TOP 10 MOST USEFUL ITEMS ON OUR YEAR ABROAD
Top 10 Most Useful Things on our Year Abroad
As our year abroad draws to its inevitable (and unfortunate) conclusion, we think that it is only natural to start reflecting on the trip rather than thinking about what’s to come. Who wants to start think about a return to work and real life (which, for Canadians like us, means snow)? Thinking back on our year of travel, a few items have proved to be indispensable for Mr. and Mrs. Worldsmith and our children. Here are our top ten most useful items that you might not think of:
Mobile Battery Pack
Having these has been really handy (just careful not to check them), as navigating on Google Maps can be battery intensive. Also useful when coming off a flight on a discount airline that may not have USB charging. Keeping the phone charged has been essential for us as our phones help us get around. Loads are available on Amazon like this one, but we had them included in our AWAY carry-on luggage (which was fantastic). Check out the AWAY luggage here – a premium price, but a great product.
Electronic Accessory Organizer
This one may seem a little odd, but having a bag that keeps all of your various usb and other power cables in check is essential for your sanity. Mrs. Worldsmith first bought one of these and, when Mr. Worldsmith saw how much of a pain it was to find his electronics in his suitcase, he immediately purchased one too. No regrets. Plenty on Amazon, like this one that Mr. Worldsmith purchased.
Plug Travel Adapter
These are absolutely essential. Make sure that you get one with the various types of USB ports you need included, so that you can charge all of your devices at the same time on one charger. We can recommend this one, which we purchased.
Laundry bag
This one is important. Don’t be a smelly traveler! We opted for bags that were made of polyester so as to keep our dirty laundry smells separate from our clean laundry as best we could. We just picked up these basic ones on Amazon, which have held up well and been very useful.
STEM Toys
We brought a few STEM toys with us, as we find that the kids get more creative use out of these than dolls or action figures. They are also fairly compact. The winners for our 5 and 7 year old have been both Lego and Plus Plus. Plus Plus are these things, which are actually pretty great for keeping your kids occupied in a way that doesn’t rot their minds.
Compact Beach Towels
Mr. Worldsmith purchased a microfiber towel, which he never really liked because of the plast-icky feel of it, and Mrs. Worldsmith purchased this Turkish towel, which we would highly recommend. These were useful in (the very few) airbnbs we stayed at that did not provide beach towels.
Functional Luggage
We were very deliberate about our luggage choices, as everything had to be manageable for Mr. and Mrs. Worldsmith to carry. We chose two Osprey clamshell backpacks for us (50L and 55L) available here and two Away carry on hard suitcases for our children available here. This gave us sufficient space for the year and also allowed us to walk up to around 20 minutes with our luggage, if need be.
VPN
If you need to access any confidential accounts from unsecured WiFi, which includes when you are in your Airbnb, you should make use of a VPN. Or if you want to spoof Netflix and other streaming services into thinking you are elsewhere so that you can access more content, you can also use these (although this is becoming more difficult). Ours costs around 50 USD per year through Private Internet Access and is well worth the cost to avoid having some scammer access our bank accounts.
Libby
Libby is an app that allows you to borrow digital copies of books from your local library while you’re away. If you are traveling with kids this one is essential to keep them reading. Also good for parents or those without kids, as you can tear through every book in your library without having to carry them around. Libby is accessible on newer Kobo devices like this one, but not Kindle.
Premium Netflix Account
If you’re traveling with your family and everyone is leveraging the same Netflix account all at once, you need to pony up for a Premium Netflix account so you can watch on more than two devices at once. We typically download content for the plane rides, so we need to be able to download to 4 devices at once (as you can only do with a premium account). Well worth the cost.
AND BONUS ITEM WE WOULD RECOMMEND IS:
Packing Cubes
This one may seem slightly odd, but one of the things that may get to you after a year abroad living out of a suitcase is never being able to find what you need because your suitcase is a mess. Packing cubes to the rescue! It’s like the equivalent of drawers for your suitcase or backpack. These are highly recommended and quite cheap. We bought the Amazon Basics ones here, which have held up nicely.