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That time a guy in Medellin told me to stop planning so far ahead
Back in 2019, this older nomad at a hostel bar said booking hostels more than 3 days out was a rookie move. I ignored him and locked in a month in Buenos Aires only to find out the coworking space was terrible and the neighborhood felt sketchy after dark. Has anyone else learned this lesson the hard way, or am I the only one who didn't listen?
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thomas27515d ago
That hostel bar in Medellin taught me the same lesson, @the_holly. I booked a whole month in a place in Lima once and ended up stuck in a room with no window and a bathroom that smelled like old socks. The coworking space was a 45 minute bus ride away and the wifi dropped every afternoon. Now I really only book 2-3 days max when I land somewhere new. It sucks to learn it the hard way but I really feel like that older nomad was just trying to save us both a lot of hassle.
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That older nomad was giving you real wisdom, free of charge, and it sounds like you paid the tuition anyway. I did the same thing in Cusco once, locked in a month at a place with a "social hostel" vibe that turned out to be a party hostel blasting reggaeton at 3am on a Tuesday. Three days out really is the sweet spot, lets you actually feel out a neighborhood and see if the wifi is a lie before committing.
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jamie_smith15d ago
Is it really that deep though? I mean yeah, getting stuck in a bad hostel for a month sucks, but you're acting like you got scammed out of your life savings. You book a place, it's not great, you move on. That's just part of traveling, not some big life lesson from a wise old nomad. I've done the same thing - booked a week in a place in Bangkok that turned out to be a construction site next door - and I just laughed it off and found somewhere else the next day. Three days is fine if you're that worried, but it's also totally fine to just roll the dice and deal with it if it goes sideways. Not everything needs to be optimized like you're running a business.
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