There is a popular image of the digital nomad lifestyle that gives us ambitions to visit a vast number of countries every year, but sustaining that kind of pace can be tiring and take the fun out of it.
Many people prefer to visit fewer countries and stay for longer, which we refer to as “slow travel.”
Slow travel affords many more opportunities and is a much more relaxed approach to location-independent living. There are definite benefits to doing it this way. To better understand these, I have listed some of the advantages below.
One of the most expensive parts of being a digital nomad is the accommodation; the second most expensive thing tends to be the flights.
Staying in one place for longer means that you don’t have to spend money as frequently on flights and you can also find better accommodation deals.
The longer you stay somewhere, the better the accommodation deals become. A six-month lease is markedly cheaper per month than a one-month rental, a two-week stay or a three-day stay.
Being able to stay for an extended period of time can make a real difference to affordability and it is clear, it is definitely financially worth doing if you can.
In addition to the length of stay bringing the costs down, if you are going to stay somewhere for a longer time, it is very plausible to look at a less central and more “local” residential area.
Joining local Facebook groups and asking about accommodation for the time you are looking for or contacting local estate agents will help you determine nice but not tourist centre locations.
Remaining in one place can also get you thinking more like a local. You will find that you cook more meals instead of eating out, which will also save money.
Exploring more on foot rather than by taxi and bus because you are not so concerned about time can also help to reduce costs and increase your overall fitness.
Increasing numbers of countries are offering special visas aimed at digital nomads.
These will often allow a route to stay for longer in a country to people who might not otherwise qualify to stay due to their country of origin.
Countries with temperate all-year-round climates, such as Bali, Malta, Mexico, and Portugal, increasingly offer digital nomad visas.
These visas vary in length and allow people to stay in a country for a certain period of time.
The Malta digital nomad visa can be extended from the default of one year to a maximum of four.
The Bali visa is for a maximum of five years and has strict requirements for the amount of savings an applicant must deposit in an Indonesian bank.
Of course, European Union citizens can already choose to live in Malta or Portugal without having to navigate additional obstacles.
The digital nomad visas for these locations are more suited to people from further afield, or the UK, which is no longer in the EU following Brexit.
When you visit somewhere fleetingly, it can be hard to make lasting friendships. People are unlikely to want to invest too much in a connection with you because you will be gone soon and they may never see you again.
This often gives the impression that lasting friendships can’t be made while travelling.
But anyone who has spent significant time around other members of the digital nomad community will begin to make friends fairly easily.
The more you travel, the more fascinating stories you accumulate, and the more interesting you become to people who spend their lives in one place.
This, however, still leaves the problem that your new friends will typically be moving on in a few days.
And the solution is slow travel. Even the most introverted people can make friends when they are in one place for a long enough time, and the friends you do make you spend enough time with you building a lasting connection.
You also meet others who enjoy slow travel so you have the option to continue to the next place with your new friends.
If you are staying longer-term at a coliving like Evolve, it is even easier. The minimum stay of a month allows for deeper integration, and lifelong friendships are forged as a result.
It is easy to find the activities you enjoy doing and if there is a social aspect to them, you will begin to make friends.
Being able to spend quality time with people is what builds connection, and longer stays are ideal for this.
Having a “base” for a while can allow for some relaxation and some downtime. It is one of the reasons that so many nomads return to places like Malta for multiple months over the summer.
Knowing a place and catching up with people you have met before can be a great feeling.
Embracing slow travel can definitely banish that frenetic feeling of always being on the go.
Adapting to a little bit of routine for a few months can allow for personal growth and give you the chance to let your ideas percolate and come to fruition. Sometimes, slowing down is exactly what we need.
It helps when a location like Evolve Coliving has a pool, gym, jacuzzi, coworking, huge open plan double shared kitchen and lounge and more, as it created an on-site ecosystem where it is easy to relax, play, and have fun but also focus and get s**t done!
The world is fast-paced. Our own lives don’t need to be. Act with intention and choose the kind of lifestyle that is right for you.
If you left an office job to go remote because it wasn’t right for you, don’t keep doing things that aren’t right for you.
Not everyone is suited to fast travel, and if you want to slow it down, you don’t need anyone’s permission to do so.
Nobody is going to take away your “digital nomad” card and force you back to the office because you didn’t visit “enough” places in a year.
Please note that nothing in this article constitutes financial advice.
Being a digital nomad, you aren’t necessarily going to be taxed in your country of origin.
You can generally avoid having to pay tax in the UK on your remote earnings if you have no property there and have spent less than half the year there.
If you are spending a few months of the year in several different countries, you may not qualify to pay tax in any of them, leading to the possibility that you are not paying tax anywhere.
It is always important to do your research to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Alternatively, you may move to a country that has a treaty with your home country and choose to pay tax there.
This would make sense if your home country has a higher rate of tax than your destination.
This is, of course, entirely at your own risk, as governments everywhere are always fond of collecting taxes and may feel that you owe them tax, even if you haven’t lived there for years.
Yes, USA, I am looking at you. The US is notorious for trying to get its citizens to pay taxes even when they don't live there.
Typically replies within an hour
I will be back soon
