Chris and I watch a lot of videos on YouTube about people who have sold everything they have to travel the world or to live as expats in foreign countries. And at first we thought we wanted that too. And then we thought about it a little more and we realized that is not quite what we wanted.

When Chris and I first took early retirement I thought that we were going to travel the world fulltime. I was really enamored with the idea of selling everything and traveling the world with just my backpack. But then I realized that if we did that we would have a hard time with our two other goals of spending more time with the people we care about and of working on projects that are meaningful to us. We can work on some projects remotely while we travel but we can't do that with everything. Like for example Chris and I volunteer as emergency responders in disaster situations like fires and floods. Maybe one day we'll be able to do that internationally but right now all of our call outs rely on the fact that we're based in Vancouver. We would have a really hard time doing in-person volunteer activities if we're never in the same place twice.

It took us a little bit of time to figure it out but we eventually realized that full-time travel just wasn't for us. But we didn't want to give up on our dream of traveling the world in a more relaxed way. We still wanted to be able to really get to know a place and take in the local lifestyle so we decided on a slow long-term travel approach where we can live in another place like an expat but without the hassle of moving to a new country. We can go to a new place for a month or more and spend time getting to know the area beyond what you might see if you're just on a quick tourist visit. And we can do this for about half the year. This lets us balance our passion for travel while still spending lots of time with our family and working on our projects. We're actually more imitating a snowbird lifestyle which is what we call Canadians that head south to the US and Mexico for the winter. Though with our plans we travel anywhere in the world.

We travel to a city and rent a furnished apartment for a month or more. And we take the time to rent a place that has a few comforts we're looking for like a proper desk and office chair and fast internet. And if the apartment is missing a few things we want like a good frying pan we buy one. Doing this is a bit of an added expense but it's worth it to us to be comfortable in our home for the month. And because we're renting for a full month it's usually quite a bit cheaper than paying a nightly rate as our rentals often fall under different rules than shorter tourist accommodations. We get to know the local cafes, go to expat events like trivia nights, get a one-month membership to a local gym, and figure out our favorite grocery stores and markets. We do touristy stuff too and sometimes we even take off for an overnight side trip, but most of our days are spent following a local routine. And we can still work on our projects that can be done remotely.

But when we're done traveling we spend the other half of our year in our home base of Vancouver, British Columbia. One of the things I love about coming home is that I can go back to all my favorite fitness classes and restaurants. And because I'm gone for half the year every time I come back it feels new and novel and I never really get bored with my routine. Logistically though to support our long-term travel we keep a pretty low maintenance home in Vancouver. We live in a condo and that is a lot easier to take care of than a full house and yard. I do have a few house plants but I have somebody who comes in and waters them and looks at the condo while we're away. The first time we went on a long-term trip I asked one of my friends to look after our plants but it didn't seem fair to her to keep asking her to look after our condo while we're away because we travel so much. So now I hire somebody to do it.

And it works out really well that we have a condo where we can just get up and leave at any point because as volunteer emergency responders we can get a call to go to a flood or a wildfire situation at any point and we just want to be able to to get up and leave. We also have to think about things like mail and filing taxes while we're traveling because for some reason we always seem to be a away during tax season. And being able to bank while we're away from home is a big thing too. When we travel we usually get a local cell number. If you're planning on doing this too it's really important to make sure you have ways of authenticating yourself with your bank and other online services that doesn't require you to have access codes that are sent via text message to your cell number back home.

Here's another big advantage to us maintaining a home in Canada: Because we're Canadian we qualify for health insurance assuming we live here for half the year. By maintaining our residency we can keep our Canadian health care coverage. We still need to buy medical coverage for our travels but it is a lot cheaper because we have the base Canadian coverage. Combining long-term travel with maintaining a footprint in our home country has worked very well for us and we think that it makes more sense than going the full expat route or traveling full-time completely. It took us a while to figure out what was right for us. We hope this post helps you figure out what's best for you.

There are lots of posts telling us the best countries to live in. We hear that Portugal provides free health care, Colombia has amazing weather, and Malaysia offers a lower cost of living. But does that mean we want to move there? What's the catch? And how does living as an expat compare to slow traveling around the world?

We're currently in Buenos Aires, Argentina and it is a beautiful city. It has a great climate, plenty of things to do, a lower cost of living, and several options for becoming a permanent resident here. So should we move here and call this city home?

Everytime we get to a new place, Chris and I talk about what it would be like to live there. But then, we move on to the next place. Here's why we keep choosing slow travel instead.

