Safety Tips and Preventing Pickpockets - It's Easy!

A huge huge issue I see discussed a LOT regarding travel is safety. Obviously, it's an important one. The big issue is, of course, pickpocketing. Tons and tons is written about this, as well it should be, because if you are pickpocketed, it can be a real downer and headache. After all the researching I did, and now after I've come back from cities like Barcelona and Rome, which have pretty serious pickpocket problems, here's what I learned and what I think worked for me. I'm certainly no expert and I'd be silly to pretend to be, but I don't think it was a coincidence that I made it through 6+ weeks in Europe, including some of the most heavily pickpocketed cities, without a hint of trouble.

• I'm torn about money belts. I had one with me. Sometimes I used it, sometimes I didn't. When I didn't, I locked it in my hotel safe or suitcase. Maybe I was playing with fire. On travel days, especially going through train stations, I wore it. If I didn't feel comfortable with the hotel safe or if the hotel didn't have one, I wore it. In fact, I really had no rhyme or reason beyond that. On travel days, I also had a neck pouch that I wore almost like a mini purse - this just had my transportation ticket (train or plane), a credit card, a little bit of cash (very little), my passport, and not much else. Ultimately I think it's a personal choice and whether you use one or not, if you are smart about things and take all of the precautions, you will probably be OK.
  
• NEVER EVER EVER CARRY EVERYTHING WITH YOU IN ONE PLACE. I don't know how to say this more bluntly, and to me it's common sense but I just can't believe how many times I've read about people who have everything in their purse - their credit cards, debit cards, cash, passport, camera, everything. WHY. Again, to me it was common sense to always keep some cash either in my money belt or locked away in my hotel room - or both - and I always had an extra debit card AND an extra credit card in my money belt or room safe.
• For the women, NEVER ever ever take your purse off. Don't put it on the back of your chair in a restaurant (whether eating inside or outside) or even in your hotel breakfast room. I would either put mine on my lap or on the ground clenched in between my feet or depending on where I was seated (aka against a wall), even on the table. Same goes for internet cafes, while at a sight, while sitting on a bench people-watching, etc.
  
• Make copies of anything and everything important - passport, credit cards, plane tickets, etc., and either have the photocopies stashed or send them to your email so you can get them anywhere and everywhere you might need them. I also sent a copy to my parents so they'd have them too, just in case.
• For the women, use an across-the-body type bag or purse. I alternated between a larger messenger bag and purse that both went over the shoulder and I never took a hand off of them anywhere there were people around - on the streets and especially public transportation. For the guys, don't use the back pocket.
  
• If a bus or subway is super full, wait til the next one. In almost every major city outside the US, buses and subways are very frequent. I realize we don't want to waste any of our precious vacation time, but every time we encountered really busy subway cars or buses, the next one would be much emptier. Pickpocketing is less likely to happen on an empty subway car or bus, and when you are crammed in a little space, it's easier to get jostled and let go of your belongings for a minute.
• When I was traveling with my friend, on the bus and subway, we would solidify which stop we were getting off on - and how many stops that was from where we were getting on - BEFORE we got on. Because a lot of pickpockets on public transport grab and run at a stop, if they don't know where you're getting off, they're less likely to grab your stuff. Also, I'm not sure how much this matters or not, but then we could avoid speaking English - and obvious "tourist talk" at that - on the transportation so they'd be that much less likely to know we were not locals.
  
• Locks: I used little combo locks on my backpack (laptop was inside) and suitcase. Maybe it was an unnecessary extra step, but it was also not an inconvenient one, just adding that little bit more safety.
  
• Be aware of your surroundings before you head out sight-seeing. I used small maps that I could tuck away - like Streetwise, Popout Maps, and Eyewitness Pocket Maps & Guides, among others - for each city. I would do my research during lunch or I would sit on a bench and do it, but I never pulled out my map to look like that obvious lost tourist unless I was really really lost. Likewise, I tore out the pages of my guidebook so that if I had to or wanted to look at something, it was less conspicuous. I think a confident traveler is less likely a target. If you walk around like you have a purpose and like you know where you're going, not only do you have more energy to focus on being alert as to your surroundings, but you are less of an easy target.
  
• Read up on the particular methods and scams in the place you're going. The thieves in a street market in Mumbai are probably different from those in Barcelona, etc. Obviously, we all need to be alert everywhere, but find out beforehand if there are specific things to look out for wherever you're going.
  
