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Joe Baur is a travel filmmaker, podcaster and author who realized his love for travel during a college trip to Thailand and India. After moving to Cleveland to work in the fitness industry after graduation, Joe made a shift to travel writing as part of a trip to Northern Ontario and eventually decided he wanted a lifestyle which would allow frequent changes to his surroundings.
Joe moved with his wife to Costa Rica, where his unique experiences and observations inspired him to write an English Language travel memoir aimed at North American travelers called “Talking Tico: (Mis)adventures of a Gringo in and Around Costa Rica.” An opportunity with Trivago led to Joe moving to Dusseldorf, Germany, a location he describes as a great travel hub with lots of green space to enjoy! He is currently working on some exciting upcoming projects for Trivago’s digital magazine “Room 5“, and you can catch him on the Trivago travel podcast.
On this episode we talk to Joe about a number of travel and lifestyle topics, including knowing your working style to determine if you may be suited for a single or multiple career paths, the differences in family dynamics between North American and other cultures, his inspiration behind his moves and in writing his book, the joys of language learning and some of his upcoming projects.
Enjoy!
What we talk about:
- Joe’s first travel experiences taking road trips with his family to minor league baseball games when he was younger
- When Joe first fell in love with travel during college while taking a trip to Thailand and India
- How your early travel experiences can shape how you like (or dislike!) to travel
- His initial work out of college in the fitness and improv comedy industries, and his shift to travel writing during a trip to Northern Ontario
- Our generation’s option to develop a career based on interest in a few different areas versus the traditional path of working in one field for most or all of your career, and the importance of pursuing whichever option makes you happy
- His visit to Ireland and how the experience helped him realize he would be happiest changing his environment on a more frequent basis than a traditional office based career path would allow
- The trend in people travelling to more local destinations, and how to find unique areas around you by connecting with state/provincial level tourist bureaus
- Some of the best cities to visit in the United States if you are looking to understand the country’s history, including Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Detroit
- His inspiration behind his move to Costa Rica, including easier Visa logistics and incredible cultural diversity
- Day to day life in Costa Rica and dealing with the negative stereotypes that expats sometimes perpetuate about living there
- The difference in family dynamics between North American culture and other cultures in the world, including living together in smaller spaces and being more likely to live within a close proximity to other family members
- His thought process on writing his book about Costa Rica, and his hope that more stories by locals will become available on the market
- A funny anecdote from his time in Costa Rica, complete with an unexpected reference to a popular 80s TV show!
- His opportunity to move to Germany through working for Trivago, and brushing up on his German
- The challenges of learning German in comparison to Spanish and how to make the most of language learning
- Day to day life and activities in Dusseldorf, nightlife in the town centre Altstadt, enjoying green space, and its ideal location as a travel hub to other European destinations
- How trying to connect with someone in their language can change your interaction with them, even if you’re not fluent!
- How language learning developed into a passion, the sense of accomplishment you feel when you are able to communicate with someone in their language and how this often leads to better experiences and stories
- The logistics of getting a German work visa, and how it may be easier to live there on an artist/freelancer visa
- Working for Trivago, his focus on the Trivago podcast, and exciting upcoming projects and podcast topics
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Join us for our new weekly online hangouts every other Tuesday this summer, where we’ll be joined by travel experts to discuss topics like Digital Nomad life and long term travel with children! Be sure to bring any questions and travel stories you’d like to share!
Music Credits:
www.bensound.com
You can connect with Joe on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, on his personal website, or at Without a Path, and check out his book “Talking Tico: (Mis)adventures of a Gringo in and Around Costa Rica
