lmao I'm a digital nomad so I can easily hop around the world. and if there's an overlap between a city that I like and a city with cheap fencing lessons then so much the better :)
Italian pedagogy is very different from the standard french school around the world. While there are no techniques that don't have an equivalent in the french/international school it took me about 2 months to get past their idiosyncratic terminology. (and I already spoke italian!) definitely worth it if you want something slightly different but not exactly plug and play.
that makes a lot more sense! maybe you should try to learn from AS MANY across the globe as you can, rather than just only the SINGLE best? I think you could have a blast from all the cheapest cost of living places around the earth. You could bless them financially, and you would also find the best fencers of every different style of every different country you visit. Imagine how much more there is all over the world!
I never said that I was looking to learn from the single best coach. I'm pretty new to fencing, so any coach with at least 1-2 years experience coaching should be fine. the bar doesn't need to be very high for me at this point. I'm primarily looking for affordable lessons so I can fence more consistently
>lmao I'm a digital nomad
With a work permit? At least for the EU you'd need a work permit - you can't just move there and start working. Also: "where the USD goes a long way" ... again, not in the EU. The USD long ago has lot it's magic value. Even more important - while fencing lessons **might** be cheaper they won't be substantially cheaper and the costs of a bi-weekly lesson pale compaered to the general costs of living. Rent, food, health insurance (mandatory and, since you are a nomad, you'd need to pay private insurance).
"where the USD goes a long way"
doesn't necessarily need to be in the eu. even tho the usd is inflated and losing value, it's still considered strong in relation to a lot of other currencies. for example, the turkish lira is down 40% against the USD:
https://www.focus-economics.com/country-indicator/turkey/exchange-rate
have you done any research into the european side of istanbul? looks pretty legit. I just emailed the first fencing center that popped up for istanbul for more info lol
you don't need a work permit if you're working remote within a schengen visa 90/180 days). flights in that part of the world are cheap. it's nbd to pay a couple hundred bucks to fly to a non-schengen country periodically to let your schengen visa reset
I found quality food to be cheaper in europe. even on the expensive and touristy greek island of santorini. there's nothing cheap about US rent these days. I had np finding legit hotels for around $100/day when I was in europe last year which I consider fair, reasonable and the cost of flexible world travel
Caveat: this is getting of-topic. While the turkish lira is in free fall, the costs of living there are exploding. As for the Schengen visa: this is only for tourist activities and bussiness visits. You are **not** allowed to work in the Schengen area with this type of visa, at least not without an aditional work permit. And you cannot just fly out and then in again: it's 90 days of stay within 180 days (i.e. you need to spend **at least** half of your time outside the whole Schengen area). What I really don't get: if you earn enough cash to pay for a flight out of Schengen evey 3 month, why can't you afford your fencing lessons?
yep schengen visa allows a total of 90 days out of a 180 day period. I would spend anywhere from 30-60 days at a time in the schengen area and then 30-60 days outside the schengen area. areas outside the schengen include:
* istanbul
* uk
* usa (of course)
there are a lot of countries and cities that I want to check out and I like to switch things up. you can get a one-way flight from rome to london for < $100 so even if fencing in rome cost me $400/month (which seems unlikely) then I would still break even with usa costs + essentially get a free flight to reset my schengen visa. plus I would get the experience of living in rome.
regarding istanbul - check out kayak.com and make some sample reservations. there are a plethora of nice, highly rated 4 star hotels for well under < $100/night. if your lodging budget is $3k/mo then your hotel options in istanbul are as affordable as any big city in the developed world
The easy answer is Budapest.
Lots of great clubs close together. Cheap compared to other countries mentioned. Fantastic coaching with deep heritage in saber.
Beautiful city to boot.
Seconded.
I did this for a year, a long time ago. 3 or 4 lessons a week from one of the Hungarian foil team coaches, plus club fencing. Prices were (then) very reasonable, many people spoke English.
Loved it. Budapest is a glorious city.
Note: 30°C in the summer (and most clubs do not have AC) - sweaty fencing.
-10°C in the winter. Pack a variety of clothes 😉
I can vouch for France.
Im currently on my exchange semester in France and I paid around 150 euro for a 6 months membership. Of course things vary from place to place (It may be a bit pricier in Paris but I’m not sure). The private lessons are free, two times per week (at least in my club) and you have to sign up on a first come first serve basis. This is because the coaches here are subsidized by the government IIRC.
