Author: A Purple Life

Slow Travel Review: Amsterdam, The Netherlands – The Land Of Canals and Bikes

by A Purple Life, posted in Budget Check-In, Finance, Food, Reviews, Slow Travel Reviews, Spending, Travel, Travel Reviews

Since I retired in 2020 and started traveling the world, I’ve had a goal to only visit places that are 70F and sunny. My mood is instantly improved in sunny weather and a temperature that’s not too hot and not too cold makes exploration infinitely more comfortable.

So why did I live in The Netherlands for a month in the winter of 2024 🙂 ? I was in Amsterdam from early November to early December and I’m very glad I decided to break my rule and explore this beautiful city during those months. Let’s jump into why.

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Review: Singapore Air Economy Class – Singapore to Tokyo, Japan for $18

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Hacking, Travel Reviews

This is the second part of a very long post about my experience flying 17 hours in Singapore Air Economy Class. In case you missed it, here’s the first part:

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Review: Singapore Air Economy Class – Auckland, New Zealand to Singapore for $18

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Hacking, Travel Reviews

Surprise surprise – I’ve written a lot on this blog about Singapore Air Business Class, First Class and their First Class Suites, but until now, I had never sampled their Economy Class product. That all changed this year 🙂 . So let’s dive into if Economy on this airline lives up to the rest of its plane classes.

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Review: Tiritiri Matangi Island Nature Reserve from Auckland, New Zealand

by A Purple Life, posted in Hobbies, Reviews, Travel, Travel Reviews

When I first visited Auckland, New Zealand in November 2023, a few people recommended that I check out Tiritiri Matangi Island Nature Reserve after learning about my love of birds. Unfortunately we were only in Auckland for a few short days and didn’t have the time to do a whole-day adventure on this nearby island.

However, when I returned to Auckland in February 2025, I was ready to see some birds! On my relatively short list to “Must Dos” for my almost 6 week trip, this was near the top of the list. And after I went , it is now my #1 recommendation for a nature-based day trip near Auckland if you’re a bird lover. So let’s dive in and see why this very affordable trek made my jaw drop.

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I Became A NY Resident (Again): Real ID, Voting, Libraries, Healthcare and Taxes

by A Purple Life, posted in Early Retirement, Finance, Settling Down, Spending, Travel

It finally happened 🙂 . After 10 years as a resident of Washington State, I am once again a New York resident. I previously lived in NYC from 2011 to 2015 and now I’m back baby!

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Cheers To 7 Years Of A Purple Life!

by A Purple Life, posted in Blogging, Hobbies

I’m still here! It’s been 7 years since I took this blog public, which is almost twice as long as I’ve ever held one job. This is by far my longest running hobby and in that time, I’ve published a post at least every Tuesday. I never thought I would be able to keep up that kind of consistency despite everything life throws at us. So let’s celebrate!

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The Best Budget Earbuds: Soundcore Space A40

by A Purple Life, posted in Hobbies, Reviews, Spending, Travel

Last year I was on the search for the best over-ear headphones I could find. After a lot of research, polling y’all, and testing, I found them!

Well now it’s time to expand that search to earbuds, which up to this point I thought would never be for me. So let’s see what changed 🙂 .

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