Wise’s Exchange Rate Tracker: The little things in Mexican expat life that excite me

Nicole  | 

I had never heard of Wise as a money-transfer application until I started frequenting Mexico and needed to send money to landlords, pay for goods by transfer, etc.

I once attempted to pay for rent with Paypal and literally – F that – Paypal’s fees are astronomical! So I asked around and was told Wise is a great option as an American in Mexico (Wise is a British company and only permits transactions in certain countries and currencies). I used my friend’s referral code to sign up (which I’ll give you mine at the end if you need to download Wise after hearing my story) and that means for you as a new customer, Wise will waive the fee on up to 500 GBP (or equivalent) of your first transfer! Score!

Wise gives a really fair exchange rate comparable with the true market price and guarantees the rate locked in for 8 hours when you start the transfer. The fees are pretty low, in my opinion and I love their due diligence of giving you comparable options of ways you may save more money with other companies. Who does that? Good companies who want you to trust them.

So what excited me today? The exchange rate of the dollar to peso has dropped substantially in the past year. After the Mexican presidential election, the exchange rate became more favorable towards the USD. For expats, amazing news especially for bigger spendings like rent.

I found that Wise offers a currency exchange tracker! You can tell the system where you’d like to be notified when the exchange rate hits a certain point. For instance, I have two trackers set for 18.50 pesos per dollar and 19.00 pesos per dollar (wishful thinking).

This morning I had an email from Wise that the exchange rate hit 18.50! For me, that means it’s ATM run time! I literally threw on clothes are rushed to the ATM to get cash from my USA account. I love using Charles Schwab checking because they do not charge any fees world-wide with ATM withdrawals. And get this… they REFUND your ATM fees from the other banks every month! WIN WIN!

What a sexy email to receive! Want to get started with the best banking methods as a digital nomad or expat? Here’s my resources:

Get your Transfer on with Wise!
Wise Exchange Rate Alerts
Get ATM-fee free transactions with Charles Schwab

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Ignorance is Bliss… or is it Emotional Safety?

Nicole  | 

I promised myself that I would write more. Expand my mind, empty my mind.

I often forget that I enjoy writing. I enjoy telling stories. I enjoy passing along learned knowledge, whether useful or best for trivia nights. And coming up with ideas as words and thoughts flow. 

I’m unsure what the block to writing is for me- but maybe one day I’ll sit down and write about it.

It’s been over a year since I last sat down and wrote anything for my website. Much has changed since then.

In September 2022, I was in Michigan recovering from my emotional strife of living in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. I had a tough relationship with my time and life in Playa. I made my first official move there from the United States and had a vast array of physical and emotional difficulties there. In just 8 short months, I witnessed drug deals in the streets, pedestrians and bikers getting hit by cars, friends being beaten to a pulp for their wallets, my realtor being shot and killed in his car by the cartel while his 14-year old daughter was in the passenger seat, gas leaks blowing up restaurants, my 15-year old cat falling off a fourth story balcony and breaking her jaw, my purse being stolen with my wallet and phone during my birthday dinner, among many other distressing circumstances. 

Returning to Michigan after this all was not only what I wanted, but what was necessary for my nervous system. The first couple of months back, I slept a lot. I cried a lot. I didn’t want to see friends or sunshine. I felt like I had failed in many ways. Most people I met in Playa absolutely loved it, whether they lived there permanently, vacationed there annually or were living the digital nomad winter. Why was it so hard for me? I lived in one of the most sought-after beach vacation spots in the world and yet, I felt unfulfilled, unsafe, lonely, and sad. 

I never used to agree with the saying “ignorance is bliss.” I believed that knowledge always gave you power. I disagree with this now and feel that ignorance can keep you emotionally safe in certain occasions. Perhaps I learned and witnessed more than I was capable of handling in Playa. Perhaps others were blissfully unaware of what was happening around them and that kept them happy. 

I question the information that I intake now. Do I need or want to carry this? How will it benefit me? It is likely to encourage positivity or negativity in my mind? Will I do something with this information? I’m glad that I have such a powerful, emotionally-driven mind, but learning to control intake was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself.

Hostels in Michigan

Nicole  | 

Hostels get a bad rep in the United States. I’ve never seen the movie “Hostel” but apparently it did some mental damage to American mindsets. As so many things do.

I stayed in my first hostel in New York City at 18 with my soon-to-be college roommate, Jess. We road tripped to NYC and she booked us a bunkbed hostel room. I had no clue what this meant and remember being slightly stunned when we arrived at the small space with community bathrooms.

In 2015, I took my first backpacking trip on a one-way ticket to Costa Rica. This is where my love of hostels really began.

After the trip, I was obsessed with the idea of traveling the US and staying in hostels. I wanted to write about them, take photos and turn around this false idea that Americans have about hostels. And then, I realized how few even exist.

From the furthest southeast corner to the uppermost northwest of the quite massive state of Michigan, it’s around a 10-hour drive. Within that distance, I have yet to discover more than 5 hostels in the state.

These are the hostels I’ve found in Michigan:

Hostel Detroit
Opened in 2011, at the time it was the only hostel in Michigan and the first in Detroit in 15 years.

The Hamtramck Hostel

Bellows Bunkroom at Creekside Cottages, Interlochen, MI

Michigan Hostel at Mt. Bohemia

Coming summer 2022: Hostel SoHa, South Haven

Near Michigan & worth mentioning:

Lost River Hostel, West Baden, IL

If you are aware of additional hostels in Michigan, please comment or email me. I’d love to add them to the list!