Nomad or Vagabond?

Another realization I’ve had in recent years is that I like travel.  No, I LOVE travel!  Not the fly-all-over-for-work-every-other-day travel, but wandering travel.

I love seeing new places and things.

I love seeing familiar places and things in new ways.

I love experiencing different cultures.

I love the feeling of going places.

Maybe this isn’t a huge revelation.  I had traveled to more than half the US by the time I was 12.  (Much of it cooped up in a station wagon with my sister singing “Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow…” incessantly, or in a way-too-small pickup with my whole family and the large family dog.)

I covered 48 states and 8 countries with a music group between 18 and 22.

I traveled full-time for 9 months with my wife in an RV, touching 39 states and 1 province, crossing the country 3 times.

OK, ok, not a revelation at all.

Here’s the thing, though.  We nomads are not uncommon.  (Technically, I’m more of a vagabond, since nomads travel to find food or pasture land, something I don’t have to worry about in my First World lifestyle.  But vagabond, like transient, itinerant, migrant, drifter, hippie, and others, has a negative connotation.  I’m gainfully employed, and just travel for pleasure.  I’m open to new descriptions…)

The wayfaring lifestyle is growing.  With mobile phones, the Internet, AirBNB, coworking spaces, and other nifty tools, living a lifestyle where you’re not tied down to a house and a workplace has become easier.  Want some examples?

• This family of 5 has been sailing around the world for 9 years.
• One of Estonia’s first “e-residents” explains what it means to have digital citizenship.
• Sites like nomadgate.com are dedicated to providing information for the nomad lifestyle.

But what are the downsides?  Surely, if it’s all roses, everyone would be doing it.  Honestly, I think one of the biggest barriers for people is that they’re used to being in one place.  They’ve never done it before, and don’t have examples of the lifestyle, so it must be hard.

To be fair, there are some challenges, but living the lifestyle isn’t as hard as you think.

• Friends and family are a “Facetime” away.
• Having less stuff to tote around is a blessing.
• Having to plan ahead – well, hopefully everyone is doing that in their daily life anyway.  It’s just a different type of planning.

The biggest challenge, in my opinion, is that certain things “require” a physical address.  If you want to insure anything – like, say, your laptop – your insurance company wants your physical address.  Your bank, the IRS, your employer, they all want you to have a physical address.  There are ways around it in most cases, but it does become a logistical challenge.

But I wouldn’t have it any other way…