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Ruben Arribas

About the Author: Ruben, co-founder of Gamintraveler.com since 2014, is a seasoned traveler from Spain who has explored over 100 countries since 2009. Known for his extensive travel adventures across South America, Europe, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Africa, Ruben combines his passion for adventurous yet sustainable living with his love for cycling, highlighted by his remarkable 5-month bicycle journey from Spain to Norway. He currently resides in Spain, where he continues sharing his travel experiences with his partner, Rachel, and their son, Han.

10 Flight Etiquette Rules Most Passengers Ignore

Flying can be stressful enough tight seats, dry air, long lines, and unpredictable delays. But sometimes, the hardest part of air travel isn’t the turbulence it’s the fellow passengers. From seat-kicking and loud phone calls to armrest wars and barefoot wanderers, bad in-flight behavior can turn a long flight into a nightmare. What makes it …

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15 Places Where Not to Go in Europe And What to Visit Instead

Europe is filled with stunning destinations that attract millions of tourists every year. From the Eiffel Tower in Paris to Santorini’s cliffside views, these iconic places have been photographed countless times. However, many of these popular spots are now overcrowded, overpriced, and often fail to deliver the dreamy travel experience people expect. For travellers seeking …

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What Retirement in Spain Actually Costs: Retired Couple Tracking Every Expense in Málaga, Spain

Year One is the expensive year because you are buying your life twice, once in panic and once in reality. Year Two is cheaper because the city stops being a holiday and starts being a system. Málaga is one of those places Americans fall for fast. Sun. Walkable center. Cheap-looking tapas. A beach you can …

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Age Like an Italian: How Italian Women Stay Youthful Without Cosmetic Surgery

And what it reveals about visibility, softness, and why aging in Italy isn’t fought—but shaped In Italy, aging looks different. It isn’t hidden. It isn’t spotlighted. It doesn’t arrive with panic. It settles in like a guest that was always expected. Italian women, especially in cities like Rome, Bologna, or Palermo, don’t chase youth with …

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Why European Doctors Prescribe HRT and American Doctors Hesitate

It’s Tuesday morning in a midlife waiting room. One woman is fanning herself with a folder of lab results. Another is being told to “try an SSRI first.” Meanwhile, in plenty of European clinics, the same symptom list triggers a boring, ordinary conversation about hormone therapy. Americans are not imagining it. Menopause care in the …

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We Tested 4 Cities In 4 Months Before Choosing: Here’s The Winner

Four months sounds like plenty of time until you try living in a place instead of visiting it. Visiting is loud. You’re high on novelty, you forgive discomfort, and you spend money like the city owes you a good time. Living is quiet. You buy dish soap. You learn which supermarket annoys you. You figure …

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Why Your Paris Airbnb Is More Expensive Than You Think: The Airbnb Cleaning Fee Trap in Paris That Most Americans Don’t See Coming

You book a pretty flat in the Marais, open the price breakdown, and swear the cleaning fee only shows up for you. It does not. Something else is happening. The idea that Paris listings sneak in a cleaning fee only for Americans makes great outrage and bad planning. Cleaning fees on Airbnb are set by …

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European Countries That Actually Want American Money

Not in a “welcome, friend” way. In a “here’s the policy, here’s the threshold, here’s the paperwork” way. As of February 2026, a handful of European countries still run systems designed to attract dollar-denominated wealth, but the easiest doors are not always where Americans assume. On the Spanish coast, you can tell which newcomers arrived …

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3 Rental Car Tricks Europeans Know That Americans Fall For

Europe looks small on a map. Then you land, pick up a rental car, and discover the real price of “small” is friction. Different rules, different paperwork habits, and a different kind of petty fee culture that quietly punishes anyone who treats a rental contract like a formality. Most Americans lose money on European car …

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Retirement Abroad Tests Marriages: Here’s How Ours Survived

Retirement abroad looks like long lunches and ocean walks. In real life it’s two adults in the same apartment all day, in a new language, while every system demands paperwork and patience. Most marriages are built around absence. Work. Commutes. Separate errands. Separate stress. A few hours apart that keep little irritations from becoming full-time …

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We Budgeted $5,000 for Japan. Spent $8,400: Here’s Why

Japan looks like a “cheap right now” destination from afar. On the ground, it’s a precision machine built to extract money from travelers who arrive with U.S. habits and a spreadsheet that ignores reality. We went in with a clean number: €4,600 ($5,000) for two adults, about two weeks, Tokyo plus Kyoto with a few …

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The Menopause Treatment European Women Get That Americans Can’t

In a lot of European clinics, menopause care starts with a practical menu of options. In the U.S., it often starts with a warning label and a shrug. The clearest example is a single pill most Americans cannot get at all. There’s one menopause drug that shows up in pharmacies across parts of Europe, gets …

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