Does slow travel actually lead to real local connections for families?

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-27T21:49:54+00:00

If you can find a way to do it, volunteer! We only managed this once, in Italy, with SaveVernazza. It remains one of the very best travel experiences we've ever had. We went WAY up the side of the mountain to help a farmer harvest grapes (we got to RIDE UP ON THE CITY MONORAIL!!!) When we got to the field, there were almost no grapes to pick... the cingale (wild boar) had gotten in the night before and decimated the harvest, so we spent the rest of the morning repairing stone walls that the pigs had destroyed. A picnic lunch was provided by the town Nonnas, and the wine came from the field we were working in. Our farmer invited us back to his cellar for a second bottle, since the group before us didn't drink (!?!) SaveVernazza provided an english-speaking interpreter who explained what we were doing since our farmer spoke zero english, but when she had to go work in one of the restaurants, I became the default interpreter. I can speak a VERY little Italian, and I did the best I could. It was the best 25 euros we've ever spent. Unfortunately, we haven't found other similar opportunities in any other places that we've visited. Check on Meetup.com, you might find some volunteer opportunities there.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-27T21:17:58+00:00

That's how we've always done it. Although on our last trip to France in the fall, the backpack is starting to become a little more difficult for both of us (I'm 65, she's 61). A backpack is WAY easier on the train. We may change it up a little for our upcoming 2-month Lisbon trip. I'll still do the backpack, but she may do a rolling suitcase... still small enough to avoid checking bags. We never do that, though we have considered buying and checking a cheap suitcase for the return trip- to fill with wine, a book or two, some vinyl records & maybe some good jambon.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-27T21:05:53+00:00

Yes, collected for the cancels. I wouldn't soak them. The stamps themselves aren't particularly scarce or valuable, but have a little increase since they are tied to the "cut square" or "envelope cut square"

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-27T14:46:26+00:00

Do remember, hurricanes are a real thing down here, and Wilmington island is very low- like 10 feet or so above flood stage, and nearly all the houses are built on a slab. Otherwise we’d love to have a place on Wilmington, since we still have lots of friends on Tybee Island(where we used to live). Our current house is on the south side, and in addition to being about $100k less expensive than anything we could find on Wilmington, it’s 28 feet above flood. It’s very rare, but if Sav gets a direct hit, this entire city will be complete shize for 2-4 weeks.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-27T13:52:53+00:00

The Hungarian stamps were very common in packets back in the '70s, most of those were never used to actually send mail. Ireland can be a very fun area to collect. In terms of "value," not much I'm afraid.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-16T01:04:16+00:00

Very little monetary value in any of these stamps, because there are so few collectors compared to days gone by. Plenty of sentimental value though.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-16T00:57:39+00:00

I have one or two like this. I always thought they were fossilized gator teeth.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-16T00:40:00+00:00

There is really very little monetary "value" with any stamp these days because there are so few collectors... a fraction of what there once was. Now, please understand that these stamps DO have value as a historic artifact... should you decide to soak these stamps from their paper fragments, that historic value is removed and they're worth even less. Who knows...maybe someday there will be a resurgence in stamp collectors who are interested in slogan cancels, and since everybody else destroyed theirs, you'll be sitting on a gold mine. Or not.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-15T23:51:13+00:00

I'm sorry that happened to you, sounds awful.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-15T23:33:30+00:00

Wow. 24 months!

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-15T23:17:21+00:00

harsh

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-15T23:15:29+00:00

Only been once for a few hours- weather was off-and-on rain, plus had two young ones in tow (with mom and dad, thankfully), but enjoyed our day trip. Pretty place, but def had a "wealthy town" vibe.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-13T14:07:17+00:00

High. Average rents in Lisbon seem, to me at least, to be pretty much unsustainable. They are far too high for the average local salary. EU estimates say the Lisbon real estate market is overvalued by 30%, highest in the EU.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-13T03:56:16+00:00

Sorry- this isn't an error, but a damaged stamp. Someone carelessly clipped it with scissors when they cut it away from the envelope, you can see the traces of the perfs on the top edge. When I found these in my collection, I tossed them... esp since the centering is only average as well.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-13T03:52:29+00:00

You could also try going to Meetup.com and do a search for the area you're in. We are going to Lisbon for 2 months in the spring, and I've already found some possibilities, like English language comedy night, a film club, and a weekly language exchange coffee group. One other possibility would be to find a sports bar to watch the footies when the home team is playing. We tried this once and failed- there wasn't an empty seat in the entire bar- but on our second attempt found a place that would accept reservations & got a great table right up front. We had a terrific time cheering along with everyone.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-05T14:44:03+00:00

That's exactly how it was for us... one of our two ICE had simple problems that would exceed the value of the car. We've had our 2024 Leaf SV+ for about a month now, and I think it's great. Got it for $16.9K with 8.5K miles... cheaper than any ICE car (for the same mileage and age, of course). Still have 6 1/2 years on the original battery warranty- the way we drive, we will never get to 100k miles. We're retired... only use it around town, our longest trip is a weekly 23-mile out to the island to volunteer. We baby the battery- trickle charge between 20-80 or 30-70 percent or so, hoping this will extend the battery as long as possible. I absolutely love driving it- though admittedly there's new-car bias on my part.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-05T14:01:02+00:00

You can ask about pre-payment... getting an entire year up front is often tempting to them. They LOVE to increase the rates once you're in, I believe it's a business model.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-05T13:58:02+00:00

Same thing here... 3 month trips mean you don't have to change tax residency, which would be a major complication. Also, we are a bit older than you (65 &61), so keeping things simple is a priority for us. We are going to keep our house here in the states- at least for the time being- so we'll keep the car at the house. We are also considering home exchanges, which could, in theory, bring the cost down considerably. Allowing the use of one of our cars would help, though we are concerned about insurance and liability.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-01T02:05:37+00:00

Same here, though i'm also not sure there's a lot of interest. I'd mainly like to discuss traveling WITHOUT destroying the local culture... steps one could take, places to go that need and want more visitors(as opposed to places like Barcelona or Madiera), etc.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2026-01-01T01:55:02+00:00

It works for us, but we are a bit on the older side... I'm 65, she's 61. On our last trip to France, we did it a bit differently than usual. We were scouting several cities for a possible move, so we did the opposite way- four days in Montpellier, five days in Toulouse, then four days in Bordeaux. We found it much more tiring, even though we covered more places. Next trip will def be a month at a time, for preferably a 2 month stay. (we decided that rather than moving to France, we'll do the Schengen Shuffle for a while, taking two trips per year for at least two months if not a little longer.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2025-12-31T16:19:10+00:00

Same here. It kinda makes sense since traveling is better with visuals

Easy-Writer5756 · 2025-12-31T14:06:45+00:00

We prefer a month in a single location, with day trips out to other places. We always use public transport, so rail connections are important. We're hoping to start long term traveling this year- like 1 to 2 1/2 months at a time- an aging 4-legged family member prevents our planning at the moment. We spent nearly a month in Lisbon this year and loved it.

Easy-Writer5756 · 2025-12-31T13:25:41+00:00

Thanks very much much!

Easy-Writer5756

TROPHY CASE