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In today’s email:

• Welcome to PrideNomad™! Message from the publisher.

• Return to Whistler Gay Ski Week: Is it still fabulous?

• Travel Insurance Warnings: What you don’t know can cost you (BIG TIME)

• NomadHack: How to Get into Pride Festival Events for Free

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FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Welcome to the PrideNomad™ Letter!

Let's start with an introduction, shall we?

Studies indicate that 35 million individuals consider themselves digital nomads.  13% identify as LGBTQ+, which means that the global PrideNomad™ Community has 5.39 million members, with 2.38 million in the USA alone.

As for those who aspire to be digital nomads, we’re looking at an additional 7.74 million GLBTQ+ people globally (with 3.63 million in the USA), for a total of 13.3 million!

That doesn’t include those who are just considering it!

Wow! That’s a hell of a lot of PrideNomads™!

And it means that you’re not alone…by a long shot!

That’s where we come in.

It’s time that we had a voice and a resource that’s not just about travel or hooking up across the planet (not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course!).

As a digital nomad (we’ll call you a PrideNomad™ from now on), you’re a courageous, intrepid adventurer.

You’re exploring, experiencing, and sharing cultures, ideas, and abundant energy. 

And you’re probably working on your own business, or are in a leadership position, independent contractor, or location-independent worker.

You’re not just a tourist. You’re living a full life on your terms and you’ve given yourself the gift of location freedom (or you’re planning your escape from the grind).

Yay, You!

While you may encounter feelings of loneliness in your travels (as I have many times), that’s overcome with incredible serendipity when you meet an amazing person on a train, bus, hostel or just walking down the street (as my Mom and I did in Kathmandu a few years ago).

This publication isn’t about my journey (though I will be contributing my own story at times). 

This is about YOUR journey.

It’s about YOUR experiences. YOU are the biggest resource for your fellow PrideNomads.

You know where to go (and where NOT to go!). You’ve discovered some of the secret off-beat gems in cities around the world.

This is your place to share those great finds (and warnings!)—in real-time!

It’s your place to discover new resources from your fellow readers.

As our subscriber base grows, so too will our impact—so we can secure discounts and special deals for you.

We’ll have the potential to travel together (my Mom is planning a PrideNomad™ European river cruise later this year—stay tuned!).

Bottom line—this is the beginning of a fantastic journey, and I’m excited to be bringing it to you each week.

I invite you to share this with as many PrideNomads™ as you can. The more the merrier!

I also invite you to share your experiences. We want to know your favorite places to travel to. Your favorite travel hacks. How you manage work/life balance. How you deal with insurance, visas, lodging, and more.

In short, we want to showcase how you’re really living your life—so that we can all live better.

Just hit REPLY and talk to me!

Welcome to the PrideNomad™ family!

Ken Krell
Founder, Publisher and Chief Enthusiast

THE BIG IDEA:

Returning to My Favorite Ski Week.

This year marked the 30th anniversary of Whistler’s Gay Ski Week. It’s the largest of its kind in Canada, drawing over 3,000 skiers from all over the planet, and for good reason.

Whistler’s skiing is amazing, the proximity to Vancouver makes it easy to get to, and the altitude is high enough for good snow but not so high that you get altitude sickness (not a fun thing!).

I first started going to this ski week over 20 years ago, when it was known as “Altitude”. Having been to other ski weeks (Aspen and Tahoe), I immediately fell in love with the Whistler week for one huge reason:

The community.

At the Whistler ski week, we all meet up at the top of the mountain each morning and we ski (or snowboard) together. This makes it super easy for couples who ski at different levels to split up and ski with others at the same skills or moods.

Want bumps? There’s a group for it. Want to take it easy? You’re right at home, no matter what your skiing/snowboarding level may be.

And for singles (like me), you get to meet others and never feel alone. It’s super fun, especially when you get to ski with Bernard, the only ski instructor I know from the Philippines. He’s a total hoot!

Of course, there are après-ski events and evening parties, but the good news is that when you’ve skied together all day and met new people, those parties are much friendlier.

Another great feature of the Whistler week is that you make long-term friends. I hadn’t been back for about 20 years and when I returned this year, I ran into friends I’d skied with way back then.

That’s what makes a great community!

Whistler IS an expensive destination, so here are a few tips to keep in mind if you’re considering joining us there next year (definitely let us know here at PrideNomad™—we might look at securing a room block to grab some discounted rates for you!).

First, consider getting an EpicPass. It gives you great rates on lift tickets around the world, plus discounts on other stuff at Vail Resorts, including food on the mountain. I recommend the Australia EpicPass—when you consider the exchange rate, it’s MUCH more affordable than buying the Epic North America pass.

Next…you CAN work as a PrideNomad™ at Whistler. They’ve got an amazing library, conveniently located in the center of town, that’s super friendly (they really DO greet you when you walk in). With free wifi, a fireplace (of course), and a media room where you can record podcasts, they know their market!

And if you’re on a budget, the Pangea Pods are the best deal in town—literally less than 80 seconds from the lifts, it’s an upscale hostel that doesn’t have any of the “hostel” stigma attached to it (ie quite a few of the guys I met had stayed there in the past). Don’t plan to hook up there, though—there’s no privacy, and they’ll immediately evict you if you’re caught.

