14, 2016 |
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Dec 14, 2016 12:54
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The only thing I remembered from my trip to Malta some 15 years ago, was the dreadful condition of most roads, the expensive alcohol, and the eerie feeling of the Popeye village.
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Dec 14, 2016 13:31
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inscrutable horse posted:The only thing I remembered from my trip to Malta some 15 years ago, was the dreadful condition of most roads, the expensive alcohol, and the eerie feeling of the Popeye village. There's been a huge amount of construction and renovation in and near all the tourist places. I think everywhere we went to had big UNESCO signs saying "done in 2015" or whatever on it. It gets the European Presidency next month, and it's the European Capital of Culture in 2018 so I guess they're trying really hard (although Maribor was a capital of culture in 2012, and it's still an incredibly boring and unremarkable city). Some of the tiny side roads were barely up to third world standards, but most of the place was only as pot holed as your average Italian or French city.
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Dec 14, 2016 14:05
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Saladman posted:I got back from Malta a few days ago—I think someone else was looking at going in January? It's nice right now, sunny and warm relative to anywhere else in Europe. Yeah, I'm heading there at the beginning of January for 6 days (with the first being travel only). That's good info on driving and I was initially going to rent one for a day or two, but after reading what you've written it might be better to get it for 3-4 days after I'm done with Valletta and the surrounding area. How was parking in your opinion? Easy or difficult to find? I'm staying in Valletta and it looks like there are a bunch of car parks right outside the town and like you said, everything is written concerning summer, so I assume winter parking is easier to find. Also, what do you think about a GPS for getting around. I know it's a small island, but do you think it's worthwhile? Very nice write-up though and I'm looking forward to the trip. I was disappointed to learn a few weeks ago that the underground temple/burial site was closed for restoration. Heard a bunch of good things about it.
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Dec 14, 2016 17:22
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MagicCube posted:Yeah, I'm heading there at the beginning of January for 6 days (with the first being travel only). That's good info on driving and I was initially going to rent one for a day or two, but after reading what you've written it might be better to get it for 3-4 days after I'm done with Valletta and the surrounding area. How was parking in your opinion? Easy or difficult to find? I'm staying in Valletta and it looks like there are a bunch of car parks right outside the town and like you said, everything is written concerning summer, so I assume winter parking is easier to find. Also, what do you think about a GPS for getting around. I know it's a small island, but do you think it's worthwhile? Parking looked pretty easy to find outside of Sliema and St Julian's at night. We stayed in Floriana (the district just outside the city gates) and there were several spots open on our street all the time. All the major tourist spots have big parking lots with the exception of Mdina, but even there there were a bunch of open spots at the bus stop just outside the city gates where we waited for 30 minutes for a bus. A car would've been particularly handy for Gozo since the buses are infrequent and all buses go to/from Victoria like spokes on a wheel, except the comically expensive Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus (€18) which only runs every 45 minutes and only until like 4:30pm anyway. We had four full days there and got to see most of the major sites, but it would have been fun to just randomly wander around the country too looking for strange places. The country looks pretty beat up as soon as you get out of Valletta and Victoria, which is probably how all of Malta must have looked before 5 years ago. There are a LOT of abandoned and ruined houses everywhere except downtown Valletta. There aren't all that many principle axis roads, so you probably don't need a GPS unless you want to take backstreets to get from point A to point B and would be bothered if you got lost. I'm personally a big fan of taking tiny, weird access roads whenever I drive around on vacation, so that's almost an upside to me... as long as I have cached maps or something as a backup on my phone. St Paul's Catacombs is maybe a substitute for the closed underground temple; it's still like 1500-2000 years old and pretty substantial and I thought it was interesting. There are an absolute ton of caves everywhere, like every house in central Valletta seems to have underground access, some of which are open to visit. Mostly manmade bunkers made anywhere between like 200 AD and 1950, but there're a couple natural ones too. Saladman fucked around with this message at 19:59 on Dec 14, 2016 |
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Dec 14, 2016 19:56
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Does anyone know if the Noordermarkt in Amsterdam will be open on 26th December or does it close for the holiday?
Trimson Grondag 3 fucked around with this message at 04:49 on Dec 19, 2016 |
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Dec 19, 2016 04:47
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Pretty sure it will be closed, they don't do the market on holidays and the 26th is an official holiday. However, it should be up on Saturday the 24th, which is not an official holiday.
