Nomadic tendancies/ posted this in sister tribe practical nomad

topic posted Tue, February 17, 2004 - 10:54 AM by  Shane
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Is there any way to escape nomad tendancies? I have lived in NE, SE, midwest, pacic northwest, and now am in So Cal all within about 4-5 years. I get done with a contract in May and am starting to think of where to uproot and move to next. I love the freedom of that period of limbo between leaving one place and not knowing what the next place will be like and of course postponing the day of reckoning. It can be difficult though having friends scattered all of the country. Is it possible for a nomad to get roots eventually or once a nomad, always a nomad.

getting ready to pack the milk crates
Shane
posted by:
Shane
Colorado
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  • I have tried and tried to settle and grow roots in one place. But, it doesn't work for me. I have just accepted the fact that I am a traveler. I have moved at least 3 times a year sinse I was 17.
    I think even if I have a family someday I will still be a nomad. Everyone says that you are suppose to settle down and buy a house when you have kids, but I grew up moving around alot and it didn't screw me up, and so did my father and his parents, and their parents(it is in my blood). I could never see myself in one place for the rest of my life.
  • I beguess that anyone who has experienced a difficult move in his/her youth, hence lost his/her geographical roots at least once, is prone to enjoy "reseting" his/her life, starting afresh in a new place, having the opportunity to delete unwanted relationships and habits, trying to rebuild a new self-image before new people. Radical change can become very addictive.

    I don't know if age cures it.
    • I can relate to this. I moved from NY to FL when I was 9 and had roots in NY. I didn't want to move and regreted it. I always feel more kinship with NY than FL even till this day. After highschool I moved to NYC and have been drifting since then. I agree that radical change can be addictive, but I guess its better to except and enjoy it traveling/moving lightly and often.
    • Unsu...
       
      I wonder if that is the reason, moving often as a kid, I mean. I definitely get that urge to sever ties and start over. And it's not that I don't like the people around me. I just crave something new. I get down on myself for wanting to move. Now I have kids, and that does complicate things.

      Your post gave me something to think about.

      I only really stopped travelling when I had kids, and I have still moved a lot, and I still get SO restless.

    • Meidochan,

      Wow, this makes complete sense to me. We moved a lot when I was a kid (my mother was a single parent with three children -- she did the best she could and we never lived in squalor, but I did go to at least a dozen schools when growing up). I think it's interesting that that which I did not like as a child (moving) is that which I live for as an adult. I moved from the midwest to California 5 years ago, and have lived in a dozen places since being here, and now after 5 months in this place, I have the strong desire to leave (though I did sign a year lease, and the property owners are very nice people, so I want to respect them and stay true to my word). I visited Japan recently (returned to SF a couple of weeks ago) and really enjoyed it; i'm now trying to learn Japanese in preparation for my next visit there (which may turn out to be more than a visit).

      Regards,

      John

      Falling You - exploring the beauty of voice and sound
      www.magnatune.com/artists/falling_you
  • io
    io
    offline 26
    i can quit anytime i want!
    • I'm a nomad in hibernation.

      I bounced around a fair bit some years back, then found the Bay Area, and several annual trips to other places seems to do the trick for me.

      I could see snapping back into nomad mode again, but I'd probably need to have several things fall through at the same time (i.e. living situation, major relationship, circle of friends, job)...
    • Unsu...
       
      Sure you can....When you find the right place, right?

      Me, too.

      I like to look at my travels as one long investiagtion. I'm just trying to find my spot.
      • There is something attractive about the comforts and trappings of domestication when I've been without it long enough. But then realize when I've enjoyed it for too long, usually when household cleanliness becomes too much of an obsession either for me or others. To me that is a sign that I've rested long enough, and overlooking the true signifigance of a habitat. When domesticity gets in the way of me living life to the point of depression its time to go. One day I gave some thought to the purpose of nomadism and human nature when after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit. A friend brought up a good point about people in the United States living where they shouldn't be living. "England is built on a rock" she cited "its stable, if there is and Earthquake it won't matter"....although she is kinda crazy, it made sense....and lead me to consider how the Native Americans used to wander with the seasons. I think its natural to rove wherever it feels safe and comfortable. Thats just working in accordance to nature. 600 years ago, for example, the land where New Orleans sits was probably great to be at this time of year, but the people who went there to enjoy the weather, probably didn't stay for the hurricanes. Why stay in one place when the comfort becomes a monotanous rut, leaving doesn't mean you can't come back to re-enjoying all the things you miss, when you go find new things.
        • I am a nomad that has been forced into stillness so that my son can have the stability that he seems to need. I remember enjoying moving alot when I was kid but my son can't handle it. He becomes very depressed and emotional and it takes him a long time to re-adjust. So for now I am still and it is really challenging. I try to take lots of short road trips and I get out of town almost every weekend.... It helps but I feel incredibly strange staying in one place and I dream of wandering off almost daily. When you have a kid though you do what have to to try to raise them in the best way you can. For now I think I stay still better than he travels.

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