I like the concept of slow travel, although I don't currently practice it. I started out well, but then things got rolling and you just go with the flow - and I see that as a natural process. Especially when you haven't seen enough of what the world has to offer. With remote work, we suddenly have the opportunity to travel more and it's natural to be drawn to different places. I spent almost 4 months in Argentina and since I stayed in one country, you could say I traveled slowly, but on the other hand, I moved around the country a lot and could have taken it slower.
Slow travel isn't just about the length of our stay, though - it's more about how deeply we immerse ourselves in the places we visit. ChatGPT answers about slow travel:
This approach encourages travelers to spend more time in each location, getting to know the area and its people more intimately, rather than simply ticking off a list of tourist attractions. Overall, slow travel is about taking a more mindful and sustainable approach to travel and valuing the journey itself as much as the destination. - ChatGPT
I think this approach is natural for me because I don't have a travel bucket list and I care mostly about the experience itself, no matter where I'm. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm getting there slowly.
Even though I've spent a few months in Argentina and think I've immersed myself in Argentine culture, I still feel like it wasn't nearly enough. It's a huge country! It was more than a normal tourist would have done in passing, but obviously not as much as a local or even an expat. But after my time there, I felt at least a little bit Argentine: I started drinking mate, got a tattoo there, learned some Spanish with an Argentine accent, made new friends, started listening to Argentine songs, and ate dinner late at night (that was a tough one). Sooner or later, if you're open to it, you change because your habits change. Who we are is because of our habits, as James Clear says.
I was still a tourist, but I tried hard to fit in. And not just because I thought I should be a "good tourist." I did it because I was really curious to try new things, new food, and new habits. I'm not going to keep them all and incorporate them into my daily life, but still, it was interesting to live a very different lifestyle than the one I'm used to, even if it was only for a certain amount of time. That's also one of the main reasons why we travel: to live differently for a while and try new things. What I see as a common trait among some frequent travelers is flexibility and the ability to adapt very quickly to different situations, which is a very good trait for our personal and business lives. Another common trait is the search for novelty. In my estimation, most digital nomads are novelty seekers. Especially those who travel more often.
The search for novelty is interesting and can make us travel faster because we want more and more of it. I've only been in Santiago for 5 days and I'm writing these lines from Ciudad de México, where I'll stay for 5 days before moving on. I'd rather stay longer, especially in Mexico, but that's the way it is. In Santiago, I literally only had time to join a guided tour, visit a few museums, observe daily life in the city, and talk a lot with my Airbnb host about the state of the country. I really only scratched the surface. And that's a good thing too.
Scratching the surface in CDMX right now made me realize that I want to spend more time here - as do many other people. I can imagine returning and immersing myself here. Not just in the capital but in the whole country, which I find very fascinating. Just now, after a few days, I can really understand why CDMX is such a popular place for digital nomads. The richness of the culture, the food, the climate, the time zone, and many other aspects that I haven't even grasped yet after being here for such a short time. It simply has a lot to offer.
I enjoy reading
publication from Marko Ayling as he writes about these topics, specifically for CDMX. Some of the questions he poses relate to how we can enable these new migrations created by the trend toward remote work while ensuring the authenticity of the place. I’m wondering if cities should limit the number of digital nomads who can stay here long-term. Should there be a selection process (some sort of compatibility check) if one wants to become a long-term citizen? Interesting questions that I don't think anyone has an answer to right now since we're still at the very beginning. One of the main problems is, as Marko says, that ''it's not that too few are traveling - it's that too many people are going to too few places''.I see that the next evolution in the countries that attract digital nomads could be in the dispersion of them. Countries should soon focus their marketing efforts on dispersing digital nomads from main hubs to peripheral locations where intentional communities will form. In our Cabin Creator Gatherings, we have been thinking about the idea of creating a directory of peripheral, non-mainstream hubs for digital nomads that aren't problematic for local communities.
I plan to work on this in the next month while I’ll be in Austin as I believe that we choose these most popular places mostly because we just don’t have the information about other hubs we could visit and potentially settle. Especially for digital nomads and remote workers who are just starting their journeys. These can be rural areas that actually lack such people as digital nomads and would benefit from them. It’s not yet a complete solution to tackling these problems, but it’s a start.
Travel is selfish to our closest circle but selfless for the bigger circle of people we can impact - Rolf Potts
With a sharp increase in remote work and the resulting migration, it may also become selfish for the larger group of people if we stay longer and drive out the locals and their culture. I don't want cities like CDMX to lose their authentic charm, because then the concept of slow travel would lose its meaning.