Part 5: Digital Nomad, Slow Travel Life In Queretaro, Mexico. Well, At Least For 2 Months.

This Article Is One In A Series Of Articles About Life Lessons Learned During My First Full Year Of Slow Travel As A Full-Time Digital Nomad

If you want to read from the beginning or need to catch up, follow the links below! Thanks for following along! I hope you get some tips, inspiration, and life lessons, especially if you’re looking to go nomad or just continue to track towards more travel in your life. Please share the articles with a friend and join the conversation over at Facebook or subscribe on Youtube. Cheers!

Articles- Life Lessons Learned During My First Year As A Digital Nomad:

Part 1: The Backstory & Getting Up To Speed
Part 2: 2 Months On The Great U.S. National Parks Road Trip
Part 3: Lessons Learned While Saying Goodbye To My Grandpa
Part 4: 2 Months Solo Backpacking Travel Across Europe
Part 5: Lessons Learned During 2 Months Living as a Digital Nomad in Queretaro, Mexico
Part 6: Life Lessons From 2 Months In The U.S. at the Start of the Covid-19 Pandemic 

Before Queretaro, Mexico, I Spent 1.5 Months Hunkered Down In The U.s.

I spent roughly the next month and a half hunkered down around Charlotte, NC, my old stomping grounds. Sometimes renting a spot with friends, sometimes house-sitting. Shooting and publishing a lot of video and catching up on some writing.

I also ended my sabbatical and started doing client work again, since depleting the savings was not a sustainable long-term plan.

I had given myself 6 months, and per my typical rule-following protocol, it was time for me to start making the donuts again. Time to slow travel down a bit and find one spot to live in and explore, real digital nomad style.

2 Months of Slow Travel as a Digital Nomad Living & Working in Queretaro, Mexico

The previous 6-7 months may have resembled a mid-life crisis, but not really since it was quite calculated. I definitely took advantage of the severing of my previous “strings-filled” life as an opportunity to check off what I once viewed as “once-in-a-lifetime” bucket list travel goals. But one thing I know about myself is that I don’t like fast travel. I like slow travel.

Slow…methodical travel where I can experience and absorb and not wake up exhausted.

That’s the whole reason I’ve adjusted my life to being able to work from my computer and travel.

So I knew that, while getting back to paid projects and clients, I wanted to go “live” somewhere outside of the U.S. for a couple of months and just absorb local life. Yes, bonafide digital nomad, slow travel life. After my first few trips to Mexico, I knew I loved the people and the culture. I also love the pace.

The concept of “Mexican Time” is quite a nice change from the frantic pace we keep for ourselves in the states.

So after much deliberation I spent the next 60 days staying at long-term Airbnbs in Queretaro, Mexico, and the region.

My total spend for 60 nights of living in Queretaro with a couple of side trips to San Miguel De Allende and Guanajuato? $2902 all-inclusive, which breaks down to about $49 per day. (Note that all-inclusive includes all money spent on accommodations, food, transportation, entertainment, etc. during the trip, including flights to/from.)

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4. “Living” in other countries for short bursts, a la a real digital nomad lifestyle, truly is possible!

Honestly, I’d been reading about being a location-independent digital nomad most of my adult life. But I still needed to prove to myself that it was actually true as opposed to just believing what I was reading.

Yes, you have to modify your life, and there’s a bit more to it than that one simple sentence, but living on the cheap and enjoying slow travel around the world as a digital nomad is for realsies!

And it can be extremely cost-effective. But it’s not a vacation. It’s exactly the opposite of a vacation; it’s living your typical life, just in a different place for a while. The motions are all very similar, but the accents and the food and the experiences are all but similar. They’re exhilarating and life-altering…all on the daily.

3. The overwhelming majority of people…like everywhere…want essentially the same things.

At the core, they just want to love and be free to love, protect their family and loved ones, and live a good life.

They smile and love and hug and care.

This isn’t a new revelation at all for me, but it continues to be proven with each new turn of this whole experiment. Now, the governments and their offices, politicians, and agendas may be a different story.

2. In Mexico it’s always Taco Tuesday! The local Food in Queretaro and Mexico in general is Amazeballs!

Seriously, I ate like a king. Look at all these amazing places to eat in Queretaro! Again, I did this whole 2-month stint for under $50 a day. But the value and deliciousness in return for my very strong U.S. dollar went so much further than expected! But keep in mind that I ate like a local at local joints in Queretaro. Many ex-pats and vacationers tend to go to places that are catering to U.S. citizens…and they spend much more!

If you head to any other country, do yourself and your wallet a favor and look for the places with more locals than travelers! 

1. I could have been a digital nomad in Queretaro, Mexico for cheaper. Way cheaper!

Again, I ate, drank, and experienced like a king. Pounds were packed on in the first few weeks from way too much $2/3 street food, cheap cervezas, and gourmet coffees. And while I stayed under my $1600/month budget, I literally didn’t walk into a grocery store in the first 7 weeks.

I left a ton of money on the table compared to the way I usually operate.

If I had stuck to my guns and made my own coffee in the mornings and prepared my first two meals of the day while still eating out the second half of the day, I likely would have saved $300 and still had just as good of an experience. If you’re paying attention, $300 is enough for me to live in Mexico for another week.

Cheers Friend.
— Jason

Click here for Part 6!
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