A 20 minute chat with a hostel owner in Lisbon changed my whole plan

I was killing time before a flight last month and sat down at a cafe near the hostel I was staying at. The owner, this older guy named Rui, asked what I did for work and I told him I was bouncing between cities on my laptop. He said something like, "you're moving too fast to see anything real," and then showed me his notebook of every guest who stayed more than two weeks. He had notes on their favorite spots and even their coffee order. Now I'm trying to stay in the next city for a full 30 days instead of 7, and I'm wondering if anyone else has found slower travel actually helps their work focus or just makes the bills harder? Has anyone tested a 3 week minimum and regretted it?

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1 Comment

uma_taylor471mo ago

So did you actually lock in the 30 days yet, or are you still just thinking about it? Because Rui's notebook sounds neat, but staying put is a totally different beast than liking the idea of it. I did 21 days in Mexico City once and the first week was pure chaos, I was second guessing every single peso I spent. The real question is, what are you actually going to do with that extra time, sit in cafes and call it work, or are you going to force yourself into some kind of routine?