Cobbled streets, 17th and 18th-century colonial buildings with steep metal roofs, 24-hour clocks, prices with comas instead of periods, and French signs everywhere you turn… It’s as though I’m walking through a small town in France, except I’m not in France, I’m in Canada. Québec City, the oldest fortified city in North America (and one of the most historic cities in Canada), it more of the more fascinating cities in Canada. It’s a city steeped in history, culture, and intrigue. I'm creating a home in Québec City.
I was in one of those writing ruts before I moved to Québec City. I was staying with family (which I enjoy), I had constant access to wi-fi, and I was always distracted. One would think that having constant access and an open schedule would be the best thing in the world. Let me tell you, it’s not.
It's odd to think that in two weeks I'll be moving myself to Québec City to learn French. Am I crazy?! Sure, I adore Québec City, and it is the best place in Canada in terms of learning French, but still! Living in Québec City is going to be a lot like living in France. I can still do my freelance and social media work, but there is no chance of picking up temporary work to help pad my bank account - damn language barrier!
I was not a very good student in high school. When my teachers spoke, my eyes glazed over and my mind drifted to somewhere far more interesting. School, for the most part, was boring as hell, and I skipped a lot of classes. Except for two. History and art history.
When I published '74 Tips On How To Save Money for Travel' earlier this year I wanted to help my readers with low incomes save money for travel - something that many of them didn't think they could do. And in my opinion those tips are still valid. So, why am I publishing an updated post on this blog? Well, I want to take a slightly different approach, and add some more ways to save money, but not just for travel.
There is something almost magical about Québec City. Maybe it's the European feel of the old city that makes me feel as though I'm overseas instead of in Canada. Or perhaps it's the charm of the French guys and the friendliness of the people who call Québec City home. Or maybe it's both of those things.
There seems to be a trend in traditional media in which they report only the worst stories or points of view about a destination. Although I don't agree with the way in which they report the news, I know their reports are biased and I ignore them (for the most part) when making my travel decisions. Unfortunately, this trend seems to be seeping into the blogging world, and that is even more troubling to me because as bloggers we have the ability to share our destinations in a very unfiltered way. We generally don't have editors, or corporate bosses to answer to. The only people we have to answer to is ourselves, and our audience.
As a girl with ginormous boobs (and far from average stature) who has spent most of her travels in Asia, I am not accustomed to travelling in countries where I can experience complete acceptance. I'm used to walking around and having locals stare, or point. Where everyone is so tiny that it would be difficult to buy a bra that fit one of my boobs, let alone both of them. I'm used to having a tough exterior and pretending I don't understand what is going on - and having to give myself permission to stay in on days where I'm not feeling at my best.
Knowing how much money you have and where it's going, makes things fall into place. Sure, things may look bleak in the beginning, but pretty soon you'll see where you can make adjustments. You'll know how much surplus income (I like to think of surplus income as strictly travel money. I don't use it for anything else) you have, and you can make a plan as to how you want to use it.