Traveling brings you home. That’s what it does to me.
The world is my apartment.
I started my homeless experiment three months ago. My goal was to travel the world while earning an income.
I can honestly say that it has been a success so far and I’m happy about it. I really like to discover places and people.
I used to avoid travelling before, thinking that immobility meant security.
There’s nothing to be afraid of: my comfort zone can be as big as the planet I live on, at least I’m sure of that, now.
So the first side-effect of this experiment is a sense of confidence and enthusiasm.
Sounds like a great place to start from, doesn’t it?
The world is definitely worth visiting, and opting out of a sedentary lifestyle can be a fulfilling choice.
On the way, I identified several benefits of being nomadic:
– You eat different everyday
– You change neighbors often
– You discover the world and its inhabitants – So nice!
– You learn new languages and mindsets
– You spot new jobs/business opportunities
– Your challenge old certainties: makes it harder to become stiff
Now, here’s the downside of roaming around:
– You’re often exhausted: jet-lag, constant transits, food adaptation
– Security is not guaranteed, check the machete attack post
– You never know who you’re dealing with
– You spend money, even in crappy hotels
– You need a lot of self-discipline to get your job done (that’s if you earn an income, like me)
– Governments don’t like nomads:
they will try to nail your feet to the ground with nonsense paperwork
But even after summing that up, I still recommend testing that lifestyle. Even if at some stage you decide to settle somewhere and be sedentary again.
There’s another side effect I’ve noticed since I started this experiment:
There’s no Interzone
Between El Salvador and Guatemala
When you travel, you usually differentiate two things:
– Your destination: the place where you want to go
– The Interzone: the distance you need to travel to get there (term stolen from William Burroughs)
That’s your idea of a trip when you’re sedentary: you’re either “traveling” or you have “arrived at your destination”.
Yet, after a few months in planes, buses and trains you can’t make those distinctions anymore. Your mind stops labeling places as destinations or stop overs. You can’t even remember where you are when you wake up.
You don’t get bored in a transit flight.
You’re not disappointed if the place you visit looks like crap.
If you like it by the side of the road, because there’s a lake, you just stop there and enjoy the view.
Everything becomes worthy of your attention.
Everywhere is a destination, and it’s always temporary.
I guess it’s just a mind shift, but it’s really enjoyable, I hope I keep that with me. It’s incredibly relaxing not to worry about where you are.
I didn’t say much about latin america this time, I hope you don’t mind :)
I’d be happy to stay in touch with you, if you didn’t befriend me already: Friend me on the book of faces or Follow me on twitter Thanks :)