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Dec 19, 2016 10:13
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Amsterdam's official tourist website says it's open on the 26th at normal hours. http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/what-to-do/shopping/amsterdam-markets/noordermarkt-flea-market IME markets like that tend to even be larger than usual on holidays, with the exceptions of if they fall exactly on Christmas Day or New Years Day where really everything is dead. I've been to Amsterdam over the holidays and it's a lot livelier than many other major cities at the same time (looking at you Paris!!). I hate flea markets so my "IME" doesn't include specifically what you're asking about, though.
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Dec 19, 2016 11:10
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Huh, okay. I was basing myself on this: http://www.jordaanmarkten.nl/markt_amsterdam_feestdagen.html But that might be older.
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Dec 19, 2016 11:19
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Thanks, we land 6am on the 25th and it seems like there is still plenty of stuff open.
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Dec 19, 2016 12:29
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Hey all, Spending four days in Athens in May 2017 with an old high school buddy. Which of the Saronic Gulf Islands would you recommend for a daytrip? In addition, any recommendations for nightlife in the city? Thanks!
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Dec 22, 2016 07:29
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I am leaving for 2 weeks in northern Italy very shortly. Does anyone have any experience with Cetona or what I should do there?
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Dec 24, 2016 02:59
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Thanks for the advice earlier, decided on the trip so my follow-up question: My companion and I are looking for a couple of fine dining options for a trip to Barcelona in April/May. Price is not an issue and we like all cuisines but prefer not to be overstuffed. We always try to go for unique, fine dining. Restaurants that you'd be hard to find in other places, are known throughout the world/renowned or just special or exotic cuisine. For example, a recent London trip brought us to The Ledbury, HKK, Gymkhana and restaurant Story. Any recommendations with this in mind?
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Dec 29, 2016 11:07
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El Cellar de Can Roca in Girona. 3 Michelin stars and usually in the top 10 of "best restaurants in the world" listings (Number 1 in 2015). Girona is about 1 hour away from Barcelona by bus or car.
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Dec 29, 2016 11:52
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Julio Cruz posted:The Canaries would definitely qualify for good weather but I don't know if there's really much to explore, there's not a lot to do there unless you like beaches, surfing/diving or hiking. I don't do beaches/watersports and only limited hiking, but I had no problem finding stuff to see for a week (each) in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma, or Madeira. Gran Canaria has a bunch of pretty towns with colonial churches and mansions, Tenerife has the same and a big volcano you can climb, La Palma has a bunch of telescopes and laws against light pollution - great for star gazing. Madeira is probably the hikiest of the islands, but I only spend a day doing that - other highlights included the annual processing of sugar cane in early May (one place had steam powered grinders!) and whale watching. After a week though, I felt that I had pretty much seen what I wanted on each island.
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Jan 3, 2017 03:38
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inscrutable horse posted:The only thing I remembered from my trip to Malta some 15 years ago, was the dreadful condition of most roads, the expensive alcohol, and the eerie feeling of the Popeye village. I freaking loved Malta. Having a cocktail watching the sunset at the Cafe Del Mar in Buggibba was fantastic
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Jan 3, 2017 07:12
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What's the best way of getting around Greece? I have the opportunity of visiting for a few weeks later this year. My (ultra) tentative plan is to spend most of that time traipsing up and down the mainland indulging my interests in ancient and medieval history.* I'll be with family for some of the trip where we may have use of a car, but I intend spending the greater part travelling solo (although I don't yet have my full license so no rental car for me). I understand the railway network isn't very extensive and that buses are the way to go for a lot of places, but I would be interested to hear from anyone who has travelled to Greece in the last couple years? * With the further possibility of visiting Symi, where a family friend has offered his holiday house to stay. I suppose I may have to spend at least a day or two relaxing on a beach.
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Jan 5, 2017 22:01
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Octy posted:What's the best way of getting around Greece? I have the opportunity of visiting for a few weeks later this year. (although I don't yet have my full license so no rental car for me). I understand the railway network isn't very extensive and that buses are the way to go for a lot of places If you can't rent or borrow the car further, and the train network doesn't go to where you want to go or at the intervals you want (and it might not since it's pretty limited—basically it just does a loop around the Peloponnese and then a cut north from Athens to Thessalonaiki), then buses are really your only option unless you want to try one of those ride-share things for long distance travel. We looked into it with my family for doing a a tour of the Peloponnesian sites and decided to rent a car because the bus schedules weren't great (E: like 4 years ago but I doubt it's changed). OTOH you're a solo traveler and it's not like you have any other options that I can think of, besides changing your trip entirely and spending it instead on some of the islands. I wouldn't say buses are "the way to go" so much as "the only way to go" in your shoes, but I guess it'll work fine if you're mostly interested in major sites or medium-to-large cities. Saladman fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Jan 5, 2017 |
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Jan 5, 2017 22:41
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