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Meet Nathan Aguilera, a flashpacker, foodie, photographer, and travel blogger. Nathan runs the very popular Foodie Flashpacker website that helps people all over the world find great restaurants and discover new dishes. In this episode, we chat about how the pandemic has affected travel blogs, Nathan's favorite cuisines, how he makes money from his blog, what influencers get paid, how he simplified his business, and the pros and cons of monetizing a blog with ads.
Click here for Full show notes
Links & Resources
Foodie FlashpackerNathan's InstagramThe Foodie Flashpacker Facebook pagePlaces mentioned:
Sofia, bulgaria - Read Nathan's guide to where to eat in the cityVarna, BulgariaSpainTbilisi, GeorgiaBora BoraMexicoItalyIceland'sAzores, PortugalMadeira, PortugalNathan's Top 3 Bulgarian dishes:
Tarator - Bulgarian Cold Cucumber SoupShopska saladBulgarian BanitsaOther Links:
Mediavine Trellis - a fast WordPress theme for food and travel blogs.Grow.me - Mediavine's user engagement suiteAweber - email marketing softwareA flashpacker definitionA Digital Nomad definitionReddit - One of the internet's most visited websites. Find niche forum discussions on every topic imaginable.WordPress themes for Travel blogsTravel writing & SEO - an opinion pieceHow to start a travel blog -
Travel entrepreneur David McNeill runs Expat Empire and currently lives in Portugal. His company helps expats get residency in another country, handle taxation, and find housing and work.
Full episode show notes
David has been living just outside of Porto for several years with his Japanese wife. He previously lived in Japan and Germany and has traveled extensively. David is originally from the United States and mostly works with US expats.
📍 On moving to Portugal
"We decided to take a trip (to Portugal) in 2018 and we thought, "this is the spot". This is amazing. We loved the nice warm, friendly people - English speaking at a high level - great weather, great food. And we just felt super comfortable. So many people are hearing about Portugal…and are really falling in love with the place. And it's quite open to people from all different situations and backgrounds."
📍 On Porto vs Lisbon for living
"it was a difficult decision but I think we always thought that Porto was maybe a little more beautiful. All of this is subjective, but we kind of like the vibe here. On the other hand, I thought there's probably more international English-speaking job opportunities in Lisbon. But when it came down to it and I got the job in Porto, I was more than happy to take that opportunity. I'm really happy that we're in Porto. And of course, Lisbon is only three and a half hours by bus."
📍 On leaving Berlin for Porto
"What we were leaving in Berlin was not only the coldness of the weather but also this big city, a bit dirty DIY kind of punkish scene, which at the first, at the beginning was great. But after a couple of years, got a little bit old. Here we're just able to slow down, take it easier, learn to kind of go with the flow. It's cleaner and the people are super welcoming and friendly".
📍 On the joys of exploring Tokyo
"In Tokyo, there was just so much to explore. And of course, if you're an active walker or explore or adventurer, even in your own city, there's always so much more to see. There is great people-watching and small alleyways to explore. It took me many months or even the whole two years that I was there to really try to figure out Tokyo, whereas here in Porto, it maybe took a couple of weeks".
📍 On advising clients about moving locations
"What I try to do with some clients that are thinking about which country to move to is to give them a data-driven approach. And of course, I use some of the more reliable rankings for a variety of different aspects and metrics. But they're not always looking at some of the figures around things like safety. And people that are concerned about those things."
📍 On the Expat Empire business
"The idea is to inspire and help people to move all around the world and we try to help anyone move anywhere as best as we can. We're not immigration officers but we try to give as much advice as we can to people that are looking to, for example, find a new job abroad, start their international careers or become location independent digital nomads, and naturally people that are retiring abroad as well.
We help people look at different destinations in terms of countries or cities and different potential visa routes. And we put together personalized timelines and checklists of all the things they need to do between now and when they settle into the country. We also do coaching and work with our network of partners around the world to help people with their tax situation, visas, or housing"
Resources
Links
Expat EmpireMoving to PortugalGolden VisaD7 VisaPlaces mentioned
Porto, PortugalMatosinhos, PortugalLisbon, PortugalTokyo, JapanVietnamBerlin, GermanyCascais, PortugalSofia, BulgariaBudapest, HungaryGeorgia -
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Today’s podcast interview is with the founder of Spotted By Locals, Bart van Poll. Learn how Bart took an idea and turned it into a network for local experts to share their best tips. The blog and community Spotted By Locals is a great resource for travelers. Tips in their city guides are written by locals who actually live in these cities. Bart, who is originally from the Netherlands, will explain how he monetized the Spotted By Locals website and made it profitable. For most people, just starting such a website is difficult, but making money from it is even more challenging. Bart succeeded in this.
