Inspired by Michael and Debbie Campbell, who has started living nomadically and wrote about it, we became nomads for a little more than one year. We sold our house in Boston, packed our stuff in a container, shipped it to Los Angeles (where we were planning to eventually settle down), and then travelled the world with two suitcases and two backpacks. This was mostly in 2019, and the website below describes our experience:
https://ashokboghani.wixsite.com/bogtravel
I wrote a Blog describing some of our experiences. The last entry was about what we learned from our nomadic year:
· You don’t need a lot to live a comfortable life. For most of the year, we just had what we carried with us. It was never a problem, and we did not miss a thing.
· It is possible to travel for the whole year within the same budget you have living in your comfortable suburban house. What you don’t spend on house and cars can pay for all your travels, if you do it reasonably.
· To live nomadically for long periods requires mental stamina, and a voracious appetite for travel. However, one saving grace----We found that not having a home meant that we did not feel home sick.
· If you are reasonably savvy with technology, you can plan and execute a complex travel plan. There are enough tools available on-line --- for example: Booking.com, Airbnb.com, Ferryhopper (for ferries in Greece), Websites of every airline, Google Flights (for identifying flights), hyperdia.com (trains in Japan), and so on.
· Besides the ever-present threat of pickpocketing in Europe, you can feel safe everywhere.In every country we walked at night, sometimes in deserted streets without feeling threatened.
· Public transportation systems are safe, efficient and not too difficult to use almost everywhere. Locals are willing to help if you run into trouble. Some of them are more up to date than their counterparts in US. For example, the integrated transit system in Istanbul that is fully automated, extensive and inexpensive.
· Local people are nice and helpful everywhere. Time and again, we were touched by their kindness. Unfortunately, language barriers prevented us from communicating with more people than we did.
· Tourism is reaching a breaking point. Some places are so “overtouristed”, that we don’t know how they will absorb even more folks coming to visit. For example, Angkor Wat already gets some 10,000 tourists a day. If you want to capture the temple at sunrise, you will have to fight your way through a mob lining the favorite spots. Parts of Mykonos and Santorini were so crowded that it was difficult to even walk. Remember, it was not prime tourist season when we went. Who knows what happens during the season.
Michael and Debbie lived nomadic life for 12 years, returning in mid-2025. They have written a book about the lessons they learned from the experience. In a nutshell, here are the lessons:
· Numbers are your friends (describes how Michale kept meticulous account of their travel)
· Treasure experience over possessions
· Curiosity is the ticket
· We are the foreigners
· Speak the language of courtesy
· We are braver than we thought
· It’s not what happens, it’s how you respond
· Forgive and forget
· Time is a gift
· Use every tool in the toolbox
· Velue of keeping a daily journal
· Home is where we laid our pillows
From our experience, we relate to these, although they devoted a much longer period of their life to being nomadic.
All I can say is that having the nomadic experience early in your retirement is a highly recommended.
