I wanted to explore another Greek city before spending a month in Athens and after many butchered attempts at trying to pronounce the cities names, settled on Thessaloniki.
Connected to the capital via an efficient 5 hour train line, the city has an impressive coast line, dotted with historical landmarks.
A solid range of options across the city. Good value to be had if booking outside of the main summer months.
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New legislation
Recent changes introduced by the Turkish government has made short-term rentals for under 100 days more restricted. Keep an eye on Reddit threads for up-to-date assessments of how the new legislation is impacting short-term rentals in practice.
Not an enormous selection, but there is a choice of several coworking spaces throughout the city and numerous coffee shops.
Several coffee shops i visited often had intermittent connectivity issues so would opt for a dedicated coworking space if you have substantial work to do.
Eating out for casual meals was excellent value in comparison to Western Europe. No shortage of more sophisticated options also.
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The yen is currently at a 34-year low
While this is undoubtedly a negative for the Japanese, it makes for an exceptionally good time to visit Japan from abroad. Although this trend is unlikely to reverse significantly in the short term, it's still worth checking before visiting.
Read moreAs a relatively small city, it lacks some of the urban intensity you might seek for a prolonged stay. However, during the summer months, with an influx of seasonal visitors and lively nightlife, it could be a good option if you're willing to consider a more compact destination.
Greece is based in Eastern European Time, perfect if you are used to working in European hours, one hour ahead of CET.
I've written a guide on how to structure your day to get the most out of the time difference.
Without doubt, being able to speak Spanish with a degree of fluency is a huge asset when visiting South America. I had always put off visiting the continent due to my Spanish skills not extending beyond requesting a "cerveza grande".
But even with my incredibly primitive linguistic capabilities, it was not in any way to the detriment of the trip. English is spoken sparsely, but armed with a few phrases, some polite enthusiasm and a translator, it shouldn't deter you from visiting.
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