Feature photo by lindyireland. Photo above by McPig.

Keep your possessions in view

Photo by Oona Fay.

When you must keep important things on you, stash cash and vital documents in front pockets. Make sure you can see your bags when on the bus or train. When stowing bags in overhead compartments, place them across the aisle and a row or two in front of your seat so that they are within a comfortable sightline.

Distribute your valuables

The more you can spread out your valuables both on your person and in your luggage, the less likely it is you’ll lose everything in the event of a theft.

The Go wallet

Consider carrying an extra wallet filled with a couple notes in the local currency. If you get mugged, you can hand over the decoy. Your assailant is likely to be in a hurry and might run off with this first offering. If successful, this strategy will spare you the loss of your bankcard and other hard to replace documents.

Don’t sleep on the job

Though it might be tempting to party all night and sleep it off on the ride to your next destination, you might wake up relieved of your belongings. Unless you are in a compartment that you can safely lock yourself into, avoid sleeping on public transportation. If you must sleep on the road, travel in a group and take turns staying awake to guard one another’s bags.

Photo by numberjuan2.

Put the map in your head

Even in a new place, it’s a good idea to at least appear like you know where you are going. Stopping on the sidewalk right outside the station to thumb through your Lonely Planet guide might draw unnecessary attention.

Take the time on the bus or train on the approach into town to study a map of your destination. If possible, figure out the street names on your route and the number of blocks to your hostel so you can make your way from the terminal with confidence.

Use the hostel safe

Accommodations that meet Hostelling International standards are required to have lockers or a safe for your valuables. Use them.

Photo by Squirk.

Booze wisely

Many travel horror stories begin with a protagonist who had one too many drinks before stumbling along unfamiliar city streets onto the scene of a robbery. If possible, save your heavy drinking for the safer confines of your hotel or hostel.

Place a bill under your shoe pad

This tip comes from a veteran traveler who experienced a humbling end to a late night of club going in Havana. He was drunk, on foot, and a bit lost. His assailants blindsided him on a dark street and stripped off his jeans. They did not bother taking his old shoes. If stripped of everything else, with a few bucks under your sock you’ll at least have the cash to get a room while you sort out your next move.

Don’t walk at night

A cab ride back from the late-night spot might save you money in the long run. Most big city hostels and hotels will provide you with an address card you can hand to your driver at the end of the evening.

Photo by Ross.

Beware of crowds

If the nightmare mugging takes place in a dark alley or deserted street, you are more likely to lose your money in a crowded place and it might take you hours to realize something is missing. Pickpockets are rife in crowded urban markets, at street festivals, and on packed buses and trains because all the jostling and commotion aids the thief’s sleight of hand. Become extra alert when someone knocks into you, and try to keep your hands over your pockets in crowded areas.

Be suspicious of new best friends

One of the pleasures of travel is meeting the locals. Unfortunately, the world is full of false guides who prey on your desire for authentic experience. If approached out of the blue, be on guard for hidden agendas.

Photo by Oona Fay.

Take wide turns

You never know who might be waiting for you on the other side of a corner. In a similar vein, use peripheral vision to keep track of what’s going on around you.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide

The same cardinal rule to interstellar travel applies just as well to pedestrian globe trotting—Don’t panic. Easier said than done, of course. One strategy to help maintain composure involves periodically running through a worst-case scenario in your mind, the more detail the better.

Imagine getting mugged at knifepoint, how you calmly surrender that decoy wallet, giving your assailant every opportunity for an easy escape.

Community Connection!

Matador member Jon Brandt recently experienced a nightmare robbery on a bus in Ecuador. Read his eloquent and riveting account of the event here: The Great Bus Heist.

AMAZON LINKS:
Dopp Regatta 88 Series Front Getaway Pocket

XScream Personal Alarm

Shoe Wallet for Walkers, Runners & Travelers (Undetectable on the shoe).

San Cristobal de las Casas. Photo by Cedric Leclere

Best City to Write a Spy Novel

A port city in a former Soviet republic flush with petro-dollars and set in the Islamic world—Baku is a pulp writer’s dream. As depicted through the cacophony of chaotic traffic jams, the scramble of modern and ancient in the Azeri capital could provide a setting for a dozen spy novels.

