Three Questions For Modern-Day Nomads?

Is there a kind of competition that takes place between nomads? Among those of us who have hit the road for months, maybe even years at a time, how long do you need to be in a country to give it a metaphorical notch on your belt? Do people finally get tired of living a life on the road? I found myself recently pondering these three questions for modern-day nomads.

It all started when I realized that I questioned bragging rights? What I mean to say is that once you have gotten use to surprising non-travelers with your exotic tales of adventure, it can become a tad addictive. Most long-term travelers enjoy a bit of bragging from time to time. As I wait, not so patiently, for my next trip abroad, I find myself cruising the Internet while reading stories of other nomads, travelers, expats and ne’er do wells and admittedly feel a bit envious. I remember those pre-granddaughter days when I was living here, there and yonder with total abandon to convention. Although nothing is perfect in life, recalling your glory days are kind of like the first time you held your new baby after childbirth, you forget any of the pain that might have previously transpired. I do miss being on the road. So, I reluctantly admit that there can be a small grain of jealousy when I read about other people’s adventures.

Having said all of that, I must also add that I have misgivings about some of the wild adventurers that claim to have been to 52 foreign countries in a few years time. How does one accomplish that and have any true sense of what they have just been fortunate enough to have experienced? What should the rule of thumb be for counting countries? Can sitting in an airport waiting for a connecting flight count? Are you actually required, instead, to spend a specific number of days there, sample a certain amount of food and drink a fair share of local beer first?

Maybe age has something to with it? I freely admit, and have done so on many, many occasions, that I am a “professional dallier”. In fact, I may have even coined that phrase. I am not a young girl, which I also proudly reveal, so that may have some bearing on my strong dallying tendencies. If truth be told, I just don’t have the energy to stay on the go, nonstop. However, I compensate for that by being disgustingly smug about my own country-counting bragging rights, never less than three weeks and usually not more than ninety days. The ninety day limit has to do with the maximum amount of time that I can typically spend in a country on my American passport without a visa. I also like to return to my favorite places where I have made friends, know the owners of restaurants and cafes personally and feel like I’ve just come home again. I love the feeling I get when I have stayed somewhere long enough that I have fallen into a daily routine. Ireland, Spain and Mexico have all given me that feeling. Malta and Saba are close seconds.

As to whether or not people get tired of living on the road, I know that I hadn’t reached that point yet. After almost four years of being a happy vagabond, I curtailed my travels, not because I was tired, but because my granddaughter stole my heart. She just turned three, so this year, I will start returning to the road again for longer stretches. My upcoming trip to Spain to attend a language school will give me a good start. However, some of the most notorious nomads do weary after a while. Nomadic Matt, an extremely well-known traveler with a top-ranking website, just announced that he was actually ready to semi-retire, at least temporarily from the road, and take up residence in New York City after six years of nonstop traveling. If you haven’t discovered Nomadic Matt, take a look at his website, in particular his blog post called The End of My Solo Travels. Apparently, even a young hipster can grow weary, at least of traveling alone.

Like all things in life, nothing stays the same. Change is inevitable. I realize that it’s not the coming and going that makes the adventure, but rather the spaces in between. Those moments, no matter where you are, when you notice that you are living your life with your eyes wide open and feel a surge of gratitude for the opportunity to be where you are at that one moment in time. Do you have to be older and wiser to realize that? I doubt it! Yet, that is another bragging right that I claim without any true embarrassment. Not that it’s a competition, mind you. Not at all……