My Top 30 Electronic Survival Tools for Living Abroad
This is a list of my favorite electronic tools that help me keep it together while traveling abroad and in the U.S.
iPhone 11 — still works fine — no need to upgrade — I use it for everything
Motorola Moto e20 — my “backup” smartphone — I use it for local phone calls abroad
Lenovo laptop — 7 years old and still going strong
Vanguard IRA — it's my life's savings (vanguard.com)
Ally Bank savings account — 100% online account for short-term savings (ally.com)
Charles Schwab checking account — acts as my international bank account and they refund foreign transaction fees (schwab.com)
Local credit union checking account — for paying my bills and subscriptions in the U.S. and occasionally for foreign transactions in the event I can't access my Schwab account
Jetpac eSIM — mobile data for my iPhone abroad (jetpacglobal.com)
Google Maps — helps me navigate towns and cities — be sure to download offline maps before you arrive at your destination
Compass app on my iPhone — knowing which way is north is pretty important
Facebook Messenger — for keeping in touch with family and friends for free
Hushed app — gives me a VoIP U.S. phone number for just $5 per month (hushed.com)
WhatsApp — secure communications — it's HUGE in Latin America and FREE
Google Translate / DeepL — for overcoming language barriers (translate.google.com) (deepl.com)
Hotels — good deals on hotel and motel reservations in the U.S. and abroad (hotels.com)
Hostelworld — access to numerous hostels around the world (hostelworld.com)
Agoda — great deals on hotels, motels, and hostels worldwide (agoda.com)
Booking — lodging and travel reservations worldwide (booking.com)
Evernote / Notion — personal note-taking app and more (evernote.com) (notion.com)
Microsoft Word — for creating CVs, cover letters, tables, etc.
Microsoft Excel — financial planning and expense tracking while abroad
Uber — on-demand ground transportation in the U.S. and abroad, cash-less, and safer than local cabs
SkyScanner / Kayak / Google Flights — flight price tracking tools (skyscanner.com) (kayak.com) (google.com/flights)
Rome2Rio — build travel routes anywhere in the world (Rome2Rio.com)
ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini — my all-purpose AI agents that help me keep it all together while flying solo — they are my travel agents, career coach, business coach, tax help, and so much more (chatgpt.com/c/) (claude.ai) (gemini.google.com)
USB flash drive — for storing files for printing while I travel
Canva — all-purpose graphic design tool (canva.com)
Date calculator app — for calculating that all-important visa expiration date
Dashlane — because I'm not going to try to memorize 300+ passwords — it also has a VPN — a necessity while using public Wi-Fi (dashlane.com)
Last but certainly not least — Commercial Mail Receiving Agent (CMRA) — provides a U.S. mailing address and handles all my physical mail while I travel (travelingmailbox.com)