• Last but not least (though probably most DUH-worthy): BE SMART. Find out the neighborhoods in your destination cities that are less safe. If you are out at night, take the better-lit, bigger, or busier roads, even if they take a little longer. Etc. Just use common sense - it really goes a long long long way!!
  

I know this sounds like a lot, but I took all of these precautions and never felt it was a burden. Aside from telling myself "oh, just be careful on the subway" as I entered the stations, I did not worry as I went about my sight-seeing, nor did I let the possibility of pickpocketing prevent me from doing anything I wanted to do, and these precautions really just became a part of my routine as my trip went along so that it was second nature instead of a concern. In fact, I didn't even see anything shady in over 6 weeks of travel throughout Europe (and I used an awful lot of public transportation in every single city). I think with these precautions, even if you are pickpocketed, at least it will just ruin your day and not your trip.

For more safety advice and useful products, check these links out:

• The Safety Section on the Rick Steves Travel Tips page - various links for different types of safety
• The Tourist Scams discussion on the Rick Steves Graffiti Wall - tips and warnings from other tourists
• Pacsafe - products for safe traveling (metal-lined, etc.)
• Eagle Creek Security items
• Lewis N. Clark security items
  
• 8 Travel Scams You Need to Know - from Fodors
• Money Safety - Independenttraveler.com
  

Why you should plan your own trip

One of those eternal questions in traveling seems to be... to take a group tour or not? I'll preface this by saying I have a strong opinion about this. I think the vast majority of people should plan and research their own trips, and I will go on to explain why. But I realize that, for some people, they simply don't have the time - and it really does require lots of time to do it properly - to plan a trip. I understand that. But there are tours out there that allow you more free time than others. Some tours merely provide your hotels and transportation and leave most of the sight-seeing up to you. For some, maybe this or using a travel agent is the best of both worlds. But I will start with a story.

On my last night in Rome, my last night in Europe after 6 and a half glorious life-changing weeks, I returned to Da Francesco's - a little trattoria/pizzeria off Piazza Navona that had come highly recommended to me by the dear people over in the TripAdvisor Rome forums. I went there my first night in Rome and the pizza was so amazing, so memorable, that for my last night in Europe, I just had to go back. On this lovely evening in this little beautiful piazza, I was sitting next to a lovely American mother and her adult daughter, we hit it off because they were from the Boston area, which is where I grew up. They were with a group tour (hint: company begins with a G) and since they did not want to do what the tour was doing that evening, they asked their tour guide about a place to go, and he suggested this one. Only one problem - they didn't know the name of their hotel, they didn't know it's address, and they didn't know how to get back there. WHAT?! How can you go to a big foreign city and not know where you are! Needless to say, we chatted throughout or meals, and really they were lovely people, but after our meal, we had a gelato together and I showed them how to take the bus back to the train station (they thought their hotel was near there). They were very grateful and of course I was happy to help. They couldn't believe how much I knew; I couldn't believe how little they knew.

This bothered me on many levels. Besides the fact that these otherwise intelligent women were blindly trusting a tour guide for everything, because they did no planning or research of their own, they learned nothing about the culture or how Romans live on a daily basis, nothing about the geography or orientation of the city, nothing. I'm sure they had a great time, but did they have the same experience as someone like me who learned the buses, wandered around just to explore and experience and learn? I doubt it. Maybe they didn't want to. And that's OK. But forgetting all that esoteric cultural profundity, what about the fact that it was at night after dark in a huge city where they didn't speak the language and they were essentially lost and had no idea how to get back to their hotel!? I mean, that's a safety issue. What would they have done if I hadn't been there? I'm sure they would've safely found their way back somehow, but how long or frustrating would it have been?

But we're all different. If I took a tour with even just 15 other people, my opinions are completely ignored. Why should I pay thousands of dollars to speed through things I might like or spend a lot of time at places I don't like? Why should I spend this much money on what might be a once-in-a-lifetime trip to be rushed through cities and herded around like an animal?

Like I said, I know that some people really just have to take a tour. But at very least, research the tours. Find ones that fit with you and your interests. And at very least, don't blindly trust the tour for everything. If you venture out on your own - which I hope you would - at least take a business card from the hotel! But if you have the time, do it yourself. You will learn so much more and have a much richer and more fulfilling trip. I really believe that.

