About

Slower Routes is about staying longer in fewer places. It is written for people who stop somewhere for two to eight weeks, often while working remotely, between Southeast Asia and Southern Europe: Chiang Mai or Lisbon, Penang or Valencia, a Greek island out of season or a Vietnamese city in the dry months. It is signed by Mara Lind.

Why a month

A long stay asks different questions from a holiday. Not "what should I see?" but "how do I want my days to feel?". Which neighbourhood is quiet enough to work in and lively enough to walk out into. What a month actually costs once the deposit, the cleaning fee, the SIM card and the coworking desk are added up. Whether the rules let you stay as long as you would like to, and what happens on day thirty-one.

Those are the questions this site is built around. The second week in a place is usually when it starts to make sense, and most of what is written here is about getting there calmly.

What you will find

• A month in…: guides to one base at a time: which area to choose, what kind of place to rent, a monthly budget, a rough shape for the weeks and the rules for staying.
• Essays: short pieces on slowness, routine, choosing where to stop and what a base gives you that a hotel cannot.
• Long-stay costs: what a month adds up to, with the exchange rate and the date it was read written next to the figures.
• Working from…: internet, coworking or café, time zones, and what each visa does and does not allow.
• Visas & stay rules: exemptions, digital nomad visas and the Schengen 90/180 rule, summarised in plain English with the official source and the date it was checked.
• Seasons: where the weather is kind in January, what the monsoon months mean for a base, why September is underrated.
• Routine & rhythm and What changed: settling in, working well, and the rules that move from one season to the next.

The boxes

Most guides end with two boxes. Monthly budget sets out a month for one person, line by line, with the currency, the rate and the date. Visa & stay rules gives a short summary of the rules that apply, with a link to the official page and the month it was read. Rules and prices change, so the date at the top of each piece moves when the facts are checked again.

Who writes

Slower Routes is written under the name Mara Lind, part of a small editorial group that publishes travel sites in several languages. The voice is first person because these pieces are about choices: why one neighbourhood over another, why four weeks rather than two, why a routine matters more than an itinerary. The facts underneath them come from official and verifiable sources, listed at the end of each piece.

Spotted a rule that has changed, or a question about a long stay that has not been answered here yet? Write to Slower Routes.