Post: #1

Hey guys. So, a topic I've been thinking about lately while I'm stuck in the states is what type of travel people are doing lately. It started out with me looking for more hidden gems on places to go and I keep my eye on other travel groups every now and then too to get an overall idea on the travel market.

One thing I've noticed lately is that more and more people seem to be promoting the next phase after nomadic travel. My theory is that the original vloggers and bloggers on the subject are entering a new stage of life, where they want to slow down, settle in specific places, or put more focus on work and themselves as a person. These people all seem to say the same that after a while, constant nomadic travel mentally exhausts them.

This is not just the redpill and pua nomads but also other nomads in general I notice do this. For us, a lot of the guys on RVF I talk to outside of here really settle into one country not in the West or only move around every few months. But, some still seem to like moving around because the topic does come up of needing a new environment every now and then.

I took my first big trip a year ago. It was a short amount of time (a few months), but in that time I figured out more of what I liked and didn't like about travel. I realized I could never work while moving somewhere every week or two of the year (luckily I wasn't working while traveling then, but my next big travel stretch I plan to). But, I do feel the desire to change cities/countries/environments after a while no matter where I am.

I'm pretty young compared to most of the nomads, expats, and redpillers that travel, but what I realized is that after a year or two, most want to slow down, but they still like to travel and don't necessarily go back to the west unless they run out of money.

That's when it clicked to me that I think a wave of travel being more heavily promoted now that we're past the initial internet travel vlog and travel game stage is slower travel. This can be travel where people still move place to place, but it's not every week or two, and is instead applied over a few months to maybe a year.

For normie nomads, it seems like they choose this to pick their favorite spot to call a base after initial travel to focus on work but still get away from western life and keep the flexibility to change locations. For us, I notice there's more of a precedent now on diving all-in on the culture and studying the language, which would definitely take a few months on the ground to do.

I realize it may not be the newest topic, but I don't see it really covered in depth around here or a lot of people addressing it as a topic on its own in general. I'm wondering if you guys think there's just more exposure to it now with more older nomad travelers covering it, is it a developing travel culture wave as online work settles in, and do you see it becoming more prevalent over the next few years?

Me personally, this is what I plan to do next time I spend several months or even a year or two abroad and I feel like I see more travelers heading in this direction to get the best of both worlds.

Post: #2

Remembering our conversations, eh?

Kidding, but yeah. I don't really see the value in staying 1-2 weeks in a place when I'm perfectly content as an Expat in China. The time I spend putzing around Thailand/Philipines chasing the publically shared 5s and 6s is the same time I can spend in my home base establishing better connections, achieving more language fluency, hustling on location-specific side hustles, fitness and a plethora of other things you can't do very well while traveling.

I'm open to the idea of a 1-2 month vacation in another country but 1-2 week trips seem like such a waste unless you're hitting an area where you have friends who are tapped into the culture.

Post: #3

Yes, when I first left the States my plan was to move to a different place every month or so, but I quickly discovered that I’m not the kind of person to do that kind of travel.

When I get to a place I like, I prefer to stick around and establish myself there. There’s no way I can get work done with constant traveling, either. But a week’s trip every couple months or so certainly doesn’t hurt. I understand the need to change our environment every once in a while, and for me, those trips every couple months satisfies my need for that.

Post: #4

Live life at a fast pace for sure man. But depth matters. What's the value of being a perpetual outsider for your whole life?

We live in a complex world, and need to take steps to make stuff more expedient for us.

Post: #5

I think it depends on what stage you are at the moment. When being a total newbie to travel, there might be value to check out different places to find "your spot".

Afterwards however, I would definitely settle down or do this slow travel thing.

Post: #6

I think having a home base in a couple different places is probably ideal and spending like 1/3 of the year in each place.

Post: #7

I typically do 1-3 months per country. It just so happens that 3 months is the limit for visa-free travel in most countries anyway. The only ones that give you a full year upon touchdown, is Georgia and Albania. I did both and ended up staying 3mnths in each one anyway.

Deep Travel is the way to go. Met so many tourists thinking a few days means they can check the country off the list. You have to stick it out to meet locals and get a true feel for the place. There is no shortcut. Luckily, even the poorest countries can have a massively higher 'quality of life' than any city in the US.

Post: #8

I've been trying to split the year between no more than two places, but haven't been able to pull it off.

Over the past three years or so I've done 3-6 months in places like Kiev, Moscow, or Cali, but that still leaves 18 months or so where I was in places for no more than 1-10 weeks at a time.

Sometimes it's business matters that demand a sudden departure, but otherwise I decided that if there's a cool side-trip to do or I can go visit or travel with a friend then I'll do it, even though I hate packing up and fucking up my productivity routines and not staying somewhere long enough to get settled in before taking off again.

As an aside, in my opinion the thread title is too buzzfeed-like. Something about it annoys. Was that deliberate?

Post: #9

Traveling sucks.

I enjoy living abroad and experiencing cultures that jive more with my own personality than America's does.

But the actual traveling part sucks.

Post: #10

Travelling can be a pain in the ass especially at a high tempo. Find somewhere overseas as your base and take short trips periodically in the region. For me, living in S. China is ideal because, the money here is good and all of the cool SEA places are within a 3-hour flight.

Post: #11

+1 on the 'go to a new place every few weeks' being way over-rated. What you get from that is essentially sight-seeing, with no time for anything else really

No time to make friends, learn the culture or language, or get into a productive routine. Those people that list off 40 countries that they've "done" are retarded, and it seems to be more like trying to rack up numbers of countries visited as a status symbol, rather than an actual focus on enjoyment.

Perfect situation for me is to have a home base somewhere that I return to, and take intermittent trips from there

Post: #12

Been doing this fulltime for 7 years now. I stay in a place anywhere from 5 months to 2 years. Rarely less than 5 months unless I'm just passing through somewhere. Sometimes I return to the same cities for a repeat. Last year I was going to try the "home base" thing and take short 2 week trips but quickly realized that was way too boring. If I'm getting on a plane I'm not coming back for awhile. Maybe one day I will establish multiple home bases and rotate.

Post: #13

I never understood the rapid pace 'travel' lifestyle. Especially for us younger guys (i'm 26), if we have already established online income/career/business then you have LOTS of time to see countries, so why rip through 18 in 3 months?

I've found that it takes me about a month to decide if I like a new city/country, about 2 months to build up a little social circle for fun etc. and then another month enjoying the fruits of your labors. So 3 months in a city I like is about what I shoot for. Less than that it's tougher cost-wise, and just time-wise if you're working. I like to get office space, gym membership etc. and it takes me at least a week or 2 to get into a good routine of productivity (when i first started traveling it took me longer than that).

I'm thinking of spending longer periods of time now that I've seen most of the cities I really wanted to as well. Good topic!

Post: #14

'Slow travel' is a great word / concept. I've had the richest experiences with an inadvertent 2 month vacation in Europe a few years ago, then repeated it two years later with another. I'd prefer to do 6 months to a year once I'm able to be set up location independence as I'm working toward. I'm also out of my party phase so the slower pace makes it easier to find and create deeper relationships and appreciate the place, then have a 'home base' to return to if you want a shorter jaunt somewhere nearby.