Money-saving tips for shopping and sight-seeing

As I mentioned in one of my first posts on the blog, and of course as we all know, money is a crucial aspect of traveling - both in the planning and while we are actually at our destinations. Here are some money-saving tips I discovered for sight-seeing and shopping along my European trip. With the dollar getting worse by the day, those of us who like to travel on a controlled budget need all the help we can get! Some of these are more common sense than anything else, but I'll just mention all the ones I can think of and hopefully something might help you save a little money on your next trip!

Before You Go:

• Sometimes you can book trains in advance to get discounts. Some of the national rail companies offer discounts if you book in advance. For example, Trenitalia, the Italian rail company, offers Amica fares if you book in advance. You can save 20%! Also, ÖBB, the Austrian rail company, offers deals on tickets to other countries. I picked up my ticket from Vienna to Venice for 29 euros by booking online in advance - a savings of nearly HALF!

• Sometimes flying on the cheap Airlines is actually CHEAPER than the train - and of course faster! Check out all the possible deals at Kayak or SkyScanner. We flew from Lisbon to Barcelona for about 30 euros including tax/fees, and it took 2 hours instead of overnight and probably 3 times the cost to take a train!
  

• Packing light can help curb shopping and in turn, spending. I traveled for 6 weeks with a chock-full carry-on sized suitcase. Quite simply, I didn't have the space to shop like crazy. And since mailing one relatively small package home from the Netherlands cost over 30 euros, I just toned down the shopping.

• Fly open-jaw (as in, fly into one city and out of another). I got a ticket flying into London and out of Rome for just over $1,000, which is not bad considering I was flying at peak travel times into and out of peak summer travel cities. The best thing is that flying open-jaw not only saves the time and hassle of going back to a place you don't need to go back to, but also the money it costs to get there!
  

• Bring whatever you can. I know there are many opinions on this issue. the die hard light packers say, buy the basics when you arrive. If money's no object, or if you are going to one destination and perhaps renting an apartment or staying in one place for an extended amount of time, of course, this is probably a wise idea. However, if you will be moving around a lot or if your budget takes precedence over a little suitcase room, you can save money by packing what you need at home. The basics - toiletries, first aid items, over-the-counter medication, and the like, are all significantly cheaper in the US than, for example, in Europe.
  

• Look for hotel deals. Some hotels offer deals if you stay a certain number of nights (my hotel in Florence offered a free lunch at a glorious little trattoria if I stayed more than 4 nights), like meals or admission into sights. Also, if you think about booking with Expedia or Hotels.com or one of the similar booking discount sites, try contacting the hotel and seeing if they will give you that deal or even a little less - they might be willing because they get to avoid paying the hefty commission to the middle-man! Also, book far in advance. I was able to get a couple of deals on hotels booking about 6-7 months before my trip where the price went up - in a couple of cases a LOT - not long after I booked. And of course if you book early, you are more likely to find vacancies at those "hidden gems" - less expensive places that tend to fill up early.
  

• Get a CapitalOne Visa credit card. They are the only major card (that I could find anyway) that charges NO foreign conversion fees (many charge at least 1%, some 2 or 3%). Think about it, saving 1-3% on EVERYTHING you charge can really add up at the end of a long trip (especially considering hotel costs). Plus, it seemed like everyone took Visa in Europe. Not always the case with Amex, and Discover is basically nonexistent overseas.
  

• Use ATMs to get cash. When you use your ATM, you can save money over travelers checks or exchanging cash beforehand or in the airport (never ever use airport exchange desks!). ATMs use the rate on the day plus a small conversion fee (usually 1% of whatever you withdraw). Some banks charge a fee when you use an out of network ATM, but it's still less than the other exchanging methods.
  

While you're there:

• Take Public Transportation - taxis are nice, and sometimes necessary, but most of the time you can get by on public transport. Combo and multi-day cards can be an especially big money-saver. Especially to and from the airport, taxis and private transfers can be outrageously pricey, and many cities have excellent, cheap, frequent, and comfortable public transportation to and from their airports. Of course, if you are traveling in a group, sometimes a taxi can be cheaper, so check it out and do the math! And sometimes it's fun - like these trolleys in Lisbon. They're cheap and a great way to see less-traveled parts of the city (see picture, click for larger)!

