Focus on Budget Travel, Study, Work, and Living in Europe

Featured TAzine Articles

Columns by Experts

Budget Travel in Southern France by Kelby Hartson Carr

Southern France is still beautiful in November, which makes budget travel possible.

Not only are there some nice budget options for lodging in Europe, but these budget options often mean you will truly experience the local atmosphere rather than being in a sanitized, generic setting at a pricy chain hotel...

Safe Solo Travel for Women: Ten Rules by Lisa McCallum

" Heading out for a Round-the-World trip? For smart, sassy women traveling for more than the usual two weeks per year, here are ten credos to help keep you safe and sane out there...

Lodging in Europe on a Budget by Kelby Carr

One single decision during your European vacation can, quite literally, save or cost you loads of money. It can consume the bulk of your travel budget. Worse yet, you could spend way more money and have a less authentic vacation experience. "Not only are there some nice budget options for lodging in Europe, but these budget options often mean you will truly experience the local atmosphere rather than being in a sanitized, generic setting at a pricy chain hotel...

Budget Transportation in France by Finn Skovgaard

Cheap transportation requires research to pick the best offers and avoid hidden expenses. Here are a few pointers that will help you find the best deals for traveling in France.

Free competition in the European Union has paved the way for budget airlines. As a result, flying may be the cheapest way to get to and around in France...

Walking, Eating, and Drinking Along the Road to Santiago de Compostela by Beebe Bahrami, Ph.D.

I recently walked the Camino de Santiago, the great pilgrimage from the Middle Ages that crosses from France over the Pyrenees into Spain and continues along the north of the Iberian Peninsula to Santiago de Compostela. As much as I walked it for the mix of physical challenge and spiritual upliftment, I was struck by the details of everyday life. Walking the pilgrim's road slowed me down. Where I spent a whole day walking 19 miles/30 kilometers, locals in their cars covered the same distance in twenty-five minutes. It amazed me how much I saw when that little distance was stretched out over a full day on foot.

I was struck by the microcultures of food and wine I encountered along the way. I walked through countless farmlands, vineyards, herds, and kitchen gardens...

A Walking Tour Through Tuscia, Italy by Linda Lappin

Tuscia is the name given to a rugged corner of undiscovered Italy, untouched by mass tourism, bordering Tuscany, Umbria, and the greater area of Rome not far from the town of Viterbo. A pocket of woodlands, wild ravines, and volcanic lakes, Tuscia was once the heartland of Etruscan culture. The old Roman road known as the Francigena leading down from the Alps crosses its territory before rolling on to Rome. In centuries past, the villages, monasteries, hostels, and taverns of Tuscia provided hospitality to pilgrims on the last phase of their journey before proceeding to the Holy City. Today independent travelers willing to put on their walking shoes can recapture some of the atmosphere and adventure of the open road, while enjoying spectacular scenery in one of Italy’s most unspoiled environments. For those seeking an unusual holiday combining cultural discoveries and the great outdoors, an off-season trek in Tuscia offers many rewards...

Travel to Drink Beer In Europe by Holly Harper

Can’t make it to Munich? No worries: there is much more to European beer than Oktoberfest and lederhosen. As an avid beer drinker hailing from the micro-brew-rich Pacific Northwest, I’ve tasted many foamy pints. Although I wouldn’t call myself a sommelier de bière just yet, I can definitely recommend some of the best beers Europe has to offer outside of Deutschland...

Combine Cycling and Learning about Burgundy Wines on a Budget by Michael Kerwin

Wine connoisseurs regard Burgundy wines as among the world’s finest, and they are priced accordingly. A recently released bottle of Clos Vougeot, for example, sells from $80 to $100, and prized bottles command five-figure prices. Budget-minded independent travelers can going to France can learn much about Burgundy wines, however, by visiting Marché Aux Vins in Beaune and by cycling through the vineyards of South Burgundy. Both experiences are inexpensive, fun, and provide opportunities to meet local people involved with the wine industry...

Living in Prague: Getting There and Staying There by Suchi Rudra Vasquez

One of the first things that my husband and I realized we had in common when we first met was our desire to leave the U.S. to live and work. So we made a plan to save up and take off. We worked and saved for two years, all the while consulting numerous resources to figure out where we would go, how we would get there. During that time, I was selected for a scholarship that helped me fund study abroad for one year. As we had narrowed our choices down to central and eastern Europe, the scholarship helped us finalize our decision to make Prague our new home...

Teaching English in the Czech Republic by Pearl Harris

When my husband and I decided to emigrate to the Czech Republic from South Africa six years ago, we realized that the only way to earn a living in our new country would be by teaching English, due to our lack of knowledge of the Czech language. Being a medical doctor and radiographer respectively, neither of us had any inkling nor experience of what teaching English involved...

Study in Bologna: Slowing Down and Discovering the Good Life by Eamee C. Lanning

Thanks to a Foreign Language Area Studies grant, a government grant available to American graduate students studying at public and private universities throughout the United States, I’m studying Comparative Literature in Italy for a year at the University of Bologna. Bologna is an ideal city for the language immersion that FLAS promotes because there are relatively few native English speakers living here as compared to Florence or Rome. This fact makes speaking Italian on a daily basis achievable and enhances engagement in a new cultural environment..

Ask the Expert Q&A
Retiring Overseas
by Living Abroad Contributing Editor Volker Poelzl

Over the past few months I have received several emails from readers asking me about retirement overseas. One reader recently asked me:

"We are curious about any options we might have to retire somewhere else, including outside of America. Do you know of any countries where we might be able to retire without citizenship?"

In fact, there are many countries where you can retire without first obtaining citizenship. Countries around the world have opened their doors to retirees and offer a number of programs to make it easy for them to settle...

Website of the Month

Rick Steve's Europe through the Backdoor
Rick Steves — who for almost two decades was a columnist for Transitions Abroad magazine — hosts a website that is an indispensable resource for independent travelers planning to visit Europe. The extensive site hosted by the prolific and gifted author of over 30 books on travel in Europe offers travel news, a trip planner, a reader forum called the "Graffiti Wall," podcasts from his radio show, videos from his PBS TV series, travel gear, his own personal blog, and loads of practical travel information and inside tips on Europe. Before taking off on your first trip to Europe or to countries you have never visited, you would be wise to check out the information provided by Rick Steves.

TAzine Editorial

We are proud to launch TAzine as a monthly Webzine which continues the 31-year tradition started by Transitions Abroad magazine. TAzine features many of the same columnists who wrote for the magazine, a growing group of new columnists, while featuring many freelance writers who wish to share their experiences and expertise within the context of our innovative alternative coverage of work, study, travel, and living abroad.

Founded in 1977 by Dr. Clayton Allen Hubbs, Transitions Abroad magazine was the only print publication dedicated to work, study, living, volunteering, and immersion travel abroad. Its purpose — in print and now as a Webzine — is the dissemination of practical information leading to a greater understanding of other cultures through direct participation in the daily life of the host community.

Send in your submissions for the webzine on the subjects of travel, work, study, internships, teaching, volunteering, living abroad, and much more in accordance with our detailed writer's guidelines!

Current Issue	Previous Issue

About Us
Contact Us
© 1997-2024 Transitions Abroad Publishing, Inc.