Slow Travel As A Nomad

Nomad Profile

I’m a fan and subscriber to Kelly and Nigel’s Substack Benthall Slow Travel, not only because of Kelly’s insightful writing, but also because I aspire to slow travel. (I’m a true flunky, having been to 25 countries just in 2025.)

Their gentle way of travel is about more than just exotic destinations; instead, it’s a lifestyle approach that centers on reinvention, identity, and curiosity. One of my favorite articles is Moving Through the World With Awareness, which talks about how to travel with confidence.

9 Fun Facts

• First Names: Kelly & Nigel

• Age Ranges: 50s and 60s

• Nationality: American & British

• Nomadic Stance: Full-time slow travel (with a tiny home base in Houston)

• Last Corporate Job:

  • Kelly: Executive transformation strategist and coach for supermajor oil & gas companies

  • Nigel: Global Sales Director for an oilfield services tech company

• Current Job:

  • Kelly: CEO, Benthall Slow Travel

  • Nigel: COO, Benthall Slow Travel

• Favorite Country: France/Italy/Spain (we refuse to choose just one)

• Next Stop: Oceania — Perth, Christchurch, Hobart, then Bali

• What we like best about nomadic life: Belonging

2 Questions

1) What slow travel means to us
Slow travel means choosing depth over distance.

It’s staying in one place long enough for the city to stop treating you like a visitor — and for you to stop acting like one. We rent a small apartment for a month, shop where locals shop, and learn the micro-rhythms: the best time for bread, which park has the good benches, when the neighbors sweep their stoop.

It’s not about seeing more. It’s about feeling more — presence instead of pace.

Slow travel lets us build a temporary life everywhere we land: routines, favorite spots, real conversations.

And because this lifestyle can feel overwhelming to start, we’re building a Slow Travel Toolkit to help others design a life on the move (or plan for one) with less chaos and more clarity.

2) How we make traveling as a couple work?

We give each other space — actual and emotional.

I write; Nigel keeps the home humming, plugs into local life, and chases whatever hobby the country hands him (cycling in France, woodworking in Portugal, bread obsessions in Italy…).

We overlap where it matters: long walks, shared rituals, and the agreement that honesty beats harmony.

Full-time travel adds stress, but it also adds clarity — especially if you name things early, laugh often, and remember you chose this life on purpose — together. 🦋

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Christened “Wander Woman” by National Geographic, Erin Michelson has traveled to 130+ countries & all 7 continents. She is a professional speaker and author of the Nomad Life™ series of curated trips and travel guides, including the #1-ranked Explore the World with Nomads.

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