5 Tips for Traveling on a Student Budget

It's no secret that I love to travel. I was lucky enough to grow up with parents who instilled the travel bug in me, and continue to do so- my mom is a travel writer after all (talk about goals). But most of the time my bank account doesn't quite agree with the images of wanderlust I have in my head.

I think it's so funny how a lot of my friends from home think that because I live abroad now, that I jet off to exotic destinations every weekend. But that couldn't be further from the truth- most of my weekends are spent happily in Edinburgh, doing work, running, and cooking. But I can't deny that living in the UK does grant me incredible access to the best that mainland Europe (and beyond) has to offer. 

Even if I can technically leave at the drop of a hat for Paris or Rome, I always prefer to be a bit more calculative in my travel. If I didn't plan anything, man would my wallet me hurting. But traveling on a student budget doesn't have to be as boring or limiting as you think. I know I've rambled on about student travel in past posts (like the one I wrote on Venice), but I thought I'd use this post to accumulate my best tips for travel that aren't "duh" obvious. 

Seville, Spain.

Edinburgh's Best Breakfast & Brunch Spots

For me, breakfast didn’t start being the “most important meal of the day” until I started waking up later. 7AM wake ups in high school did not a happy morning person make. So I usually skipped out on having a proper breakfast, usually opting to have a granola bar on the go.

But coming into University, where my schedule is more relaxed and my morning meal more often than not extends into the early afternoon, made me appreciate how good breakfast can really be. And weekend brunches? Even better! With more options and the most creative combinations of sweet and savory, brunch just about edges out any other meal.

Edinburgh might just be giving London a run for its money when it comes to breakfast and brunch spots. Being the most ‘gram-able meal of the day, I can see why the competition is so fierce. So today I’m here to tell you about the best of the best (and I really mean the best) places to go to start your day- whether that’s at 9AM or 1PM.

5 Ways To Be An Effective Political Activist

If one good thing has come out of the US presidential election (and the repercussions thereafter), it's that much of the American population has become more interested in how our government actually works. Now, I'm not an expert, but the past few months have been eye-opening in terms of learning about what the President can and can't do as well as what us citizens have the right to do in opposition.

And that's what I want to talk about today- what your regular ol' American citizen can do to effect change. And for this, I owe it to my mother who has been incredibly inspiring in taking action and doing everything in her power to exert her power as a citizen. In fact, this post is for me more than anything- to encourage myself to be a better advocate for change than I am now. Remember: we all can be doing more.

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that the result of the election left me feeling disappointed, frustrated, and angry. The months afterward? Well, they weren't so great either. In fact, they've probably been worse because it's real now. But the thing is, we can't just complain talk about it.

36 Hours In New York City

Having just returned to the U.S. on Friday after being in Edinburgh for the semester, I did a quick 180 and hopped on a GoBus with my mom on Sunday morning heading for New York. And only for 36 hours. Talk about a whirlwind.

I've been to New York many times in my life- I'm so lucky that I live in Boston where the transport connections are easy and the fares are relatively cheap. But I wouldn't call myself an expert on New York (you can look to my NYU friends for that). This 36 Hour trip barely covers 1% of the city, and it hardly mentions any of the main tourist attractions. So if you've never been I wouldn't treat this as gospel. Still, aren't we all tired of hearing about people going to the Empire State Building and The Statue of Liberty?

Also, I think it's fair to mention that the whole point of this trip was for my mom and I to meet up with her longtime friend from high school who now lives in Australia. We hardly ever get to see her or her family, so this was the perfect excuse to travel to New York!