Of course, restaurants in a trendy resort town can be expensive, so here’s a great way to discover the best deals:

Ask the locals.

Don’t just ask the local residents—ask the seasonal labor. You’ll find that a huge number of the seasonal workers hail from Australia (as well as a significant number of skiers that skip summer down under and head up to Whistler!), and they know where the deals are.

The delightful young Aussie clerk at the Whistler hardware store pointed me to the places for the best deals on skiwear (the Whistler Outlet Store) and for food, check out El Furniture Warehouse (yes, that’s the name). Their food is delish and you can’t beat their prices!

If you need a grocery store, you’ll find the Fresh Street Market at Whistler Marketplace. It’s Whistler’s version of Whole Foods (for the Americans out there), and it’s pretty terrific. You’ll find everything you need for a terrific meal if you’re planning to cook.

They’ve got some great deals on delish pastries, and their warm chocolate chip cookies are divine (omg!). One of the highlights of my little “supermarket inspection” was the in-store coffee bar. The lady who was running it was the highlight of my day. She saw me munching (and moaning with pleasure) on my warm chocolate chip walnut cookie and hailed me over.

She had me taste the most remarkable apple, then proceeded to craft a gourmet hot chocolate while she regaled me with stories about Whistler and just life in general. Think local coffee shop with personal barista attention.

I was a bit “sad” since I had injured my knee the previous day, so her cheerfulness was just the right medicine to get my emotions back on track.

If people ever try to tell you that a single person can’t make a difference, don’t listen! This gorgeous soul turned my day around and inspired me. She even shared a “secret path” to the Whistler library that took me through a patch of forest that was truly magical.

Lesson: When you can bond with a local, all sorts of great things can happen. Always be open to new ideas and experiences, no matter how shy or insecure you might be feeling. Be willing to play a bigger game!

The dates for next year are January 19-26, 2025. I’ll be going, and I expect that my Mom will be joining in as well—she had planned to go snowmobiling this year, so we’ve already scheduled next year!

Who’s joining us? Reply back and let us know!

TIPS AND TACTICS

Travel Insurance Warnings

Be Prepared. Plan Ahead.

As a PrideNomad™ you’re going to be involved in activities that might subject you to a variety of risks. From an injury renting a motorbike in Mykonos to a motorbike taxi accident in Bangkok, risks are everywhere.

You may think that your home-based policy covers you for mishaps overseas, but you would probably be mistaken.

And one thing’s for sure—if you’re injured, you may need to be evacuated—at considerable expense—or flown back to your home city with an escort in a business class seat (also quite expensive).

Shop wisely. My Mom was injured in Sydney and broke her collarbone and shoulder and fractured her pelvis in 4 places. Not a great way to spend the Christmas/New Year’s holiday for sure.

While she had amazing health care in Sydney (kudos to the “St. Vincents Hospital & Spa”), it wasn’t cheap. Luckily, she had some decent travel insurance coverage, and they took care of $20,000 USD of the hospital and paid for an escorted first-class ticket back to Miami—for her AND a nurse escort!

Was it worth the $168 she paid for that annual policy? Hell yes!

Some things to note—some policies will restrict the length of your trip. Be careful! Some will restrict the amount they cover for hospitalization (Mom could have used much more than $20k, but that’s all she purchased).

Other policies will only cover you when you depart from your home city. Check the details!!

The best policy I’ve seen so far is with SafetyWing, which appears to give you the most travel flexibility. Be sure to shop around. NOTE: If you have some other suggestions, please share ‘em with us!

Note: Don’t even THINK of going on a ski trip without travel medical insurance. 

Travel/Medical insurance isn’t an option—it’s a requirement if you’re going to travel and enjoy the full PrideNomad™ lifestyle!

NOMAD HACK

How to get into Pride Festivals for Free

Going to a new city for a Pride festival? Want to meet some great people and save a fortune on event admission fees? Here’s my favorite hack to get the best of both:

Volunteer.

Pride events don’t happen without volunteers. For example, Sydney Mardi Gras needs over 1,000 volunteers to support the various events.

When you volunteer, you put in the time for your shift, and then you’re free to enjoy the event with everyone else.

The shifts can be fun. For instance, at World Pride last year, I put wristbands on VIPs (and got to hug the Lord Mayor!). I helped direct traffic on the Sydney Harbour Bridge when over 50,000 marched over it.

I guided traffic during the Mardi Gras parade and shook hands with the Prime Minister (omg was that fun!).

And I got to meet some of the nicest people along the way. 

You don’t have to be local to be a volunteer—these events need help from everyone and everywhere, so don’t be shy!

Select the events you want to participate in and contact the organizers. They typically have a volunteer coordinator, and that person will be your best friend (they will help you choose the best shifts to volunteer for, for instance).

In some cases, volunteers get free admission to other parties. At Sydney Mardi Gras, volunteers don’t get free admission, but they do get discounted tickets based on the number of shifts they perform. If you volunteer for QueerScreen, you get free movie passes, so check to see what’s on offer for you.

So if you want to make a difference, be part of a community, and save money, consider volunteering!