I found a list of phones supported by Roamless (which strangely excluded Pixel 8a) and ordered one of the phones they listed. Then I asked Perplexity when Roamless will offer local numbers. The answer was a year ago, which suggests vaporware for now. To be fair, the company itself appears to be less than two years old. After considering the importance of a local number, I cancelled my phone order at Amazon. I am okay with waiting until the local numbers become real, even if it means making at least one trip with no phone.

Maybe I was naive to believe I can simply land in London or Budapest, find a store, anonymously hand over cash, and receive a SIM card that brings to life a used phone I brought with me, complete with a number that sends and receives SMS across Eastern Europe.