How We Nomad
What do we mean when we say we are nomads? We don’t own a house, but we are not homeless. We move from place to place, but we don’t live in a camper or RV (recreational vehicle), and we don’t own a car. Here’s how we roll:
1 - We travel light
We have always preferred to travel with carry-on luggage only. Becoming nomads pushed us to take “traveling light” a step further, and pare down to just the essentials so that we can carry everything we need. We each have one carry-on bag and one personal item. These provide enough space for one week’s worth of clothing, our tech, and our toiletries. For us, the key to traveling light is to 1) plan to do laundry every week, and 2) plan to purchase bulky items that are inexpensive and readily available in most places.
2 - We rent furnished lodgings
We’re not teenagers any more, and we like our creature comforts. So we book furnished accommodations through Airbnb, VRBO, Blueground, and other brokers that specialize in short-term rentals. I scrutinize the listings carefully to make sure they have the features we need to be comfortable, such as a kitchen and laundry facilities. As “slow travelers,” we spend a month or more in each place, which often brings down the price significantly.
3 - We make ourselves at home
A month is long enough for a new place to become familiar and feel like home. We sometimes rearrange the furniture a little (and move it all back when we leave). We might purchase a couple of inexpensive items - a nicer shower curtain, a cookie sheet - that we’ll use during our stay and leave for future guests to enjoy. We always bring our Apple TV streaming device, which displays our family photos in random sequence. Steve just connects it to the television in the rental, and presto! It’s our home away from home.
4 - We enjoy being passengers instead of drivers
We usually stay in cities and towns that are highly walkable. When traveling longer distances, we’ll use public transportation and rideshare services. On rare occasions, we’ll rent a car.
