Thanks to the cost-of-living website numbeo.com, one can see that
certain items are more expensive abroad than they are in the US. This
includes clothing and electronics. So I figure best to buy those before I
leave, though what I buy has to go further, since I want to travel as
light as possible - preferably only two checked bags, a carry-on, and a
laptop backpack.
Clothing:
After reading the book, "Details Men's Style Manual" ( http://www.amazon.com/Details-Mens-Style...159240328X
) (not a plug, let's just say nobody has to pay for it), I've rebuilt
my wardrobe to be as interchangeable as fashionably and practically
possible. Some key items (note that these aren't all of them):
- Two pairs of no-pleat regular cut grey slacks, with about a week's
worth of matching grey socks. The book calls grey slacks "the Swiss Army
knife of pants", and indeed, I've worn them dressed-up AND
dressed-down.
- Four short-sleeved collared shirts of varying colors. Worn alone in
the summer and under one of two grey collarless sweaters in the winter.
- One pair of no-pleat regular cut khaki shorts. I generally don't like
wearing shorts unless it's quite hot and/or humid, and I don't expect to
wear them that often in Poland.
- Bogs chuka boots. I basically destroyed a pair of loafers in a
previous winter trip to EE because it was too damp for them. These
chukas are supposedly waterproof, but leather, so it won't look like I'm
wearing women's rain boots or men's fly-fishing boots.
Electronics:
For $190 I got a factory-unlocked dual-sim Moto G (2nd gen). I have a
CDMA carrier (Verizon or Sprint) here in the States, so my current phone
won't work abroad (I used an all-expenses paid GSM phone from work in
my previous travels). No 4G LTE on the Moto G, but 4G LTE bands vary by
country - likely as a way by carriers to keep prices different between
different countries.
More expensive phones such as the iPhone 6 are near-universal in 4G LTE
band support, but quite frankly, the only reason I have 4G LTE here in
the States is because I tether off of a $55/mo grandfathered unlimited
data plan (so I can't remember the last time I dealt with the likes of a
Comcast for Internet or TV). In Poland I expect to get a local SIM (and
thus a local number) and pay per GB of mobile data, so most of my
Internet use will be over WiFi. The extra sim slot may be useful for
further travels.
The laptop I'm typing this on is pretty old, but since my most intense
usage is merely YouTube, I have no plans to upgrade. Reformatting it
recently has reversed the steady decline in performance. It also already
has an HDMI out, so I'm actually typing this on my 40" LCD from my
couch using my bluetooth keyboard and mouse (which use rechargeable AA
batteries). The nice speakers I have are too bulky to come with me, but
they will be replaced with my small portable bluetooth speaker (which
actually sounds great, but obviously not as good). The laptop will also
be used to keylog girls (see 20Nation's post as to why you should do
this: http://www.rooshvforum.com/thread-29794.html ).
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