Getting the right to live and work in another country can be a long and difficult process. But that’s not always the case for those with money to spend.
29.03.2024 - 10:45 / insider.com
Pamela Holt, then 36, was on her way to a final callback for her first-ever Broadway tour when a car crashed into hers in 2005. She flew over her seatbelt, broke an arm, and slammed her head so hard against the windshield that the glass broke.
"I lost everything," Holt, now 54, told Business Insider. "I went from performing 110 minutes worth of material weekly to not knowing my best friend's name."
For the next 30 days, Holt was asleep in the hospital. And when she woke up, life was all about remembering loved ones and getting through the everyday tasks with a brain injury.
"If I took a shower and washed my hair, that was like my big day," she said.
Roughly five years after the crash, just as Holt was beginning to feel like herself again, she was stopped in traffic when a car going 40 miles an hour hit hers, causing a spinal injury that required surgery, she said.
"I hit rock bottom on that second accident," Holt told BI. "I was finally getting on my feet again. And this just took me down."
After a year and a half of searching for the issue and two MRIs, Holt said her doctor called her on a Thursday at 4 p.m. in 2013 to tell her she'd need to have surgery on the upcoming Monday.
"You need to spend the weekend getting your life in order because there are no guarantees," Holt recalled him saying.
While shocked by the call, Holt said she had "the best weekend," knowing it could be her last.
"All I wanted was to feel normal again and do what I loved despite being in pain," she said.
That weekend, Holt wrote her will, went race-car driving, and came up with future travel plans if she survived the surgery.
"I called American Airlines, and I said, 'I want to go backpacking in the Middle East in six months, but I don't want pay for this in case I don't live or I can't walk,'" Holt told BI. "They said, 'If you can say the word 'yes' when you wake up, we'll press enter on your credit card.'"
Without her health and career to hold onto, Holt said she felt like she had nothing left.
"When they were wheeling me in, I came up with the idea to hit my 80th country by my 50th birthday," Holt said. "I made it a priority in my life. And it gave me purpose."
Holt had enjoyed traveling to 50 countries before the accidents. So she had six years to squeeze in 30 more countries.
Related stories
After a successful surgery, Holt woke up to her mom, who was already on the phone with American Airlines.
"Are you ready?" Holt recalls her mom saying.
After booking the trip, Holt told her doctors she planned to lug around a 40-pound backpack just half a year later. She said they gave her a shot before the trip to relieve the remaining pain.
"Six months later, I was backpacking in the Middle East," she told BI.
Holt's 80-by-50
Getting the right to live and work in another country can be a long and difficult process. But that’s not always the case for those with money to spend.
I spent the first few years of my life in Greece and then moved to the US.
Airlines have been changing routes and canceling flights in response to an escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran.
Over the past 100 years of shuttling people around the globe in metal flying machines, the world's aviation network has grown into a vast web of intersecting routes that connect nearly every corner of the globe.
A handful of new lounges opened by credit card issuers, including Capital One and American Express, have recently landed in airports across the United States, promising posh spots of refuge for select travelers awaiting their flights. At La Guardia Airport, caviar service will be available for pre-order. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, travelers can get complimentary massages, and at Denver International Airport, there are nap pods. In addition to amenities, the new lounges provide an ambience reminiscent of a luxury hotel lobby, both in interior design and scale, and fit several hundred people at a time.
Holland America Line is celebrating a pair of sustainable seafood certifications—one from the Marine Stewardship Council, and the other from the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
For the last few years, American Express has sponsored one of the world's most popular music festivals: the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Southern California, running April 12-14 and 19-21.
This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Allie Hubers , a 29-year-old freelance travel writer. It's been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider verified Hubers' expenses.
As far as states go, Virginia was at the front of the line when they were handing out amazing attractions. From the Chesapeake shores to the Blue Ridge peaks, this gorgeous land harbors major historic sites, up-and-coming cities, romantic valleys, pre-Revolutionary villages and wine-tasting drives.
New Restaurant and Retail Program Focused on Bringing a ‘Taste of Place’ to GEG and Elevating Passenger Experience
Bigger than the US state of Rhode Island and large enough to influence the weather, Grand Canyon National Park can be overwhelming for first-time visitors.
Last fall, my husband and I booked a two-week vacation to Greece and Italy. We aptly coined this our "empty-nester moon" as we had just sent our only 18-year-old daughter, Hailey, off to college. Many people take honeymoons, and some take babymoons, so we figured, why not take an empty-nester moon?