Keep appearing at the same Chayhana on one of the old city’s winding streets, pour the rose water into your tea just so, and the old men across from you might begin to take you for CIA.

Photo by AudreyH

Sadly, the air in Baku is almost palpable. Oil drilling and heavy industry have contributed to Baku’s ranking as the most polluted city in the world. In a perverse way, the oil industry’s poor environmental practices may in turn contribute to new expat opportunities.

As the multinationals wake up to the environmental impact, they are starting to commit resources to cleanup projects and restoration. Increased funding for environmental consulting and cleanup should lead to new postings for experienced workers across a spectrum of related fields.

After work, and a fragrant saffron and coriander spiced meal with your new Azeri comrades, maybe there will be time left to start writing.

Best City Worth Taking Your Malaria Meds

If not an unmitigated success story, present day Kampala is a hospitable destination in a country that receives coverage for little else beyond humanitarian strifeand a threatened gorilla population.

Photo by Matthew Berry

After the dark years under the regime of Idi Amin, by the 1990’s the Ugandan government under Yoweri Museveni had briefly emerged as something of a success story. Uganda was the first African country to enact policies that achieved substantial reductions in its HIV rate. Museveni has since marred this legacy with his involvement in regional wars and by eschewing term limits while harassing democratic opposition.

Politics aside, Kampala is a beautiful and welcoming city. The seven hills of Kampala seem impossibly green given the density the capital. At 1200 meters above sea level, Kampala is spared the extremes of a tropical climate. Beaming smiles will greet you upon arrival even before the billboard just outside the airport invites you to “enjoy Africa’s friendliest country.” And unlike many other major African cities, Kampala’s streets are safe to walk at night.

The concentration of NGO’s in the city provides work opportunities for foreign nationals. For those in the school that believe foreign aid is a hindrance to development, work in microfinance might also be an option.

Best Place to Wait Out the End of Time

Photo by Ido Mor

Travelers looking to slow down will appreciate the speed bumps on the Pan-American Highway as it makes its approach to San Cristobal de las Casas. With each step off the pavement of Central America’s major artery, time begins to slow. There are the sounds of colonial church bells and the sights at the colorful craft markets on neatly cobbled streets.

If you speak any Spanish, friendly locals on porches and park benches are easily approached and give the feeling you are welcome to stay awhile.

And why not make a sojourn in Southern Mexico? With affordable rents and a low key, supportive expat community, San Cristobal is the perfect place to embark on an extended art project or other DIY endeavor.

Though at tropical latitude, San Cristobal is set on a highland plateau comfortably above the 2000-meter line. This location offers a temperate climate throughout the year; jackets are necessary in the evening. Befriend an indigenous local and listen by the fireplace about what the end of time may soon bring.

Best Urban Adventure

Photo by Adam Baker

A group of backpackers caught the eye of a bleary eyed businessman who dispensed this piece of wisdom from his barstool in Heathrow Airport: “Boys, if you want an adventure, go to Moscow.”

The streets alone provide adventure in Moscow. Cops might prove more a danger than help. Expect a shakedown for improper documents if you get stopped, even if your papers are in order. Brace for disapproving stares during a morning run to the corner store where you attempt to buy water to hydrate from last night’s outing. A Russian would have bought a beer.

Unfortunately, Russia’s booming oil and gas industry has spurred a price inflation that has made Moscow the
most expensive city in the world. Visa requirements are strict, and without a posh international job in hand, the city is out of reach for all but the jet set.

community connection

Looking for more inside information and expert recommendations on unique places around the world? Check out Matador’s destination pages.

Feature photo by nick.butcher. Photo above by Montrasio International.

Top expat destinations are a matter of taste. Some seek the bustle and anonymity of a metropolis; others prefer a quiet life near the beach or in the mountains. Here are a few top picks for a range of international lifestyles.

Best Small City: Ljubljana, Slovenia

The days have passed when tiny Slovenia was the best value in Central Europe.

