Tag: slow travel

Why We Decided to Move to Puerto Rico

We are moving to Puerto Rico!  Here is the story of how and why we decided to pack up and move.

While on a Caribbean Cruise three years ago, we had a half day stop in old San Juan, Puerto Rico.  I immediately loved the brief glimpse of the island, the people, and the food.  Spending so few hours in a city, is quite frankly, enough for one decent meal and walking around the restaurant neighborhood.  And one meal can change your life, at least for me.

2015 summer visit in Isla Verde
2015 summer visit in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico

Knowing we needed more time, a 2 week vacation was planned a break-neck 2 years later along the North and East Coasts to see more of the island.  It was still not enough!

After some number crunching and serious talk about options, we decided our best course of action was to move to the Caribbean.  We have secured a year lease on a beach community house in Puerto Rico that will serve as home base so that we can slow down and explore the Caribbean!  For the next year (at least) we are going to practice Slow Travel and explore as much of the Caribbean as we can.

2016_PalmasBeach
Our beach in Puerto Rico

Why the Caribbean?  Why not?  Have you seen this place?  It is GORGEOUS!!!!

The locals are hardworking, friendly, happy people that have welcomed us with open arms, and bent over backward to help us at every turn.  There are tax incentives to move our IT consulting business to PR, while at the same time we will be helping the local economy (that is the real win-win situation).

The Caribbean is a great value and has so much to offer.  Puerto Rico, while a territory not a State, is still part of the USA.  Complete with same currency, same electrical plug, no visa or travel restrictions for Americans, no quarantine for my dog, same phone plan and I am keeping the same phone number.  Puerto Rico is the Caribbean’s version of Hawaii’s less expensive Latin cousin, with a far more culturally diverse neighborhood. There are many “foreign” islands nearby with cool stuff to do, places to visit, and new food to eat.2016_SunriseJanuary

So stay tuned for Caribbean cuisine, adventure, history, culture, scuba diving, hiking the rain forest, travel tips, beaches, and more beaches!

Benefits of Slow Travel

As I mature (which is a nice way to say, get older), my approach to travelling is changing.  In my early 20’s, I had a checklist of places to visit.  Before the term bucket list was coined and the creation of Pinterest, I literally had a world map on my wall that I would stick a push-pin into after visiting each city.

Weekend in Stirling, Scotland Spring 2001
Weekend in Stirling, Scotland Spring 2001

I had a magnificent job that sent me to work in the United Kingdom for almost a year, twice!  Travel was forever changed for me.  Sure, I used London as my home base to travel Europe on the weekends, but the push-pin strategy never satisfied my wanderlust.  I collected many pins, but it was not enough.

Even a few days in a city is only long enough for me to decide what I need to do and see on my next visit, and discover the hidden gems from locals. My first visit to Paris was a mere 3 days, barely enough time to see the top 5 tourist attractions (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Louve, Notre Dame, and Champs Elysees) and very little else (and there is so much more to see).  I felt rushed.  I felt like a tacky American tourist – maybe, because I was.

Mardi Gras week long celebrations with my Sister 1999
Mardi Gras week with my Sister 1999

After a few more hurried trips, I realized that break-neck speed of travel is exhausting.  I do not want to spend more time in transit than exploring.  In the last decade, I started to slow down, put down the guide book, and talk to the locals.   Simple curiosity and a good attitude have resulted in invitations to private country estates, weekends in sleepy little villages, multiple wedding receptions around the world, cheering with the fans for local amateur sports teams, and so much more off the beaten path activities.  I am simply not satisfied by sheer number of cities visited, I want to connect and savor the destination.

Horse ride in Banff, Canada
Horse ride in Banff, Canada

Granted, slow travel is a luxury.  Not everyone can spend weeks at a vacation destination.  10 days in Cancun enabled me to complete my Scuba certification start to finish, with a couple extra dives at the end.  Weekend trips are focused on a few activities at a destination, and almost always followed up with a longer visit to see more. Continue reading “Benefits of Slow Travel”