A Lesson in Managing Fear
As the year draws to a close I’ve been doing a lot of reflection on how the year shaped up and how much I’ve matured as a traveler. What I mean by maturing is that things that used to bother or worry me no longer do, or at the very least I’m able to deal with it much easier — I’ve become largely accustomed to the life I set out to live this year. . . .
Choosing a Home Base Through Slow Travel
One reason I’m slow-traveling is to find a new home base. Some places I’m visiting purely for pleasure, like hiking in Zion while staying in Hurricane, Utah (HURR-ih-kin to anyone in Utah) without the intention to move there, but other places serve the dual purpose of pleasure and scoping out places to live. Salt Lake City is the first place I’ve visited on this journey that I would actually consider moving to and definitely plan to return to — I felt it nearly immediately upon arriving. . . .
Nomadic vs Sedentary Lifestyles - A Cost Comparison
Some people’s reaction to a fully nomadic lifestyle is that it must cost a lot. I mean, you’re essentially on full-time vacation right and vacations are expensive! Well, that’s not quite how it works. There are actually some financial advantages to living nomadically, most definitely if you travel abroad to lower cost of living countries, but even within the U.S. in medium and high cost of living metro areas. There are also some disadvantages depending on the style of travel you choose. . . .
Flagstaff and the Surrounding Beauty
Flagstaff is a small city nestled at the base of the San Francisco peaks. It’s an amazing access point to all sorts of outdoor adventures — skiing, hiking, rock climbing, The Grand Canyon is 90 minutes away, Sedona 60 minutes away, and an endless amount of areas to explore. The city itself is pleasant enough, with Route 66 running through the quaint old downtown and a lot of restaurants, breweries, and outdoor enthusiast stores, as it serves as somewhat of a tourist destination for Grand Canyon access, skiing, and “Phoenixians” escaping the summer heat of southern Arizona. I did a lot of hiking while in Flagstaff, exploring the Flagstaff area, Sedona, and the Grand Canyon. I got in quite a bit of rock climbing as well — there is a lot of awesome climbing within 30 minutes of the city and it sounds like there is quite a bit more undiscovered and being developed. Sedona Sedona is an absolutely stunning masterpiece of a landscape and is undoubtably one of my favorite places I’ve ever hiked. My mom visited during the first weekend I was in Flagstaff and we took a trip down there — she had been before but I had not.. . .
Developing a Personal Minimalism Philosophy
Minimalism doesn’t need a dictionary definition. It may mean one thing one day and something entirely else on another day — or to another person. It should evolve with the individual and their life and be used as a guide to help make decisions that align with a broader vision or goal. . . .