Meet Stuart
I retired in October 2023 at age 50 to begin this adventure. Best decision I ever made.
After some random jobs as a farm laborer, fast food worker, telemarketer and bank teller while in high school and college — which taught me that I did NOT want to work outside, in sales or for minimum wage — I eventually ended up going to law school. I spent approximately 15 years working at large law firms in Dallas, Texas, and Washington, DC. I relocated to Oklahoma in 2013 to accept an in-house counsel role specializing in employee benefits and executive compensation for a large oil and gas company. I transitioned to the business side in 2016 and ultimately finished my career as a corporate HR executive.
In hindsight, I was never cut out for Biglaw or corporate America. I am on the autism spectrum, have waged a lifelong battle with anxiety and depression, am acutely uncomfortable around people and consistently pushed myself too hard in an attempt to compensate for my weaknesses, which eventually (and predictably) led to some serious health issues that accelerated my early retirement timeline.
I am a researcher and optimizer by nature. For me, the best part of travel is the planning. I dislike crowds, extreme temperatures and unplanned spontaneity. I am easily bored and appreciate comfort but hate to spend any more money than is absolutely necessary on anything. All of that said, I have grown to recognize that the best experiences come when I force myself out of my comfort zone.
I feel that it is important to be culturally respectful and socially responsible as a traveler. However, I also have a dark sense of humor and frequently rely on sarcasm and hyperbole to make my points. Since tone does not always translate well onto the written page, I will caution that I may post things that are insensitive or even (unintentionally) offensive. To that end, I try to be mindful and want to know when I’ve done something wrong but am not aiming for perfection.
Meet Darla
I left a career in trial consulting many years ago to raise our son and maintain our household, which was a lot more work than I ever expected but totally worth it. Marrying me was the best decision Stu ever made.
We sent our son off to college in 2021 (after a year of him taking college classes from home during the pandemic lockdown), then began the massive project of shrinking our household possessions so we could downsize to a smaller house closer to downtown Tulsa when Stu returned to the office in 2022.
I spent most of my childhood and early adult years in Dallas, Texas. However, I also spent a few years as a young child in Oregon, Guam and American Samoa, which no doubt influenced my love of the ocean and desire to be near the water. I honestly did not think I would ever leave Texas but enjoyed our time in the Washington, DC area (especially northern Virginia) and have really grown to appreciate Tulsa.
I enjoy seeing new places and experiencing different food and culture, but have been informed that I am not always an easy travel companion. In addition to crowds and extreme temperatures, I strongly dislike germs, strange smells and sleeping anywhere but my own bed. I do not do well with airplanes, cruise ships or buses. Stu will have to figure out how to minimize my travel time or make it a lot more comfortable if he is going to keep me happy over the next year and have any chance of convincing me to do this on a more permanent basis someday.
Our son graduated from Pitzer College in December 2024. He currently is working part-time and is immersed in the medical school application process, with the goal of matriculating somewhere in the fall of 2026. He has kindly agreed to care for our home and our two elderly dogs while we travel for a year. I suspect that time will fly by for all of us.
The Global Slowmad 