Solo Fliers Surcharge/Virtual Reality Meetups/Goodbye Skype
Nomadico Issue #159
Solo Surcharges on U.S. Airlines
First reported by Thrifty Traveler and then confirmed by others, it came to light last week that the three big legacy U.S. airlines have been secretly charging solo travelers more on some flights. In a clunky solution to their desire to charge business travelers more than leisure ones, they have discounted some flights for two or more people traveling together then charged single ticket buyers more. Nobody has found evidence of this on Southwest, Alaska Air, or the many budget airlines that mostly cater to leisure travelers. So you might want to play around with the number of passengers when searching and vote with your wallet against the ones employing this sneaky move.
Virtual Reality for Far-flung Connections
I picked up a Meta Quest 3 headset a few months ago not because I wanted to play first-person shooter games in 3D, but so I could join my mom and sister for social gatherings when I’m in Mexico and they’re in Virginia. We meet in some virtual world then head off to play cards, miniature golf, or other activities. Last round my niece joined us too. You’re looking at avatars of each other but the sound quality is great, like chatting in the real world. You could also use it to play golf with friends, race cars around a track, “sit together” for a movie, or go to a live concert in the music hall.
Skype RIP
The Skype voice over IP service and my Cheapest Destinations Blog launched the same year, in 2003, and it's hard to believe now what a game-changer that technology was. It made formerly expensive phone calls free and allowed people on opposite sides of the planet to talk for hours if they wanted. I could give my elderly anti-tech father a real phone number to call that would ring on my laptop abroad. It changed online education, allowed remote workers to keep making deals, and it kept long-distance relationships alive. This article is full of "Skype stories" and as the last person says, "I doubt I’ll ever have any warm nostalgia about Zoom." (via Jodi E. of the Curious About Everything newsletter.)
Philippines Nomad Visa
This is still a work in progress, with no income requirements set yet, but the Philippines announced they’ll be launching a digital nomad visa good for a year, with a potential to add another year. Besides the hundreds of beaches you could gaze out at from your mobile office, this is a country with a deep pool of workers who speak like native English speakers. It would be a great place to launch or grow a new business without having to arrange meetings with staffers 12 time zones away.
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Tim, my apologies if this is not the right place. I truly enjoy and I look forward to your newsletter. Since you are a subject matter on travel, I was wondering if you recommend any companies that do home exchange vacations. I'm not in it for the money but simply want the opportunity to stay at place without the Airbnb or hotel cost. However, most important to me is the quality of the tenant because it is my very own home. Any recommendations is very much appreciated. Thank you!