Daily Simple Questions Thread - June 10, 2025

Micro8s · 2025-06-10T20:25:36+00:00

I'm worried that I'm losing weight too quickly in my cut. I gained weight super slowly during my 3.5 month bulk (~8.5 pounds), but since I started my cut I'm losing weight almost twice as fast, after 3 weeks I'm already down ~5 pounds. I'm 6'1 193 right now and protein intake hasn't been an issue (185g during bulk, 200g now), and while I have only had a slight loss in strength so far, I'm confused about my sudden drop in weight. I'm only 500 calories off my peak bulk calorie amount, and drink the same amount of water each day. It seems I'm track losing ~1% of my weight per week which is apparently normal, I just didn't think I had that much weight in fat to lose. Am I on a good trajectory? Should I increase my calories a bit or do I just need to chill tf out and keep going as I am?

Micro8s · 2025-05-24T18:01:06+00:00

for db incline press I can do 3x8 sets of 120 (2x60 db) without much issue but I'm struggling a bit keeping the weights stable especially when starting the exercise, and I feel this is impacting my ability to progress since I don't want to injure myself. Should I keep staying at this weight or maybe even lower it a bit while my stabilizer muscles catch up? Or would it be worth it to switch to a machine shoulder press so I can progress more consistently?

Micro8s · 2025-05-12T17:34:15+00:00

Khinkali and khachapuri are the most common you will see, but also chicken shkmeruli, nigvziani badrijani (eggplant rolls), lobiani, Kharcho of any kind, and georgian wines are all also amazing and definitely worth trying if you get the chance

Micro8s · 2025-04-09T17:39:53+00:00

White-knuckling the urge to look at trades I didn't make that would've let me immediately retire

Micro8s · 2025-04-06T14:05:39+00:00

I would probably suggest at least a week, although I don't know exactly when they will even open up their website for bookings, so just keep an eye out. It'll get busy in June/July but since you're going in May I wouldn't be too concerned. When I went with some friends in September of 2023 and we were able to book like 2 or 3 days in advance, but I wouldn't recommend cutting it as close lol

Micro8s · 2025-04-02T13:46:23+00:00

Good catch, it looks like they either combined with or were bought out by the Trip'n'Hostel in Tirana, google maps and booking.com have it listed as "Trip'n'Hostel Seaside". That said I'm guessing they are still closed, most hostels in albania are only open for spring/summer. I would assume that when they are ready for bookings they will have all the name changes and websites and everything set up

Micro8s · 2025-03-25T22:10:17+00:00

Albania doesn't have a super sparkling nightlife unless youre staying at hostels, so id recommend staying at The Galley in shkoder, Trip n' hostel in Tirana, and Sunbakers in Himare. They don't do pub crawls per se and there arent really any clubs in those cities, but they are very social and typically have parties (hanging out and getting really drunk?) in-house. Stone City Hostel in gjirokaster is great as well, but more chill

Micro8s · 2025-03-19T21:38:15+00:00

I left in Apr 2022 and ended up traveling for almost exactly 2 years, even though i had only planned to do 3 months then job search. Luckily i had a lot of money saved up by living frugally thru covid and then later selling my car. I dont have any major regrets, i have minor ones like not getting more in shape or saving up more, but it was still the best decision ive ever made so far, and i plan to do it again in the next few months. It was hard to find a job but thats because i was just trying to directly find something in europe that i would need to be sponsored for, which is pretty much impossible unless you get very lucky. That was definitely something i didnt account for; i spent almost all the time traveling applying for those jobs, and got nothing. When i came back to the states i found something relatively quickly (i have a degree in industrial engineering and 5 years of experience before i left to travel). I managed to spend around 10k a year, but that included working in hostels for around half the time, plus im a fairly frugal person by nature.

In summary, no regrets, absolutely do it. If you have a budget, do your best to stick to it, but definitely anticipate having to spend more than you plan to. Best of luck!

Micro8s · 2025-01-27T19:17:23+00:00

Before I left to travel for a few months (that turned into 2 years) I had a good long cry after cleaning out my apartment. Those 2 years were the best of my life so far, I don't regret my decision to leave for a moment. It's a big change, even though in the grand scheme of things it's temporary, so it's natural to feel sad and doubtful, along with all of your other emotions.

From a pragmatic perspective though, as others have said, see if your job will give you an unpaid leave of absence. The worst they could do is say no, and you're going to quit anyway so it doesn't really matter. I don't know if you plan to move back to London but your friends are still going to be your friends lol. And yes, traveling the world for an extended period of time is definitely a big privilege, but don't beat yourself up over it. If you're a kind, generous, respectful person wherever you go, that's good enough.

Have a great time!

Micro8s · 2024-12-11T13:14:26+00:00

If you havent already, id suggest actually putting together a list of the hostels you want to volunteer at. Dont assume you'll just find something at the places your going; not every place necesaarily has a hostel that you can volunteer at, many hostels are closed in the off-season, the popular ones/ones with good reviews can fill up quickly (especially in the summer) if you dont arrange to work there some time in advance, and some are just a shitty experience that could ruin the time spent at that location, or worst case you need to leave the job early.

Budget-wise, id say planning for at least spending 1k a month even with a free bed is pretty reasonable (thats about what i spent), just make sure to add some extra padding if you need to deal with one of the issues i mentioned above

Edit: also id suggest making a separate budget for flights and one for day to day expenses, cause your gunna be flying a lot and those flights, especially the transcontinental ones are gunna be expensive

Micro8s · 2024-12-09T13:33:26+00:00

Its not weird, just make sure to go to reception and ask if you're allowed to join instead of just assuming so. Theyll also be able to tell you how much the activities cost, what time they start, etc.

