What Does it Take to Become a Long Term Independent Traveling Nomad? NuNomad Round Table Discussion Featuring JetSetCitizen, FreePursuits, Under30CEO, Thrilling Heroics, and NuNomad
NuNomad Location Independent Living, Lifestyle Design, Independent Travel
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Thanks for including me in your post. You have a great group of people here.
I would definitely recommend at least a year abroad for anyone regardless of age. Travel will change your life! There is so much to do and see in the world, it is a shame that so few people ever leave their home country.
Great bunch of tips from a great bunch of people. At the end of the day though, it's all about putting in the effort yourself to get somewhere.
Thanks for the comment Rob. You're right that at the end of the day it's about effort. I guess what we're getting though, is that a lot of people can get themselves across the world but aren't necessarily able to sustain it and end up coming back early. I'm not sure if we really hit the point with our answers but I think it's important to understand what it takes to sustain yourself in the long term abroad if that's what you're hoping for.
I would love to know if there are any middle-aged or older people reading this discussion — perhaps people like my husband and I who have lots of skills but not necessarily lots of cash. We gypsied around so much for the last few decades that we will probably NEVER retire (not that there's anything wrong with that!).
Any input from the older-but-wiser-and-still-mondo-healthy set???
Hi Deborah, There are definitely people nomading who are in their fourties and older. My NuNomad partner Richard and I are two of them! What I think you’re sensing is that most of the blogging community is somewhat younger. The older nomading set doesn’t seem to feel the same need to be online with their adventures. Also, many of the older set may consider themselves retirees or expats and not necessarily nomads. The way we define NuNomad is a person who is deriving their income from their homebase, continuing their career but independent of location. Many expats are deriving their income from a company that is stationed overseas. Retirees are also in a bit of a different category. However, as you know the line between working and retiring is somewhat blurrier now since many people continue their careers in some shape or form even after they consider themselves retired. From your comment I’m thinking perhaps you and your husband haven’t completely figured out how to keep the income coming in while you are on the road. You might benefit from taking a look at the many interviews with nomads we’ve done over the years under the category, “Meet the Nomads” just to get a feel for the wide variety of careers that can be mobile. Also, our upcoming book, “The NuNomad” is full of ideas for how to do this.
Thanks for being a part of it John! I'm really pleased at who we've got as well. Feeling proud to have so many great folks for our readers.
And I agree with you , everyone should spend at least a year abroad. Not only do you learn a lot about the world but you gain an entire new perspective on your own home. I remember my first trip outside of the U.S.. I was 16 and my mother took me to see extended family in Colombia. We were walking in a mall and someone looked at us and yelled, "Yankee Go Home!". I was shocked. I had no idea at that age and at that time that anyone didn't think highly of the U.S. It was a huge learning curve for me to find out the perspectives of others.
Some great tips in here – thanks!
cath
Hi Carmen, glad I could help! How has intense debate worked for you?
Hi Matt. thanks for being part of the interview! Yes, so far I like Intense Debate.
Some great stuff here for sure, and some great folks chiming in.
However, it almost feels like the title of this discussion should be ‘Long Term Independent Traveling International Nomad.’
A lot of the difficulties that are discussed here that make long term nomadism challenging seem to be specific to international travel – dealing with Visas, being far remote from your clients & community, etc.
In discussions like this one, there seems to be an omission on including domestic nomadism as a viable option – and holding traveling the world as the holy grail of the nomadic. Don’t get me wrong – both Chris and I have done extensive travel abroad, and we will in the future as well. It’s a great experience and traveling the world does broaden your perspectives.
But there are ways to embrace nomadism without dealing with the challenges of long term international travel which can make it less attainable. It doesn’t have to be a ‘permanent home’ vs ‘traveling abroad’ proposition.
For the past 2.5 years, we’ve been nomading around the USA in a home on wheels – and feel our journey is just beginning. Being domestic nomads for now gives us the benefits of having community home bases that are accessible (and affordable) to get to, the ability to be much closer to our client bases, not dealing with long term visa issues but yet being very mobile. For us, it makes the lifestyle very sustainable while feeding our wanderlust and desire for being location independent. We don’t feel we’re sacrificing much at all, and we’re definitely not amongst the long term travelers that John has spoken to who are looking for a (semi)permanent home.
And it’s incredibly affordable too – you don’t have to be living on cheaper international currency while making US dollars to be a cash positive working nomad.
Just offering another perspective to the mix
– Cherie
Some great stuff here for sure, and some great folks chiming in.
However, it almost feels like the title of this discussion should be 'Long Term Independent Traveling International Nomad.'
A lot of the difficulties that are discussed here that make long term nomadism challenging seem to be specific to international travel – dealing with Visas, being far remote from your clients & community, etc.
In discussions like this one, there seems to be an omission on including domestic nomadism as a viable option – and holding traveling the world as the holy grail of the nomadic. Don't get me wrong – both Chris and I have done extensive travel abroad, and we will in the future as well. It's a great experience and traveling the world does broaden your perspectives.
But there are ways to embrace nomadism without dealing with the challenges of long term international travel which can make it less attainable. It doesn't have to be a 'permanent home' vs 'traveling abroad' proposition.
For the past 2.5 years, we've been nomading around the USA in a home on wheels – and feel our journey is just beginning. Being domestic nomads for now gives us the benefits of having community home bases that are accessible (and affordable) to get to, the ability to be much closer to our client bases, not dealing with long term visa issues but yet being very mobile. For us, it makes the lifestyle very sustainable while feeding our wanderlust and desire for being location independent. We don't feel we're sacrificing much at all, and we're definitely not amongst the long term travelers that John has spoken to who are looking for a (semi)permanent home.
And it's incredibly affordable too – you don't have to be living on cheaper international currency while making US dollars to be a cash positive working nomad.
Just offering another perspective to the mix
– Cherie
Cherie, you make a great point. And I think you’re right! We so often in this community assume that if you’re nomading you must be in a foreign country. Let’s do a story at some point about domestic nomading!
Carmen-
You continue to find great people to discuss mobility (your partner included). I joined your group from the recent email that you sent me.
Thanks
Michael Beck/The-Digital-Nomad.com
Great to hear from you Michael it’s been a long time!
[...] year the fabulous website NuNomad.com featured a roundtable discussion with several prominent nomadic entrepreneurs, exploring the topic of what it takes to be a long [...]