Hello fellow nomads,

My regards from Chisinau, Moldova, probably the most hidden and non-touristic country in Europe. Why am I here for more than 2 weeks already? Honestly, I don’t know. Even the locals don’t get it.

Before I start with my regular stories, I will just update you that we have now reached 8 Episodes of our Nomadic Audio Podcast with interesting interviews and talks about topics such as things you should do before becoming a digital nomad and the accommodation websites you should use. The podcast has no hope of becoming a hit since I can’t speak English properly, but I am still very proud of myself for launching it and sticking to publishing episodes every week, it was always on my wish list. Check it out here, your feedback will be more than welcome!

Speaking of a wish list, did you ever want to create something but were too scared it will fail and shame you? Trust me as someone who dared to follow their dream, nobody cares. You are safe, make it happen.

So why am I in Moldova? In the last 2 years I have stayed in traditional Europe, from Ireland to Switzerland and Greece. It has been comfortable, easy, and a little bit too expensive.

Since September, things changed a little bit since I have moved to the Ukraine and Moldova. Life is a bit hectic in those countries, travel is hard, and costs are extremely low due to both those counties recently losing more than 50% of their currency value. Other than enjoying the ridiculously low cost of living, I needed a break from clasic Europe. Staying in counties with serious problems is a breath of fresh air and I am also learning a little Russian on the move.

Moldova is interesting, and has huge challenges to overcome. Almost every young person I speak with is planning to leave either to the EU or Russia, and the country is actually torn apart internally by a power struggle between those two giant forces. Add to that one of the highest corruption rates in the world, and you have a good explanation of why things are so difficult. On the bright side, Moldova has great wine, and nice nature with many lakes. If you do show up, take my advice, and get here in Summer.

As we are nearing the end of 2015, I am actually excited to shift to a new year and start fresh. Lately, I feel like my work life balance is out of control, since I have two startups I spend time on, in addition to the BecomeNomad blog. It’s surely funny for you to hear that I travel for more than 5 years now, and still don’t feel free. I promised myself that in 2016 I am going to slow down, and focus more on travel, awareness, and moving around with less attachment to work and daily operations.

My brother once told me that you have more chances of achieving what you want as a stupid person with a goal than a smart person who has no idea where he is going. This is a great comfort for me. As a nomad, I thrive in uncertainty and change, I focus on the Now and not on the future. However, I do think that setting goals, and knowing what you want from life is important to achieve happiness instead of just flowing with it. If you have yet to set goals for 2016, buy yourself coffee in a relaxed place, and start planning, it will do magic.

I am probably going to stay 2 more weeks in Moldova, a few days in Romania and then go back home to Israel for a month. After that, I want to try something new, maybe South America or Asia, I am done with Europe for the time being.

This month recommended travel resource is inspired by our latest podcast about accommodation options for digital nomads. Booking.com is a site I have been using a lot lately to book single rooms in a cheap price since I am getting a bit too old for dorm beds. Those guys have great inventory with a huge variety of prices and accommodation types, check it out on your next vacation.

The most important thing that happened to me recently is the understanding of how balancing is it to walk in nature every morning before I start to work. In Chisinau, I have a nice park by my home with a frozen lake where I walk every day before taking a 0.07$ bus to my coworking space in the city center.

One last thing nomads! I am looking for someone who might be interested in helping transcribe my audio files into articles in the blog. If you are interested in the nomadic topic, and like writing, send me a reply email.

If you have any comments, questions or you are around where I am currently at, let me know by replying to this email.  I love hearing from you.

Happy travels and holidays!

Eli and the Becomenomad team