Early Exit:Open Road

When we search for our next slow travel apartment there is one thing we look for that most people never think about.

Is there a university nearby?

It sounds like an odd criteria for two retired educators. But here is what we have figured out after two slow travel chapters.

College towns have energy that a lot of places lose over time. The food scene stays fresh because there is always a new wave of people to feed. The streets are walkable because students need to get around. The culture is alive because universities attract people from everywhere bringing ideas from everywhere.

And the calendar. Oh the calendar.

In Omaha we went to Creighton basketball and saw basketball and volleyball at University of Nebraska Omaha. In Myrtle Beach we caught Coastal Carolina basketball and baseball.

None of those cost us much. All of them got us out of the apartment and into the community in a way that felt natural and easy.

That is the part nobody talks about when they discuss slow travel — how do you actually plug into a place? How do you feel like you belong somewhere you just arrived?

For us the answer keeps being the same. Find the university. Live near it. Let the energy pull you in.

Do you live near a university or college town? Tell me what you love about it.

Save this and send it to someone planning their first slow travel stay who is
wondering how to actually find community on the road. 🌺

Follow us for real numbers and a real life.

🔆 Not financial advice. Based on our personal experience. This is one retired educator telling another what we wish someone had told us first.