Full Interview Show Notes
We discuss emerging locations, overtourism, Bart’s favorite destinations, how he travels, and his thoughts on Google getting into the travel space.
It is the future: emerging destinations that have avoided over-tourism. People are looking to finally go do something else and the pandemic has helped in that way.
📍 On focus in the travel industry
“At the moment, we cover 81 cities across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. we write about spots that aren’t super touristic. We focus on cities that are less than touristy, emerging destinations in the last three years only.”
📍On overtourism
“It is the future: emerging destinations that have avoided over-tourism. It’s been a buzzword for a long time and people are looking to finally go do something else. And the pandemic has helped in that way. I think people want to experience less crowded places. I’m happy we made the choice to focus on these destinations”.
📍On little-known, misunderstood Chișinău, Moldova
“The way the YouTuber Bald and Bankrupt talks about Chișinău doesn’t do it justice. I think it’s a pretty lovely city actually with low-rise buildings and really friendly locals. It has a lot of problems everywhere, but it’s a charming place I really try to promote it to friends. But Bald and Bankrupt did get me interested in visiting so maybe the tourist board can be grateful (for the exposure)”
Links & More Information
Spotted by Locals websiteSpotted by locals InstagramPeloponnese, GreeceAmsterdam, NetherlandsAthens, GreeceNew ZealandYerevan, ArmeniaTbilisi, GeorgiaThessaloniki, GreeceTashkent, UzbekistanChișinău, MoldivaNate Hake from Travel LemmingBald and Bankrupt – Video on ChișinăuGary Arndt from Everything EverywhereDuckDuckGo.com – Google search engine ‘competitor’Buffer.com – social media scheduling appThe Silk Roads – Peter FrankopanSapiens – Noah Yuval Harari -
Jason Moore is the founder of two popular websites and podcasts, Zero to Travel and Location Indie.
He’s an all round great guy, superb interviewee (and interviewer by the way) and has a lot to say about the future of travel and where we can all make a difference.
Jason is passionate about helping people grow businesses online, whether they be travel-related or not, but most of his audience are digital nomads or travel fans. His community is made up of like-minded individuals who all value self-actualisation and freedom over status and money.
🔗 Full Show Notes
On authenticity in podcasting and blogging On writing for SEO and keywords or writing to be authentic.On why Jason started the Zero To Travel podcast On starting a comminty for location independent entrepreneurs On life-changing decisions and eventsOn setting up two companies in two different countries On creating Location Indie with a friend On the term “Location Independent Entrepreneur” On why the lifestyle is not for everyone On learning from other people On social media On starting a podcast On how to know if podcasting is for you -
If you've ever wanted to get into the world of travel and adventure tours, this interview will give you some insights into how it's done. If you're interested in visiting emerging destinations but you don't fancy going it alone, check out the fascinating parts of the world that Sam's company, YellowWood Adventures, visits.
Sam talks about staffing, marketing channels, marketing tools, and how the business developed
🔗 Full Show Notes
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The Portugalist is a blog about travel and living in Portugal. James Cave founded the blog in 2016 to create travel content for people interested in visiting the country's many tourist attractions. But over the last few years, there has been a shift towards helping people who want to move to Portugal on a short-term or long-term basis.
🔗 Show Notes
In 2020, with so few tourists visiting the country, James has taken the opportunity to work on an aspect of the blog that he had avoided in the past - advice on moving to and living legally in Portugal.
Brexit, Donald Trump's presidency, and the global pandemic have contributed to an increased demand for information on moving to and living in Portugal, especially by people from the US and UK
Portugal is growing fast as a destination for expats, location independent entrepreneurs, digital nomads, and retirees.
Portugalist Website
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Peter Santenello is a YouTube travel video creator. His videos focus on the people that live in less-visited countries. He travels to places that are generally misunderstood in the West and documents the lives of regular people. It's less a travelog and more a way to show the humanity on the streets of countries that are poorly represented around the world.
🔗 Show Notes
Peter's videos are thoughtful, thought-provoking, entertaining and always fascinating. It's one of the few travel vlogs that I subscribe to and I recommend you check it out.
This podcast interview was recorded back in mid-2020 and circumstances have led to a delay in publishing. But our conversation is still relevant and you will get lots of value from what Peter has to say.
Please excuse the bad audio in places. We had a less-than-perfect connection and I'm still figuring out this podcasting game.
Peter's YouTube Channel
Peter's Website
Saudi Arabia playlist on YouTube
Ukraine playlist
Video of Peter meeting the family he lived with in rural Ukraine
"The goal is to put the viewer In the driver's seat, and put them into the situations. And I never know how any of these are going to come out. It always matters what experience I get into and who I meet. That's really the ticket."
