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It is not uncommon for those who travel as the main avenue for their lifestyle to eventually become burned out. The temptation to see and do everything or the FOMO makes it difficult to stay in one place and rest. There is so much to explore! New people, new places, new food! New, new, new, new!

But the one common thing that every long term traveler says to newcomers is “SLOW DOWN!” I am currently hitting that phase myself, but I will add my own opinion that it may not be entirely necessary to travel slowly right away. When beginning travel there is a lot of energy because everything is fresh and this way of living is new. You can travel this way for a while, but it does become tiring.

You become tired of connecting with people and saying goodbye. You become tired from all of the moving around. You become tired because you wake up in the middle of the night and don't remember what country you're in, much less your hostel or colive, or which side of the bed the wall is on. It can feel like you hit a wall and it forces some people to slow down and others choose to stop traveling for a while or all together. I asked other nomads about their experiences with hitting the wall and got some feedback that I didn't necessarily expect.

A few people said that they never hit the wall because they traveled slowly from the start. They prioritized community from the beginning and spend multiple months in a given place. One person said that they spread out the planning stage of travel because having to do it all at once every month or so feels exhausting. Another said that their “currency” is the decision making and that having to plan flights, find neighborhoods, lodging, transportation, etc is is a lot of mental work that can cause them to hit a wall. Others found respite in returning to familiar places rather than chasing “new,” which allows them to have a community in that place. Most of the responses included this common thing – community.

Community is arguably one of our strongest needs and was a recurring theme for respondents and for myself, as well. The running theme among nomads is that they eventually want to have familiar and consistent connections with people. They want to have a community and coliving style life for more time. One month can sound like a lot, but for nomads it really isn't. Time flies and our needs for connection go beyond four short weeks.

So, what is one to do when they hit a wall, or to avoid hitting it? I hit mine at 2 years because I had to return to the US and did a lot of fast travel for a year. The US is not ideal for travelers and nomads and the hostels are relatively few, hotels are expensive, and coliving sites are non-existent. I came to a point where I was in the Netherlands and hardly wanted to leave my bed, but I had more places to go and friends to visit before my coliving in Tarifa, Spain would start. The answer to the question is what every experienced traveler says: slow down. Being able to recognize your needs and listening to your mind and body are important. For this year, 2026, I am going to focus more on slower travel with known people. My original plan was to go to Asia, which I may still do, but even after a month of being in a colive in Tarifa, I'm not ready to hit the road. The emotional load is still a bit strong and my energy hasn't recovered yet. I want to be a lazy bum, which is OK, though I don't want to go too far and fall into a pit with it.

My plans this year are to do more with the Wifi Tribe, to slow down and spend more time with people. I'm hoping that I may really hit it off with some new friends and see them longer than a month at a time, but we'll see. I may still go to Asia, but that's a problem for future Michael when he goes to Namibia in January on a Wifi Tribe chapter. But I suppose my real goal is to foster good relationships and connections. It can be hard while traveling, but one benefit of coliving is that you see people more frequently than when back home. I can see people throughout the day rather than waiting until the weekend. I think this year will be a good one. 🤞

#travel #digitalnomad #nomad #nomading #colive #loneliness #resting #blog