1. Making a permanent move takes a lot of time, money, and effort. Chris and I moved to another country for a few years, and we know from experience that there is a lot to deal with. If you want to stay in a country beyond what the usual tourist visa allows, you need to figure out the system. Many countries are now providing simplified visas for digital nomads and retirees, where you can stay in a country for a longer period, like a year, if you can prove a certain level of income. This can be a great option, depending on what you want. But if you're looking for permanent residency, you may have to shell out a lot of money to get through the application process. Depending on the country and your age, you may even be required to invest in property or a business to obtain your residency. And it can take years of work and stress before you actually get your permanent residency status.

2. News articles are quick to point out the benefits countries offer to their residents and imply you would get these as well if you move there. Yes, many countries offer benefits to their residents, like free health care, but you don't necessarily get to take advantage of these until you become a permanent resident yourself. And depending on the country, this can take years. And in the meantime you've moved to a new country, but you're not able to take advantage of the benefits you'd hoped for.

I've also seen perks from towns looking to grow their appeal by offering free or inexpensive homes to those that want to move there. There have been lots of deals like this over the years, but they all usually have some kind of catch. Like for example, you can buy a home for $1 but you must invest in a business there at the same time. And depending on where the town is located, your home ownership may not mean what you think it does and your business may not be protected by the laws you're used to. You can't assume the laws you're used to will be the same everywhere. And it can take a lot of work to figure out how laws and customs work in new places. It might be the right decision, depending on what you're trying to do, but it's good to be aware that the promise on the surface will have some strings attached.

3. Depending on your visa status and what you're trying to do, you may also be required to stay in the country you want to move to for a certain period of time, without leaving, while your paperwork is being processed. It's often 6 months or longer. This can make it more difficult to go back to your home country to visit your family and friends or rush home in case of an emergency. It also means your travel is limited to within the country, while you're going through certain stages of the application process.

4. Another consideration is taxes. Your home country and new country will have different tax regulations. This can be a complicated process to figure out and may end up costing a lot of money. And it's headache-inducing.

5. Once you leave your home country, you may also have to give up things like your existing drivers license. For example, I would have to give up my British Columbia drivers license if I move away. I would likely get a drivers license in another country at that point, but that license isn't necessarily honoured by the Canadian provinces. So if I ever moved back to Canada later in my life, I'd have to go through the trouble of taking my road test all over again to get my Canadian license back.

6. One thing I always tell myself when arrive in a new city and everything looks so beautiful, is that the grass is always greener on the other side. I know so much about the pros and cons of living in Canada. All the political, social, and health care issues we face can sometimes make me wonder if it would be better somewhere else. And when I'm in sunny hot Buenos Aires and I hear about the ridiculous amounts of snow falling back home, I'm glad I'm not there. But while Buenos Aires doesn't have any snow, I need to remind myself that every place has their own issues. Some places much more so than others. And though Canada isn't perfect, I'm very lucky for the opportunities I've been given as a Canadian. As a slow traveler, I don't have to face the issues of other countries in a major way. But as a permanent resident, I could be facing more challenges than I initially realized.

But if I'm just slow traveling through the area, I deal with the electricity issues for a month or two, then move on.

In my opinion, you have to be really committed to making another country your home before moving there permanently. Slow travel allows us to see so much of the world, without having to deal with all of the hassles of moving to a new place. There are some things that can be challenging about long-term travel, depending on your personality, like living out of a suitcase, finding a way to make an income, not being around close friends, and having to adjust to a new location only to leave and have to start the process of learning your new place all over again. But to me, the major benefit of slow travel is the flexibility it offers. I can go anywhere in the world at anytime with just my backpack and learn about that place. I love the lightness and agility of the lifestyle.

We've been seeing a lot of questions on how to find accommodations and short term rentals, without relying on some of the bigger name sites. As slow travelers often staying in places for a month or more, there are lots of ways we look for places to rent, so we'll go through some of the methods we use.

Finding a great place to stay can take a lot of effort and if you don't want to use those big name sites it can take even longer.

There is a reason those big companies like Booking.com and AirBnb exist. It's hard to find accommodations and they can make things a lot more convinient. But for a price. We use these sites, but there are also other ways we find places to stay too.

When we're staying somewhere for a month or more, I want a place that is comfortable, with a good kitchen and cozy living room area, in addition to a separate bedroom. But if we're only staying somewhere for a few nights, we're fine to stay somewhere much smaller.