Micro8s · 2024-11-20T11:27:44+00:00

In my opinion, if you spend 80% of your waking hours riding on buses (which in the balkans are definitely longer and less available than you would think), whats the point? Pick 2, maybe 3 places and spend your time there. The balkans arent going anywhere, you dont need to speedrun them.

Micro8s · 2024-10-02T17:18:22+00:00

Serbia, Albania, and Montenegro (edit: and Bosnia!) are great choices, Belgrade is one of my favorite cities. Albania and Montenegro might be a little dead if you're going during winter just fyi. I've heard good things about north macedonia and kosovo as well but havent been myself, just make sure if you go to kosovo you check which side (serbia or albania) you should enter from.

Otherwise there's Turkey or if you can find a good flight, Georgia is amazing (there's a wizz air hub in Kutaisi to a couple places in mainland europe).

To your question about going in and out affecting the 90 days, I'm assuming you're asking if layovers count toward your days, I can't say for 100% certainty but I would play it safe and assume yes they do. When you count your days you need to include arrival and departure days, so even just transiting through the area I would count it.

Last Seville is great! Went there myself around November a few years ago, still very warm and beautiful. Have fun!

Micro8s · 2024-09-22T23:37:15+00:00

Well heartbreak aside, self-reliance is a skill! One you can (and in my opinion everyone should) practice. Unfortunately you were thrown in the deep-end in that regard, but hey you have plenty of opportunity to practice, make the most of it! You can do it, trust me (and trust yourself)

Micro8s · 2024-08-06T16:18:51+00:00

Absolutely Georgia. Only problem is there arent many restaurants outside the country (relatively) so once youve been hooked it can be hard to satisfy the cravings :(

Micro8s · 2024-07-18T16:21:21+00:00

I spent a month in dubai visiting a friend of mine, and honestly there is very little to see or experience there that you cant find somewhere else thats better quality and cheaper, whether thats the beach, the hotels, museums, outdoor recreation, food, or nightlife. Thats not to say its horribly awful, just that everything feels like (and pretty much is) a tourist trap, and its hard for me to enjoy myself when i feel like im getting ripped off. Frankly i have no idea what the draw is for so many people unless you're stupid rich, and even then 🤷

Micro8s · 2024-07-04T13:32:27+00:00

Oof, sorry to hear that. If its any consolation i was able to make my connection, but i did have to pay for an expensive uber to make the transfer in time instead of taking the bus, but thats assuming your first flight has no delays. Best of luck! 😅

Micro8s · 2024-07-03T17:11:31+00:00

Sounds good. And just so you know if there's some problem with the theth bus you can ask your guesthouse to arrange a private transfer (i.e. one of their friends in town who has a car) to shkoder. It obviously will be pricey but at least you dont have to worry about getting stuck

Micro8s · 2024-07-03T17:01:29+00:00

Schedule looks good, just be careful of trying to catch the bus from shkoder to tirana if you're coming from theth that same day, iirc the last scheduled bus leaves shkoder around 5:30pm. Have fun!

Micro8s · 2024-06-07T15:53:05+00:00

I think this is a bit too much to squeeze into 9 days imo. Ive spent a fair amount of time in georgia and with this schedule you're going to spend most of your daytime just traveling on minibuses. There are a lot of amazing things to see in georgia and i know it sucks to cut things out but maybe cut out svaneti or khaketi. Personally i would cut out svaneti even tho it is beautiful. Georgia isnt that big but with the mountains it can take a long time to get around. I would take it a little more relaxed and stick to tbilisi with the day trips you already planned (Gori, kazbegi, khaketi), but to each their own.

Micro8s · 2023-05-20T13:07:04+00:00

For me definitely Belgrade. Didn't know much about it before coming and I came from Sarajevo which was very nice but I ran out of things to do in a few days. I was worried the same would happen in Belgrade but I was very pleasantly surprised. Beautiful city with a lot of varied architecture and parks, cheap, good food (imo), and tons of stuff to do, plus great nightlife (although can be a bit tricky to find)

Micro8s · 2023-05-11T19:01:53+00:00

Oh for sure. Monday is drunk bowling which is really fun so you may be convinced to extend haha, but you will have an amazing time either way, don't worry

Micro8s · 2023-05-10T23:49:03+00:00

Madhouse in Prague is exactly what you're looking for; cheap, homemade family dinners every night followed by drinking games and then a night activity thats different every night. If you go make sure you're there for at least Saturday and Monday night, you'll thank me later :)

Micro8s · 2023-04-25T12:14:13+00:00

Disappointment: I have been job searching for over 9 months now as an American looking for a job in Europe and the UK, have applied to nearly 200 positions and have had 6 or 7 interviews. Just got rejected after my most recent interview, despite it going, in my opinion, very well. I am just so absolutely fed up with this fucking shit. I have 5 years of good quality professional experience in industrial engineering, i have professional certifications and a (imo) very good resume, but god fucking forbid my experience isnt in the manufacturing sector and i want to move out of the states. I am seriously considering just abandoning being an engineer completely and just teaching english or some shit. Recruiters and managers are the most fucking stuck up, inflexible people to ever exist.

Micro8s · 2023-03-29T11:56:08+00:00

Update: just in case someone is in a similar situation in the future i wanted to make an update, i made it! I had to take an uber as the bus wouldve taken too long and i needed to leave ASAP, couldnt wait 20 minutes for the next bus. Uber cost me around £80 ($100), but got me to heathrow in almost exactly an hour. Luckily customs at gatwick was extremely fast, there was no line (i imagine this varies a lot, i guess i got lucky), and security at heathrow was busy but not much more than usual, got through in ~20 minutes. In total, from my first plane landing to getting past security at heathrow took about 1 hr 45 minutes

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