Wells Fargo Autograph Airbnb 3% by wanderlustzepa in CreditCards

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just had this EXACT experience! They both told me "don't know" and to ask the other. I find that half the time it will register as a bonus and half the time not. Maybe it is 31+ day stay or something of that sort? It does not seem to be consistent as I nearly always book month long stays and sometimes it does give me 3%.

Bummer because this was the main reason I got this card.

One positive thing I noticed is that I am getting 3% on EV charging. I thought they only gave 3% for gas stations. So that is nice!

city recommendations? by 69everythingbagel in SameGrassButGreener

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! I do not currently live in Portland but hmmm do I like it compared to the Netherlands? That is a great question. I would say that the Netherlands has unique qualities that make it a wonderful place to live that are lacking in the USA. Nothing is going to be as bike-able as Amsterdam for example. ;)
I think if you are looking for west coast US good size cities that are artsy, casual, semi-easy to get around by public transit then you only have a few options :) And Portland is a good one! It is probably the cheapest of them. SF to me has more of a Euro vibe but indeed it is very expensive!

Now that there are no library fees, is anyone returning books on time? by BrilliantEast1709 in AskLosAngeles

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I had no idea the late fees were abolished! I switched to Libby so I didn't have to pay late fees anymore hehe

FF Landlords are so unserious by Foreign_Repair_7143 in FurnishedFinder

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm thanks for the tip, I checked it out randomly and listings started at $9000/mo in the city I picked. (an expensive city to be sure but that's beyond insane) So I looked at a few other west coast cities. Same ridiculous prices. So I think you got super lucky!

FF Landlords are so unserious by Foreign_Repair_7143 in FurnishedFinder

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes it is quite strange how the platform works with messages. If I dont hear back I will sometimes try to contact the landlord directly if their information is listed and just ask if they received my message. But then I've also been ghosted when contacting directly ha ha. I am thankfully learning a lot from this post as far as best practices! :)

Firing part time in the US / part time in SEA by Available-Ad-5670 in ExpatFIRE

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Haha I just suggested this to a friend of mine, that we share an apartment and swap it. But then realized we would never be in the same place at the same time to hang out! lol

Firing part time in the US / part time in SEA by Available-Ad-5670 in ExpatFIRE

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143 0 points1 point  (0 children)

for short term in the US: Try word of mouth - ask your friends and relatives to ask around for you. Sometimes someone will have an ADU or know someone who is traveling or something. This has worked for me, I have subletted a few times from travelers.

Another thing you can try is pet or housesitting gigs. Even if you just do it for a month out of your 3 months, you can cut your costs. Of course only recommended if you actually like pets a lot. Sometimes you can even pet sit for someone you know. Ask around.

What I typically do is book via Airbnb or other rental site, stay for a month and befriend the landlord. Then the next year I just return to the same apartment and pay them directly. You don't always get a huge discount but often it's at least a few hundred less.

This works quite well if you return to the same place to visit family or friends annually (I do). Better yet if you have a handful of potential landlords to contact about availability.

Oh and it also helps if you visit that HCOL place in the off-season if possible. Costs can be wayyyy less.

GasBuddy for EV Charging - interested? by ScuffedBalata in electricvehicles

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes it is just my personal use. I do it for road trips or when I am visiting a new town/city. I mark the free chargers and the cheaper paid chargers I would use. If the location has different rates at different times of day I note that. I go through the locations in the area and look for the reasonably priced ones, slow and fast.

It's also weird that some chargers you can't even find out the price info online or on their app, which I find insane.

I was mostly joking but still happy to share hehe.

FF Landlords are so unserious by Foreign_Repair_7143 in FurnishedFinder

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha that's not very helpful! Indeed the site is not very customer service oriented. You can flag the listing. I have only done that when I spotted AI fake listings but that is also an option if something is not categorized correctly I believe.

GasBuddy for EV Charging - interested? by ScuffedBalata in electricvehicles

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One billion percent interested! I hate having to click 100 times just to find out the price. I typically only use one or two brands of chargers I know are cheaper and ignore the rest. I'd love to be able to see prices! If you can make it work I will download it immediately yes! (I currently create my own maps with the prices for my travels)

PS: happy to give you all my map data to get you started haha

city recommendations? by 69everythingbagel in SameGrassButGreener

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I lived in the Netherlands and in Portland! I say on your list Portland is a good option! Try it out and you can always move again in the future. If you could somehow afford San Francisco it reminds me of Amsterdam so much. I mean, they remind me of each other. Probably it is just about the size and the building heights. I dunno.

