A Year of Slow Travel: Where I Went and What I Learned

Sezane Martha Tee | Hiut Denim Eira Jeans | Blundstone Boots | LEVEL 8 Luggage Set

Halloween marked my first full year of slow travel! It has truly been one of the most happy, transformative years of my life. It has revealed to me so much about this big, beautiful world we live in, serendipitous connections, and the depth with which we can start to know ourselves. It’s taught me to maintain my balance in periods of constant change and transitions. It has inspired me to examine the way I work and the quality of that which I contribute to the world. It’s also given me the opportunity to really question how I move about in the world and how I can be more mindful of what I’m consuming. But perhaps most importantly, it’s taught me to really trust and honor my truth and allow it to guide me, or as a friend said so poetically, to continue to follow my heart. Today I’m reflecting on the places that I got to call home, what I’ve learned from the whole experience and tips for any of you who are ready to embark on a year long slow travel experience.

What is Slow Travel?

Before we get into the where and how, I want to briefly talk about what slow travel actually means and why it’s beneficial. In a similar vein to slow fashion, we’re seeing a trend away from the contrived, hyper-materialistic, “more is more” travel experience. The alternative is a slow approach, made possible by the financial freedom and flexibility that comes with remote and online work. Rather than packing travel into a few days vacation time each year, some people are opting to live and work on the road as a digital nomad. Since moving around frequently can be quite expensive and disruptive to daily routine, the slow travel approach involves spending several weeks or months in one location, exploring slowly in your downtime and embracing something closer to a local’s experience of a place. This form of travel doesn’t come without its problems, from the environmental toll of ongoing travel to rising cost of living for locals. But I do think it can be a more conscious form of travel in that it allows us to immerse ourselves in different cultures in a more authentic way, taking on the practices and way of living of the places we visit, while supporting small, local businesses. Slow travel goes hand in hand with a desire for more conscious lifestyle, a desire to broaden our experiences and understanding of the world and a desire for a more flexible way to live and work.

Where I Went

While I certainly did not expect to embark on a full year of slow travel, I think after getting a taste of it I felt inspired to fully uproot and reassess the way I live and work so that I could continue on this path. Really this uprooting was just a continuation of what I started a couple years prior when I decided to go full time with content creation, end a long term relationship and leave California after eight years. The shift towards a more flexible, nomadic lifestyle has allowed me to really embody what I care about and practice what I preach around minimalism, sustainability and conscious living. If you’re wondering how I chose my destinations just know that nothing was planned more than a few months in advance and each next step came from an intuitive nudge in a certain direction which I then decided to fully lean into despite the fear and hesitancy. It does take a bit of courage and a healthy amount of optimism to decide that wherever you go you will find a positive experience waiting for you.

Cape Town

This was the long-awaited destination that unexpectedly kicked off a year a slow travel. Cape Town was my first ever solo travel experience as well as my first time living alone. I had zero expectations but felt instantly welcomed into this stunning city with such a vibrant energy. The incredible natural landscape is really what makes Cape Town so magical, with the mountains cradling the city, the intense sun and wind and the fact that it’s one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. South Africa’s political history and the work done by activists to address massive social injustice and wealth disparities continues to feed the energy of this place. This is where I really cemented my love and appreciation for a slow travel experience and embraced the eye-opening and at times confrontational experiences that travel gives us to grow and challenge our preconceived notions of the world.

Seattle

Seattle, Washington has long been a city on my to-visit list. There’s something about the moody weather, rugged coastal landscape and down to earth, nature-oriented culture of the Pacific Northwest that has always captured my imagination. It very much reminded me of my time spent in Northern California, a place very dear to my heart. In the Spring of this year, I was looking for a place to call home for a three month period before heading to Europe for the second half of the year. Having lived several years in Northern and Southern California, I decided it was time to explore somewhere new and Seattle was the next place on the list. Being back on the west coast also meant I was able to make a few short trips to the Bay Area, spending a few weekends with friends and family in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland before heading to Europe. While I feel I only just scratched the surface of all the things to explore in Seattle, especially the more outdoorsy activities, I did gain an appreciation for the eclectic, independent vibe of the city.

Lisbon

This was the only destination that I really prepared for over several months as I originally intended to spend more time there. Portugal offers the D7 Visa option for those looking to spend a year living and working abroad. With similar travel benefits of a European passport this is a particularly appealing option for Americans who usually can’t spend more than 90 days in the Schengen Area of Europe. Lisbon’s proximity to other European countries is a major benefit and it allowed me to take shorter trips to London and Copenhagen. Alas, after going through all the steps of the visa application and securing a year long lease, I had a change of heart (this slow travel year has made me particularly fickle) and decided to continue moving. That said, Lisbon was one of the most peaceful and healing periods of this year for me, no doubt thanks to the relaxed culture and emphasis on quality of life. Lisbon is also one of the oldest cities in Europe with quite a heavy history (being the country that started the Atlantic slave trade) that’s always there ready to reveal itself to whomever is willing to look. The delicious food is indicative of this history, from seafood-rich traditional Portuguese dishes to the diverse options of Brazilian and Cape Verdean cuisine. My cute little studio apartment was located on Rua Poço dos Negros, literally built on top of a mass grave of African slaves, and recently named by Lonely Planet as one of the coolest neighborhoods in the world. These layers of contradiction added to the complexity of my travel experience and reminded me of the unique privilege I have to view them through the lens of past and present simultaneously.

London

I ended my year of slow travel with two months in the Hackney neighborhood of East London. After a six day trip to Hackney in June for Cross the Tracks music festival, I was eager to spend more time there. At first I was a bit nervous about how similar London felt to living at home in the States, seeing as I was craving a different experience. But after a short while, I started to really fall in love with just how different it was, from the diverse, community-oriented feeling of East London to the beautiful, eclectic homes I got to stay in, making friends and sharing meals with connections made through Airbnb and getting to see some wonderful art exhibits and events. Strangely enough, I found myself really appreciating a more fast paced work culture for the first time in a long time. London really made me fall back in love with work, or rather the productivity that comes from working on or towards that which you feel passionate about. Out of all the places I stayed over the year, London was perhaps the most personally challenging but also the most familiar, like seeing an old friend.

How to Embrace Slow Travel

If slow travel is something that appeals to you as well here are a few tips and takeaways I can share with you. There is only so much planning you can do before you set off on your journey. The best thing you can do is to adopt an optimistic outlook and flexibility when plans inevitably change. One of my most eye opening takeaways from this year of slow travel is to embrace minimalism to be able to move around freely. There is nothing that inhibits us from going where we please quite like the things we own and thus carry with us or store away at home. Either way, the things we own sort of end up owning us. Rather than adopting the extreme approach, instead I’d like to propose a mindful minimalism, one in which we hold onto the things we find most beautiful, useful and which add value to our lives. When you embrace minimalism, both by owning fewer things and in living a more simplified lifestyle, you open yourself up to spontaneity and allow yourself to be surprised and jump on opportunities as they arise. Slow travel is just one aspect of living slowly and embracing a more conscious lifestyle. This is a topic I’ve explored through capsule wardrobes and minimalism and hope to continue the conversation through other lifestyle topics but for now, check out these other videos for more:

Watch: How I’m Embracing Minimalism

Watch: How a Capsule Wardrobe Changed My Life (And How It Could Change Yours Too)