Ambling Along / Slow Nomadism / digital slomadism

Ambling Along, Slow Nomadism or Digital Slomadism?

The philosophy of Slow Nomadism “emphasises a more deliberate and meaningful approach to nomadic living, allowing individuals to create a fulfilling and sustainable lifestyle on the road.” I got that definition from my new best friend (ChatGPT)

It’s also called Slow Travel, or being a digital slomad, but I just call it “ambling along”.

For example, I started this trip on 25th March 2023. I left Mareeba on that day and travelled all the way to Tolga (20 km!), where I lived in a shed on my mate Scotty’s property.

I lived in his shed with my Troopie for three and a half months. I fixed up the Troopie for rego and travel – this was far more work than I had originally expected. I also helped Scotty with various tasks.

On 13th July 2023, I loaded up Cate’s trailer with her and Zoe’s goods from the house in Mareeba and travelled down to Canberra; 2500 km in a bit over 3 days. I camped on the side of the road on the way down. A lovely trip, albeit too fast for my liking – the goal of that trip was to get there quickly with the beautifully wrapped trailer.

I have been in Canberra living in Cate’s yurt since then; helping Cate with some handyman tasks and repairing her yurt, and catching up on my Boldacious Digital work

I’ll probably be here until early October

The beauty of being a digital slomad or just ambling along is that you can stop in one place for a few months, and it doesn’t matter. You can do this for various reasons – I do it mainly because I run 3 businesses (Living On The Road; Boldacious Digital, and Sandfly and Mosquito Repellents ) that complement each other while “living on the road”. I don’t have any savings, so I need to make money while I’m Living On The Road, plus I enjoy my businesses.

I am travelling for as long as I am physically and mentally able to do so; I have no end date for my travels; I am permanently Living On The Road.

Everything I own has to fit in my faithful Troopy; I have no rental storage space.

I think a prerequisite to digital slomadism is either long-term or permanent travel plans.

Another benefit of digital slomadism is that you can adjust your travelling to suit your work and your financial status.

So if I have a lot of work on, I just camp or stay somewhere for a longer period of time, and catch up on any work that I have to do.

The biggest expenditures on the road are fuel and accommodation. If money is tight, I stop and camp or stay somewhere free – hence those 2 biggest budget items become either zero or very little.

Yvette van den Brand writes well about “6 Reasons a Digital Slomad Is Better Than a Digital Nomad“.

Two of the reasons she gives are:

• better for the environment
• better for your soul

There is a beautiful quote from Bruce Chatwin in his wonderful book “The Songlines”

A white explorer in Africa, anxious to press ahead with his journey, paid his porters for a series of forced marches. But they, almost within reach of their destination, set down their bundles and refused to budge. No amount of extra payment would convince them otherwise.
They said they had to wait for their souls to catch up.

I hope to see you somewhere On The Road while ambling along!