ASU2003

I've met quite a few people in the past few wees who haven't been home in months, myself included. Some are temporary nurses brought in from the north, others are retired RVers who live in their RV and travel where they want to. I've met businessmen who are on the road 90+% of the time, and people who lived on their sailboat in Marina del Ray. And a few years ago I met a Crazy guy on a bike in Canada who had started in Patagonia (crazyguyonabike.com) who had been living with just what he could carry on his bike for the past two years. I met a girl in a hostel in Australia that had been backpacking around the world for 6 months in South America, 6 months in New Zealand/Australia, and was planning on going to Asia and Europe for the next year and then Canada.

I guess the four biggest questions are "do you need a job or lots of money?", "Is it remotely possible to get into a relationship when you don't know where you will be in a week?", "How long would you go for?", and "Can you downsize your life enough?"

I would like to think I could downsize my life enough, and by traveling only to warm climates, it would cut down on some of the gear. I could easily go in an RV or sailboat for months or years, it is trying to get down to 50lbs of gear on a bike and have it take up less than a 3'x2'x2' space that might be tough for me. I could easily do it for 3-4 months though.

Money and the job are my issues. If you only used renewable energy on a sailboat. Or you only used low power electronics on a bike, you could get rid of a lot of bills. No property tax, no home owners association fees, no electric bill, no water bill, and you won't buy a lot of unneeded stuff... The initial cost might be high, but it would be cheaper than trying to buy a house on the beach in CA or Hawaii. The recurring costs would be food, entertainment, occasional campground/hostel/marina fees, and health insurance.

The other problem would be that things like drivers licenses and credit cards aren't setup for people with no address.

*One other thing would be how often you could see your family. In the summer months I might be able to see them a lot more than I do now, but in the winter months I would want to be someplace warm.

Charlatan

Short answer: yes.

Longer answer: Yes, so long as I knew that I had saved enough for may later years in life. I do not want to be destitute when I am very old and can't earn enough money to just get by. Otherwise, I am all for living a very minimalist life.

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G~man

I live on the road.

OK---I do for my work. I have a home in Florida that I have not seen in over two years. Last year I spent 316 nights in hotels and the rest, (just under 2 months) in the company trailer in an RV park.

I use my work address as my home address for drivers license and credit cards. I have enough stuff in two truck boxes that I carry around with me.

So my situation is different, but it can be done....I have lived this way for 5 years now.

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bagatelle

Sort of. My dad is a retired trucker. I've taken a few trips with him, the longest was from Finland to Greece in 70's, took three weeks. I was only 10 and mom was also with us. We slept in the truck, it was quite tight, because it only had two narrow beds for drivers. One night we spent in hotel in Athens. Two nights in ferry from Fin to Poland.

We now have caravan (mobile home) and we use it to traveling in Finland. It's refreshing to get away from all the stuff there is at home and pack only a few things.

We haven't really had time to take very long trips, so that it would feel like we were living in the caravan. The camping sites are so well equipped these days, it wouldn't be a problem. Our caravan is not depending on electricity though.

It's not that nomadic, you can still carry a lot of stuff in the truck or car, we've even had tv and computer with us, but I've made a rule of leaving them home in recent years. Caravan traveling takes a lot of money. But if you drive a truck for a living, that takes care of the traveling costs.

I wouldn't travel alone. Kids are another thing, I wouldn't want to raise them on the road.

I do have a desire to try and live in wilderness somewhere, maybe Lapland, meeting no people for months, no tv or internet, maybe even no electricity. I would still need a companion, I think.

But still I can't imagine myself selling the house and all property and not have a steady home somewhere.

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Plan9

I kinda already do. It's weird; I think it's a big part of the reason why I go out and get all these nice things to stuff inside an address I never see. Television, The Couch, motorcycle, girlfriend, etc. I want to feel like I have an anchor somewhere. Living out of a backpack gets old at times. My next big goal is to find a job where I can have things like friends and hobbies because I'm not stuck on another planet long periods of time doing nothing.