When we're planning out a new place to visit, I reach out to friends that know the area to get their advice. We've ended up with so many fantastic experiences by doing this.

For example, last year when we were planning to go to Mexico City, we chatted with some friends that have an apartment there that they use as a second home and rental unit. We were able to rent in their beautiful apartment in an amazing part of the city at a "friends and family" rate. And sometimes friends help us out in a completely different way.

A few years ago we were planning a trip to Taiwan. I wanted to visit the middle of the country and stay in a place that's a bit difficult for foreigners to book. I asked a coworker from Taiwan how I could go about getting accommodation there and he offered to make the booking for me. Not only did he make the booking for me, but because English isn't really spoken there and my Mandarin is non-existant, he also wrote a letter in Mandarin that I could show to people in the town so that they would know what I had booked and what I was visiting while there. This was so helpful and made our trip there possible and really enjoyable.

We've also been able to stay in spare bedrooms at the homes of family and friends around the world. We love being able to do this, as we're able to catch up with them and see their favourite sites. Though we try to keep these visits a bit shorter so we don't overstay our welcome!

Before going to a new place, I join Facebook and Whatsapp travel groups for that city. I read what people are saying about the city, where to stay, and what is available for rent. Usually in these groups I find both professional realtors and individuals renting out apartments. I can also find the names of local rental websites.

We;ve talked to people who have rented places by looking at Facebook and WhatsApp groups, but it can be pretty time consuming. Usually what they do is they stay in an AirBnB for their first couple of weeks in the city and then while they are there, they start meeting people and looking at other places. but this is pretty time consumin g. Since we're only in a city for about a month, we don't want to spend all of our time doing it that way. And there can also be some scams. Like for example, you meet with a realtor, you put down a security deposit and then you find out the place doesn't exist. Or they charge you extra when you go to stay there.

And if you go through a professional realtor, you may be required to sign a lease. These usually have security deposits and minimum lease terms. And that's if you are allowed to sign a lease at all as a non-resident. When you add it all up, it's a lot of hassle and you might not get what you want out of it.

Another way I try to find accommodations is by looking for alternatives to standard apartment rentals.

A couple of years ago we used Workaway to find a beautiful apartment where we stayed for free in exchange for taking care of a cat and a few other maintenance tasks. But before we accepted the arrangement we had lots of conversations with the owner to make sure our expectations were aligned. I also talk to previous workawayers to get their experience with that host. Then I also made sure I had a backup option. I've heard of hosts cancelling on sitters last minute, or even asking them to leave mid-sit, or the job just isn't at all as described. So if that were to ever happen to us, I want to know I have a plan B. I also always check for the legality of what we're doing. Depending on the country, house sitting may be seen as a job and not allowed with a regular tourist visa. Even if you're not getting paid, it can still be seen as a job as you're getting accommodations in return for service.

If we're going somewhere for a couple of weeks or less, we also look at staying at a hostel. Hostels can conjure up images of people partying all night. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not what we want. Here are a few tricks we use to get a hostel that we like.

First, we look for ones with private rooms and hopefully private bathrooms. That gives us our own space.

Then we look for ones with a nice shared kitchen and living space so we can spread out a bit and meet new people. I really like the ones with colourful furniture.

And to help us avoid staying in loud party hostels, I read through the Google reviews before making the booking.

To make the booking here I communicate with the hostel directly on WhatsApp, or if it's last minute, we just walk in and ask if they have room. By booking directly with the hostel we usually get a discount. And if we pay cash we often will get an even bigger discount.

Along similar lines to a hostel are digital nomad co-living spaces. I see lots of these on my Facebook groups. These spaces are usually homes rented out by a small group of individuals and they share the space. It's not something we've tried yet, but it seems like a cool idea and fun way to meet other travelers.

And on a completely different side is corporate housing and hotels with suites. Corporate housing is more popular in the US, but hotels with large suites can be found in most big cities.

We once spent a couple of months in corporate housing and it worked out really well, but it definitely has a, well, corporate, feel to it. And they are expensive so you really want a job where the company is footing the bill for this. There is no way we would have wanted to pay for that out of pocket. But they are setup with all the ammenities you could want for a longer term stay and they also have things like BBQs where you can meet other guests.

And a quick note about those big booking sites. If we do use AirBnB we look for places that will give us discounts of up to 50% for longer term stays. Sometimes these rates are shown right on the booking and other times we can get a discount by contacting the host and letting them know we're looking at staying a while.

