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Are you dreaming of travelling more?

Don't Buy Expandable Suitcases - Here's Why

Published 27 days ago • 2 min read

Hi Reader,

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My last couple of months have been interesting + polar opposite to my 2024. I've been stationery in Canada for a few months itching to have a change of scenery so I took up my sister’s offer to visit her in a different province + take my first flight for 2025!

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Which reminds me to tell you NOT to buy an expandable suitcase when purchasing your next carry-on. Why? One of my flights was on on a small dash 8 plane + thankfully my Samsonite just barely fit in the carry-on overhead. If I had an expandable version, it wouldn’t have fit. The same theory goes for expandable packing cubes. If you have to rely on something to adjust, compress + resize your items, you’re simply packing too much.

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My next door province visit helped me realize how perfect the town I visited is for a pop-up coliving. I can’t get the idea out of my mind. I need to know would you ever be interested in spending time in a town with plenty of activities, instant friends, focus work environments + a chance to experience Canadian culture surrounded by lakes + mountains?

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Pop-up‘s have been extremely successful in Europe, but as a Canadian, I’d love to bring international travel friends to my home country, to see beautiful scenery and experience what we have to offer.

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Reader, thanks for reading this newsletter if you got to this point, sending you a big smile!

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Ciao for now, Anna

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P.s. you may notice some changes on the yourtravelfriendanna.com website ☺️

MESSAGE BOARD

Thank you to the travel friends who made it to Sunday's Community Call! We talked about Peruvian food vs. Mexican which led to discussing eating meats in other cultures such as Guinea Pig, Ostrich + Lamb how they're normal to see on a menu. We even had a furry travel friend join 🐶, who's passport is honestly more stamped than many of us.

👇🏻 Next Community Call 👇🏻

Sunday April 20

12:00 MST [Calgary]
14:00 EST [Toronto/New York
20:00 GMT+1 [Paris/Berlin]
02:00 ICT [Chiang Mai]

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FAVOURITES

✈️ Travel Fav

I seem to be reminding all my family right now to get an e-sim before their adventures. My fav is the Airalo, or Holafly to get unlimited data. Yes even you Canadians if visiting down there (you know where)

🍌 Num in my Tum

Stroopwafels. The Dutch ooey, gooey waffle cookie treat. A few int’l stores lately have reminded how delicious + decedent the fresh ones are!

😎 Reading

​Trevor Noah's story, which has led me into listening to his podcast + resonating with a recent conversation about how communities differ in 1st vs 3rd world countries when wanting to accept new people.

NEW VIDEO

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I too always wondered what a Week in the Life of a Digital Nomad meant before becoming one. I hope this gives you an accurate sneak peek into the lifestyle, that full-time travel means a mix of work + play in a new destination + a lot of it is just navigating life in a new culture while striving to maintain some sense of routine.

You can access videos early on Patreon​

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Are you dreaming of travelling more?

I help people make their travel dreams a reality as "Your Travel Friend"

Hey, I'm Anna, a Canadian Travel Content Creator who has been solo travelling for almost three years mainly in Europe. I'm passionate about solo travel, experiencing local culture, creating affordable trips, being a digital nomad + helping others do the same for a short or long-term.

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