About

Saying this as someone who's been doing slow travel for 5+ years and has 141 flights tracked on Flighty — yes, I'm the actual person writing every word here.

Hi, I'm Kseniia 👋

I'm a slow traveler and digital nomad based in Spain about 70% of the year — the rest of my time is split between Bali, France, Hungary, and visits home.

I write the practical stuff I wish someone had told me before each trip. No sponsored fluff. No Instagram bait. Just what actually works.

Who this is for

If you're a slow traveler — someone who'd rather spend a month in one neighborhood than tick off six countries in a fortnight — or a digital nomad figuring out where to actually base yourself this season, this blog is for you. I write especially with women travelers and remote workers in mind, because that's the kind of trip planning advice I needed when I started.

What I actually write about

Practical, honest guides — not destination listicles. The kind of stuff that helps you make the next decision:

🛂 Visa logistics — what's actually possible vs. what travel agents oversell
🏡 Where to live for 1-6 months — neighborhoods, not just cities
💸 Real cost of living — with numbers I've actually paid, not Reddit estimates from 2018
💻 Coworking, wifi, and remote-work realities — including which "digital nomad hubs" are overrated
🛵 Getting around — scooters, transfers, when to walk
🍜 Where to eat — local picks, not Instagram traps

Right now my deepest coverage is on Bali. Next up: Spain (where I live), then France, Portugal, and Hungary — places I've spent significant time in, not just airport-layovers.

Why "Rumroom"?

It's the personal brand I've been writing under for years — across this travel blog, my marketing blog at rumroom.space, and the older Russian-language version at travel.rumroom.ru. The name comes from the idea of "room for thoughts" — a small, quiet space to think clearly. Which is exactly how I feel about slow travel: the whole point is leaving room for the place to actually land.

How I make money (honest version)

Some of the links in my guides — for things like travel insurance, eSIMs, scooter rentals, accommodation, and visa services — are affiliate links. That means if you click one and end up booking, I get a small commission. It doesn't cost you anything extra.

What I will never do:

✅ Recommend something I haven't used or wouldn't use myself
✅ Take money to write about a place or product
✅ Hide the fact that a link is affiliate

If I mention a service it's because I actually used it (or, in a couple of cases, because a trusted friend who lives full-time in the place uses it and reports back honestly). When I have reservations about a brand, I say so.

Full disclosure on the Affiliate Disclosure page.

A note on AI

I use AI tools to help with translation (between Russian and English), research scaffolding, and editing — the same way I use a calculator or spell-check. Every guide is based on my real travel and decisions, written and reviewed by me. Nothing here is auto-generated copy. If a paragraph feels off, blame me, not the model.

Get in touch

Got a question, a correction, or want a personal recommendation I haven't written up yet? I read every email.

📧 hello@rumroom.world

Thanks for reading. Genuinely. — Kseniia