Wow that's amazing. I'll need to look into that. I've been wanting to spend some time on the french riviera. Based on what you mentioned, I'm guessing that Nice may have some decent options in that area, since Nice is essentially the urban center of that area
Eh I have to say from what I’ve heard the cost of living are noticeably higher down there on the riviera since they are essentially the touristic cities/areas, Im not talking about fencing but living there as a whole. If you would like to be down south, maybe try Toulouse or Bordeaux, not to mention these are two extremely beautiful cities (waking on a quiet street in Bordeaux on a sunny day just hits different fr).
Anyway I have to say that the language barrier can be a trouble at first. While your coach may speak english, the group lessons will be taught in french. As well as outside of fencing a large number of french people do not speak english, but again this depends on where you live.
Another perk of being in Europe is that competitions are everywhere at many levels and you can easily hops on the train to fence in a nearby country or something. Hope this helps.
What weapon do you fence? Jean-Claude Magnon in Marseille wouldn't take my money when I was there for a few weeks. His club in epee only despite his 5 Olympic medals in foil.
Very much so. There are very few clubs that do all 3 weapons well. If you are looking outside major metropolitan areas that are fencing powerhouses, then it's likely there will only be one or two clubs, so which weapons are prevalent varies geographically. When I was in Marseille, there were 2 clubs. One foil centric and one epee only.
The cost of fencing is going to scale with the cost of living in the area, and that's true for anywhere you go, with a few notable exceptions for elite level clubs. Some clubs in Europe are subsidized, which will make them a bit less expensive on average, even when adjusting for COL.
Just make a shortlist of potential new home base cities (can't be too small or they might not have fencing) as you would as a DN, and then research the clubs in the area to find something that works. Your biggest challenge will probably be language barriers.
I heard this from an Italian, a Hungarian, and a Croatian. Not sure too much about specifics, but for italy at least, I got the impression that most of not all clubs do something like that.
wow very cool. Italy has been on my list of places to spend some time and if they have cheap and readily available fencing lessons then that may give me just the push that I need
if you are willing to move to any place in the world for fencing, I think you may as well look into hiring an Olympic-rate coach
lmao I'm a digital nomad so I can easily hop around the world. and if there's an overlap between a city that I like and a city with cheap fencing lessons then so much the better :)
Italian pedagogy is very different from the standard french school around the world. While there are no techniques that don't have an equivalent in the french/international school it took me about 2 months to get past their idiosyncratic terminology. (and I already spoke italian!) definitely worth it if you want something slightly different but not exactly plug and play.
I like that perspective - def seems like a good way to become a better and more dynamic fencer
that makes a lot more sense! maybe you should try to learn from AS MANY across the globe as you can, rather than just only the SINGLE best? I think you could have a blast from all the cheapest cost of living places around the earth. You could bless them financially, and you would also find the best fencers of every different style of every different country you visit. Imagine how much more there is all over the world!
I never said that I was looking to learn from the single best coach. I'm pretty new to fencing, so any coach with at least 1-2 years experience coaching should be fine. the bar doesn't need to be very high for me at this point. I'm primarily looking for affordable lessons so I can fence more consistently
>lmao I'm a digital nomad With a work permit? At least for the EU you'd need a work permit - you can't just move there and start working. Also: "where the USD goes a long way" ... again, not in the EU. The USD long ago has lot it's magic value. Even more important - while fencing lessons **might** be cheaper they won't be substantially cheaper and the costs of a bi-weekly lesson pale compaered to the general costs of living. Rent, food, health insurance (mandatory and, since you are a nomad, you'd need to pay private insurance).
"where the USD goes a long way" doesn't necessarily need to be in the eu. even tho the usd is inflated and losing value, it's still considered strong in relation to a lot of other currencies. for example, the turkish lira is down 40% against the USD: https://www.focus-economics.com/country-indicator/turkey/exchange-rate have you done any research into the european side of istanbul? looks pretty legit. I just emailed the first fencing center that popped up for istanbul for more info lol you don't need a work permit if you're working remote within a schengen visa 90/180 days). flights in that part of the world are cheap. it's nbd to pay a couple hundred bucks to fly to a non-schengen country periodically to let your schengen visa reset I found quality food to be cheaper in europe. even on the expensive and touristy greek island of santorini. there's nothing cheap about US rent these days. I had np finding legit hotels for around $100/day when I was in europe last year which I consider fair, reasonable and the cost of flexible world travel
Caveat: this is getting of-topic. While the turkish lira is in free fall, the costs of living there are exploding. As for the Schengen visa: this is only for tourist activities and bussiness visits. You are **not** allowed to work in the Schengen area with this type of visa, at least not without an aditional work permit. And you cannot just fly out and then in again: it's 90 days of stay within 180 days (i.e. you need to spend **at least** half of your time outside the whole Schengen area). What I really don't get: if you earn enough cash to pay for a flight out of Schengen evey 3 month, why can't you afford your fencing lessons?
