Very interesting story! I love how you acknowledged privileges that many of us nomads have, such as able-bodiedness and strong passports. It's so important to be aware of this! So glad I found your Substack!
Able-bodiedness is almost an imperative for a nomad! It's not for the weak, for certain. Having a valid passport helps, even if it just means Mexico or Canada from the U.S. Travel on!
I had to read it aloud to my husband. He stopped me several times to read a sentence again and discuss it. It made for an excellent start to our day, broken down in the back corner of a muddy truck stop, beginning our third day of awaiting truck parts and a mechanic, after a chaotic night of severe thunderstorms. Indeed, we are homeless by choice, and our kind of travel is a privilege.
Daniel and I now stay on a sailboat and experience what it’s like to live in a small space such as a van. It’s not easy! And we, too, are touched by the weather so much more than usual. We keep saying: this is interesting. Even when it’s not exactly fun. I hope your van drives soon again.
So true!! I have made some lasting friendships of fellow nomads we've met along the way. It is such a tight-knit community, even though so independent and spread out.
It is definitely not always fun, but is always interesting. We use a van and sometimes a tiny travel trailer pull-behind. It helps to like each other. :)
I know that one day health will force us to stop and since I so love living this way, I want to keep going as long as possible. So right now I'm not even sure the perfect place would tempt me to stop.
Being a couple is all about finding a middle way and accepting compromises. I'm sure we will make a decision we can both be happy with when the time comes.
My husband and I have been expats for decades, and we’ve come to believe there are “settlers” and “pioneers”, perhaps a very American reference, but it works. We are pioneers, happy to stay in one spot for a time, but always knowing the world is out there waiting for us. That doesn’t mean we don’t carry a sense of home with us, it means home is wherever we are. think you and I may be kindred spirits. I’m enjoying you work, thanks for sharing it.
Thank you for reading and nice meeting you! We are kindred spirits in the sense that we carry our home with us and enjoy being pioneers, that's for sure. Where do you live at the moment?
I LOVE this post. The decision to become a nomad--and finding yourselves, as a couple, well-suited for it. The shifting mindset. Happily getting stuck in Vietnam. Writing as a home. The getting rid of the stuff. I love all of it because I relate. And I am inspired and encouraged. I am so glad to have found your writing as we are still early in our launch as nomads. We have been planning and working and testing the waters for three years now, but only just launched as full-timers with no rooted home a few months ago. Thanks for writing. I am following along. Perhaps someday our physical paths will cross. 💜
Thank you! And I guess I’m telling you and others indeed: Yes, it’s possible. As long as you stay flexible and adapt to whatever the circumstances happen to be at that time. Welcome to the nomad world and yes to meeting in real life when possible.
Marvelous!! I've been nomadic for over three years, but have not been internationally nomadic (yet). I started a group on Facebook where nomads can share food and cooking ideas @Van Life Pantry -Nomadic Prepper Pantry. I totally resonate with sometimes feeling the want to have the ability to NOT go, but also with the need to heed the call of the unknown and go...everywhere. I am adopting the idea of writing as Home. I tell people my home is everywhere I go, but I like the idea of Writing Is My Home.
You shared a beautiful photo of you in the red sands of Morocco's Sahara. I have a beautiful photo of me in the White Sands of New Mexico, barefoot, digging my toes in and spreading my arms to the sky. Live for now. Live for living.
It was an edifying read. It’s fascinating to compare and contrast writing as an exile with writing as a nomad. Both seem to require the ability to find mental space amid the chaos of constant change in order to process creative ideas. Often, it seems that while experience fuels the mind, a sense of peace or continuity is needed to fully process that experience and transform it into creation.
Yes, you express it very elegantly. Experience is the fuel but calmness is needed for reflection and for turning the experience into something that will last.
I find this as well. After three years, I occasionally find it tedious to have to set up the laptop and second screen over and over again everywhere I go. To find places to write that feed the soul and spark imagination. To have the energy to find the next place and to set up and take down again...
Very interesting story! I love how you acknowledged privileges that many of us nomads have, such as able-bodiedness and strong passports. It's so important to be aware of this! So glad I found your Substack!
Able-bodiedness is almost an imperative for a nomad! It's not for the weak, for certain. Having a valid passport helps, even if it just means Mexico or Canada from the U.S. Travel on!
Thanks, Caterina! I’m always glad to discover new nomad/expats here. We all have things in common and we each have a unique story.
I had to read it aloud to my husband. He stopped me several times to read a sentence again and discuss it. It made for an excellent start to our day, broken down in the back corner of a muddy truck stop, beginning our third day of awaiting truck parts and a mechanic, after a chaotic night of severe thunderstorms. Indeed, we are homeless by choice, and our kind of travel is a privilege.