There are so many ways to find accommodations when we travel. Each place has its own unique twists and we want to stay somewhere that gives us a great experience. There is no one-trick solution and finding a place takes time. It really depends on what we want out of our stay and what we find after talking to friends, reading through Facebook Groups, searching for house sitting options, looking at hostel, seeing what hotels have to offer, and searching those big short term rental websites.

We see A LOT of questions about how to get started slow traveling. And there isn't a single answer that will work for everyone. It really depends on 4 things: your goals, your income, your mindset, and your lifestyle expectations.

If you already know exactly what you want to do, then just go for it. But if you're reading this blog post, it might be because you're not sure of a few things. Maybe you're thinking about travel during your retirement, or maybe you want to be a digital nomad, but you're still figuring things out. So let's talk about how to start a life of slow travel.

First off, what is slow travel? To us, it means staying in the places we visit for at least a few weeks, and usually a month or longer before moving on to the next place. Digital nomads, backpackers, and retirees can all be considered slow travelers, depending on how they move around. So how do you get started as a slow traveler?

Moving away from having a home you stay in most of the year to a slow travel lifestyle is a big deal. If you don't know exactly what you want yet, then my biggest advice is to start slowly. You don't have to sell everything you own and make a huge life change if you're not ready for that. Instead take it slowly.

Our first foray into a nomadic lifestyle was a 2-month long trip in 2016. Chris and I were both working full time in Canada but through a series of events and working to get things lined up, we were both able to take 2 months off work.

We used this time to travel half-way around the world to Australia. It was a country where we could speak the language, even though there were a few ozzie expressions that really through us for a loop, and could figure out how to get around pretty easily. We used the trip to figure out if we even liked being away from home and how to get things like medical travel insurance setup, which gets a bit funny when you're traveling for more than 30 days.

After our two months in Australia, we knew we wanted to travel even more, but weren't quite ready to leave our day jobs just yet. And this was pre-pandemic when remote work wasn't as common. So we kept traveling for a few weeks here and there.

Our next big trip wasn't until 2021, when we traveled for 4 months. It was on that trip that we knew we wanted to travel even more and for longer periods.

At each step during our last 3 years of slow travel, we learned new things. We learned technical things like how to manage cell phone plans around the world and get the right medical insurance, what kind of work we wanted to do that fit with our lifestyle, and the kinds of places we like to travel to. We could have jumped right into it, but I'm really glad we started slow and made adjustments as we went to get the lifestyle that works really well for us.

If you're new to slow travel, one thing to look out for are country entry requirements. Our Canadian passport usually allows us to stay in a country for up to 90 days on a tourist visa, but that's not always the case. Each country has some variance on how long you can stay, if you can renew your tourist visa to stay for longer, and which passports are allowed in without you having to apply for a visa ahead of time. And if you're planning on working in the country, even as a digital nomad, or volunteering, you may need a different visa too.

Mainting a home base can also be helpful. This could mean that you keep a property in a location you keep going back to. But it could also just mean that you have a city that has your friends, your doctors, and maybe a few boxes of your things in someone's basement. Though if you're planning on storing some stuff at someone's place, make sure you don't overstay your welcome! Knowing you have home base can give you a sense of stability and comfort while you're traveling. Not everyone needs this, but we have one in Vancouver, Canada and feel like it helps with our sense of belonging.

So to become a slow traveler, think about your goals and the steps to get there. For us, it was a lot easier to take things one step at a time rather than making a giant leap.

Figuring out your income while traveling is another big one. Because we slow travel, we find we can actually end up spending less money when we're traveling than if we were staying in Vancouver. We get good rates on apartment rentals, shop at local grocers, and keep our tourist spending low. But some kind of income is still required.

Depending on your stage in life, working remotely, taking seasonal jobs when you go back to your home country, or living off retirement income are all options. Figuring out ways to make income while traveling can take some time. Chris and I both built our careers in the tech industry. After the pandemic, remote work really took off in this field so we took advantage of that. I found that I like working remotely if I'm staying in one place for a few months with a reliable internet connection, but it gets really stressful if we're on a roadtrip and I'm not easily able to attend meetings or respond to emails.

Again, this is where starting slowly and taking progressively longer trips as we figured more stuff out really helped. If you're trying to figure out how to make money while traveling, then our best advice is to try to combine your existing skill sets with things that can be done remotely. It might be easier for you to find a job in your home country that can be done remotely rather than searching on random remote work sites that can have a lot of scams.

