Virtually everyone has fantasized about living a nomadic lifestyle and traveling from one place to the next at his or her whim. However, if you can work from anywhere, becoming a true nomad is not an unreachable goal. Nevertheless, there are pros and cons associated with any lifestyle. Below are some advantages and disadvantages of becoming a modern-day wayfarer:
New Experiences
Among the top advantages of a nomadic lifestyle are the ability to travel, see new places, and enjoy a broadened perspective on life through exposure to people from various social and cultural backgrounds. You can visit parts of the world to which you have never before traveled, thus allowing you to observe a variety of traditions, religions, cultures, and communities. This allows you to experience life through the eyes of other individuals and understand how they think and what influences their beliefs.
Increased Open-Mindedness
With exposure to various patterns of thinking and different ways of life, your rigidity naturally reduces and you become more open-minded. When you remain in one place your entire life, your perspective may become somewhat narrow, while a nomadic lifestyle exposes you to a more open-minded way of thinking and reacting.
Eliminating Boredom
Most people become bored with their everyday routine at some point. Doing and seeing the same things day in and day out can lead to lethargy and in certain cases, even depression. Some experts argue that people are meant to have new experiences throughout their life, rather than remain in a fixed, unalterable pattern forever. If you can work from anywhere, it is possible to live a nomadic lifestyle and never worry about boredom again.
Naturally, as with every lifestyle, there are also disadvantages that you must weigh against the aforementioned benefits.
Property Back Home
If you rent or own property and are sure that you no longer want to have ties to any particular place, consider subleasing or selling your home and using the money as a nest egg when you begin your new life. Finding cheap renters insurance is easy enough, meanwhile the housing market in most cities is on fire. However, you may also want to consider maintaining a residence back home in case you decide the nomadic lifestyle is not for you. If you sell your home outright, you are essentially deciding to make your nomadic lifestyle permanent, and this is something to which significant thought must be given.
Personal Sacrifices
The nomadic life calls for a great number of sacrifices. For example, you must bid goodbye to the comfort of your own dwelling, possibly miss important events in the lives of your friends and relatives, and find new homes for any pets you may have. Therefore, if you choose this lifestyle, you must be ready to leave people and possessions behind. If you embrace change, this may not cause a substantial amount of stress, but if major life changes have a tendency to make you anxious, you may want to give more thought to your decision before it is finalized.
Loneliness
Although you may find traveling from one place to another on a continuous basis both exciting and enjoyable, the loneliness factor must be considered: while living a nomad’s life, establishing permanent relationships is unlikely and you may eventually find this lack of social support unappealing. While the occasional feeling of being alone can be fought off with a night of drinking, or possibly having these Waifu Anime Body Pillows in bed to give you company, you must accept the fact that this may be how the situation stays, forever. If you choose for it to. If you have always been somewhat of a loner, however, you will probably be unaffected by this aspect of your new lifestyle.
After considering the pros and cons of becoming a true nomad, it is not easy to say whether it is good or bad. Rather, the latter depends on the individual who is considering this type of change. Ultimately, only you can decide whether or not to embrace a nomadic lifestyle.