Nomadic life

[yello]

I won't be replying to you anymore.

Thank you, appreciated.

 

[BoldonLad]

I think many of them use their parents or other relatives address.
Also, what puzzles me is what are they going to do when they are older, say 70 +? At the moment, all the ones I watch are between 25 and 50.
Their main stream of income seem to be from Youtube too. I know of one family with 4 children who are making about 2000 euros a month from their videos but they have to produce two a week for that of 30 minutes each. They never seem to be short of money either.

Steady on! We are 75, and, until Covid (and Brexit) struck, used to spend 5-6 months of each year roaming Europe in a Campervan! We are hoping to resume our wanderings when Covid Travel restrictions are removed.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I was supposed to be meeting 2 old friends tonight in a pub 5 miles away. It was a last minute decision, as in 4 days ago, which is last minute to me as I like much more prior notice. Building up to it something in my head has been putting me off going. I just knew it'd be a case of throwing back endless pints of beer then trying to get a taxi home. I did make an effort to get there, struggling with my dog under my arm in the pouring rain to the bus stop, but the bus didn't arrive, so I went home. Am I becoming a loner I ask? 🤔

 

[Randomnerd]

I was supposed to be meeting 2 old friends tonight in a pub 5 miles away. It was a last minute decision, as in 4 days ago, which is last minute to me as I like much more prior notice. Building up to it something in my head has been putting me off going. I just knew it'd be a case of throwing back endless pints of beer then trying to get a taxi home. I did make an effort to get there, struggling with my dog under my arm in the pouring rain to the bus stop, but the bus didn't arrive, so I went home. Am I becoming a loner I ask? 🤔

Holy thread derail, Batman.

 

[Adam4868]

Holy thread derail, Batman.

Had to go to Lidl tonight to pick something up on way home from work....decided to nip next door to the pub and have two pints.Left the car in the car park.Must of been the nomad in me as I walked home in the rain.

 

[yello]

It does beg the question of time frame for your nomadic existence.

Must admit, I was thinking more along things lines of 'rest of your life' rather than 2 weeks in a camper van or walk home from the pub! I'm going to be nomadic now and wander off into the kitchen for breakfast

 

[PaulSB]

That's a great way to tar a (pretty large and diverse) bunch of people!



What about all the people now in their twenties for whom a permanent job and the chance to buy a home is out of reach?


Pretty broad brush you're using there. Flight mode! For crying out loud!

Travel is well known to broaden the mind and give new perspectives.



There may be no "need" but there have always been people with a wanderlust.



There are many people suffering terrible loneliness who never travel outside of their own town limits.



After recently been bitten by a dog I had no issues receiving treatment at three different small town hospitals. (Rabies shots) Ditto after a tick bite. And there's a lady here who needed a knee replacement and received better care than at home.

I appreciate that you may not have looked into this any more than some casual viewing of YouTube videos but the majority of your content is incredibly negative and not terribly accurate.

Nomads are in "flight"? I'm sure some are but walk into any pub in any town and you'll find people "in flight".
Many are running successful businesses on the road. I'm aware of accountants and literary editors who live a nomadic existence and hold down high level jobs.

Less of the negativity and pigeon holing please.
People are perfectly entitled to choose how they live their lives without being labelled perjoratively for it.



1990's?
People have been wandering since we first left a cave. The world is better for it.
It's only now that there is a lot more exposure.

As I noted above, a lot of young people have little control over their lives with impermanent work and an unknown future. Taking to the road allows some to seek new opportunities, to take a sense of control and to broaden their minds and experiences. And some just like to travel.


You'll find that card you use has an address attached to it. Lose the card and no access to the address and you'll have a world of trouble.

The way I see it is that heading off for 3 weeks you know it's 3 weeks. A vacation. Something different.
I'm pretty sure that the mentality would be different if heading off for three years or an undefined time. When the mentality is different everything is different from preparation to execution.
A city break to a city is a very different experience to living there.

It's a lifestyle in the same way that living in a city centre apartment is a lifestyle as is a remote cottage on an isolated island. Very different experiences. Some embrace the differences others don't.

From time to time I think about how wonderful it must be to travel the world, or just a small part, by bike. I could never have done it but sometimes wish I had been able to.

If I'm unfortunate enough to become single I'd probably spend spring and summer travelling Europe.

When I read your posts I'm usually left thinking what a well-rounded and interesting person he would be to meet.

 

[ColinJ]

If I'm unfortunate enough to become single I'd probably spend spring and summer travelling Europe.

Summer is often okay here but too hot in Europe so I would stay home then. It would be nice to do winter in southern Spain and move north in the spring though.

When I read your posts I'm usually left thinking what a well-rounded and interesting person he would be to meet.

Hobbes or the nomadic you?

 

[PaulSB]

Summer is often okay here but too hot in Europe so I would stay home then. It would be nice to do winter in southern Spain and move north in the spring though.

Hobbes or the nomadic you?

You may be right about the winter/summer thing I haven't really thought about it in much detail. Just that if I was widowed and still healthy enough I would quite likely head off for a few months.

That's an interesting spin! Hobbes I feel is the answer. I don't think I can be described as interesting.

 

[ColinJ]

You may be right about the winter/summer thing I haven't really thought about it in much detail. Just that if I was widowed and still healthy enough I would quite likely head off for a few months.

That's an interesting spin! Hobbes I feel is the answer. I don't think I can be described as interesting.

