Slow travel & Housesitting

This blog post is about the travel phenomenon that is slow travel: What it is, why you should consider doing it, and how housesitting fits in with the slow travel way of life.

Slow travel is exactly what it says on the tin – travelling slower. It prioritises connection and understanding of a place over ticking off the tourist sights. It emphasises ways of travelling that are more sustainable and ecologically sound. You could also call it “conscious travel” as you are more mindful of your impact on a place both during and after your visit.

A great example of slow travel is travelling overland rather than by air – it literally takes longer to do so. Another example would be staying in a place longer, and visiting only one location rather than hopping around 5 cities in 2 weeks.

Slow travel means doing lots of research before taking a holiday or travelling to a place. I love this part – finding out what green or sustainable initiatives are in place in a city such as their public transport systems, spotlights on local talent, tours conducted by people who live there, and cuisine which showcases the countries’ produce.

Why should we be travelling slower?

 A great question. In a world where we are all obsessed with time and schedules, slow travel allows us to refocus and shift our perspective, allowing the world to drift by at a slower pace, as it was intended. This will leave us feeling more relaxed and as though we really have been on a vacation rather than attempting 30,000 steps a day in 3 days to see everything a city has to offer.

More importantly though, slow travel is a huge step towards green travel. By choosing to take the train rather than fly, we are reducing our carbon emissions by a huge amount. For example, the carbon emissions for a flight from London to Seville is around 330kg per person. We did this route by train to get to a housesit, and it worked out as approximately 71kg per person. That’s 259kg less carbon emitted per person. 78% less carbon released into the atmosphere!

Some say that slow travel is the art of living like a local. If you work remotely like we do, perhaps you could take your work stuff and stay in each place for around a month. Some may say this is excessive, but it’s a whole lot less emissions than someone living in one place but commuting to and from work each day. Doing this you would get to travel full time, keep your carbon emissions low and embrace slow travel.

Slow travel allows us to refocus on connection and open up the space to experience more authentic cultural exchanges. As you are less rushed through your slow travel mindset, you will have more time to immerse yourself in the local culture. Perhaps you could learn a few words in the local the language, meet a family who have been important in that town or city, and investigate the food on offer to a fuller extent.

Although the travel can be more expensive when travelling overland in some countries, you may benefit from reduced accommodation costs if you are spending more time in a place. You could even consider volunteering in exchange for free accommodation.

Slow travel has the potential to bring more meaning to your travels. The mindset of wanting to delve deeper into a place and a community and spending more time there automatically means that you will adapt to local culture, understand how to be a respectful visitor there and leave a positive impact on the places you travel to. It also allows you to make connections with people all over the world and you will often get invited back to a place by someone you met there.

You will have more time for introspection; reflecting on the experiences that you have had and their significance in your life. This will give you a sense of purpose and fulfilment that you would never otherwise have had. Getting out of your comfort zone by trying activities you’ve never considered or embracing life like a local will lead to personal growth and an increase in your self confidence.

All this is great. But how does housesitting fit in with slow travel?

Housesitting fits into the slow travel niche if you do it in a certain way. For example, we travel using housesitting but we have made the decision to stay in each place for longer, so we tend to mainly apply for housesits which are for a month or longer. This allows us to really explore a place, unpack properly and bond with the pets we are looking after.

Staying longer stops us from hopping between sits, upping our carbon footprint as we go. We aim to travel overland to each of the housesits we do, and so far have been able to do this for each and every one. If we did have to fly to a housesit, we’d look for multiple housesits in that area or country for a good few months to offset the carbon emissions from the flight.

The money we save on accommodation by using housesitting we can put towards travelling over land which can be quite expensive. We also put it towards experiences in some of the places we go, or shopping at smaller, locally run businesses in the area.

I often try to find a place to volunteer whilst we are at a longer housesit, such as a charity shop, or I ask the homeowner if they are involved in any local causes that I can continue in their absence. The homeowner is often a valuable resource of information that as sitters we can tap into to get to the heart of a place much quicker and easier. Asking them for recommendations on local, organic, fairtrade products or places to visit will really enhance your experience at that sit.

I hope you enjoyed this post about slow travel and how housesitting can allow you to embrace this travel movement and lifestyle.