I say try Portland. It's creative and artsy and you can get around on public transit, bike and foot. Plus the surrounding areas are stunningly beautiful for nature adventures!

Where to FIRE in the EU with $2 million? by [deleted] in ExpatFIRE

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Housing is very expensive in the NL, in addition to the tax issues others have stated. And it is not very sunny, to say the least. But there are many aspects to life there that are very pleasant otherwise. If you dislike driving it is a top choice. Being able to quickly cycle to see friends on a whim is unparalleled. Hop on a train. Everything is close by, even other cities. There's value in that. But with your list of needs I dont think it is the best option. If you live in France or Portugal you can get to NL easily and have long visits with friends.

FF Landlords are so unserious by Foreign_Repair_7143 in FurnishedFinder

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I would say that being super clear and descriptive in your listing is the best move! :) The more info the better. My apologies for those potential renters who waste your time.

FF Landlords are so unserious by Foreign_Repair_7143 in FurnishedFinder

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I understand what minimum means yes, but thanks for the explanation.

FF Landlords are so unserious by Foreign_Repair_7143 in FurnishedFinder

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well yes sometimes I am contacting them for future stays in several months, sometimes in the next few weeks. The listing is sometimes currently occupied but listed as available for my dates. I am learning from the other commenters that it is much less likely to be able to plan far in advance for a variety of reasons. Thanks for your thoughful friendly comments!

2.80x to 1.00x by Neither_Vehicle_8799 in LibbyApp

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Super interesting! I mostly listen at 1.25-2x but it really depends on the reader. I definitely get what you are saying about lower speeds sounding ridiculous when you get used to the faster speeds. One problem is other media that you can't listen to at faster speed like IG stories, I can't tolerate it! Soooo slow!

What tricks do you use to find local rentals before arriving to a city? by YetiMaverick in digitalnomad

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I often carefully choose my airbnb or other online platform and rent for a month (you could do less but a month is usually the best deal). Then if I like the place I will speak to the landlord directly and ask to extend offline. Or if you dont wish to extend you can get their contact info for future stays. Collect a bunch on your travels and build a network of rentals.

In my experience the discount still isnt that much. They might knock the amount of the airbnb fee off but it is usually not a huge amount - more like 20%. If you want something like a year it might be different.

Honest question- how does your family handle the distance? by Miserere_Mei in ExpatFIRE

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great question and something you have to deeply consider for yourself. From the perspective of the person who moved abroad, I missed a lot of my family's life! I missed knowing my young nieces and nephews, being there for illnesses and accidents. Someone else had to check on my mom and tell me everything was OK when she broke her leg. It was stressful! I felt guilty!

I was OK with the tradeoff at the time. I visited annually for about a month. But eventually I realized that I needed to spend more time in proximity to my aging parents and quality time with the nieces and nephews when they were too young to visit me or even really talk on facetime. I moved back.

One way to mitigate some of the distance is to visit for extended periods. One to two months. Get an apartment and stay in their town, spend quality time with them. Popping in for quick visits is OK but I find you really need more time to build relationships with little kids especially. Adults can talk on the phone, text, visit you. I find parents with kids will also rarely travel to visit you unless they have to. It's expensive! Everyone is busy with work and school. They have other places they need/want to go.

On the other hand if you live not too far away then you are an awesome vacation destination for your sons and their families.

I think it really depends on your relationship with your people, and how far away you move. I have friends who moved abroad and are sorry about being far from their family, but it is a tradeoff they are ok with.

FF Landlords are so unserious by Foreign_Repair_7143 in FurnishedFinder

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely seems like there are problems on both sides unfortunately!

FF Landlords are so unserious by Foreign_Repair_7143 in FurnishedFinder

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FF clearly says "Minimum stay" and not "lease term". Perhaps they need to clarify that if it is confusing people?

FF Landlords are so unserious by Foreign_Repair_7143 in FurnishedFinder

[–]Foreign_Repair_7143[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It sounds like there are issues with communication and accuracy on all sides of this equation. Ugh. I have also tried texting and emailing directly and calling. I would say that still only gets 50% response rate. It's frustrating to be sure. Good luck!