April 5, 2026

You know the type of person who spends roughly half the year in transit and somehow still gets excited every single time they see an overhead bin? That’s me. Between Boston, New York, San Francisco, LA, Hawai’i, Venice, and Rome, I’ve collected enough turbulence stories to fill a memoir. But I genuinely, truly love it — both the thrill of a brand-new city and the comfort of returning to a favorite one like visiting an old friend.

When I travel, I have two non-negotiables. First: if it’s my first time somewhere, I stay at least 10 days, and I do not do hotels. Second: cliché tourist activities are my personal villain origin story. I will go to unreasonable lengths to find the neighborhood taverna the locals actually love, or that tiny museum the city doesn’t put on its brochures.

For exactly this kind of travel, I’ve had two apps that have been quietly running my life for years. Let me introduce them.

First up: Kindred. A home-swapping platform, and I am genuinely surprised how few people know about it. I’ve mentioned it on Instagram over the years and every time someone DMs me like they’ve discovered fire. It’s a closed-circle home exchange — you need a member referral to get in. The short version: you stay in incredible homes across the US and Europe, and it costs you… nothing. If you sign up with my code (naz.yon), you’ll get 5 free nights to try it. You’re welcome in advance.

Second: the Places app. This one is for finding the spots that actually matter — original shops, hidden neighborhood gems, cafes with actual character. The recommendations come from curated lists by each city’s local artists, tastemakers, and creative directors. It’s a paid app (annual fee upfront), and I won’t pretend it’s cheap. But there hasn’t been a single city I’ve used it in, or a single recommendation I’ve visited, that I didn’t love. Worth every penny, truly.