Joel Balsam

Read the latest articles by Joel Balsam at Thrillist

Contributor

Nation

Photo by Maria Magdalena Arréllaga for Thrillist 

Travel

Explore adventure guides and design a custom itinerary for the destination of your choice in and around the city.

Best Travel Guides, Cool Hotels and Interesting Events - Thrillist

White sandy beaches filled with beautiful people bopping balls back and forth.

Three Perfect Days Off the Beaten Path in Rio de Janeiro

Sterling Lorence Photo/Moment/Getty Images

Back during the 2016 election, many Americans joked that they’d move north if their undesired candidate was elected.

How to Move to Canada

Scott Shymko/Moment/Getty Images

Calling Ontario massive is an understatement.

The Most Beautiful Places in Ontario You Never Knew About

Francesco Riccardo Iacomino/Moment/Getty Images

These days it seems we only ever think of Canada when looking for an escape plan.

The 19 Most Beautiful Places to Visit in Canada

Pernelle Voyage/Shutterstock

Ask anyone in Montreal to name the city’s coolest neighborhood, and you’re bound to spark a passionate debate.

The Best Neighborhoods to Visit on Your Next Trip to Montreal

Eduardo Fonseca Arraes/Moment/Getty Images

This Canadian Metropolis May Just Be North America’s Coolest City

Sundance Lodges

While airports across the world remain complete and utter chaos, it might be time to travel somewhere closer to home.

Canada's Epic Wilderness Has Glamping Trip Written All Over It

Rerouting

Photo courtesy of Montana Office of Tourism

“Anymore,” as locals here tend to start proclamatory sentences, “Missoula isn’t what it used to be.”

This Montana Mountain Town Is an Outdoorsy Paradise

Jeff Penner/EyeEm/Getty Images

National parks might be “America’s best idea,” but that idea—and the vast swaths of epic nature it preserves—doesn’t end at the border.

The 8 Best National Parks in Canada

Photo by Stephanie Foden

Pick a town or small city in rural USA for your summer road trip and you’re bound to get a lot of the same.

Discover Louisiana's French Roots in the Heart of Cajun Country

BackyardProduction/Getty Images

JOHN DENVER WAS ON TO SOMETHING when he declared West Virginia "almost heaven" in “Country Roads," despite never having been there when he sang it: the state is a place of dizzying beauty.

America’s Newest National Park Is Packed with Scenic Wonder and Eerie Ghost Towns

Photo by Stephanie Foden for Thrillist

At a warehouse in an industrial area of New Orleans, 400 screaming fans boo and cheer simultaneously as Jassy—an evil capitalist real estate “invest-her”—gets dragged to the wrestling ring by her gigantic fake breasts.

Joel Balsam

Latest Posts From Joel

Three Perfect Days Off the Beaten Path in Rio de Janeiro

There’s much more to discover in this marvelous city beyond Christ the Redeemer and Ipanema.

How to Move to Canada

Everything you need to know about migrating north if things go south.

The Most Beautiful Places in Ontario You Never Knew About

Time to move beyond Niagara.

The 19 Most Beautiful Places to Visit in Canada

From Newfoundland to the Yukon Territory, and everywhere in between.

The Best Neighborhoods to Visit on Your Next Trip to Montreal

Get to know the coolest corners of Quebec's most exciting city.

This Canadian Metropolis May Just Be North America’s Coolest City

There's nothing quite like Montreal's joie de vivre (and its bagels).

Canada's Epic Wilderness Has Glamping Trip Written All Over It

Escapism without the survival-ism.

This Montana Mountain Town Is an Outdoorsy Paradise

Missoula—AKA Zootown—might be Big Sky Country's best-kept secret.

The 8 Best National Parks in Canada

When you’ve exhausted Zion and Yosemite, it’s time to go north.

Discover Louisiana's French Roots in the Heart of Cajun Country

Find some joie de vivre here—and po' boys.

America’s Newest National Park Is Packed with Scenic Wonder and Eerie Ghost Towns

New River Gorge finally gets its due.

Watch Drag Queens Smack Down at New Orleans’ Wildest Event of the Year

At this drag wrestling show, the phrase “slay, queen” gets taken literally.