Best of the Rest (Weekly Links Ending 10/16/11)

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This week is Tony’s last week at work before we take a year off to travel the world.  It’s insane to think that we are both leaving our high paying careers (in a shitty economy nonetheless) to be nomads and travel the world jobless until our money runs out.  As risky as we are being, I know that this risk will be the experience of a lifetime – And these articles from our favorite travel bloggers help support this notion! Here are this week’s best of the rest:

• Travelling the world doesn’t mean you have to completely quit your job and uproot your life.  There are many ways  you can feed your wanderlust, whether it’s completely quitting your job to be a nomad, or just taking extended time off work to explore the world.  Which scenario are you more comfortable with?
• I came from a very enthusiastic scuba diving family and got my certification when I was 12.  As you can imagine, I would love for Tony to get certified before we begin our RTW trip so we can hit up all the great dive spots around the globe.  But with snorkeling like this, who needs a scuba tank?!
• Next year, Tony and I are going to be on a tight budget and staying in very economical hostels around the globe… But here’s to dreaming!
• When I studied abroad in Europe in 2005, my friend invited me for a weekend trip to Vienna, Austria of all places.  I didn’t know much of anything about this city at the time and really had no interest in going but thought “why not?” and decided to join her for the weekend.  Thank god for this decision because I absolutely LOVED it! Watching this video from Nathan and Sofia made me remember the reasons why I fell in love with this enchanted city.
• Tony and I just bought a Panasonic Lumix LX5 camera to bring on our trip.  We normally would not invest this much in a camera, but I want to come away from our trip with excellent photos of our adventures.  This picture of Prague from Travelling Canucks made me feel much better about our hefty purchase
• I feel like such a granny for saying this, but I am so glad to have access to the marvels of modern technology, such as Facebook and Twitter, as a way to keep in touch with all the amazing people Tony and I will meet on the road.  As Kate points out, she has made some excellent connections on the road and keeping close with these people is so much easier now than it ever was (when talking over the phone and snail mail was the only hope to stay connected).  Woohoo to social media!
• Next year, Tony and I hope to spend most of our time renting out apartments or staying in VRBOs when we are on the road… but we also want to experience hostels and utilize these accommodations as a way to socialize with other travelers.  After all, hostels are an excellent source for some of the most memorable travel experiences.  After reading this article on the good, the bad, and the ugly of hostels, I cannot wait to experience the madness of these epic places.
• Runaway Jane shares with us her list of the 10 things you shouldn’t pack in your luggage (what? no hairdryer?!), which Tony and I will keep in mind when we begin to pack for our trip.  Is there anything you would add to this list?