Why should you be a nomad?
If you think that being a full time nomad is only accessible to a few lucky wealthy people then, just like we were some years ago, you are wrong.
When we started traveling back in 2010, we didn’t have an exact plan, just a rough timeline of 18 months, and then… either go back home or settle somewhere else. And then there was another option…
Nomad life in our opinion is a mindset, it does not mean you need to move around to a new country every month or week. You can live most of the year in a location and still feel and be a nomad.
The key word is “to settle”, which is the anti-climax for us, nomads.
Maybe it’s because “to settle” is a scary verb, maybe it makes you feel stagnated, not challenged by the exotic travel lifestyle anymore.
We live 7 to 8 months of the year in the same location, 2 more back home, and then the rest will vary. But this can change at any point because we are nomads.
So let’s put all this nomad conversation in a nutshell and give you the reasons why you should consider updating your mindset.
Want to learn more about our nomad life?
The reasons to become a nomad
Freedom
This is the number one reason that comes to mind to most people. You will be able to wake up every day (at least most of them) and be able to make decisions much less constrained than in your former non-nomadic life.
Yes, it is an amazingly hard to describe feeling, one that I wish any person could have the chance to experience throughout their lives. A huge reason why Universal Basic Income is so important to our society, but that’s another discussion.
The 9-to-5 job paradigm is a grinding force, so anything that allows you to get out of its effect is mind blowing.
You can choose new destinations, the time you stay in places and your work with so many possibilities that it actually becomes a challenge to decide. But it is a very pleasurable challenge.
You’ll still have to make work-related decisions, but there are options to almost all types of skills, even if you don’t think you have any.
Just remember, with more power comes more responsibility, and the same applies to freedom. You won’t have society’s support, you will have to decide many aspects of your life that you normally don’t have to.
There’s a learning curve to freedom (sounds silly, right?) and eventually it might not be for everyone, but you have to try it for yourself.
Better life quality vs cost
Because you have the freedom to choose where to live, unless you already live on one of the cheapest countries in the world, then you can reduce your living costs dramatically.
And if you fully embark on the nomadic lifestyle, then you may even not have any big assets like houses (unless you use them for income) or cars, and all your money would be spent in expenses.
If you travel slowly and avoid many flights (the biggest nomad cost) then you will save a lot of money with the chance of improving drastically your lifestyle.
If you live in Thailand, for example, it is possible to have an apartment in a nice condom with a pool and gym for less than 400 US dollars a month, crazy right?
Not just housing: activities, health expenses, anything that you have to spend money on can be substantially cheaper.
Personal Growth
We’ve said this many times: the best university is the world, and the chance to “learn” with all the diversity around us.
Being a nomad allows us to do this almost full-time, which is mind blowing. It’s true when people say travel changes you, so full-time travel changes you even more.
You’ll become more adaptable to situations not going your way. There are so many stories we could tell you of things that happened to us that we now laugh and learned how to enjoy every moment.
Yes, your sense of humor increases exponentially, and from the outside people would say you enjoy life more, and we believe that’s spot on.
Your skin will thicken, and you will be a more patient person, life happens at different speeds around the world, and if you were not exposed to poverty before you will be much more grateful for what life has already given you.
And your world awareness will never be the same, and it will make you feel like an alien every time you go back home so be prepared.
Life opportunities
This is something we have only recently noticed, but it should come as no surprise.
When you see other worlds, other realities, needs, people, then you will be exposed to many life opportunities you wouldn’t be if not traveling at all.
It may even mean you go back home and start doing something you found while traveling, why not?
I will never forget the words from my university program director when I did an exchange program in Sweden: “Joao, go and learn, and then come back and apply it here to make us better.”.
