Let’s define nomad, first, before we even get into how you might think you want to be a nomad. What is a nomad in today’s travel terms? Thinking about living a Nomad Life?
A nomad is someone who voluntarily gives up her permanent home, packs a bag of her favorite things, and travels to find joy.
A digital nomad is a nomad who is working remotely via a laptop and internet connection.
Because I am retired, I do not consider myself a digital nomad, rather, simply, a nomad.
Nomad has different flavors. Some people don’t travel full-time and may have a small place they return to, others may travel full-time but check their bags, some may be ex-pat nomads who have a place abroad and travel often. There’s no “right way” to nomad.
Wanderlust, Nomad Life, Travel
I can’t remember not wanting to live some version of this nomad lifestyle. In my twenties, I couldn’t quite figure out how to do it, make a living, and travel safely. The internet wasn’t available yet, computers hadn’t made their splash into mobility, and air travel still broke the bank.
But the future seemed to be coming at me quickly when car phones dropped into the technology landscape. It was then that I started thinking about how to become nomadic. I didn’t really know what that meant–I just envisioned the freedom. I could see this freedom as my dad lugged his 10-pound car phone with him like it was just another briefcase and tool for commerce. I wondered how that 10 pounder would turn into a tool for travel?
The Perfect Device for Travel
In 1999, my single self had a vision and a plan. I would leave for an around-the-world trip, regardless of my marital status or career path, in 2005. But the trip all hinged on one detail. I would go as soon as there was a single, handheld device that allowed me to:
- Make international phone calls from anywhere
- Map my travel
- Get on the internet
- Defend myself like with pepper spray or a taser
- Take good pictures.
These were big demands and big dreams in 1999, the year prior to the giant, predicted 2YK crash. (Even in 2025, I haven’t found this device. But we’re close. Still waiting on the self-contained, personal defense system.)
Y2K and the First Marriage
The Y2K crash didn’t happen. I met my first husband in 2000. We married in 2001.
Sometime during our engagement period, I presented my dream to my soon-to-be husband. I told him that regardless of our lifestyle in 2005, I was headed around the world. I wanted him to come with me. I told him I’d take a sabbatical from my job. If we had a child by then, we’d bring her. And I wanted him to take a sabbatical, too.
He didn’t agree. He got stuck on the sabbatical portion. After all, he had just started his dream job, and he didn’t want to give it up.
We compromised. We agreed that rather than go around the world for a year in 2005, we’d instead agree to take a two-week vacation every year where we’d get on a plane, not visit parents, and do something adventurous.
I didn’t take the 2005 dream trip. We divorced in 2007. Let’s just say, the travel compromise might have had something to do with the divorce. Or visa versa.
New Husband. New Life. Happy Wife.
Fast forward. New life. New husband. And our first conversation about my dream to be nomadic? It went like this.
“Honey, I have an idea.”
And he looked at me, knowing that all he could say was, “Yes.” He knew who he had married. A dreamer and goal chaser.
Steve and I have been happily married for almost ten years. Our nomad life starts in a year. We went through all of the steps to emotionally decide to be nomads.
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But even though he said yes, we had lots of things to talk through. When? Where? How? Why? We had “who” and “what” figured out. “Who” was the two of us and “What” was a lifestyle that would include a home but not a house.
We started with an around-the-world trip in 30 days back in 2014. We then did a 50 Hikes 50 States Project to get our logistics chops ironed out. So how did we get to “when, where, how, and why?”
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See you on the trail,
Chris
Chris Englert, the Walking Traveler, believes walking is the platform for life. Wanderlusting since the age of 5, she’s since traveled all 50 US states and 62 countries. Chris shares her love of walking while traveling via blogs, books, and presentations. A natural storyteller, she invites you along as she explores the world, one walk at a time.
Currently, Chris and her husband, Steve, travel the world, full-time as nomads, with just their two carry-ons. They’ve been traveling since May, 2021.