• Check and see if there are buses that go between cities. Sometimes, especially in Italy where the train stations can sometimes be outside the city centers, the buses are actually a more convenient option, and they are usually less expensive. For example, between Florence and Siena, the buses leave right next to the Florence train station but take you right into the middle of Siena. If you take the train to Siena, you then have a long walk or cab/bus ride into town, and the train might be more expensive too. So check it out! Also, for your day trips, check and see if there's a discount for buying a round-trip (aka "return") train or bus ticket. Sometimes you can save money that way in countries that offer.
  

• Look into City Cards. Depending on what you want to see and how much the cards cost in a particular city, these cards can be a great deal. For example, I bought the Roma Pass for 20 euros, which got me into two sites (including the 11 euro Colosseum, AND it allows you to skip the line!) for free and provided 3 days of public transport. I figure I saved about 10 euros in the 3 days I used the card, since I used the bus and metro so much in Rome. In some cities, such as Lisbon and Copenhagen, their city cards include local trains within a certain area, so your transportation for some of the popular day trips is even covered; this makes these cards a particularly good deal. Some cards are not a big money-saver or they require you go to a LOT of sites to make it worth it. Look at each card for the cities you're going, think about the sights you want to see, and figure out if it'll save you money. Sometimes it will, sometimes it probably won't. Some cities also have combo cards which combine admission to several museums or sights.
  

• Prioritize your souvenir-shopping. I knew I wanted to buy jewelry in Florence and handmade masks in Venice. In the cities where there was no expensive souvenir I wanted, all I bought was a little commemorative souvenir magnet. This allowed me to have something from each stop on my trip but also let me save money for the more expensive things I really really wanted.

• Learn where it's appropriate to haggle/bargain over prices.

• Do self-guided instead of private tours. Sometimes you need to splurge, if there's a place that is particularly interesting to you, etc. But there are several places to find and print your own self-guided walking tours, which can help save money and also give you more freedom to tailor the tours to your own personality and energy level. Some of my favorites include Frommers (search for a city and check out the walking, and sometimes biking and driving tours) and the walking tours in the Rick Steves guidebooks. You can photocopy or tear out the pages before you go, so you can take the tours with you and toss them along the way!

• Look for sites that offer free entries. For example, some of Florence's main museums add free night hours during the year. Rome's Vatican museum is free some Sundays. Washington DC's fantastic museums are always free, as are some in London. During some of the summer, Brussels's Royal Palace is open and free to the public. Just be in mind that for popular museums that have one free day per week or month, these may be the busiest times. But if the budget requires, it's a great way to see stuff we might not otherwise be able to afford!

• Check out age-based discounts. For example, in Venice, the Rolling Venice Card costs 4 euros for people under 29, and that allows you to buy the 72 hour vaporetto pass for 18 euros instead of the normal 30, for a savings of 8 valuable euros. The Rolling Card is valid for a year and offers other discounts around the city, too. There are also often discounts for seniors, children are often admitted into sights for free, and some countries' train systems offer family rates.
  

• Get your VAT refund. Some guidebooks I read said that getting the VAT refund is too much of a pain. But if you are going to bother spending a lot of money (in Europe, anywhere from about $50 to hundreds of dollars depending on the country), you might as well get back the exorbitant taxes, which can be as high as 25% of the purchase price (in Denmark)! Check out the windows in stores for signs that say "Tax Refund" or "Tax Free Shopping," learn the minimums for each country you're going to, and if you spend over that minimum in one store in one day, ask the shopkeeper for the forms. You just have to make sure you don't use the items you buy before you leave. Stop at the Tax refund desk in your last airport, and get your money in your own currency! On my jewelry in Florence, I got about $40 USD back, and I barely spent over the minimum in Italy. So if you do spend enough money, it's probably worth your while to get your refund!

• This one may seem obvious - but get off the beaten track. Souvenirs cost a lot less - and are often better quality and more authentic - if you go where the locals go. Ask the people at your hotel for tips on places that offer good quality at good value - they live there and are in the tourism business, so they often have great tips and suggestions for places to shop or maybe even some undiscovered sights.

