World Aware is a weekly newsletter from Amelia And JP about moving abroad, expat life, and the realities of building a life outside the United States.
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Have You Ever Gone SET-Jetting? 🤩
Published about 1 month ago • 3 min read • Turtle Dispatch
Hello Reader,
We had barely arrived in Madrid before we headed straight for an overlook.
Not the Prado Museum. Not the Royal Palace. Not Plaza Mayor.
An overlook.
And not because we’d heard it had the best view in Madrid.
We wanted to stand in the exact spot where they filmed the final scene of every season of Alpha Males, one of our favorite shows on Netflix.
If you’ve watched the show, you know the spot. The four guys gather there at the end of each season to reflect on their latest round of questionable life choices with the Santa María Cathedral perfectly framed behind them.
So naturally, we had to go there first!
Mirador "Machos Alpha" – Madrid, Spain
You may have heard the name for this kind of travel.
It's called set-jetting.
It’s a play on the old term “jet-setting,” except instead of hopping around the world to glamorous destinations because you’re rich and famous, you visit places because you saw them in a movie, TV show, YouTube video, or on some other screen.
And apparently, we’re not alone.
Expedia started tracking set-jetting as a major travel trend in 2022 after noticing something interesting in its search data: when people saw certain destinations on TV, they started searching for trips there.
The White Lotus has become the poster child for it.
Season one was in Maui, season two was in Sicily, and season three was in Thailand.
And every time a new season airs, interest in those places (and especially the hotels featured in the show) surges.
Turtles regularly tell us that they’ve added places to their travel list after watching our videos.
And we’ve done exactly the same thing.
Sometimes we’ll be watching a show and one of us will say, “Where is THAT?”
Then we're off to the races to see who can find it first! 😂
There’s something fun about finally arriving in a place you’ve seen on a screen.
It feels familiar, even though it isn’t.
You already recognize the skyline or the café or the hotel lobby or the little street where your favorite scene happened.
But now you can hear it.
Smell it.
Walk through it.
And discover all the things the camera never showed you.
Expedia now says more than half of travelers report that movies and TV influence their travel plans.
Maybe you watched The White Lotus and suddenly Sicily moved a little higher on your list.
Maybe you watched Emily in Paris and started thinking about France (or Rome).
Maybe it was Game of Thrones, a travel documentary, or some YouTube couple wandering around a city you’d never given much thought to before. 😉
Something catches your attention.
Then curiosity takes over.
And eventually you find yourself standing on an overlook in Madrid thinking…
Yep. This is the spot.
Where We're Going Next
The Leap to Lima, Peru will be open for booking TODAY, Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at Noon Eastern for Lifetime Members, and Wednesday at Noon for everyone else.
Lima is an excellent city for a Leap! Its coastal setting, walkable neighborhoods, rich history, and world-renowned food scene make it easy to settle in and start exploring from day one.
Our Leap takes place in late February, during Lima’s summer. Expect warm temperatures in the upper 70s to mid-80s°F (26–30°C), with plenty of sunshine and very little rain. The pleasant weather makes it perfect for strolling along the Pacific coastline, relaxing in parks and cafés, exploring historic neighborhoods, and taking in the city’s vibrant outdoor atmosphere.
Lima has an incredible blend of history, culture, ocean views, and unforgettable cuisine, making it an ideal destination for the club to discover one of South America’s most amazing cities with a group of even more amazing Turtles.
If you’ve ever chosen a destination based on whether the apartment has a washing machine… you might be a Turtle.
From the Club
Our Leap to Granada, Spain is underway and the Turtles are already having fun!
Leap to Granada – Catedral de Granada
We had the fortuitous timing to be here for La Vuelta, Spain's version of the Tour de France. They finished here in Granada on Sunday and the Turtles have lots of photos to prove it!
That's all for now. Let us know if you have any questions or comments by replying to this email.
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