How to Travel Deeper and Transform from a Tourist to a Townie with Gareth Leonard (Ep 132)

Learn tactics for making local friends, building a social network, and experiencing destinations through everyday life. ============================ Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds. ============================ ON THIS EPISODE Gareth Leonard shares his experience growing up outside Rochester, NY, studying abroad in college, working in a start-up that he wasn’t passionate about, and then deciding to change course completely and buy a one way ticket to Argentina. He takes us on his journey of slow-traveling the world for 12 years, making local friends, and understanding foreign places by the people and cultures that define them. Gareth shares stories from his first 5 years in South America—Learning Spanish in Buenos Aires, learning to cook Peruvian food in Lima, volunteering to build libraries in Bolivia, helping small businesses get micro-loans in Guatemala, and working at the World Cup in Brazil. He also tells the story of how he got to perform in the Level 1 Samba School Parade Competition at Carnival in Rio. Gareth then talks about the techniques he has developed for traveling deeper and transforming from a tourist to a townie. He shares specific tactics on how to make local friends, develop a local social network, and immerse into the local culture. Gareth talks about how he currently determines his travel destinations, and gives tips on how to travel deeper on shorter trips or vacations. He also breaks down the sustainability pillars for maintaining a healthy, fulfilling, substantive life of full time world travel for 12 years. And, finally, he talks about his “why” for continuing to travel and, at this point in his life, what travel means to him. → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here. ============================ FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests. ============================ FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU See my Top 10 Travel Apps See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ============================ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!