New Zealand has entered Level 2, aka "Slightly Distanced Normality." You may have heard that NZ has "eradicated" the virus. That's why the country is starting to open up. What happened, and what's going on now? New Zealand started its lockdown with just over 100 cases, and it was much more stringent than the "shelter [...]
Bloomberg’s Terrible Article About New Zealand’s Lockdown
Bloomberg posted a terribly inaccurate article about how New Zealand is handling lockdown. It is such crap that I won't deign to link to it; you can search it on your own. Here's the real story. (Tell your friends so they don't believe the Bloomberg bullshit in the screenshots.) UPDATE: After being dragged by millions [...]
COVID-19 and the Stockdale Paradox
Note: this is adapted from a Twitter thread and Facebook post I made that got shared around a lot. It may feel like it's a good idea to tell someone who's struggling, "Don't worry, it will all be over by May!" That's actually the WORST thing you can say. Here's why, and here's what you [...]
People come first: How NZ is handling the COVID-19 crisis
I thought you might find it interesting to read how another country is handling this crisis. Here's the view from New Zealand. Prioritizing People Over "The Economy." What feels like months ago now but was probably a week, the government of New Zealand announced a huge package to support residents affected by coronavirus. People who [...]
The Aeropress Coffeemaker: A Crucial Part of our Nomad Toolkit
Mike and I are both coffee lovers. On our nomad journey, we’ve quickly learned that not everyone feels the same. We’ve stayed at homes with no coffee maker at all. We’ve stayed at homes with pod coffeemakers that use instant coffee granules rather than coffee grounds. And everywhere we’ve gone, we’ve had great coffee – because [...]
The Cheapskate’s Guide To Luxembourg: How to Have a Cheap Good Time in an Expensive Country
Luxembourg is number five on the list of most expensive countries to live in. If you’re a cheapskate, is it possible to have a good time there? Yes, absolutely! Luxembourg has a huge number of free or cheap things to do that will keep you busy. Plus it’s loaded with gorgeous scenery that makes it [...]
How to Keep a Taxi From Taking Advantage of You
Everywhere from Sydney to Phuket to Rome to Prague, we've had taxis try to take advantage of us. Sometimes, they've succeeded. Here are some of the scams we've run into, and how we've learned to avoid them. The Long Way 'Round Scam Many years ago, before Google Maps was a twinkling in Larry Page's eye, [...]
Getting Caught With Your Pants Down: My Story
I'm about to admit something embarrassing: I'm not perfect. My posts may make it look like I always get it right, but sometimes I make huge mistakes. Here's the story of one of those times. We had one day to go on our housesit. We were dedicating our entire next day to cleanup in order [...]
In Praise of Lesser Known Destinations
Lots of people who look into housesitting imagine themselves taking care of a luxury penthouse in New York City, a beach house in the Maldives, or a fin de siecle apartment in Paris. I’ve even had someone say to me, “I’m ready to do my first housesit! Can you hook me up with something in [...]
How to See Australia’s Animals for Free Around Brisbane
There are many places near Brisbane where you can pay admission to see Australia’s unique animals. However, maybe you’ve already visited those spots and now want a chance to see those animals out in the wild. There are a couple of places near Brisbane where you can see native animals without spending any money at [...]