For me, the best thing about nomadic life in an RV is if you don’t like your view, the neighborhood or even the neighbors you can quickly change them. Not that in our three years of full-time RV’ing we often executed this option, mostly we kept to a schedule of place and time but knowing we could “opt-out” if we wanted or needed to gave peace of mind. You can’t feel cornered when there’s always an easy out.
I’ve been a bit surprised and somewhat puzzled finding I such have a powerful submerged urge for roaming. Since we’ve “planted” ourselves, for now, I’ve been feeling the call more intensely. I can see it’s been an unacknowledged influence in many of my life decisions, so my only conclusion is I’ve been pretty out of tune with understanding the dynamics of self. Perhaps the roaming urge was partially hidden, camouflaged or defused by my strong introvert tendencies. I’m not certain. I’m not even sure if I’d had a better understanding it would have changed any choices…perhaps? The puzzling part is I didn’t recognize this sooner.
However, it doesn’t change anything for now. There were multiple reasons we decided to stop RV’ing, and those reasons are still valid. This roaming need is merely more to ponder over, more to consider when building today and tomorrow. Perhaps this will be a good bullet point when I write that letter to my younger self, which seems the “in thing” to do now. I wonder how much postage one of those letters requires? :-)
Seems that many of our ancestors were nomadic people, following migration herds or seasons, all for survival. The nomadic life has been a part of my life for years. The seven years as a flight attendant fit me quite well. I experience it on a daily basis. I can find my backpack on, reaching for the doorknob then laughing at myself as I’m not sure where I’m headed.
Kindred spirits, then. :-) I’ve always done my best thinking while moving, driving works well, but walking is great also. Perhaps the destination is not always important. Bonnie and I have decided we will never purchase property again, we will always rent so we can easily move if we wish to. Not to wish Maggie ill, I hope she lives a full dog’s life, but Bonnie and I have already discussed traveling again (non-RV) without a dog if our health holds up. Take care!
When my wife and I returned from our honeymoon which was meant to be for a few weeks but lasted four years, we found ourselves homesick for the road to the point where we found it difficult to settle back into our old lives. Thirty years later my wife still feels the itch to travel; she’d be on the road permanently if it was an option. As for me I’m quite content at home though equally happy to go off whenever my wife plans a trip away. The nomadic lifestyle is something else again though. I certainly enjoyed the four years (9 months of it in the USA and Canada) of travelling around with no set plan or agenda, but whether I could do that permanently, well, I don’t know. Of course, my wife could be right and I’m just turning into a boring old man. But not grumpy, so that’s something ;)
Funny, I’m certain Bonnie sometimes thinks I have the grumpy part down already! :-o
As you might guess, we’ve gone past this spot in Hurricane a number of times (and will again in September, I hope). Since we often return to the same places, I don’t know if we’re “nomadic” or not. But it feels like it. It’s NOT moving from place to place that feels wrong. Like you, I have no desire to own property again. Mobility is what I crave. And it isn’t lost on me that the ability to maintain that mobility will continue to diminish as the years go by. I just wish I could have started a lot sooner…….
I believe I would be hard-pressed to find a post-worthy image from our southwest travels which you didn’t know the location of or have visited, Paul. :-) Here’s hoping your September plans to be a GO! The one thing I might change if I could make that often imagined journey back in time while retaining current experience and knowledge is I’d find some way early in my young adulthood to involve as much travel, worldwide, as possible, even if it wasn’t always financially rewarding. Yeah, it’s not lost on Bonnie and I either that somewhere around a future curve the ability for mobility will become an issue. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there and even then I believe a lifestyle allowing flexibility and mobility is beneficial. Take care and have a good summer…it’s already looking like it’s going to be a really hot one here. Surprise! :-)