As far as I see it, the way Modern Society (TM) functions isn't conducive to this type of lifestyle for more than a few years. You have to start with an address and end with an address, even if you have to fake it. The popular white person habit of traveling the globe without the burden of such a thing is fun and all if but whimsical. When is a good time to do this sort of thing? After college? Before kids? Things like having a decent-paying job and saving for retirement and relationships come into play and you realize that a home of record is just as important as your social security number in many ways. It's not that it can't be done, just that the way that many normal life goals would make it incredibly difficult to do. Having kids on the road? They gotta go to school somehow. That and if you don't have anywhere to store all your consumer-society things where you can access them regularly (such as in another consumer-society item: the single family home), you can't own a whole lot because you're limited to whatever you can carry. That changes a person.

Very Atom Smasher-y, Bagatelle. I approve.

And I don't envy your lifestyle, G~man.

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Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

jewels

I tend to get bored and move every year or two, always longing to go far away, but usually settling on hours away. The longest I've been at an address as an adult was three years. Not sure if I'm proud of this, as someone accused me of running away, but I just get this urge ...

There's always been a fantasy for me to experience things and I've always dreamed of living in various regions of the US and world for 6 months to a year or so to experience the lifestyle and culture of these places.

That said, I think I could settle for an RV (yes, I've thought about that too) and putter around for a loooong time. May very well do so once my girls are able to fend for themselves.

---------- Post added at 04:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:26 AM ----------

Side of the road, rest stops and Walmart parking lots take care of the "home" expenses and needs. For food, entertainment and gas there are always small odd jobs to be found.

Use the address of a family member or someone you trust to hold mail for you. Everything else can be done online.

Have them come visit you.

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MeltedMetalGlob

I've lived in the same area almost 40 years- a few miles from my childhood home. I have roots here. My parents still live nearby, a few close friends still live within 30 mins. driving distance, and I don't want my daughter to have to abandon any of the friends she's made these past few years. My old lady also has the bulk of her friends living in this area.

So, no- I couldn't live a nomadic lifestyle. I might change my mind, but my parents would have to have passed on, my daughter grown up and moved away, and my friends also passed on or fallen out of contact.

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HandmeDown

I basically live out of my car (a company car), hotels, a small carry-on suitcase, and a briefcase. I have a couple of laptops and 2 cell phones. I mostly eat on the road or what the hotel provides for room service (which is reimbursed by my company). Almost every dime I make goes straight into the bank.

So yes, you can live very minimally and survive. But you have to get used to it and resigned to it.

However, on the other end of my career, a fat bank account and 401k are building up, so it's great knowing that it won't be this way forever.

People in the military are often in the same advantageous situation. I'd go that route in the heartbeat if I were younger.

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citadel

I think I could for a few months at a time, but I'd have to have a home to return to eventually. It's fun and exciting for awhile, but I'm a creature of habit, and would need to be able to go home at some point to get back to my routine.

I just don't know if I could do that. For a ton of money and a guaranteed end in sight I might be able to, but...tough stuff.

Strange Famous

I spent 1 year working in another city 3/4 days a week, living in hotels.

At the start I found it a novelty (meals out every night, no housework) but in the thend I found it tough going, not feeling like either place was home anymore, not having any good mates in the new place and not being in touch with my mates in my home town... I wouldnt want to do it forever.

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Zeraph

I'd be curious to try it, so long as I had enough money to be comfortable. On the other hand, I definitely have the need to plant roots and sit still, at least eventually. I need to move near the ocean and the forest and the mountains.

TigerBlood

Citadel, I'm with you on this one. Of course, I have that fantasy of trekking all over the world with only the things that can fit in a backpack; but like you, I appreciate routine. I enjoy sleeping in my own bed, and being curled up with my kitty and SO every night. I'm out right now on a two week training trip and I miss them both terribly. One week left to go and I'm already sick of the hotel and eating out.

