Transient or resident, which is better?
 

So as I travel about, staying in a town no more than 3 days, I got to thinking. Its cool, cause I get to see so much, get a little taste of everything, and then move on before I get bored.

The downside is, I will always be an outsider, I will never belong.

Before I left, I would ride my bike down to the coffeeshop, the pizza place, wherever, and they knew me, would greet me, i was part of the community. I belonged.

I think we humans, or at least most of us, are hardwired to travel and live in packs, be part of a group. Hence traditonial punishment was being ostracized, getting kicked out of the tribe. Cut off a thiefs right hand in the middle east, since they use the left to wipe thier ass, and since you eat communally, someone without a right hand was automatically forced to eat alone, outside the group. Punishment.

There are some people who like the solitude, the hermits and such, but they are rare i think.

So, I`m starting to wonder, as nice as living out of a backpack is, seeing different stuff, free and unencumberd, it can be, and will eventualyl get lonely, I think. Assuming I will be a nomad for the rest of my life, cause I am kinda digging it now, and I don´t really have anywhere to go, I wonder how I will change, what will happen.

Wonder what others think.

That might be difficult for me. I love to travel, but always appreciate having a home base to return to.

I guess I am more of the resident type.

I'm a resident type. I actually like being on my own quite a bit but I get anxious without the security of a home.

Well, skizziks, there's two things to think about for your situation.

A: Do you have the economy to live the drifter lifestyle forever? From what I know, you don't have any income and have steady (if miniscule) expenses. At some point you'll have to get some income, and that could provide ties to an area.

B: I do think that it could get lonely, and that there's some people who it'd work for, and some it wouldn't. I could never do what you're doing for an extended amount of time, money or no. I need human warmth. With a partner? Sure.

I also don't think you have to keep this lifestyle forever. At some point I hope you'll have your fill and reevaluate what you want to do with the rest of your life, and then hop back on track to achieving it. But that's from my biased perspective: you should (and will) do what you want.

The longer you live any type of lifestyle, the harder it is change, I think.
I have a daughter, and now I couldn't imagine being transient.
Do you want a family, at some point?

I am a resident for sure. I don't like change. I'm a homebody.

I'm pleading phases of life.

Been a resident for so many years now, but definitely looking forward to becoming a transient.

It depends on what your "residence" is. With my current residence, I'd drop it like it's hot to go into a transient state without a second thought.

Had a family, don´t care for that scene too much. I want a "partner in crime," someone to do stuff with, be with. That someone would be female, in case you were wondering.

I think I'm a transient type, for now. If not physically (because I've lived in Central Oregon for 3 years), then mentally, I still feel like a transient. This is because I feel I am free-spirited, and can't actually think of staying in any one place for too long. 3 years and I'm already getting the jitters!

I am transient because I have no attachments to a family (no kids).
I am transient because I just got out of a long term relationship (5 years!). The gist of it was that I no longer felt it was my path to be in a relationshp, even though I didn't want to leave him. I knew I had to experience living life on my own (lived with my parents for 23 years and moved straight into his place after that), finding my sense of self, and gaining confidence and independence.
I am transient because I am searching... I want to travel, I want to experience new things.. I am terrified of change but I want to face it head on.
I am transient because while I do own a house, I am looking to room with other people and pay rent again.

So being transient is more of a state-of-mind for me right now, but that means I'd like to make it more of a reality soon...
I really am not in a place, or age, to want to settle right now. I am young, still in my 20s. That's not to say that being in my previous relationship was 'settling' for my ex... I really do think we were the right people at the wrong time.

I have spent my 20s as a transient, and am getting ready to shift into resident stage as I approach my 30th year. But in my heart, I think I am generally still a transient... I crave change, new places, new faces, almost instinctively. I get bored very easily. I loved, loved, LOVED every moment of backpacking around Europe... the only letdown were my "partners in crime," who eventually revealed themselves to be more "resident" types and did not like being dragged around everywhere. :D

That said, I do miss having a physical "home," though my husband is my portable home and I always feel at ease and comfortable, as long as we are together. I look forward to the next stage of my life as a "resident," but I'll always be open to new places. People stagnate without change.

I am a resident at the moment, living in the Orlando area while I am pursuing my degree. Even so, I feel no connection to the region and believe that I would be equally comfortable with a transient lifestyle, so long as I have access to a private area to peacefully unwind after the day.

I've lived in the same place for the last 8 years, but it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I began to feel like a resident. College fosters a sort of transient/resident lifestyle, wherein one moves about from living situation to living situation in the same community. I've lived in 12 different situations in the last 8 years, but only 2 situations in the last 3--2 years in the last place, 3 months so far in the new one, and I've got a 2-year lease.

Personally, I prefer being a resident for the time being, though I can see that may change in the future. I live in an awesome town, in a great house, and it's a really fantastic place to be.

My husband and I take occasional backpacking vacations from our residential lifestyle. It's a good balance. Always nice to have someplace to call home.

At the moment, I'm a resident... but the wanderlust has been getting stronger this year.

It seems like I long for home when I AM transient...but at the same time, I love being on the road. I love airports at three in the morning. I love exploring new places. I love not feeling bound to one place.