Foreign Property News | Posted by Hnin Ei Khin
A San Diego man got so tired of living in a regular country that he founded one in the California desert.
Randy Williams, the self-appointed sultan of Slowjamastan, told CNN that he had visited every UN-recognized county in the world: "I ran out of countries, so I created my own," he said.
The micronation is an 11.07-acre plot of desert land off Southern California's Route 78. Its official name is the Republic of Slowjamastan, named for its leader's love of slow jams.
CNN reported that Slowjamastan — which has its own flag, currency, and national anthem — declared its sovereign status and seceded from the US proper on December 1, 2021.
It even has its own timezone, Slowjamastan Standard Time, and 12 states within the 11-acre space, including Dublândia, the capital.
Williams told CNN that he had visited at least one other micronation: the Republic of Molossia, a similarly sized micronation in Nevada that supposedly seceded from the US in 1998. Inspired by his visit, Williams went home and bought the land in California in October 2021 before declaring the country independent three months later.
Whether the independence of Slowjamastan is recognized is debatable. Williams told Insider that President Joe Biden had yet to acknowledge his micronation's secession via email and social media. The country's website says it's recognized by "The Sultan's mom" but does not list formal diplomatic relations with other nations.
Williams wrote in his bio that he still spent "most of his time outside of Slowjamastan." That's around 70 miles away, where he works as a radio DJ at the San Diego stations Magic 92.5 and Z90.
"I do wish to one day construct a grand palace for The Sultan and his harem, but for now, I am concentrating on the people," Williams told Insider.
Ref: A San Diego man got sick of living in a regular country so he founded a nation of his own called Slowjamastan and crowned himself its sultan (insider)
