Services,
travel
See also: stalking Taylor Swift. Via The Onion.
A lot of us will be in an airport this holiday season: sitting through long layovers, awaiting never-ending delays or just picking up lost family members. If you’re not lucky enough to be addicted to Words with Friends, you might have more trouble passing the time. Unfortunately, not all airports can be like Singapore’s, which has a freaking pool you can use while you wait, but did you know that a lot of airports are packed with microbreweries? And some give you tons of coupons to use or free gym passes? Or that you might be able to see a free Taylor Swift concert while you wait for the crew to clean the vomit off the Skymall catalog?
To save you time, here is a cheat sheet on 12 airports you’re likely to be stuck in around the country (and one international one), including deals worth checking out, beer worth trying and which terminals have free wifi. Best advice? Always, always check out an airport website before you go (all linked below). 
News,
travel
Broke-Ass Stuart.
For years, budget-bouncing impresario Broke-Ass Stuart has shared scores of secret power-ups and tips for stretching gold in the two poles of this country that matter most (if you’re the creative-pilgrim type) with guidebooks on San Francisco and New York City, and on his eponymous web log. Now Stuart (nee Schuffman) is aiming nationwide with a third book, Young, Broke & Beautiful, and a TV show of the same name on IFC that debuts tonight. Brokelyn had a chance to skim the book, preview a few episodes, and chat with our brokester-in-arms about the evolution of his hobo wisdom and hustler ingenuity. We’ve got a few copies to give away to Brokelyn readers too before it even hits the shelves.
Outings,
travel
There's still time to run to the beach! In unison!
Memorial Day weekend marks the commercial start to summer, and if you were too confused about the difference between this holiday and Labor Day to make plans, there’s still time to line yourself up with a cheap 3-day weekend getaway to beaches you can reach via public transit. Even if the beach is a little overrated with all that sand and salt crawling into all the wrong crevices, a house on (or near) the shore with your buds and some beers is a reasonable trade-off for the summer kick-off. We’ve tracked down some reasonably cheap trips and scouted out some still-available deals, so get ready to show off your six-pack. (Beer or abs, we don’t judge!)
Services,
travel
Saturday is national Passport Day, which means you can apply for a passport, get advice or anything else passport-related in person without going through the sometimes grueling process of making an appointment to do the same. The Brooklyn event is at 271 Cadman Plaza East. It won’t save you any money off the $135 fee, but it will save you some hassle, especially if you took advantage of those late-winter travel deals. And this is a good time to remind you why paying for passport rush services is one big scam. Take it from us: just having a new passport teasing you with its blank, stamp-less pages is motivation enough to figure out a way to travel, whatever your budget.
travel
A WWOOFer at work in Costa Rica
It snowed for what seems like eternity, your day job is going nowhere, and you’re so ready to grab a one-way ticket outta here. I’ve been there! I don’t recommend my exact plan (read: don’t quit until Starbucks calls you for an interview; it could be a while), I do suggest WWOOFing as an atypical getaway. Forget hostel fees and the thought of surviving on a pastry and coffee till dinner: World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms is an international network of farmers who host volunteers and share sustainable living tips in return for help with chores. For the price of a plane ticket and some manual labor, you could be herding goats overseas and eating leafy greens until your heart’s content. Once you’ve settled into your tepee on a farm in the south of Portugal, 20 euros could last for weeks: I mostly spent cash on just beer and ice cream.
prizes,
travel
You don't need Michael Bay's film crew to win this Egyptian trip
With another blizzard rearing its head this week, why not spend your snow day dreaming of riding camels in the hot desert sand? The Nomading Film Festival, to be held in Brooklyn this June, is looking for short submissions (15 minutes or less) of your authentic, non-fiction travel experiences. Ideal entries will show you exploring and engaging absolutely anywhere in the world, even in your own backyard. Submissions can be in any video format, from 3-D to iPhone. The first place winner will win an 8-day adventure in Egypt. Here’s the details:
travel
Whether you spent your holidays working, baking, or with aunts questioning your non-existent love life and non-paying career, you could use a vacation. Thank the getaway gods, airlines are in discount mode, trying to get butts in half-full flights. If you have a sense of adventure (read: you’re not too particular about where you go), January and February are key times for last-minute fares. Prices will drop as kids go back to school, and stay low through mid-March (with the exception of Valentine’s weekend).
travel
Back in June, my best friend Laurel and I were talking with a visiting friend about our many goals for 2011. Among them: to move out of the country, one way or another. Our friend, an experienced globe-trotter from France, told us about something that seemed like our ticket out: Working Holiday Visas, visas where young people (usually between 18 and 30) can go live and work in another country for six months to a year. It’s a combo pass of sorts that gives you longer abroad than a tourist visa (which get you three to four months) and is a whole lot easier to get than a work visa. The point of the thing? To travel and experience life, earn a living and hang around long enough to pretend you’re a native.
travel
Jon wants you there
The hype is building around this Saturday’s Rally to Restore Sanity in Washington, DC. You’ve been wanting to jump on the bandwagon, but you’ve been holding off because you’re just a little sick of all the Tea Party talk, heresy denials and non-political gatherings on the National Mall lately. Of course, now the day’s almost upon us, and you’re catching the fever… but your best friend gave your seat away before you made up your mind and you missed that Daily Show episode where Oprah gave everyone a free trip to the rallyyyyyyy. So how the heck are you supposed to get to DC to show your sanity in an insane election season? Your options are limited this late in the game, but all hope’s not lost. Here’s what it’ll take to get down to the Mall and back again in time for Halloween.
travel
Most of us flock to the gathering of every living relative for a couple of drama-filled days in late November. But some of us… just need to be FAR AWAY. And so having a free apartment in London might be the perfect opportunity. (After all, who else will “watch” your “friend’s” place while they’re traveling abroad to the U.S.?) Jauntsetter’s found a Londoner looking for a New York/London apartment swap between Nov. 23 and 29. We’ve always wanted to try one of these trades. This one is for a London pad in the center of town, within walking distance of a whole lot. Exact dates are flexible, but the stay has to cover Thanksgiving weekend.