Daniel and I now stay on a sailboat and experience what it’s like to live in a small space such as a van. It’s not easy! And we, too, are touched by the weather so much more than usual. We keep saying: this is interesting. Even when it’s not exactly fun. I hope your van drives soon again.
Indeed. It is all interesting, and there is something to learn from every person, every circumstance along the journey. 💜
So true!! I have made some lasting friendships of fellow nomads we've met along the way. It is such a tight-knit community, even though so independent and spread out.
Yes! With fellow nomads, you already share some elemental values.
It is definitely not always fun, but is always interesting. We use a van and sometimes a tiny travel trailer pull-behind. It helps to like each other. :)
Agreed! So many don't understand the "homeless [nay, houseless] by choice" choice.
Glad you found your way to a nomadic life that is suiting you so well!
Sometimes I think we, too, cannot find a place we both find ideal for settling, so we just keep roaming that globe...
I know that one day health will force us to stop and since I so love living this way, I want to keep going as long as possible. So right now I'm not even sure the perfect place would tempt me to stop.
Daniel feels the same. (He’s a little older than me.) We are very grateful for our health.
I love this. What happens when one of you wants to keep going and the other is ready to stop?
Being a couple is all about finding a middle way and accepting compromises. I'm sure we will make a decision we can both be happy with when the time comes.
My husband and I have been expats for decades, and we’ve come to believe there are “settlers” and “pioneers”, perhaps a very American reference, but it works. We are pioneers, happy to stay in one spot for a time, but always knowing the world is out there waiting for us. That doesn’t mean we don’t carry a sense of home with us, it means home is wherever we are. think you and I may be kindred spirits. I’m enjoying you work, thanks for sharing it.
Thank you for reading and nice meeting you! We are kindred spirits in the sense that we carry our home with us and enjoy being pioneers, that's for sure. Where do you live at the moment?
I am much more Pioneer, and the rest of my family seem to be much more Settler. It is a difficult balance to strike.
Loved this Claire. I think I may have known part of it, but not all. Love that title - Paris or Nowhere...enjoy your trip back to Japan.
Thanks, Jeanine! Back to Japan is in spirit only for now, in the newsletter, but it will be a delightful journey regardless.
I LOVE this post. The decision to become a nomad--and finding yourselves, as a couple, well-suited for it. The shifting mindset. Happily getting stuck in Vietnam. Writing as a home. The getting rid of the stuff. I love all of it because I relate. And I am inspired and encouraged. I am so glad to have found your writing as we are still early in our launch as nomads. We have been planning and working and testing the waters for three years now, but only just launched as full-timers with no rooted home a few months ago. Thanks for writing. I am following along. Perhaps someday our physical paths will cross. 💜
Thank you! And I guess I’m telling you and others indeed: Yes, it’s possible. As long as you stay flexible and adapt to whatever the circumstances happen to be at that time. Welcome to the nomad world and yes to meeting in real life when possible.
We are definitely enrolled in an intensive course on flexibility right now!
Marvelous!! I've been nomadic for over three years, but have not been internationally nomadic (yet). I started a group on Facebook where nomads can share food and cooking ideas @Van Life Pantry -Nomadic Prepper Pantry. I totally resonate with sometimes feeling the want to have the ability to NOT go, but also with the need to heed the call of the unknown and go...everywhere. I am adopting the idea of writing as Home. I tell people my home is everywhere I go, but I like the idea of Writing Is My Home.
You shared a beautiful photo of you in the red sands of Morocco's Sahara. I have a beautiful photo of me in the White Sands of New Mexico, barefoot, digging my toes in and spreading my arms to the sky. Live for now. Live for living.
Beautiful life mottos, Shonda! I'm going to look for your photo now!
You can now find it here: https://shondasinclair.substack.com/p/nomadic-living-where-everywhere-is
I haven't put it on Substack yet, but now I must. It will be the subject of my next post.
It is just another life^^
And that’s true as well!
It was an edifying read. It’s fascinating to compare and contrast writing as an exile with writing as a nomad. Both seem to require the ability to find mental space amid the chaos of constant change in order to process creative ideas. Often, it seems that while experience fuels the mind, a sense of peace or continuity is needed to fully process that experience and transform it into creation.
Yes, you express it very elegantly. Experience is the fuel but calmness is needed for reflection and for turning the experience into something that will last.
I find this as well. After three years, I occasionally find it tedious to have to set up the laptop and second screen over and over again everywhere I go. To find places to write that feed the soul and spark imagination. To have the energy to find the next place and to set up and take down again...