james_elkins1's travels on Nomad List

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18 Apr '16

25 Apr '16

25 Apr '16
18 Apr '16

New York City, NY

15°C

United States

15 Apr '16

18 Apr '16

18 Apr '16
15 Apr '16

Tokyo

18°C

Japan

18 Mar '16

28d

15 Apr '16

15 Apr '16
18 Mar '16

Ho Chi Minh City

33°C

Vietnam

3 Mar '16

7 Mar '16

7 Mar '16
3 Mar '16

Mexico City

24°C

Mexico

5 Feb '16

27d

3 Mar '16

3 Mar '16
5 Feb '16

San Francisco, CA

11°C

United States

🗯 Forum replies

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24k

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How to get SMS verifications for banks while traveling?

by @jackgopack | 9mo 9 months ago | 39 comments

Any suggestions for seamlessly receiving SMS Verifications from US financial institutions and other sites while traveling internationally continuously? Won’t keep my US Verizon account due to cost and currently plan to use local sims at each destination (T-Mobile and Project Fi are NOT an option as they terminate for continuous roaming). In summation, I won’t have a US mobile account.

Unless I’m missing something, which is very possible, this appears to be the single most complex issue I’ve encountered in my preparations, and one that no one addresses. I would greatly appreciate any possible solution that works 100% of the time. Can’t afford surprises in this regard. Many Thanks! Jack.

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24k

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✨ Recommended destinations

This is an algorithmic recommendation based on @james_elkins1's trips history to find places they haven't been to yet that other people with similar travels as them also went and liked.

Lisbon

Portugal

It's great if you're woke, young & artsy. If you're just a regular guy in your 30's with no connections, you'll have a miserable time. Especially during the pandemic. It's not inexpensive and you get offered cocaine every 200 meters in the city center.

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun great

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 19° 66° 19° 66°AQI 45

$2,130 / mo

28Mbps

Bangkok

Thailand

Don't believe the prices on here for an apartment. 686 usd/month refers to an apartment in a high class condo, right in the city centre and seconds away from the BTS(train station). Just remember this, people working at supermarkets make 2 usd/per hour. If you want to live like a local, then you can save a lot of money. If you don't mind a 5-10 minute walk from the BTS, then you can easily get a one bedroom apartment for 300 USD per month, in a high class condo, plus with free golf cart ser

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 38° 100° 32° 90°🥵AQI 55

$1,421 / mo

27Mbps

Berlin

Germany

Berlin is overall a great city to be. Food is cheap and everywhere, easy to go out and have fun/meet for business. Rent has crept up but still far better value than where I came from. Internet: 36 EUR/month get me 450/40 mbps (cable -> DOCSIS 3.0) Public transport is 2.70 EUR/ticket. No woman I know has said they felt unsafe. Some really odd, xenophobic sounding comments on here. Biggest downsides IMO: service quality at restaurants - not that people are rude, but they don't seem to particular

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun great

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 15° 59° 15° 60°AQI 24

$3,020 / mo

34Mbps

Singapore

They say you get what you pay for. After having traveled the previous 4 months in India, Cambodia, VietNam, Myanmar and Thailand, Singapore was so easy! The subway system is a marvel, streets signs were easy to read, everyone speaks English (that just makes it easy for me as an English speaker) it is safe, clean, and parks are gorgeous. I was there as COVID 19 was breaking out fairly fast and that put a damper on my time but I was so happy to be there anyway and plan to go back. For digital

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 Internet 🚀 Super fast

😀 Fun good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 38° 100° 31° 88°🥵AQI 42

$2,906 / mo

86Mbps

Chiang Mai

Thailand

Chiang Mai used to be N.1 for the digital nomad life. It is still great and you can find really cheap apartments (300-400$) and restaurants (2-3$ for a main). Wouldn't recommend staying there during the burning season. The best area is Nimman, but it's also the most expensive. You can stay in the old city that's very nice but that gets noisy during the weekend for the night markets. Last but not least, very safe city. All in all would go back in a heartbeat.

