Thanks for the recommendations!

We will definitely be in Hungary in August if you can make it there. (Hungary Day is in the middle of August with big celebrations and the big music festival.) We may also try to make it to Prague but Canadians need a special visa so that makes it a little more difficult.

Where are you going after August?

It is all good stress. We are definitely excited to be moving on but there is a lot of work to do before we can go.

As for practical stuff, I’ve heard that Charles Schwab is good for banking because it reimburses your ATM/banking fees when you’re abroad. Usually, banking fees aren’t too awful but there are some countries (like Argentina) that charge a fortune each time you take money out.

I’d also recommend getting some travel heath insurance (e.g., World Nomads) in case the credit card coverage doesn’t include repatriation/emergency evacuation or equipment protection.

We will be in the Prague area in July/August renewing our residence visas, so if you are in the region it would be great to meet up.

Congrats and good luck with these last weeks!
.-= Audrey´s last blog ..How to Travel the World Together Without Killing Each Other =-.

I know you mentioned the bit of stress you’re having at the moment as a result of the upcoming change, but hopefully you are also able to have some moments of pure excitement as you think about the new adventures to come! For me, those final couple of weeks before a major change are the most exciting. I can barely sleep as I anticipate the new experiences I’ll have in new lands.

On a more practical note, for banking, I recently switched to Capital One as they don’t charge any fees for withdrawals or credit card purchases made anywhere in the world. Even as a backup account it’s quite a good deal and so far my dealings with them have been as smooth as possible.

Thank you for laying out this excellent blueprint of what needs to be done when making such a change and congratulations on your upcoming vagabond lifestyle!
.-= Earl´s last blog ..A Scary Man In A Truck Teaches Me About Making Judgments =-.

Long time no talk. How is Bali? We hope to spend some time in Ubud again in 2011, hopefully we can meet up.

Thanks for following my blog for so long. I really appreciate the comment.

Real estate prices has basically halved since the Japanese boom of the late 1980s. Japan is actually not that expensive to live in. Tokyo and other big cities are obviously more expensive but anywhere outside of one of the biggest cities is quite reasonable. House sizes and land area are smaller but prices are definitely not ‘extremely high.” Actually, costs in general are not as high as people imagine. There are no ‘$7 coffees in McDonalds’ like many assume.

In rural or resort areas is is very possible to find old houses under $100,000. If it is more than 20 years old, you basically just pay the land value because buildings depreciate in value so fast here.

There is accident and health insurance included with the credit cards, however it is probably wise to make sure that we are completely covered. I will look into this more, however it is not a priority with only a few more weeks to go. We still have a lot of cleaning and organizing to do!

Really consider the medical travel insurance if it is not included with the new the credit cards. I’m sure you and your wife are young and healthy but a serious injury could wipe you out financially. World Nomads seems to always come highly recommended.

People always talk about the Charles Schwab bank accounts as deferring the international transaction rates when you pull money from ATMs. Also Capital One.
.-= brian | No Debt World Travel´s last blog ..Help a New Solo Traveler on her trip to Spain =-.