The Slow Life: Traveling Slower and Connecting Deeper as a Slowmad

Arts and Sciences buildings, Valencia, Spain (photo: Roxanne Patruznick)

I’m sure you’ve heard the term “digital nomad” — a person who works remotely moving from place to place. Working remotely is nothing new. For many people, the work they do on a computer can be done anywhere. During the pandemic, there was a huge boom in remote work out of necessity, which then turned into a legitimate way to combine work and travel. Digital nomadism was born.

But a digital nomad is a little more than just a remote worker. A digital nomad travels while they work, no longer based in a single location. Generally, all they need is a laptop and highspeed wifi, and they’re good to go. You may have seen images of people on a beach with their laptop, working as they get a tan. Things are a bit different than that fantasy, however. The reality is that nomads don’t work on the beach, but in cafés or co-working spaces.

My husband and I are different than many of the nomads we’ve met. We’re older than the average nomad. They tend to be younger: 47% are between 30–39. 14% are in their 20’s and the rest are over 40. (info from localyze.com) Secondly, both of us work as artists, more analogue than digital. My husband is a writer and I’m a painter. But the biggest difference is that we like to stay in the locations we visit for longer, usually two or three months. In contrast, many nomads travel more frequently: two weeks here, a few days there, bouncing from place to place. If we had to choose a label, we consider ourselves slowmads.

Basilica Cistern, Istanbul, Turkey (photo: Roxanne Patruznick)

I define a slowmad as someone who moves less, staying in places one month to a year. A slowmad is neither an expat nor a resident but also not on vacation.

As a slowmad I embrace slowing down my traveling — and my life — to create a closer connection to a place. I no longer enjoy the hurried travel of a typical vacation, desperately trying to cram all the crowded, tourist, bucket list sites into a few days. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just not for me. As a slowmad I am living life. I am not on vacation. I am working on various projects which require time and focus: painting commissions, writing, managing my online shops where I sell fine art prints from my paintings, as well as making new work (more on how to manage one’s time as a nomad in a later essay.) And I try to balance all the work I love with exploring the place I’m in.

As a slowmad I love taking time to walk through a new city or town. Walking slows everything down. It helps me see things I would miss in a car or bus. I wrote about a lovely morning walk I used to take in Split, Croatia during the pandemic. Slowing down helps me develop a routine and find a groove for my work and life. I have found my favorite cafes and restaurants, places I return to repeatedly, becoming a regular. The waiters and baristas get to know my husband and I by name and will often make our usual drinks before we even order them.

When we returned to Valencia, Spain for our second stay in 2018, we went back to an Italian restaurant that we loved, and the waiter who had served us a year earlier remembered us! The same thing happened at my favorite creperie. We have since visited Valencia six times over the seven years we’ve lived as slowmads. Now I have a large community of friends who I’m excited to see every time we return. Visiting beautiful, historical places is special, but over the years my connection to people and nurturing friendships has been the most meaningful experience of all.

Bansko, Bulgaria (photo: Roxanne Patruznick)

As I write this, we have just passed our seven-year slowmad mark! We have experienced so much over that time. We’ve been to 20 countries and 50 cities (only counting places where we’ve stayed overnight.) There have been challenges, adventures, and plenty of personal changes. We were slowmads through the pandemic when we slowed down and got a temporary residency for a year in Croatia. We have had incredible opportunities emerge and I am so grateful every day to live this unique life.

Living as a nomad is a privilege. I recognize that not everyone can live this way, so I thought maybe I’d share some of my experience. And even if you can’t commit to living as a nomad, there are ways to experience extended travel or a deeper kind of slowed-down travel on a shorter trip (more on this later.)

There are many benefits of living as a European slowmad: experiencing many countries and cultures (it helps that they’re geographically close); saving money on housing, food, and health insurance; seeing incredible art, architecture and historical sites; learning new things; connecting with people with different history and culture; gaining new perspectives on where you’re from; and looking at the world in a new way. And, of course, there are downsides, as well. For instance, missing friends and family and not being able to find White Cheddar Cheez-Its when you really want White Cheddar Cheez-Its. But for me, the pros far outweigh the cons (White Cheddar Cheez-Its are good, but not that good.)

Slowing down creates a feeling like I’m at home, even if my home changes. I’ve let go of being tied to a place permanently. There’s no need to rush anymore. This is food slowly eaten and fully tasted. This is returning to that piece of art or architecture and finding something new in it. It’s staring at the sea and letting its beauty inspire as it calms. This is slow life — a savored life.