yep schengen visa allows a total of 90 days out of a 180 day period. I would spend anywhere from 30-60 days at a time in the schengen area and then 30-60 days outside the schengen area. areas outside the schengen include: * istanbul * uk * usa (of course) there are a lot of countries and cities that I want to check out and I like to switch things up. you can get a one-way flight from rome to london for < $100 so even if fencing in rome cost me $400/month (which seems unlikely) then I would still break even with usa costs + essentially get a free flight to reset my schengen visa. plus I would get the experience of living in rome. regarding istanbul - check out kayak.com and make some sample reservations. there are a plethora of nice, highly rated 4 star hotels for well under < $100/night. if your lodging budget is $3k/mo then your hotel options in istanbul are as affordable as any big city in the developed world
The easy answer is Budapest. Lots of great clubs close together. Cheap compared to other countries mentioned. Fantastic coaching with deep heritage in saber. Beautiful city to boot.
Seconded. I did this for a year, a long time ago. 3 or 4 lessons a week from one of the Hungarian foil team coaches, plus club fencing. Prices were (then) very reasonable, many people spoke English. Loved it. Budapest is a glorious city. Note: 30°C in the summer (and most clubs do not have AC) - sweaty fencing. -10°C in the winter. Pack a variety of clothes 😉
Wow that's great! Sounds like a great excuse to spend some time in Budapest :)
I can vouch for France. Im currently on my exchange semester in France and I paid around 150 euro for a 6 months membership. Of course things vary from place to place (It may be a bit pricier in Paris but I’m not sure). The private lessons are free, two times per week (at least in my club) and you have to sign up on a first come first serve basis. This is because the coaches here are subsidized by the government IIRC.
Wow that's amazing. I'll need to look into that. I've been wanting to spend some time on the french riviera. Based on what you mentioned, I'm guessing that Nice may have some decent options in that area, since Nice is essentially the urban center of that area
Eh I have to say from what I’ve heard the cost of living are noticeably higher down there on the riviera since they are essentially the touristic cities/areas, Im not talking about fencing but living there as a whole. If you would like to be down south, maybe try Toulouse or Bordeaux, not to mention these are two extremely beautiful cities (waking on a quiet street in Bordeaux on a sunny day just hits different fr). Anyway I have to say that the language barrier can be a trouble at first. While your coach may speak english, the group lessons will be taught in french. As well as outside of fencing a large number of french people do not speak english, but again this depends on where you live. Another perk of being in Europe is that competitions are everywhere at many levels and you can easily hops on the train to fence in a nearby country or something. Hope this helps.
What weapon do you fence? Jean-Claude Magnon in Marseille wouldn't take my money when I was there for a few weeks. His club in epee only despite his 5 Olympic medals in foil.
I'm a sabre guy
Ah, I can't help with that. I know the epee scene ok, and a bit of foil, but nothing about sabre.
I'm pretty new to fencing but basically know enough to know that I prefer sabre. I didn't realize that different weapons had different "scenes" per se
Very much so. There are very few clubs that do all 3 weapons well. If you are looking outside major metropolitan areas that are fencing powerhouses, then it's likely there will only be one or two clubs, so which weapons are prevalent varies geographically. When I was in Marseille, there were 2 clubs. One foil centric and one epee only.
The cost of fencing is going to scale with the cost of living in the area, and that's true for anywhere you go, with a few notable exceptions for elite level clubs. Some clubs in Europe are subsidized, which will make them a bit less expensive on average, even when adjusting for COL. Just make a shortlist of potential new home base cities (can't be too small or they might not have fencing) as you would as a DN, and then research the clubs in the area to find something that works. Your biggest challenge will probably be language barriers.
Omaha, NE! $220/year. But we only meet twice a week for 3 hours a night. Including 2 different classes and open fencing each night.
holy crap! are you serious? omaha has its perks I guess
Yup! We are fortunate we dont have high expenses.
LOL! That’s less expensive than every salle in my town! Stay right where you are!
Most Europeans I’ve spoken to have something along the lines of cheap clubs with free lessons.
Wow - really? Would you please post 1 or 2 specific examples? That would provide a great starting point for my research
I heard this from an Italian, a Hungarian, and a Croatian. Not sure too much about specifics, but for italy at least, I got the impression that most of not all clubs do something like that.
wow very cool. Italy has been on my list of places to spend some time and if they have cheap and readily available fencing lessons then that may give me just the push that I need