We often think of travel as the destination, but sometimes the journey gives us unexpected opportunities to explore places we never planned to visit. On our recent trip home to Puerto Vallarta, we had a layover in Vancouver, and rather than treating it as simply another stop between where we had been and where we were going, we decided to make the most of the time we had.

What does one do with a few hours in a new city? Perhaps it means stepping outside the airport, finding a little café, wandering along the waterfront, exploring a neighbourhood, enjoying a local meal, or simply sitting with a coffee and watching the world go by. You might discover a beautiful view, stumble upon something unexpected, or collect a small memory from a place that wasn’t even on your itinerary. Of course, it also means keeping an eye on the clock so that your little adventure doesn’t become a missed flight story!

There is a certain art to packing when you’re heading to your second home for an extended stay. It’s not quite vacation packing, where you can get away with a few outfits, a swimsuit, and the promise of buying whatever you forget. When you’re going to live somewhere for weeks or months, you want to settle in, find your rhythm, and enjoy the comforts that make everyday life feel like your own.

This is Part 2 of our Canadian travel health insurance series. In Part 1 — Provincial Healthcare Rules, we covered how to keep your provincial coverage active while away. Now let’s talk about the private policy that sits on top of it.

Buying travel medical insurance feels like one of those tasks you rush through at the airport kiosk. Pick a plan, pay the premium, forget about it. That works fine right up until the moment you actually need to use it — and discover the policy you bought covers almost none of your situation.

There is something special about sweater weather. The mornings are cooler, the air feels a little crisper, and suddenly that favourite cozy sweater becomes part of the daily uniform. Instead of rushing inside to escape the chill, we wrap ourselves in warmth, grab a coffee, and settle into a good book on the deck. The pages turn, the coffee slowly disappears, and for once, there is nowhere else we need to be.

At some point in life, we have to ask ourselves a simple question: What does enough look like? Is it having a bigger home, a newer car, more money in the bank, or the latest and greatest of everything? Or is it having the freedom to spend our time doing the things that make us feel truly alive?

Sometimes, we get so caught up in working for the life we think we should have that we forget to enjoy the life we already have. We keep working, saving, buying, and planning for someday, believing happiness is waiting just around the corner. What if enough isn’t about having more? What if it’s about recognizing what we already have and deciding what truly matters to us?

With Thanksgiving upon us, what if we went on a different kind of scavenger hunt? No map, no checklist of places to visit, and certainly no passport required. This one asks us to slow down, look a little closer, and discover just how much we have to be grateful for right where we are.

Start by looking around your home. Find something that makes you smile, something that keeps you warm, or something that reminds you of someone you love. Step outside and look for the beauty of autumn, the changing leaves, the crisp air, or the last flowers hanging on for the season. Think about the people who make you laugh, the friend who checks in, the neighbour who lends a hand, or the family member who makes an ordinary meal feel like a special occasion. Perhaps your treasure is a morning coffee in a favourite mug, a good book waiting to be opened, a body that carries you on your adventures, or the freedom to dream about where you might go next.

A quick update for anyone who read our Canadian debit cards for international travel guide: while reviewing it this week, we found two ATM fee details that needed correcting. Both matter if you carry either card abroad.

EQ Bank: Reimbursement Is Canada-Only

EQ Bank still charges $0 in its own fees on foreign ATM withdrawals and still applies the mid-market exchange rate with no markup. What we got wrong: the ATM operator fee reimbursement only applies at ATMs in Canada. At a foreign ATM, whatever surcharge the machine’s owner charges is on you.

Thanksgiving has a beautiful way of reminding us that some of life’s greatest blessings cannot be wrapped, bought, or placed on a wish list. They gather around our tables, fill our kitchens with laughter, and turn an ordinary afternoon into a memory we will carry long after the dishes are done.

There is something special about having family together. The conversations that wander from one topic to another, the stories we have heard a hundred times but still love to tell, the teasing, the belly laughs, and the simple comfort of being in one another’s company. Sometimes it is the smallest moments that mean the most: an extra glass of wine, helping prepare the meal, sneaking a taste before supper, or lingering at the table because nobody is quite ready to leave.

There is something bittersweet about closing the cottage for the season. One last look at the water, one more walk around the property, and a few extra minutes spent remembering all the little moments that made summer special. The laughter, family visits, meals shared, quiet mornings with coffee, and sunsets that reminded us how lucky we are to have a place to escape the busyness of everyday life. It is amazing how a place can hold so many memories within its walls.

October 5: Making Room for the Next Adventure

There comes a time when you realize that sometimes making room for the next adventure means letting go of something you love.

This week, we are putting our home on the market. It’s more than four walls, windows and a place to keep our things. It’s the home where we have shared meals, celebrated milestones, welcomed family and friends, laughed until our stomachs hurt and created memories we will carry with us wherever we go.

There’s something about a pool chair that makes you feel a little wiser. Maybe it’s the vitamin D courtesy of the sunshine, the gentle sound of water, or the rare opportunity to sit still without feeling like you should be doing something else. Whatever the reason, the thoughts seem to flow a little differently when your biggest decision is whether to turn over for an even tan or reach for your next chapter.

One of the questions we get most often from fellow Canadians spending time in Mexico: “How do you handle banking down there?” Our answer these days is a single app with a purple card: Nu (better known as Nubank elsewhere in Latin America).

It’s the account that quietly pays our electricity and internet bills every month, earns us a genuinely remarkable savings rate, and never charges us a peso in annual fees. Here’s how we use it — and the honest answer about what our invitation link does for you.

Travel has a funny way of reminding us that we’re not actually in charge.

We can book the flight, reserve the hotel, plan the excursions and map out every restaurant we want to try. And then life looks at our itinerary and says, “That’s adorable.”

The flight is delayed. The weather changes. Traffic comes to a standstill. The restaurant we were excited about is closed. Occasionally, our luggage decides it deserves a holiday of its own or is filled with shampoo that has somehow busted through a few layers of armour.

Heading south for the winter or planning a multi-month slow travel adventure? Before you finish packing, there is one critical administrative task that many Canadian travelers overlook: verifying your provincial health insurance rules and reporting your temporary absence.

Skipping this step can quietly invalidate your private travel medical insurance, leaving you exposed to massive out-of-pocket medical bills if an emergency happens abroad.

Here is everything you need to know about staying covered while traveling long-term, how provincial rules differ across Canada, and how to properly notify your health authority before you leave.

Some days simply fill your bucket. A day spent shopping with my mom, my aunt and my sister-in-law is one of those days. The kind of day filled with conversation, wandering, unexpected finds and, most importantly, belly laughs.

Shopping has always been a bit of a love language for me. Some of my earliest memories are of taking my great-grandmother out every other week with my mom. Over the years, Mom and I have had countless adventures, wandering through local shops and exploring stores wherever our travels have taken us. Shopping with my aunt brings an instant smile to my face, and my sister-in-law and I have searched for that special something in boutiques and markets all over the world.