It started with notes from Colombia
Travelguide began with notes I kept while living in Colombia. I wrote down what to prepare, where to look for housing, how transport and payments worked, and which details could only be checked locally. I shared the notes whenever someone asked about moving there.
Many of those questions came from a subscriber chat with an audience of more than 2,000 people. People wanted practical information they could return to, not another general article about life abroad.
I grouped the notes into a country guide. Later, I added more destinations and a form that helps people compare them. Someone can start with a broad question such as “Where could I live?” and continue with a guide that explains the details.
What I learned in Colombia
Choosing a country involves several connected questions. Entry rules, housing, transport, money, healthcare and safety can all affect whether a move is realistic. The answers also depend on whether someone is planning from abroad or has already arrived.
Instead of writing one long article, I divided the Colombia guide into preparation, cities, housing, money, visas and daily life. The contents stay visible, so readers can open the section they need and return later when their plans change.
Helping people choose where to look
Many people know they want to move but have not chosen a country. Passport, budget, work, family and preferred pace of life can rule out some places before a person reads a full guide.
The comparison form asks about citizenship, monthly budget, work, family, lifestyle and visa preferences. It reduces a long list of countries to a few places worth researching. The results are a starting point, not immigration advice.
A consistent structure for every country
The site brings country overviews, detailed guides, articles and the comparison form together. A short overview answers the first questions. A full guide helps with planning.
Not every country page has the same amount of information. A new destination may begin with a short outline. It becomes a full guide once the main sections are ready in English and Russian. This makes the difference between an early page and a researched guide clear.
Prices, entry rules and residence requirements change. Every update needs a date and a reliable source. Official government sites remain the final place to check legal requirements.
Where it is now
The Colombia guide is still shared in the subscriber chat. Travelguide now includes a public site, country pages, detailed guides and a comparison form that points people toward relevant destinations.
The chat audience has more than 2,000 people, but that number does not represent site users. Site use and repeat visits have not yet been measured.
What I want to learn next
I want to see whether the suggested countries help people decide what to research. The best way to learn that is to speak with people at different stages of a move and watch how they go from a result to a country guide. Their questions will show which criteria are clear and what information is still missing.
I also want to track when each guide was checked and whether readers complete the planning tasks they came for. A guide is useful only while its information is current.