7 cities I want to live in

After moving to a different country in 2013, naturally I have set my sights other places that I would love to call home. I want that sense of warmth, that local coffee shop, to get to know the streets like the back of my hand all with a side of new discoveries but a sense of home. Of these 7 cities, 5 have been visited and 2 are constantly longed for. I wonder where I'll go next?

1. Melbourne 

Yes please Australia. Melbourne can offer me that comforting cold in the winter, enough for a coat, and the beach inviting heat in the summer. With the kind of weather you use to your advantage on morning runs and fresh juices. Literally the best of both worlds.

2. Lisbon 

Should I start by pointing out the obvious in the form of tiles. The city is built with them. I feel like every wall and doorstep is a piece of art.

3. Oahu

Hawaii, please and thank you. Give me that seaside, surf crazy, mountain city/state. I want a life where I spend my days watching to sunset, on opposite days I'll watch it rise. Work in a cafe and learn to surf. Eat acai bowls like they're going out of fashion and make a life that will be forever remembered.

4. Berlin 

To be honest I would move there in a heartbeat. If someone gave me the money right this second, apart from spending it wisely on my already planned travels, I'd relocate to Berlin. It was described to me the other day as "feels like home, even though it's nothing like Australia". We had our local coffee shop, grocery store and metro station sorted by day 3. Home is where the heart is, right?

5. Copenhagen

I have fallen in so much love. Imagine walking those super quiet streets everyday. Eating the healthiest, tastiest food in the cutest little cafe/restaurant and drinking fresh juice all of the time. Aside from that have you seen how attractive Danish people are?! And being they're the happiest in the world I think this situation would work out just swimmingly.

6. San Francisco

I'm dying to live some of my life in America, although seemingly an almost impossible mission given visa difficulties, I've left it to dreaming, just for the meantime. I will tick that off my list one day. A perfect excuse to get myself studying, a semester abroad anyone? 

7. Sydney 
Each time I visit Sydney I fall in more and more love. I'd like to live in Newtown, maybe because it reminds me so much of B Town, and I hurt when I think of ever leaving. Or the Northern Beaches, where the beach is actually my backyard.

"The world is your oyster"

Which foreign country do you want to live in? 

12 things that I learnt, about travelling, while travelling

1. Don't be afraid

It will spoil the moment, even if just for yourself. Experiencing things you've never experienced before is the best part of travelling. Unfamiliarity will always be accompanied with a bit of fear, but once you've conquered that, the best moments are had. 

2. Learn a little bit of the local language

You don't need to be fluent in German after 4 days there, but learning hellos, thank you's, excuse me's and sorry's could help you in sticky situations and you never know, but you may just become friends with some locals. 

3. Learn about the sightseeing of each destination, even if you don't intend to visit them

Personally I couldn't think of anything less interesting than walking to each main attraction at each destination, photographing and continuing. Some may be worth the visit, however I'd rather visit the locals markets and coffee shops. However I have found myself on occasion being asked about the such and such in town (being the main attraction)  and actually never having even heard of it, now I like to learn what there is even if I don't intend on visiting. 

4. Have a few realxing days

Trust me, you'll need them. And you'll be thankful for them.

5. Document your days in photographs and films

They tell stories too, so make sure you let them. 

6. Experience something alone (if you're travelling with someone)

Even if it's just a quick trip to the nearest grocery store, you will look at things you didn't before. Small talk with some locals is usually on the cards and confidence is found in the slightest of accomplishments, like deciphering the foreign language on the back of the chocolate. 

7. Journal your days

Just like photographs and films, reading back on what you spent your days doing will make your heart sing. And make you reminisce some of the happiest moments. Things people have said that you've forgotten. Places you saw. Meals you ate.

8. Make friends

In the end, it's not about where you are but who you're with that matters the most. Make sure you make memories with strangers, even if just for a night. It may well just be the best night of your life. 

9. If a majority the reviews say the hostel is terrible, it usually is.

If you want to #YOLO it, and go for it merely for the name or whatever, then so be it, but just remember that when you're lugging your bag up ladders to your sleeping den or doing your washing at 3am, you'll have wished you listen to the advice of the reviews. 

10. Go places people have never heard of before

If someone you've just met mentions the great hiking mountains a train ride away or the derelict buildings, behind the East Side Gallery, that can only be accessed by climbing a tree over a 12ft wall. You've just gotta do it. 

11. Not everything will go as planned

And that makes it the journey it is. You may miss trains or planes or get lost at 11pm looking for your accommodation. You'll see things you may not have seen if it didn't happen. 

12. You'll realise how much kindness is left in the world

There will always be room for the evil too, but a hell of a lot for the kindness. 

Travel: Top 10 songs

A list for the next nomadic hearted youngin' wanting a darn exciting, heart pumping, memory making playlist for their adventure.

10. Royals - Lorde

9. Home - Phillip Phillips 

8. Home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

7. Another Love - Tom Odell

6. Lay Me Down - Matt Corby

5. Trouble Town - Jake Bugg 

4. Riptide - Vance Joy

3. Counting Stars - One Republic

2. Cecilia - Simon and Garfunkel

1. Travelling Song - Passenger