SLOWMADING - THE BENEFITS OF TRAVELING SLOW
In the aftermath of the unprecedented global pandemic many full-time travellers are reevaluating the way they used to live and move around. It’s a fact that many things have changed when it comes to frequent travel, but this will not be the end of digital nomadism, it’s just a new, better beginning. Katia has been living at Nine Coliving for over a year now. Her, her boyfriend Emmanuel and their cat Gipsy are Slowmands, Digital Nomads who travel in a slow pace. She gives us a little inside in the benefits of this particular lifestyle.
Katia & Emmanuel at Nine
Back on the road!
Since digital nomads and full-time travellers are the people who seem to have suffered most from the imposed travel bans and restrictions during the pandemic, some of us are itching to restart travelling as soon as possible, while others are afraid to restart their usual travel lives in the context of the changes that will come as a result of the virus.
Don’t worry folks, there’s always a middle ground and today Anne invited me to share with you some of the benefits of slow travelling and encourage you to try it as part of your new normal.
Being a slowmad
I’ve been a slowmad (a nomad who is travelling slowly), for about 8 years. What does that mean for me? I’m picking a home-base somewhere close to an international airport or in an area that is well connected to places I want to visit and settle there for 6 months to 1 year. In the meantime I take the opportunity to extensively visit the area/country, take all the convenient flights, trains & busses that connect this place to others for short trips and once I feel like I’ve visited everything easily accessible, I’d move to the next destination.
Of course, slow travelling means different things for different people, you may decide to spend 2-3-4 months in one place as opposed to your usual week or two and this is already slowing it down. I’d like to share my experience of slow travelling, regardless if you’re staying at the same place for a month or a year, the advantages I mention below would still apply.
The adventages of being a slowmad
Safety - I hope this one would not be relevant for a very long time, but at the moment we have to face the fact that while covid-19 numbers are reducing, the virus is not completely gone yet and the more we expose ourselves to places like airports, the higher the risk of getting infected.
Sustainability - We all know that flying every week or two is not healthy for our planet and if we want to keep enjoying its beauty, we have to be more responsible in our travel choices. Staying longer in one place allows you to travel around and visit places with alternative means of transport such as ferry, bus, train, shared or rented car without having to take frequent short flights that are the most harmful for the environment. It’s a small step that goes a long way.
Productivity & Routine - Going to the more practical benefits of spending a longer time in one place, I’d say the most crucial for me is being able to establish somewhat of a routine, which helps me enormously when it comes to productivity. Have you even gone to a great place for 2 weeks, but then you unexpectedly got swamped with work and at the end you’re left very frustrated because a) you didn’t have enough time to visit what you wanted to or b) you went to visit places, but compensated working late at night and are feeling so exhausted you couldn’t actually enjoy your stay?
Knowing that you’ll be staying somewhere for a few months helps you organise your days, weeks and workload without having to rush or get frustrated. You can also sign up for a local gym / yoga studio or schedule regular workouts without feeling guilty that this is “eating up” your time to explore. You can build new or maintain old habits of self care, set your working hours and not give up on your hobbies, because when you’re not in a rush you can make time for everything.
Friendships - The topic of loneliness and lack of longer meaningful connections is a very common problem in our community. We meet great people, we spend wonderful time together, but in a few days one of us has to leave and we hardly ever keep in touch or exchange more that the regular polite message on social media. Not getting to know people better and not having the opportunity to connect deeper, with meaningful conversations can be very frustrating, especially for those travelling solo - slowmading improves this significantly. Not only does it give the opportunity to spend more time with other nomads and get to know each other better, chances are that when you stay in one place for a while you’ll make local friends, which is a great way to get integrated in a new country and have the most authentic experience.
And who knows you might even fall in love :)
Budget - Slow travelling is definitely a much cheaper option to roam around, obviously because of flying less, but not only that.
Accommodations are also cheaper the longer you stay no matter if you go to Colivings, AirBnbs or take a lease, you always get a good discount for a longer stay. Sometimes the price per night can even drop in half if you book for 2-3 months or more.
In addition, chances are that if you stay longer you won’t be opting for a hotel or a hostel, but a place with kitchen facilities, which means you’d be cooking for yourself more often rather than spending all your money in restaurants. If you go for a Coliving space like Nine for example, you’re saving even more because the workspace, breakfast and yoga classes are included in your stay, so you can use the extra budget for taking short trips and visit more places.
Culture - Now, most of us full-time travellers really don’t like to be mistaken for tourists and we’re always trying to avoid places of mass tourism and prefer to live like locals instead. Staying a bit longer is undoubtedly the best way to do that. A two week stay somewhere is great, but it’s often not enough to even scratch the surface of what this place is about, especially if you have to work in the meantime and have only the weekends for exploring.
And for us, travelling is all about enriching ourselves - soaking up the culture, understanding better the local traditions and mentality, perhaps also picking up a bit of the local language. In a few days or weeks one can surely visit the main landmarks, eat the local food and walk around, but that’s simply not enough time to meet local people, go to local events and really experience what a place is all about.
Giving Back - And talking about distinction from the ordinary tourists and building positive image for the digital nomad community, one great way to do so is by Giving Back. Staying somewhere a bit longer helps you identify areas where you can participate and organisations that you can volunteer for in order to help local communities. I know a lot of us are very involved in social causes and are always willing to help, but when you are somewhere for a short time there’s rarely time for anything else in-between working and exploring. Giving Back doesn’t have to be something very time consuming, expensive or hard - spending a couple of hours to clean the local beach from plastic waste, volunteering in an animal shelter, cooking a meal for underprivileged people, buying groceries for your elderly neighbours or anything else that you feel the community may need is a great way to contribute to the place you chose to visit and show the locals that you care.
Animals - And if all of the above is not enough, here is a little bonus: If you’re an animal lover, travelling slowly actually allows you to get a pet to travel with. Being constantly on the move can be very stressful for some pets, but slow travelling is rarely a problem for them. Nine Coliving is one of the pet friendly accommodations on the Canary islands and thanks to that during the year I spent here I’ve met several digital nomads travelling full time with their dogs.
If you have experience in slowmading or slow travelling, please share your thoughts below. There might be more benefits to it than what I’ve experienced.