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 39° 102° 32° 90°🥵AQI 88😷

$1,101 / mo

18Mbps

Prague

Czechia

I visited Prague on more than one occasion and tried something new each time. I really wanted to enjoy it, but unfortunately it turned out to be one of my least favourite cities. Perhaps it was just me, but there was an overwhelming sense of distrust and dislike towards foreigners, you have to try pretty hard to blend in if you want to experience the life of a local & avoid the tourism. I met some wonderful people and and there’s some cool communities to be part of, but another extended stay

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun great

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 14° 57° 14° 57°AQI 44

$2,234 / mo

36Mbps

Barcelona

Spain

Lived in Barcelona for a year and a half. I would agree that the weather is perfect and Barcelona does have a great tech scene as well as food and has everything landscape and lifestyle wise that you could think of. Bureaucracy isn't too bad if you nip it in the bu** early and have patience. Also, some clubs are free. (Jamboree!). The metro is also, very efficient with red and purple being the busiest lines. Very walkable city too. Plenty of opportunity to meet people as well. The beaches are ok

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun great

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 18° 64° 17° 62°AQI 30

$3,164 / mo

31Mbps

London

United Kingdom

How did you guys classified Penge as rich? It is one of the worst neighbourhood I have ever been in London, the ammount of people I know that have been robbed there is appalling.

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun great

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 15° 59° 15° 60°AQI 88😷

$4,270 / mo

23Mbps

🚩 Flags collected (4 of 276)

🌍 Top countries

United States

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun mediocre

👮 Safety very bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 20° 68° 19° 66°AQI 34

1mo

$3,192 / mo

45Mbps

Vietnam

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 😝 Cheap

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 39° 101° 31° 86°🥵AQI 61

28d

$960 / mo

13Mbps

Mexico

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 28° 82° 27° 80°AQI 77😷

$1,518 / mo

13Mbps

Japan

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 21° 70° 20° 69°AQI 55

$2,801 / mo

30Mbps

🛬 Most visits

San Francisco, CA

United States

I've been living in SF since 2014 and I have to say Cost of Living is misrepresented. It's a lot more expensive now (2020) than posted. 1-bdr in center is $3,500-$4,000 + $200-$300 for parking + $100-$200 for utilities. Almost impossible to find month-to-month rent, so this is for 1-year lease. Coffee for two + a pastry is easily $20. Dinner for two never less than $50, unless it's fast food (+20% tips are expected) and if you want actually something good it's at least $100 for two. Airbnb is $1

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive

📡 Internet 🚀 Super fast

😀 Fun bad

👮 Safety very bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 12° 54° 13° 56°AQI 55

$5,603 / mo

54Mbps

Mexico City

Mexico

If you stay in Roma or Polanco you'll be fine. Mexico City was a little too chaotic for my taste, but also had some really beautiful and cool neighborhoods and a must visit if you find yourself in the middle of Mexico. Uber runs here so that makes it easy to get around. It can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be, a decent hostel will run you $15 - $20/night. I cook many of my meals and prefer to splurge at nice restaurants a few nights a week vs eating at cheap places for every meal

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 25° 77° 25° 78°AQI 122😷

$1,496 / mo

20Mbps

Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam

Only thing to add is that in general Saigon has terrible walkability. I love Saigon, lived there for 3 years. But motorbikes are always parked on the sidewalks so you constantly have to step onto the road which is a little hair raising. And if it's not motorbikes then there are restaurant tables scattered across the pavement. Plus the pavement is almost always cracked. I'm a pretty chill person. But going for a random walk in Saigon always leaves me kind of irritated after a while. Of course the

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 😝 Cheap

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 40° 104° 32° 90°🥵AQI 59

$974 / mo

22Mbps

Tokyo

Japan

Tokyo has so much to offer and so much to do. It is easily overwhelming. Whereas I usually take my first week to explore a place Tokyo’s sights just kept on going. I remember ending up in a hidden cocktail bar, a mexican rooftop party with 1 meter margaritas, spending a whole day going only to French places(?), visiting a store that only imported 2nd hand hiphop apparel, and throughout it all the best michelin star ramen. It just seemed endless, completely unrelated and incredibly fun. Six wee

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun great

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 22° 72° 22° 72°AQI 56

$3,323 / mo

31Mbps

New York City, NY

United States

I've lived in New York City - Brooklyn - for over 20 years. For visiting tourists, the best neighborhood to stay in is NOT Bushwick. Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Ft. Green or Brooklyn Heights is preferable. Plenty of good transportation in those areas - subway, buses or Uber. Easy access to beaches in Long Island and New Jersey. There's plenty to do in NYC. Great restaurants, Broadway plays (!), and in the summer you frequently can catch a free concert.

⭐️ Overall Score

💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive

📡 Internet 🏎 Fast

😀 Fun great

👮 Safety very bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 19° 66° 19° 66°AQI 35

$4,876 / mo

31Mbps