There's no place like home.

HandmeDown

Going back to the OP and question "could you" it seems that some people are better suited or more comfortable living a nomadic lifestyle and some people love that settled, "this is my crib" feeling.

My personality is such that I quickly get bored staying one place too long, so my work and my lifestyle fits my personality and my living choices.

If I were a musician, I'd be the one on the road all the time, living in a motor coach (which I guess is just a rolling crib).

If I were in a sports, I'd play baseball and be in a different city every other day.

If I were a photojournalist, I'd be moving to the next assignment, anywhere in the world, within 24 hours.

In all those scenarios, I'd be happy making wherever I am my crib for a day or two. And then be just as happy to move on.

It seems to me to be a personality and lifestyle choice and the OP is asking, if you had the choice, would you? If you are one way, could you be the other? Or be willing to explore the other?

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Zeraph

Actually the more I think about it, the more I think I'd love being a nomad. Its just the rest of the crap you have to deal with that I don't want to be one. So until I can teleport and carry nearly all my belongings in a small suitcase, have an instant mega tent/portable secure campsite I don't think I'll be wandering. But a walkabout sounds very very cool....just too much uncertainty for me. Otherwise I'd love it. Especially if I could find an SO to go with.

Plan9

Zeraph:

So, basically, you're cool with being a nomad except for all the aspects of being a nomad?

That's called a vacation.

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Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

Zeraph

Not really. Think it through. A vacation is temporary. A nomad is not.

citadel

Something about cake and eating it comes to mind.

Plan9

My point exactly. You don't get to take whatever you want, you don't get the luxury of the same large space every day, etc.

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Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

citadel

He might be spot on with the walkabout thing though. From what I remember of Crocadile Dundee it's a 6-8 month period of wandering around.

Wandrin

Drivers licenses, registration, insurance, and credit cards are no problem. Have you ever wondered why so many full-time RV folks have South Dakota license plates? SD allows all license and registration issues to be handled by mail. There are many mail handling businesses in SD that specialize in full-timers. You get a street address with an "apartment number", that is used to process mail. I can check online to see how much mail has accumulated. When I know that I will be somewhere for a couple of days, the mail can be sent via the postal service, UPS, or FedEx. No problem.

On my roof is a small dome, about a foot high. Inside is my sat dish. I select between HughesNet for Internet connection or DirecTV (different satellites). My work only requires me to check in for email, most of the time. I do attend a few virtual meetings via Internet and deliver my completed projects that way. It is difficult to get out of cell phone range, these days, but I have a cute little box that can give me cell phone coverage through the Internet connection.

It doesn't take a lot of money. I have a large refrigerator, microwave, and stove, so I go grocery shopping like anyone else. Laundry involves parking near a laundromat, but isn't really a problem.

Why only warm climates? My tanks are in the basement of the coach, which is heated. I have a good furnace and AC. The bank of batteries will allow me to go for about a week without firing up the generator or plugging in.

Where is the hardship?

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Zeraph

Unless you're filthy rich and have servants.

ASU2003

Because I don't like cold weather.

I don't know. I have lived in a fixed house or apartment my entire life. I have been on the road for the past three months, and am living with the 'most important' 5% of my stuff. I haven't missed my house and the mess the stuff makes at all.

But, the question that goes through my mind is, is this normal? Would people accept it? How would you make any good friends if you had to move to different places? They might be unfounded fears...

Zeraph

If you are really egregiously outgoing I think it could work. Especially if you make a sort of track and see your friends the same time each year. I've known a few people like this, and they manage well. They probably have the richest lives of all of us. Its something I wish I could do.

edit: heh it helps if you play a musical instrument. Its a good way to make change and meet people. Just go to the artsy district of wherever you are and start playing. Ask a few bars if they wouldn't mind letting you play for free drinks.

Wandrin

I think you might be surprised. Why would you think that one's dating life would be impaired by living in a mobile situation? I was living in my coach and moving between projects for many years when I met "the one". She convinced me to settle down with her, so we got married and bought a house.

