The years go by so quickly it seems– especially after we reach that “certain age!” Regardless of when that is/was, or when it may have become more obvious, it seems that the years flow like water, and before we know it, another one has passed. That’s what recently happened to Kat and me as we passed the six year mark of living on the road. Truly, when we started we had NO long term plan other than we suspected that it would be a one-way journey…

The most common questions we got as we were leaving were, “When are you coming home, or how long will you be gone?” Or something like that.

Our responses included: “As long as we’re having fun,” “As long as we’re healthy!” and “We have no idea!” In reading of others’ stories of doing something similar, many said that at the 5 years mark they experienced burnout and either returned “home” or settled somewhere. We don’t plan to do either but we DO recognize our diminishing years on the calendar and we do plan to stay longer in fewer places.

But not quite yet!

A return trip to Europe awaits us in April, and we’ll be “over there” until November, after spending 17 months in Asia. It’s all planned out, 21 different stays over eight months, and in November we’ll relocate somewhere, but we’ve not quite decided “where.” Since I have a bike tour in Sri Lanka in December, we may (finally) visit India during November, but that country has been the most confusing to us both, and has generated many, many conversations between ourselves and with others.

Along the way we have met many, friended a few, and developed lifelong relationships with people in surprisingly short periods of time! In many cases, deeper than long term friendships we had earlier in our lives. We think it’s because those we resonate with UNDERSTAND the value of travel, the ups and downs, and can relate to the lives we all lead. Many of our “stationary” friends back home cannot relate to some of the things we take for granted now.

With that said, as we move into Magical Year Seven (7), here are SIX key takeaways I’ve developed over the years:

1. Be Patient. Living in Southern California for four decades is not conducive to patient living! Everyone (me included) was/ is always in a hurry, and finding quiet places was not always easy. Living on the road, and subject to the inconsistency of travel plans and methods (trains, planes, buses, etc…) means that things don’t always happen when we WANT THEM TO, and sometimes they don’t happen at all. Getting to your room at 11:00 pm—in the dark— instead of the afternoon, requires patience and understanding that stuff happens.

   

   1. Kat and I meditate each morning and strive to have our “quiet time,” both individually and together. She has patience for some things while I grit my teeth at long non-moving lines. Other situations have our roles reversed, so we have learned to offset and ground each other.
2. Be Flexible (not just mentally, but physically) & keep your mind and body active. Along with the “Patience” comes Flexibility, and the two feed off each other, and when they are applied properly, they make things MUCH easier! On the Physical side of being Flexible, I stretch each morning for about 30 minutes and hit the gym when we are in a location for a long enough time.
   1. For the past four decades our metabolisms have been slowing down and we have to work many times harder just to maintain. I REALLY started noticing that about five years ago (age 65) when I was able to go to the gym again as COVID was ending. I worked out just as hard as I used to, but could not get that “pump” that weightlifters live for. My formerly tight and taught skin was getting more saggy and lizard like, and well, that totally sucks!
3. BALANCE work/ play: Some of you may work, either as a primary income source, or to supplement your lifestyle. I know lots of full time nomads who started this life to ENJOY their lives, but end up working much harder than they planned. Sometimes that takes the pleasure away and the job becomes a drudgery that rules their lives. With US, I write, which keeps my mind busy and brings in extra money. LOTS of nomads, especially the younger ones, are still in Party Mode, and that can be just as intrusive.

   

   4. but not too much! Along with being Balanced, I think it’s important to make the effort to have SOMETHING to “do,” or else their lives will become mundane. I have known many that fell into this trap, too. Even living in an awesome location or city can get boring unless you have something to look forward to.

4. Eat Smart—but enjoy what you eat & drink! We recognize that staying “fit” and slim is harder with each passing year. We keep everything in moderation, from meat eating to chocolate to alcohol, but we don’t stress over some infractions we violate. I know people who are over the top on their diets, both on the road and still living where they are, and I respect their lifestyles!
5. Go where you want, do what you want—and don’t live by others’ rules. “OH, you’re going to such & such! Be sure you hike out to the Insanely Hard to Reach Waterfall, and I hope it has water now!” NOT. Kat and I notice a pattern we fall into: the FIRST time in a new place, we make every effort to do the things that WE want to do, or go to the places WE want to visit. When we return on further visits, many times we just chill—and that’s OK. Some have insisted we MUST visit India, and as I mentioned, we DO want to go, but for our own reasons, not theirs. We’ll see if this happens… Our sense of adventure has dropped a bit after six years and if we’re in a hot place, sometimes we don’t do certain activities just because we don’t want to. East Africa has never been on our radar, some places we don’t wish to return to, and the list of places we WANT to RETURN to is large enough to take us decades.

   

If there was a single word that encapsulates all these ideas, I would say it would be “moderation.” Or “enjoy.” OK, that’s two, but…

Life on the Road can be stressful, but maybe some of these suggestions will help you have fun, instead.

And here’s some old blogs that cover some of these items:

Chapter 165: Friends, Old & New, Around the World (for those concerned about making or keeping friends along the way)

Chapter 153: How SAFE are other countries in the World? (beside the US) this comes up a LOT, and there is usually nothing to fear, but…

Chapter 144: A Travel Younger Reality Check: traveling older (relating our revelations about getting “older”)

Do you have any lessons that you live with, either as nomads or homestayers?? I’d love to hear your thoughts.