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Today’s PrideNomad™ Quiz:

In Today’s Email:

Self Care: Why World Love Week is so important

Nomad Hacks: Airline options you need to know

Cultures: Why shopping is different

SELF CARE:

World Love Week
(This Isn’t a Valentine’s Pitch. It’s the Lie We Tell Ourselves About Love.) 

This week is World Love Week.

And if you just rolled your eyes, I get it.
Another “awareness week” telling you how you’re supposed to feel.

Except this one’s different.

Because it’s not about romance.
It’s about interrupting the quiet story that says being single means you failed.

World Love Week runs during the week leading up to Valentine’s Day — intentionally.

Because for a lot of queer folks, especially those of us who travel solo or live outside the usual boxes, Valentine’s Day can be one of the most uncomfortable days of the year.

When you’re single — again — it’s easy to compare.
To feel behind.
To wonder if everyone else cracked some code you missed.

I’ll say this plainly: when I’m single on Valentine’s Day (which, historically, has been most years), that voice shows up for me too.

The shame.
The what’s wrong with me?

World Love Week exists to interrupt that narrative.

Not by pretending loneliness isn’t real.

But by widening the definition of love — and reminding us that being single is not a verdict on your worth.

And just to be clear — when I say self-love, I don’t mean self-pleasure.
(Though let’s be honest — that has its place, too.)

I mean the quieter kind of self-care: giving yourself a break, loosening “the shoulds,” and not beating yourself up for being human — especially when you’re doing life on your own.

That’s part of what living a PrideNomad life really means — learning how to stay connected to yourself no matter where you are, or who you’re with.

This isn’t just for people who are single.

Loneliness doesn’t disappear because you’re partnered.
You can feel lonely in a marriage.
Lonely in a long-term relationship.
Lonely while sharing a bed with someone you love.

Valentine’s Day just has a way of turning the volume up on whatever distance, longing, or unhappiness already exists — single or not.

I created this for people like me — and probably like you — who have felt lonely, unseen, or quietly worn down longer than they expected — single or not — and refuse to accept that as a personal failure.

Why This Can Hit Harder on the Road

If you’re living a PrideNomad life — traveling, relocating, or spending long stretches on your own — this time of year can hit different.

Because you’re already managing:

• How visible you can be

• How much of yourself feels safe to share

• Whether real connection is even possible here

Then Valentine’s Day rolls around.

Every restaurant.
Every couple.
Every Instagram story.
Every marketing promotion.

And suddenly it’s not just about being single — it’s about doing it alone. Again.

That combination can quietly wear on your nervous system.

Which is why World Love Week isn’t about romance.

It’s about connection — outward and inward.

Today’s Invitation

Each day of World Love Week has a simple theme.

Today’s is someone who showed up quietly.

That might be:

• Someone who helped you without recognition

• Someone who stayed steady when things were hard

• Or even you, for getting through more than you let on

One easy way to participate is by sending a ThankYouGram — a short message of appreciation you can send for free, even anonymously.

It’s a small act.

But contribution has a funny way of softening loneliness.

If you want to join in:

👉 WorldLoveWeek.com/ThankYouGram

No pressure.
No perfection.

Just a reminder — especially this week — that being single doesn’t mean you’re behind.

It means you haven’t settled.

And that’s not failure.

That’s self-respect.

Adventure outside the ordinary

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So, where will you go? Explore more than 85 destinations worldwide with a small group of up to 16, and an expert local leader who’ll help you to truly experience the destination.

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Find your next adventure

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Quick question: Which nomad destination are YOU dreaming about? Hit reply and let us know—your dream just might inspire our next story.

NOMAD HACK:

Use this to make your travel life a bit easier.

✈️ The Airline Schedule-Change Superpower (This Is How Pros Fix Bad Flights)

 Here’s something airlines never explain clearly:

If an airline changes your flight schedule after you book — even slightly — you suddenly have leverage.

And most travelers never use it.

What counts as a “schedule change”

Any of the following usually qualifies:

• Departure or arrival time changes

• Aircraft changes (watch for a seat change!)

• Layover time changes

• Route changes

Even 15–30 minutes can be enough.

Why this matters (this is the hack)

Once there’s a schedule change, many airlines will let you:

• Change to a better flight

• Adjust layovers

• Switch departure times

• Sometimes change routing

• Without fees

• Even on “non-refundable” tickets

You’re no longer “changing your ticket.”

You’re responding to their change.

How to use it

When you get the schedule-change email:

1. Don’t accept it immediately

2. Look up alternate flights you’d prefer

3. Use the airline’s site or chat and say:
   “I see there was a schedule change — can I move to this flight instead?”

Nine times out of ten, the answer is yes.

Why this is gold

• You can fix bad departure times

• You can shorten ugly layovers

• You can often upgrade your routing

• You can undo a booking that looked fine at the time

Frequent flyers quietly rely on this.
Everyone else just clicks “accept” and lives with it.

Bottom Line

Airlines change schedules constantly.
Most people treat that as an inconvenience.

Smart travelers treat it as an opportunity.

CULTURES:

Why Grocery Stores Abroad Feel So Unsatisfying at First

The thing I miss most when I’m abroad isn’t my bed.

It’s the grocery store.

I remember the first time I walked into a neighborhood market in Lisbon. Three… maybe four aisles. That’s it. I walked them end to end in under a minute. Then I did it again, convinced I’d missed something.

I hadn’t.

No massive produce section.

No wall of cereal with forty-seven nearly identical choices.

No sense that I could wander for half an hour and still not see everything.

And I’ll be honest — my first reaction wasn’t curiosity.

It was disappointment.

I missed Publix. I missed Safeway. I missed the feeling of abundance. The comfort of knowing that whatever random thing popped into my head, the store probably had six versions of it.

Standing there, basket in hand, I wasn’t thinking about urban density or centuries-old buildings.

I was thinking: This feels… limited.

That’s the moment travel gets interesting — or frustrating — depending on what you do next.

Because what I was really reacting to wasn’t the store.

It was the loss of my reference point.

In much of the world, grocery stores are smaller because cities are older. Streets are narrow. Buildings existed long before anyone thought about parking lots.

Population matters too. The U.S. can support endless choice because there are more people. More land. More storage.

Other parts of the world don’t optimize for that.

Smaller stores mean you shop more often. Food turns over faster. You buy what you need — not what might last two weeks.

None of that felt comforting to me at first.

It felt inconvenient.

And that’s the point.

Travel constantly puts you in moments where something feels worse — not because it is worse, but because it doesn’t match what you’re used to measuring against.

We all do this. Automatically. Instinctively.

The mistake isn’t comparison.

The mistake is stopping there.

That’s the real work of travel.

Not seeing new places.

Letting old assumptions loosen their grip.

So you can stop measuring everything against home…

And start experiencing it on its own terms.

Now go—make the world your playground!

P.S. If today’s issue hit you in a good way, hit reply and just say ‘yes’ — I love knowing you’re out there

Answer to Today’s Quiz

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