Slovenes have now exchanged the Tolar for the mighty Euro. But for expats looking for work, that also means wages are paid in the world’s dominant currency.

According to Carys Owen, veteran ESL teacher and 10-year Ljubljana resident, 15 Euros is now the average cost for an hour-long English lesson. The polyglot Slovenes have a ravenous appetite for language acquisition, so a native English speaker can still make a decent living while enjoying Ljubljana’s high quality of life.

Sometimes referred to as little Prague, Ljubljana boasts a striking integration of traditional and modernist architecture.

Photo by Scott Ingram.

The old town winds around both banks of the Ljubljanica River, where sidewalk cafés are always crowded on a sunny day. The marketplace along the river has excellent local produce and artisan products.

The expat bars, loaded with EasyJet tourists on Friday and Saturday nights, provide quiet refuge during the week to meet up with the other teachers and contractors living and working in town.

If the city isn’t enough of a draw in its own right, its location at the foot of the Julian Alps and an hour and a half drive from the Adriatic Sea means you can go skiing in the morning and sailing in the afternoon.

Best Surf and Sand: Dahab, Egypt

Photo by nick.butcher.

Dahab’s days as the sleepy fishing village of backpacker lore may be numbered as the growth of resort tourism on the Red Sea shores continues. For expats looking to stay awhile, however, this is not all bad news.

The resorts have brought increased demand for experienced scuba instructors to work some of the most spectacular dive sites in the world. But Dahab is not a resort town.

Cheap accommodation is still plentiful along the turquoise waterfront, and the slow pace of Bedouin life pervades. If the pace gets too slow, the Sinai is well positioned for excursions to Mt. Sinai, the wonders of ancient Egypt, and the rose city of Petra in Jordan.

Best Hot New City: Shanghai, China

Where to experience the next great expat city?

Those with an eye to the future might consider Shanghai. With the inexorable rise of the Chinese economy, Shanghai is a good bet to become the financial capital of the 21st century.

Shanghai’s dynamism can be seen in the layering of the futuristic skyline, colonial facades, and the teeming, gritty street life. This energy is percolating down to Moganshan Road’s gallery and warehouse studio scene, regarded as the epicenter of contemporary Chinese art.

Photo by seto_supraenergy.

The only mainland Chinese city to crack the top 100 of the Mercer livable cities index, Shanghai already provides a good mixture of affordability, opportunity, nightlife, and culture.

Unlike Buenos Aires, work is not difficult to come by in Shanghai. ESL teachers are in demand, and entrepreneurial spirits can take advantage of Shanghai’s ranking as the best place to do business in China.

Perhaps in time, Shanghai’s tapestry of contrast will inspire the next great expat novel.

Best Adrenaline High: San Gil, Colombia

Photo by Maria Alejandra

Just a few years ago, travel through Colombia’s guerilla plagued countryside to remote San Gil would have been an adventure in its own right.

With the government now firmly in control of the surrounding region, adventure seekers can seek out more conventional forms of adrenaline highs.

Fortunately, San Gil has a little of everything: three whitewater rivers for rafting, kayaking, and canoeing, rappelling, caving, bungee jumping, paragliding, and horse back riding. When time comes to slow the pace, the verdant hills around San Gil offer weeks of excellent hiking.

What distinguishes San Gil from other adventure destinations is that when people find they want to stay awhile, they do. The region is not just a draw for thrill seekers. Immaculate colonial towns nearby provide refuge for writers and painters from around the world.

Photo by Yeraze

Best Big City: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Choosing a great expat metropolis is a matter of timing.

We’ve all heard about the glories of 1920s Paris and 1930s Berlin, in large part due to the nexus of expatriate artists and writers active in those flourishing scenes.

Buenos Aires, the reigning expat metropolis, is very much the right place at the right time.

Long one of the most sophisticated and charming cities of the world, hordes of Europeans and Americans are now capitalizing on the peso collapse that has made the Argentine capital a tremendous value.

Community Connection!

For a wealth of information about living overseas, check out one of Matador’s favorite websites, Transitions Abroad.