Money-saving tips for eating

As I mentioned in one of my first posts on the blog, and of course as we all know, money is a crucial aspect of traveling - both in the planning and while we are actually at our destinations. Here are some money-saving tips I discovered along my European travel. With the dollar getting worse by the day, those of us who like to travel on a controlled budget need all the help we can get! Some of these are more common sense than anything else, but I'll just mention all the ones I can think of and hopefully something might help you save a little money on your next trip when it's meal time!

• Eat big lunches. We found, especially in Mediterranean countries, a lot of restaurants offered multi-course lunch specials for around 10 euros or even less. The few times we did this, we were so full we could eat lighter at dinner (and avoid a late afternoon snack), when things are more expensive.

• Ask for tap water (in countries where it's safe, of course). In Europe, the norm is bottled water. But some places will give you tap water, if you ask. Good phrase books tell you how to ask for it in various languages. Also, if you want to try wine, drink the house wine. Sometimes it was so cheap, and even cheaper to get a small carafe or bottle of the house wine than a glass!!

• Eat street food. Many cities are famous for certain kinds of street food. NYC and Copenhagen have the hot dog. Brussels has fries and waffles. Just to name a couple. For just a few dollars you can have a delicious - and authentic - lunch or snack. We made a lunch one day in Brussels out of a big cone of the best fries you've ever had, a waffle, and some free samples from the chocolate shops. Total was about 5 euros, but the memories of the deliciousness are priceless!
  

• Take your food and drinks standing up and pay attention to other potential surcharges. In several countries including Spain and Italy, there are extra costs for sitting or sitting outside. In Barcelona, several restaurants' menus listed a full 15% surcharge for eating outside and in tapas bars, it is cheaper if you sit and eat the bar than have a table with a waiter! In Italy, if you take your coffee drink at the bar instead of sitting down, it will cost less, and it is the same in some restaurants. Sometimes the same is true if you take your food for takeaway - especially at bakeries and delis.
  

• In many countries in Europe, the stuff they put on your table is NOT free!! In Portugal, they sometimes put olives, cheeses, breads, and all kinds of other things on our table. If you don't touch it, you don't pay. But if you eat one olive or one slice of bread, you pay. In Italy, if they put the bread basket on the table, you pay whether you want it or not. So learn the customs of the country you're going and if necessary, tell them you don't want whatever it is they're trying to push on your table.

• Eat as much as you can at your hotel's breakfast. I noticed that in my hotels that had good buffet breakfasts, I ate lunch later, which let me save some money on the most expensive dinner. It also saved me money I might have spent on mid-morning snacks. If you can, you can even snag a piece of fruit or pastry for later!
  

• Visit the local markets. Not only does visiting local markets and supermarkets introduce you to the places' cultures and let you see how the locals really live their daily lives, so you can see the products they use, their prices, etc., but if you buy some snacks to keep in the hotel room and to take with you on sight-seeing you can save a lot of money - especially on water! Buy a couple of really cheap bottles in the supermarket, take a small one with you in your daybag every day, and save a ton of money on bottled water when you get thirsty during sightseeing! Sometimes, local markets and delis have great sandwiches (in Italy, they also sell fresh pizza!). For just a few dollars you can get a great breakfast or lunch and eat like the locals! This is also great for traveling days: pack a meal for the plane or train with stuff from the local market or supermarket and save on the high costs in airports and train stations!

• As a corollary to the previous tip - picnic! I went to the great Naschmarkt street market in Vienna and for about 10-15 euros, I picked up enough snacks and goodies for 2 full picnic lunches and loads of fresh, yummy, local snacks that lasted me for days! (see picture, click for larger). Plus, picnicking also gives you a great - FREE - way to sightsee... people-watching!

• Order the daily specials. In a lot of places, there's a blackboard with the things that are fresh that day. You can save a lot of money because these are the house dishes, the dishes using the freshest in-season ingredients, so they are also probably the best ones too. I admit I'm not too adventurous an eater and did not partake in many of these specials, but I did notice that they were often less expensive than regular menu items.

• Don't over-tip. A lot of places around the world, the tip or "service" is included. Check the menu or if in doubt, ask your waiter. If it's included, there's usually no need to tip extra. My rule of thumb was to leave an extra Euro with my payment if the service was good. If you tip the way the locals do, you're fitting in better AND saving a little money with each sit-down meal!
  

