On Long-Term Travel

Two weeks ago, I moved to Costa Rica.

And through the process of settling into my new tropical home, I can’t stop thinking about this one phrase you’ve probably heard before:

You can’t travel away from your problems.”

To a certain extent, it’s true.

Going to Cabo or Cancún for college spring break or a family vacation almost certainly won’t provide you with a spiritual awakening.

Sure, it can be a nice escape from life back home. A welcomed break from your typical routine.

But it’s temporary.

And after 4-7 days of sipping Mai-Tais on the beach, you’ll return home the same person you were when you left.

Adam Sandler has a great bit on SNL where he touches on this concept. Acting as an operator for a tour company in Rome, he warns American tourists:

But there’s an important nuance here.

This notion that travel won’t fix your problems only pertains to short-term vacations.

It comes from the 1950s — when 2 weeks of annual paid vacation time off became standardized in America.

Obviously, you can’t change the fabric of your life in this brief timespan.

Because you’re not fundamentally changing your routine.

You’re just temporarily escaping your routine.

But today, the possibilities and perceptions of travel are changing.

For the first time in history — thanks to the Internet — you can now disconnect your income from your geography.

This means travel is now no longer limited to hurried, short-term vacations for a week or two every year.

For an increasing number of people, such as:

• Freelancers

• Remote workers

• Internet entrepreneurs

Travel can now become a lasting, more permanent way of life.

A way of life that can, if done correctly, be highly effective in solving your internal problems.

Let me explain…

Long-term travel (or digital nomadism) not only differs from short-term vacations in length of time, but also in the day-to-day experience.

For example, I just moved to Costa Rica.

But unlike most tourists here, I’m not on “vacation mode.”

I’m not here for 7 days.

I’ll be here for at least 5 months.

I’m not downing Corona’s on the beach every day.

I’m waking up early to work on my business 4-6 hours every day.

I’m not just temporarily escaping from my life back in California (where I was prior).

I fundamentally changed my life by moving to Costa Rica long-term.

This is the important nuance: temporarily escaping an environment vs. changing an environment.

A change of environment is the perfect opportunity to:

• Break bad tendencies

• Cultivate healthy habits

• Change your identity

Just ask the thousands of heroin-addicted Vietnam War soldiers. Once they returned stateside, 95% of them broke their addiction. 

A heroin addiction. Do you understand how astounding that statistic is?

For context, 90% of US heroin addicts relapse after returning home from treatment.

Environmental change does solve problems.

On a less dramatic scale, when I was back home visiting family and friends in the Bay Area, I slipped back into the bad habits I developed growing up there:

• Sleeping in late

• Doing work last minute

• Spending too much time scrolling social media

I struggled with these poor habits in high school.

Is it a coincidence I fell back into them while I was back in the same house and bed I slept in during high school?

Probably not.

But now that I switched environments by moving to Costa Rica, the inverse is now true.

I wake up early because I’m excited to jump in the ocean first thing in the morning.

I get my work done early so I can reward myself with sunset surf sessions in the evenings.

I spend less time scrolling social media because I feel more creative exploring my new coastal home.

I’ve reaped all of these benefits because I chose to travel to an environment that’s conducive to my happiness, flow, and productivity.

That’s the power of location independence and environmental change.

Aristotle once said “We are what we repeatedly do.”

If this is true, then changing our environment to change what we repeatedly do is the most effective way to change ourselves.

A vacation is nothing more than a short-lived escape.

Long-term travel, on the other hand, is the ultimate vehicle for reinventing yourself.

Matt’s Discoveries

My 3 favorite finds this week:

• Rian Doris from Flow Research Collective posted this video that blew my mind and significantly upgraded my productivity. (link)

• Watching comedy has been my favorite way to destress and detach from work recently. Shane Gillis, especially. (link)

• I read Paul Graham’s “The Age of the Essay.” It’s a brilliant breakdown of the history and the flaws of writing in the education system. Plus, how writing should be thought of instead (an exploration, not an argument). (link)

Thanks for reading.

Have a creative week,

Matt Mic

I’ll see you next Monday. In the meantime, catch me over on Twitter.