It also helps to have a flexible mindset. Things will definitely not go as planned. You'll probably end up in some accommodations that aren't awesome or choose to stay in a place that everyone told you was fantastic but you don't really like. You'll probably get lonely and wonder if you made the right choice. Or just wonder what the hell you're doing with your life. Having an open mindset can help you get through more challenging situations.

And along those lines, it really helps to start slow traveling not expecting a specific lifestyle. You may have seen photos on social media showing amazing places and beautiful views, but when you get there you find out the shower you were promised is more like a hose and the toilets are all squatties. Each place you go will be unique and things could be very different from what you're used to. You're a guest in the new place so you need to be ready to adapt. The place won't change for you just cause "that's not how you're used to things". So instead of complaining about the lack of "western-style" toilets or insulting the people that use them, which we've unfortunately heard people do, you need to get into the local spirit and practice your squatting!

Another note about lifestyle is that slow travel requires a heavy time investment at some points and at others, it leaves you with a lot of free time. You need to spend a lot of time figuring out the next place to go and where you're going to stay, but once you're there, you're likely not going to be spending all your time touring around. If you're working then that will take up a chunk of time. But if you're not working full-time, it's really important to have other projects. Otherwise you might get bored.

Slow travel isn't like being on vacation, even though your friends might think differently! Slow travel can wear you down because of the work involved and the different stressors you'll encounter in each new place. Just wanting to go to a grocery store in your new neighbourhood will require you Googling the best grocers and learning all the new brands of bread. Once you get used to one place, then you're repeating the entire process all over again at the next place. You have to be ok with always searching for new grocery stores. And gyms, and restaurants, and trivia nights.

There are so many different ways to be a slow traveler and you're not going to know everything right from the beginning. Our advice is to start slow and continuously adapt your ideas and plans, based on what's working for you.

Chris and I are slow travelers. We've borrowed ideas from Canadian Snowbirds, digital nomads, and retirement travelers to come up with a lifestyle that works for us. We travel the world, spending months at a time in different countries. But we also keep a home base in British Columbia, Canada that we return to each year. This is why we've chosen to keep a home base instead of traveling full time, from both emotional and practical perspectives.

On the emotional side, it's really nice to have a place that is comfortable and familiar to us. Traveling is wonderful and we love it. But it's also tiring. We spend lots of time searching for places to stay and figuring out basic things about daily living that many people take for granted, like knowing where the grocery store is or which bus to take across town. By coming back to BC every year, we get to be somewhere comfortable with our friends and familiar places.

We also keep our Honda Pilot microcamper here. And we're able to do things like return to our favourite campsites year after year. And with our home base being in BC we're coming home to a beautiful province filled with stunning areas to visit.

Right now we're up by Lytton in the Fraser Canyon. This area recorded the hottest temperature ever on record in Canada when it hit 49.5 degrees Celsius on June 29, 2021. The next day the area caught fire and a massive wildfire burned the area.

This year, the campground near the town finally reopened and we were able to return to a familiar area that we love. Though there is plenty of evidence of the destruction than happened here.

The area also has a cool hike that takes us to a great viewpoint.

But the trail hasn't been maintained much since the fire. Some places were more bushwhacking than hiking but we still got to this amazing viewpoint that makes me feel like I'm in a real life train set.

Maintaining a home base also lets us be part of the communities that exist here. I'm not saying you can't be part of a community if you're traveling full time, but it's different.

Chris and I volunteer as emergency management responders. Unfortunately each year, the province of BC faces many wildfires and floods. By being here during wildfire season, we can be part of the teams that support those impacted by disasters. Being a part of that group and having that sense of community is extremely important to us. It's not something we're willing to give up to travel full time.

In addition to the emotional reasons we keep a home base, there are also practical reasons. As Canadians, if we spend a minimum amount of time in the province each year, we qualify for free healthcare. So we have our family doctors here.

The world is also designed for those with a permanent address. Trying to explain that you don't have an address to the clerk at the drivers license office can make things pretty complicated. There are ways to work around having a permanent address, but we've chosen to keep one.

Having a permanent address also lets us have belongings that don't fit into a suitcase. Chris really loves to tinker and make things. Chris keeps lots of little things in his office so that he can play around with ideas and work on projects. For example he likes to make stuff that we use for a better camping experience, like our window covers, tailgate tent, our tablet holder, and this super small travel cribbage board. Having things around that he can use to build and make stuff is something he really looks forward to when coming back home.

For us, it's all about balancing what we're comfortable with and exploring new places. We love having a familiar place to spend our summer months and doing road trips in our microcamper, while slow traveling the rest of the year.