As the year comes to a close, we have so much to be thankful for. First, we wanted to say thank you to all of our readers and our online community for continuously coming back to Dreams Abroad and making our site what it is. We have become what we hoped to achieve. During 2018, we had 30,453 viewers of the website who spent their time reading and learning from our stories, interviews, and resources. Each piece we’ve posted has gotten more and more traffic due to our friends and readers knowing and liking what we have to share.

We have come a long way and look forward to growing even more with all of you in the upcoming year ahead. If you haven’t already, take a moment to check out this year’s best articles on our website. Our readers clicked them for a reason, so check them out and be sure to come back in 2019 for new topics, new writers, more resources, and some more great articles.

Here are our best articles of the year:

Coffee con Leche: Expat vs Depression

Coffee con Leche is a popular series written by our one and only Bebe Bakhtiar. Expat vs. Depression walks you through the emotional roller coaster of what an expat could potentially feel at any given moment while living abroad. She discusses different scenarios that explain what decisions and questions expats encounter on a daily basis. For example, the scenario Instagram vs Reality discusses how those who post on Instagram really aren’t posting their reality. It’s in fact, quite the opposite. It’s their escape from reality. Bebe analyzes the difference between Instagram and reality, guiding the reader to five tips on how to support your loved one while they are living abroad. This is a must-read article for those about to move abroad, live abroad, or have a loved one abroad.

Ellen Hietsch: What I Know Now Living Abroad Madrid

What I Know Now is a resource for our readers who are looking to learn more from those who have traveled and lived abroad. This series has five tips that each writer shares based on their own experiences in life. What I Know Now is the most authentic resource on our site because it offers first-hand information on where the writer lived, worked, studied, and traveled abroad that year. In this article, Ellen discloses helpful guidance on how the unexpected events in her first year living in Madrid as an expat helped her to achieve her second year in Madrid.

Traveling in Peru and Continuing My Adventure

Tyler Black lived and taught in Spain for two years. After his return back to the States, he started working again in Pennsylvania but never lost the itch to travel. This past summer, he decided to take a solo trip south of the equator with one destination on his mind– Machu Picchu. This four-part travel tale takes you on an adventure through the Andes Mountains where Tyler is biking, climbing, and even flying (barely!) through multiple cities in Peru. In this article, Tyler talks about his practical travel plans to Peru and his first day in Lima. If you want to experience Peru on a ten-day budget-friendly schedule, check out Tyler’s ten-day series.

When You Get Going: Travel Tips for Easier Exploring

In this piece, Emma, a seasoned traveler, mentions her previous post on how to make 2018 a great travel year by emphasizing four travel tips to accompany a great travel year. These tips are meant to help any traveler have a more enjoyable trip through a streamlined process that she recommends. Read more to identify what you what you should be doing in order to minimize stress and maximize fun!

Pre-departure to Spain: Meet Ryan Gomez

Ryan Gomez left Tallahassee, Florida on a hot summer day to embark on the journey of a lifetime. He headed to South Florida to meet his family members to say one final goodbye. Then, Ryan and his father flew to Spain so he could find his ancestral roots and rediscover himself.

In this very popular and highly viewed pre-departure interview with Leesa Truesdell, Ryan discusses the range of emotions felt before he left. He also shares why he chose Dreams Abroad to tell his story. Ryan didn’t know what to expect, just as many don’t before their arrival to a new destination abroad. However, as he describes in this interview, he did have a new network of people who cared and were now a part of his community and new reality. To better understand how to prepare for your upcoming trip abroad, check out our pre-departure resources. Follow Ryan’s story to see how he is adjusting over the course of his first year abroad in Bocairent, Spain.

by Dreams Abroad