From Arizona to the Yucatan in Mexico, there are numerous gorgeous places that you can stay worldwide - for FREE - in return for some caretaking, housesitting, pet sitting, lawnmowing, and/or other duties. As a caretaker/housesitter, you can easily travel and live (or work) in many exotic places: mountain, lake, city, rural… and live like a local for anything from a few days to a couple of years.

For most of us, there is great joy in planning a vacation - the anticipation and research can be thrilling, but it can also be a little overwhelming.  With the summer travel season in full swing, there are countless insider tricks and tips travelers should arm themselves with to guarantee a smooth vacation experience, and most importantly, maximize savings. Travel Expert Sarah Gavin shares her tips to help us find those deals and make the most of our remaining summer vacation time.

Florida Culture for the Week of August 14, 2016 by Josh Garrick

Do you have a bucket list in your head (or on paper)? Things you’d like to see and do in this lifetime, like the Bucket List movie, which has inspired countless people to fulfill their dreams?

What’s it really like to teach abroad? Author and international educator Ann Marie Mershon shares her experiences in her new book, You must only to love them: Lessons Learned in Turkey. It’s a fantastic read, full of tales of travel (one of the greatest benefits of teaching overseas!), classroom challenges and joys, living in Istanbul, cultural adjustment, and the daily life of a teacher abroad. 

One of the hallmarks of the Midwest is gathering - and eating - together. Whether it's family or a chosen family of friends, we love to sit down to good food, laughter, and great conversation. However, each area in the Midwest has different traditions - and Wisconsin has a unique one: that of supper clubs. The state is covered with them - homegrown, comfortable restaurants that serve excellent, tasty, homemade food with such friendliness that other restaurants will start to look rude.

After the morning rain, the afternoon sun struggles to push its way out of the thick fog covering the mountains. My sister and I, umbrella in hand, walk side by side, jumping occasionally to dodge the puddles in the road. 

Beth Santos is founder and CEO of Wanderful, a global network for adventurous, independent women travelers. She is a recently transplant to Boston from Chicago and can be swayed to do pretty much anything if offered chocolate peanut butter ice cream.