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This is the bit that I don't get though, if it is all about the "travel and lifestyle", then why would I want to end up in a rural village in Spain. My travel i

This is the bit that I don't get though, if it is all about the "travel and lifestyle", then why would I want to end up in a rural village in Spain. My travel is more limited, and I'm hardly following the "digital nomad lifestyle". Not saying it can't be fun, but you can live in a country town almost anywhere, if I just want a permanent base hours from any airport, and they all tend to be a lot cheaper than living in the "big smoke".

swiftcoder 1mo ago
> Not saying it can't be fun, but you can live in a country town almost anywhere, if I just want a permanent base hours from any airport, and they all tend to be a lot cheaper than living in the "big smoke". I think folks from the US tend to underestimate the difference in proximity and services available in rural Spain vs rural US. I emigrated to a tiny rural village in a far-flung corner of Spain, and I have an excellent highway 10 minutes away, the airport is 45 minutes (basically the same amount of time it took me from downtown Seattle to the airport), a decent city is also 45 minutes away. There are less than 1,000 folks in the entire district, but we have gigabit fibre to every house, a healthcare centre covered by national healthcare, dental clinic, two supermarkets, 6 cafes...
coldtea 1mo ago
>This is the bit that I don't get though, if it is all about the "travel and lifestyle", then why would I want to end up in a rural village in Spain. Because going abroad at a different place than your regular country, and staying at a place for months or even a year or so, is also travelling. Travelling as in "I'm abroad, experiencing a different place and culture", not as in "I actively move from country to country every second week". And a "rural village in Spain" is quite compelling, both as a work base and as a lifestyle to many. In which case, why would it matter if it's "hours from any airport" or not? Who said you'll be just using it as a jump base for airport travel? It can just be a place to work from and soak the local environment and surrounding areas. Not to mention in Spain you can't be a few hours from the nearest airport anywhere anyway. It's not some vast wasteland.
- nephihaha 1mo ago
  The more I travel the less I experience different places and cultures. We're being turned into the same place and same culture, and it is sad.
  - coldtea 1mo ago
    That's true. Though living for a while in some small village is probably the best way to do experience the different place and culture, over regular touristy travelling or being a nomad in some Thai beach town.
  - ricardobayes 1mo ago
    That's definitely very apparent, even places like Indonesia - which is practically as different from the "western world" as it can be, is now turned into someone's fantasy/caricature of an exotic place.
    - nephihaha 1mo ago
      I was glad I travelled in the 80s and even the 90s. I got to see different places. Now mamy of them feel like variants of the same place. Even the rebellious subcultures are the same. I use to run into bores obsessed with Jim Morrison and reiki in various parts of the world.
      - hippietrail 1mo ago
        I started travelling in December 1989 and still find different places. Touristy places tend to get samey and cities tend to get samey. Vietnam has got much more like a developed country since my first visit and that's a fantastic thing. If you're running into those new age types all the time it's because you keep going to the places they congregate. There's usually only a few in each country.
- ricardobayes 1mo ago
  True, I never got why so many real estate ads mention distance from an airport. How often do you need to travel for that to be a deciding factor where to live?
hippietrail 1mo ago
Country towns feel much more varied around the world than big cities do. Rural areas in Australia are nothing like ones in Japan, which are nothing like ones in Thailand, which are nothing like ones in Romania. When I miss city life I move to a city again. Often the most memorable times on my travels were in rural areas.

swiftcoder 1mo ago

> Not saying it can't be fun, but you can live in a country town almost anywhere, if I just want a permanent base hours from any airport, and they all tend to be a lot cheaper than living in the "big smoke". I think folks from the US tend to underestimate the difference in proximity and services available in rural Spain vs rural US. I emigrated to a tiny rural village in a far-flung corner of Spain, and I have an excellent highway 10 minutes away, the airport is 45 minutes (basically the same amount of time it took me from downtown Seattle to the airport), a decent city is also 45 minutes away. There are less than 1,000 folks in the entire district, but we have gigabit fibre to every house, a healthcare centre covered by national healthcare, dental clinic, two supermarkets, 6 cafes...

coldtea 1mo ago

>This is the bit that I don't get though, if it is all about the "travel and lifestyle", then why would I want to end up in a rural village in Spain. Because going abroad at a different place than your regular country, and staying at a place for months or even a year or so, is also travelling. Travelling as in "I'm abroad, experiencing a different place and culture", not as in "I actively move from country to country every second week". And a "rural village in Spain" is quite compelling, both as a work base and as a lifestyle to many. In which case, why would it matter if it's "hours from any airport" or not? Who said you'll be just using it as a jump base for airport travel? It can just be a place to work from and soak the local environment and surrounding areas. Not to mention in Spain you can't be a few hours from the nearest airport anywhere anyway. It's not some vast wasteland.

nephihaha 1mo ago
The more I travel the less I experience different places and cultures. We're being turned into the same place and same culture, and it is sad.
- coldtea 1mo ago
  That's true. Though living for a while in some small village is probably the best way to do experience the different place and culture, over regular touristy travelling or being a nomad in some Thai beach town.
- ricardobayes 1mo ago
  That's definitely very apparent, even places like Indonesia - which is practically as different from the "western world" as it can be, is now turned into someone's fantasy/caricature of an exotic place.
  - nephihaha 1mo ago
    I was glad I travelled in the 80s and even the 90s. I got to see different places. Now mamy of them feel like variants of the same place. Even the rebellious subcultures are the same. I use to run into bores obsessed with Jim Morrison and reiki in various parts of the world.
    - hippietrail 1mo ago
      I started travelling in December 1989 and still find different places. Touristy places tend to get samey and cities tend to get samey. Vietnam has got much more like a developed country since my first visit and that's a fantastic thing. If you're running into those new age types all the time it's because you keep going to the places they congregate. There's usually only a few in each country.
ricardobayes 1mo ago
True, I never got why so many real estate ads mention distance from an airport. How often do you need to travel for that to be a deciding factor where to live?

hippietrail 1mo ago

Country towns feel much more varied around the world than big cities do. Rural areas in Australia are nothing like ones in Japan, which are nothing like ones in Thailand, which are nothing like ones in Romania. When I miss city life I move to a city again. Often the most memorable times on my travels were in rural areas.