Unpopular opinion: the “travel slowly” advice is not universal and we should stop pretending it is
I keep seeing this advice everywhere: "Don't rush! Stay in each place for at least a week! You'll never understand a city in two days!"
And I think this is sometimes genuinely good advice and sometimes complete bullshit that romanticizes slow travel as the only legitimate way to see the world.
Here's my take after about 50 countries and varying speeds of travel:
Slow travel is incredible IF you have unlimited time and you're the type of person who actually chills. If you're someone who genuinely can spend a week in a single city and feel fulfilled by that, amazing. More power to you.
But I'm not that person. I get restless. After three days in any city I'm itching to move. And you know what? That's valid too.
My trip to Italy last year: I spent two weeks covering Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Naples. Was it rushed? Absolutely. Did I "experience" each city the way a local does? Absolutely not. Did I see the Colosseum, eat pizza in Naples, ride a gondola in Venice, see the David, drink espresso at every possible opportunity? You bet. Was it an incredible trip that I wouldn't trade for anything? Also yes.
Would it have been better if I'd spent a month in just Rome and Florence? I genuinely don't know. Maybe. Or maybe I'd be bored out of my mind by day ten.
The people telling me to slow down usually have something in common: they're either retired, work remotely, or have significantly more vacation time than most working Americans. That's great for them! But the rest of us are working with two weeks a year and we want to see things.
My actual take: travel at whatever speed brings you joy. If slow travel is your thing, amazing. If you want to hit five cities in ten days and sleep in a different bed every night, also amazing. The point is to see the world, not to perform travel "correctly" for an audience of judgmental strangers on the internet.
Stop gatekeeping how people explore. Some of my best travel memories are from quick hits where I crammed as much as possible into a short time. The exhaustion was real but so was the joy of constantly discovering new things.
Change my mind.