• This one may seem obvious - but get off the beaten track and away from the tourist areas. Food costs a lot less - and is often better and more authentic - if you go where the locals go. Ask the people at your hotel for tips on places that offer good quality at good value - they live there and are in the tourism business, so they often have great tips and suggestions for places to eat.

• You do not HAVE to have a multi-course meal! This is something I notice that comes up especially in Italy, but other places too. For some reason, a lot of people think they have to order a pasta and a main course or an antipasti and a main course. I don't think that's necessary at all and I got no funny stares for not ordering it. Several times I ordered a salad and pasta or just a pizza or a pizza and a little antipasto from the bar (aka, some olives or vegetables, not much), or a light appetizer like bruschetta or fettunta (traditional garlic bread) that only costs a few euros. No one will think less of you, and they don't do doggie bags, so you should only order what you want to eat, not what you think is expected.
  

Hopefully something here helps you save a little bit of money next time you enjoy a meal on vacation. Of course, this just scratches the surface of ways to save money, but they're some of the things I learned in my own experience. Please comment and share your own money-saving tips and soon I'll post some more tips about saving money in your planning and sight-seeing!

Italy is taking over my life!

Has anyone ever been to a place that you loved, that hit you so hard, that when you got home, you found that place slowly taking over your life? This is what Italy has done to me. It is taking over my brain one day at a time. Look at this.

I make pasta more. I make pizza more. I spent an outrageous 4.99 to buy a pint of gelato instead of a fancy baked good to celebrate passing the bar. I buy prosecco and make bellinis. I want an ice cream maker, just to make my own gelato. I want a stovetop espresso maker and milk frother, just to make my own cappucini. I find myself perusing Amazon and the LA Public Library for books about Italy I can take out. now that I have some of my trip photos on my wall, I look up and see Venice and Florence in their most beautiful glory and sometimes I even have dreams about being back there. I found a contest run by a camera manufacturer to win a trip to Tuscany. You can enter once a day and I put the contest page on my Bookmarks Toolbar so I won't forget to fill it out every day. I'm crazy, right? I was there for 2 weeks. How did it affect me this much? Am I the only one?!

In fact, in the month since my last post, my focus has totally changed. All I want to do is go back to Italy. I want to explore Tuscany for a week, I want to see the Cinque Terre, I want to see everything and anything I can afford (both in money and time). I figure I could save enough money to go to Mexico as early as next year, but if I keep saving I can probably go to Italy Spring 2009 assuming I can get a job sometime soon. How can I think about going to Mexico if I can go to Italy that soon?

I opened my travel account with $300. Then I got a gift from my aunt and uncle for passing the bar, some money from my parents for Chanukah that I asked for to add to my trip coffer, and some odds and ends here and there. Total already is $675. Then I decided to list all of my law school textbooks on half.com and in 2 days have sold almost $100 worth of books. It's going straight to the trip account. I've also decided that instead of making deposits for rent/bills into my checking account like normal, I'll put it into the savings account. Sure the interest is paltry, but hey if I can get an extra dollar or two, that's an extra gelato or cappuccino in Italy. I can transfer funds to the checking account when necessary and keep track of the explicit travel funds to make sure I never dip into that ever ever.

Surely I'm not the only one. Right.......?

Money, etc.

With the dollar decreasing by the day, something I am facing when dreaming about the next trip I will be able to take is money. Traveling is expensive. I consider my Europe trip to have been a "budget" one, at least a semi-budget, but it was still expensive, nearly $2,000 a week eating cheap meals, staying in reasonably-priced hotels largely under $150, skipping a lot of sights, taking all public transportation, and not buying much.

So my first plan of attack is that I have opened a savings account at my bank, which is linked to my checking account. It will earn a little interest and keep money separate and ear-marked. I started with $300. When I get a job (currently looking), I can set aside a certain (albeit small) amount from each paycheck and transfer it to the savings account. Soon, I should have enough to take a trip. Not a 6-week grand once-in-a-lifetime trip, but somewhere. And during the off-season. That should help a lot!

Also, something I notice is that a lot of people want to travel overseas - to Australia and Europe and South America and Asia and even Africa. And all these places are GREAT. The world is GREAT. But what about the US? There are beautiful and amazing things right here. Sedona, Arizona is almost as magical as Venice. We have pretty lakes and mountains and old cities and quaint towns and great food and nice people all the same. And traveling in the US is a lot cheaper.

I sure as hell picked an expensive hobby!