“How did you decide you wanted to be a nomad?” my friends asked. The wanderlust feeling came from deep in my soul prior to even knowing what a nomad was.
I’d sit in the back of the family car, waiting for everyone to load, wandering where we were going. TripTiks piled high next to me, yellow highlighter cocked, ready to highlight the route we’d take on page-turning maps from AAA.
“Odd numbered interstates run north and south,” mom would say. “So what’s that mean about the even numbers?”
They go east and west I reminded myself. “And the triple digit interstates?” I asked.
“Those connect two interstates, possibly bypassing a city as a go-around,” she’d reply.
Soon I graduated to airport codes, domestic versus international airlines, and ordering special meals on flights. By the time I reached 30, I’d visited all 50 states and 35 countries.
So How Do You Become a Nomad?
I believe in the wanderlust gene. Yet, if you don’t have it, you can still become a nomad. Do you like a majority of the following things?
New foods
Minimalist living
Constant change
Foreign languages
Natural beauty
People
Trains, planes, automobiles
Movement
You would do well as a nomad if you have some of the following personality traits, too:
Patience
Curiousity
Flexibility
And with a bit of tongue-n-cheek to add to the list, as a nomad, you’ll need to:
Like sitting in the back seat of cheap cars (you’ll never drive your own car again!)
Be okay with bad pillows, bad mattresses, bad couches
Learn how to sharpen a knife without a sharpener
But Seriously, How Do You Decide to Be a Nomad?
Despite all of these personality requirements, there are a three things you’ll need to understand religiously about Nomad Life.
Number 1: Technology makes nomad life run.
From getting your phone to accept text messages from your bank, to learning how to use different booking tools for flights, hotels, cars, cruises, trains, and bikes, Nomad Life and technology ruthlessly together.
You can nomad without the technology. After all, Steve and I went around the world in 2014 without our phones. But since then, phones ubiquitiously define the mobile human. They get you on planes, they unlock your hotel door, they still call an ambulance, and they even, gasp, take pictures. And shockingly, you can do without them. But really, why?
Number 2: Your feet get you places.
You may have loved to drive in the past. Or perhaps you were a bus ninja in the big city. But as a nomad, it’s your feet that will get you places. Maybe it’s because you “want to get your steps in,” but in Nomad Life, your feet win the argument every time.
Here’s what I mean. Let’s say a cute diner is one mile away from your well-situated Airbnb. You have three choices to get there: 1) taxi/shared ride 2) public transit 3) walk.
Now wouldn’t it be nice if the shared ride app you already have on your phone (like Uber) is the one you need in your current country? Chances are, it’s not. You’ll need to download Bolt, Didi, Free Now, etc. Plus, maybe you haven’t gotten your esim figured out yet. So you rule out the shared ride because you’re too hungry and it’s too much hassle to install eSims and apps.
On the other hand, you could take transit. But now you have to figure out if it’s the bus, the tram, or the train. Hopefully, Google Maps will figure it out for you. But if not, you’ll have to pull up the local transit site (assuming you’ve got your e-sim working here too) and figure out how to navigate it, figure out how to pay (oh, did you get currency at the airport when you arrived?), find the transit stop, flag down the ride bus, and get off on the right station.
Or, in 20 minutes, you could walk. It’s easier. Thus, your legs win the race. By the way, if you’re thinking of launching and you’re not already walking 10,000 steps a day, start now. Your body will thank you once you start nomading!
Number 3: Nomad Life is not vacation.
So many people who become nomads reflect on their perfect vacation and decide that nomad life will be just like it. Trust me, it ain’t. It’s not even close. It might be when you first launch, but after 17 cathedrals, 22 beaches, 15 centros, and 11 museums, (or any number, you choose), you’ll need to slow down and live your life.
After all, vacationers need vacations from their vacations. This is Nomad Life. You’ll pay bills, watch Netflix, call the kids, crochet the sweater, cook dinner, chat up the neighbors, volunteer, and put the trash out. And then start planning your next night/week/month/year. Because planning is the heart of Nomad Life, no matter how quickly or slowly you travel.
When Steve and I began talking about how Nomad Life would look (read this vintage post here), we were focused on getting rid of our stuff and where we’d be going. But since launching, it’s our technology, our legs, and our rest that guide us through our Nomad Life now.
How about you?
If anything killls nomading for me, it will be bad pillows, bad beds, and bad couches.