Dating was never a problem during my 16 years living in the coach and on the road. I was that strange person from somewhere else. Wherever I roamed, the opening line from someone would be, "You're not from around her, are you?" And then fun would happen...

I'm not an extravert and I never needed to be.

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skizziks

i've led a semi nomadic life, moving a lot, and even living out of a backpack for a few months and traveling, living on the road, no home. it's fun, it's cool, but it can wear on you after a while. I think you can definitely do it, but it would be easier if you were doing it as a group or at least with one other person. we humans tend to be social animals, and while many of us live our lives solo, the ones who are alone for a looooong time tend to be a bit...off. we tend to want community, and that is difficult when you are a nomad. the only downside to living a nomadic lifestyle would be the loneliness. this is assuming by nomad you mean on your own.
of course, the bedouin are nomadic and they do quite well. they pack all their shit and move as a group. it works for them.

ASU2003

Why do I get the feeling that everything I have experienced thus far in life tells me this is true, yet I falsely believe that living in some apartment or owning a house will make it easier to meet someone? I know I met more girls my age in one week backpacking than one year here.

And yes, it would be easier if there was a community like the snowbirds for the 65+ crowd that migrate south for the winter and then go back north to their families and former lives. I just wish with the productivity increases in technology that we could come up with new ways to live different places, yet not have to give up on a steady job.

Wandrin

There are plenty of people "full-timing" on the road who are not in the 65+ age group. I meet them all the time. You don't have to give up on a steady job either. There are many jobs where it doesn't matter where you are as long as you have telephone access and an internet connection. I have a fried who is the most senior support engineer for a large computer company. He is the guy that gets the call when no one else can figure it out. He chooses to live in Stanley, Idaho. If you've never been there, there is a gas station/restaurant/store, a campground, a river, and forests/mountains - that's it.

I choose to be self-employed in what I do, but could easily be working for someone else (except that I like not having a boss). All I need is computers, Internet connection (sat), and phone (cell). My clients don't really care where I happen to be when I'm doing my work.

Don't let anyone convince you that you can't do what you want to do. There is always a way to make it happen.

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If ignorance is bliss then why are the ignorant so angry? - Shannon Wheeler

ASU2003

There are plenty of 'individuals' and a few 'couples' doing this, yet it is very random. Now, I dislike big group travel for lots of reasons... but having a group of 50 people semi-traveling together in the same direction (think Cannonball Run without the speed...) would be better from a security and planning perspective.

Wandrin

I prefer to wander, but there are some fun group excursions. Every year, there are barges that float down the Mississippi full of motorhomes on their way to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It is one long party. There is a train that goes from El Paso into Copper Canyon in Chihuahua. The train consists of flat cars onto which travelers drive their rigs and tie down. That one is fun too. There are many such excursions. Then there are the destinations, such as Burning Man in the desert.

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If ignorance is bliss then why are the ignorant so angry? - Shannon Wheeler

ASU2003

Those are still short term group excursions... not to nitpick, but I'm thinking of a group that all go to the same areas at the same time year after year.

Wandrin

Check out escapees. They are all full-timers, of various ages, and know about virtually all of the organized tours, meet-ups, etc. They have a web site, although it can be a little difficult to find the forums the first time.

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skizziks

follow the hostel circuit in any non-european country (asia or central/south america are good for this, european is a bit more "rich and exclusive."). that is sort of what i did in mexico, guatemala and honduras. you are all traveling, all pretty much nomadic, you move as a sort of group, small groups form, break up, re-form, etc.

or if you want to stay in the states, you can advertise and start your own group. odd thing is, many of the people traveling prefer to go solo or with one or two close friends. groups tend to be unwieldy and don't work as well.

---------- Post added at 10:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:10 PM ----------

now you are delving into AARP snowbird/RV crowd territory.

again, bedouins seem to be the nomadic group you are describing. otherwise, you are pretty much solo.