9 Comments

  1. Aquarium Effect of Sightseeing » Grounded Traveler
    April 17, 2012 @ 4:27 pm

    […] more to Europe than these two sites. Mix it up. Sit in a square and watch people. Stroll through residential areas. Take in a museum. Also try to limit the number of things you see on a day. With only a few weeks […]

  2. Richard Brownx
    December 14, 2011 @ 4:55 pm

    Thanks for sharing your story.

    I suggest visiting Malaga aswell, been there for a year and I really liked it. Cheap prices also,with 500 euro you can rent an apartament for 1 month and with 200 euros you can eat.

  3. Is it really Expats versus Locals? » Grounded Traveler - Expat Adventures in Germany
    December 7, 2011 @ 9:20 pm

    […] come around or that a waitress knows our order after only a few days. This is that sense of “home away from home” that I enjoy. Connections with locals can make you feel like you belong even when you […]

  4. Jaime
    November 24, 2011 @ 11:32 am

    Awww this week was a great week. I enjoyed living like a local for a while and enjoyed spending time with friends I had known for ever and finally met! Great recap on a great week! Hope we can do something like this again somewhere else int he world.

    • Andrew
      November 24, 2011 @ 11:06 pm

      Thanks. It was a fun week. I do wish we had noticed all the little bars and things behind the apartment earlier. Well early enough to avoid that Wolf-place across the street.

  5. Gillian @OneGiantStep
    November 24, 2011 @ 4:33 am

    I, too, love staying in apartments when traveling. I also like the feeling like a local feeling and think that the experiences in those local bars and restaurants far outweigh the tourist equivalent closer to the centre!

    • Andrew
      November 24, 2011 @ 11:04 pm

      Not just the feeling of a place, but the prices as well are attractive in the local’s area. I remember a conversation in Prague where the bartender at the hostel was saying that she got beer for 1/10 of the price where she lived on the edge as you pay right in the main square.

  6. Sabrina
    November 24, 2011 @ 12:19 am

    I like the idea of travelling more like a local. We always used to do this when visitingt my mom in Egypt. She’d help us find a vacation apartment or the apartment of an expat who happened to be travelling and wanted to recoup some rent. So much better than staying at an expensive hotel! I don’t mind cleaningup after myself and I love eating out in little semi-local places instead of at the hotel buffet. Never tried it for short city trips though. Maybe that’s something we need to start looking into.

    • Andrew
      November 24, 2011 @ 10:59 pm

      We did a weekend in Paris and a week in Valencia. It was totally worth it. To be in a place that has the comforts of a home as well as being near the locals food and such was great. There really is a feel of a place that someone lives in as opposed to just a hotel. Hotels and hostels are still useful and still in my list of looking for accommodation, but I will prefer the apartment if it is viable.

      Definitely look into renting an apartment. Especially if the trip is a week or so.