Every time we talk about our nomad life with strangers, they’re often fascinated. We go through our buzzwords about our life—sold everything, been traveling full-time for over four years, our carry-ons have all that we own—and then they start asking questions.
How do you get your mail?
Do you have a storage unit?
What phone service to you use?
Do you have kids/grandkids?
What about…..?
The conversation will last about 5-7 minutes, and then we inevitably get to the statement that always finishes the conversation.
“Well, you’re living my dream life. But I could never do it because…”
Grandkids/kids
Health
Stuff
And guess what? When we were launching, we thought about all of those things too. So has every other nomad who has launched their dream lives.
Fear Lurks
Here’s the secret behind the objections. It’s fear. It’s always fear. And the fear categorizes around the following three items:
Getting lost
Losing money/going broke
Not being there (FOMO)
Trust me, I’m not here to criticize anyone who wants to live a nomad life but doesn’t. Fear is real. Fear is hard. Fear is debilitating.
Find a Friend
And if your fear won’t let you live a life of full-time traveler, that’s okay. But if you need help getting over your fear, there are thousands of nomads that have faced the same fears living this life.
And they’re willing to talk to you.
You can find other nomads here on Substack. Many nomads are on Facebook. Social media, love it or hate it, is the way to find these future friends who will embrace your nomad weirdness. Pick your platform and search for “nomads”, “full-time travelers”, “nomad life”, “senior nomads”, etc.
And you just might get that kernel of hope you need to shove that last bastion of fear aside to launch your nomad life. Because you deserve a life you love.
A little tongue in cheek might help as you think about your future nomad life. Read my latest post, Travel the World as a Nomad and find samples of how your future nomad life might look in my latest book, Wanderlust Wisdom: Journeys of 25 Full-Time Travelers.
Or reach out to me.
Chris
Such a great insight about fear often being the biggest reason people hesitate to take the nomadic plunge. It was for me! Fear of the unknown, the unfamiliar. But once you face it, nail it down, and step off the cliff, what freedom!
Sometimes just identifying the fears can help make them more manageable. Well said, Chris.