Why Slow Travel

I often describe Nika’s and my current lifestyle as slow travel, but if we’re to be honest, it’s much more like living in different places.

When I stepped aside from my primary video editing role in Spring of this year, I expected that we would now take advantage of the found flexibility to travel fast, but that hasn’t been the case. Maybe we’re aging, but the truth is fast travel takes a toll, physically, mentally, and financially. It’s exciting, but requires eventual recuperation. Slow travel on the other hand aims to be sustainable, physically, mentally, and financially.

Slow travel allows us to find a comfortable, safe, and affordable stay for a month or two or three. We have a kitchen and a local grocery store. We look for a gym and ways to meet our fitness needs. We look for community and ways to feel socially fulfilled. It’s a lifestyle that’s not for everyone, but it’s how we prefer to operate and the only way we know works. It allows us to give proper attention to our professional and creative pursuits, while also finding time to develop a deeper understanding and experience of the new environment we find ourselves in.

I won’t claim slow travel to be the best way to live. It’s becoming more and more apparent to me that there are upsides and downsides to every way of life. The upsides of travel are many, but the biggest downside is the ability to develop deeper, longer friendships and community connections.

Slow travel is not perfect, but it is a balance that works for us, for now. I’m grateful to experience life in the way we are now, and if or when that changes, I’m more and more open to the upsides that change will bring too.

Wishing you calm and wellness,

Naser