When I did my spring cycling holidays on the Costa Blanca in March every year the weather was often still grotty here but really nice (15-25 C) there. We used to meet the same group of OAPs there every year. They would do Christmas at home in the UK with their families and then headed to Spain at NY and stayed until the start of April. Hotels and villa rentals are very cheap at that time of year.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

When I read your posts I'm usually left thinking what a well-rounded and interesting person he would be to meet.

I'm not so sure that people who know me in the real world would quite agree with that assessment!
I do think, though, that this trip has definitely rounded off some of my rougher edges.
Since I'm crap at accepting compliments I'm forcing myself to say Thank You.

From time to time I think about how wonderful it must be to travel the world, or just a small part, by bike. I could never have done it but sometimes wish I had been able to.

I'm going to tease out the word "never". I'm not trying to be disrespectful but "never" is the kind of word that can stop us in our tracks - without ever asking why.

If someone came on these fora and commented that they wanted to cycle 100 miles, were unfit, overweight and didn't even have a bike but thought they could never do it, I think most regulars would disagree.
No-one would suggest buying the first bike that came along and heading off on a century cycle.
Most would suggest starting small in bite size pieces, building confidence, fitness and stamina.
There'd be arguments about what bike they should and how much to spend, of course, but the general thrust would be to get out there, give it a go, expect it to be tough at times but there's no reason that they can't make it. Lots of others have.

If that poster took the advice and started small there's a strong possibility that other things will start to happen about the same time.
Maybe that slice of cake will be had after a cycle rather than in front of the TV. Or even replaced with a banana! Maybe that late night watching reruns on Dave with a few beers will be ditched to get a morning cycle in. Maybe spending more time in the fresh air and sunlight will lift the spirits.
These are all things that we know can happen because we already ride bikes but are yet to be discovered by the person who thinks "never".

To put it more eloquently netman posted this on the chat thread

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans. That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred." William H Murray

Committing to something is very different to wanting something and the act of committing opens up doors that we never even knew existed.

"Never" can cover lots of things from confidence to ability to circumstances to finances to obligations and lots more.

Like the poster who wants to cycle 100 miles the chances increase when they put "never" out of their mind and replace it with "how?"

If I'm unfortunate enough to become single I'd probably spend spring and summer travelling Europe.

I'm single but wasn't always and the idea that a wife or girlfriend would deny themselves something because of me appalls me. I may not want to do what they want to do but I'd hope I'd do everything in my power to help them along. (I know nothing of your personal circumstances so apologies if I'm stamping on toes).

I was that overweight, unfit poster without a bike. I was one of those people who thought "never".
I'm about to cycle over the Equator (once I can leave the most fabulous German campsite in Ecuador!).
I've cycled from Atlantic to Pacific (a personal thrill) and back again.
I've ridden one of the most dangerous roads in Mexico and the same in Colombia.
I'm learning a new language - for a non linguist like me it's incredibly satisfying.
I've seen some of my musical heroes live.
And I've met some of the most wonderful people.
For balance, I've wrecked two wheels, flipped over the bars once, been mugged twice (once at gunpoint), been bitten by a dog and a tick, caught in a storm in the Appalachians, and lost on a Colombian mountain.

This trip may well be the dumbest thing I've ever done (in a long list of dumb things) but it sure doesn't feel like it.

A man died a few weeks ago. A former competitor of mine but was always kind to me as a foreigner in his country. We helped each other out when we could. He had about 20 years on me and I used to look at him and wonder if that was where I would be in 20 years. He retired after a long, hard, working life just as the Pandemic hit. Then he became ill and died just as the world is starting to open up. I've thought of him every day since and thank my lucky stars that I didn't postpone this dream of mine.
My own father died at the age of 49. I'm quite sure that fact has been a big influence too.

Oh, if you do want to meet up I'll be wandering around Spain from the end of the month! You can find out for yourself just how uninteresting I am! The first bottle of vino tinto is on you!

Apologies for the long post. I tend to be a tad evangelical

 

[HobbesOnTour]

An interesting article in the paper today.
It's from an American perspective, so it's worth remembering that the US system is fine so long as you remain healthy and in employment, reducing the risk of hitting the road long term for many.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jan/31/vanlife-nomad-living-us-families

 

[Jameshow]

Boy could I load up the panniers and be off. Away from the work phone, emails, clients with less problems than myself, the wife whose given up on marriage and even the kids who ask ask ask but yet don't appreciate you...!

Meeting people in different places seeing different places, doing what ever the day brings be it 20miles or 100 miles!!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Boy could I load up the panniers and be off.

You've mentioned similar many times.

A mural I saw contained the (translated by me) text....
"A wish changes nothing........ A decision changes everything".

What, specifically, is stopping you from making a decision and getting away, even for an overnighter? *
I recall a tent being bought, possibly a sleeping bag? There was talk of a cookset?

Often, when we reflect deeply the things holding us back are not the things we blame for holding us back.

Loading up the panniers and heading away suggests an impulsive activity. Impulsive can be positive, it can also be chaotic and damaging.
I'd imagine there are very few successful nomads who downed tools and hit the open road. Layers and layers of preparation were done, lessons learned, attitudes adjusted. I doubt many of this group drove 50 miles from home and suddenly found Nirvana.

My suggestion, as it nearly always is, is to get out there and give it a shot within whatever limits apply. A February overnighter may not be very long, nor comfortable but it is a first step in the right direction. (Those long winter nights in a tent can be a wonderful gift to ourselves - or feckin' miserable!) Any journey is made up of steps (or pedal strokes if you prefer) and not all of them are in the right direction.

Changing our thought pattern to "I'll bring better food/coffee/book next time" from "This is why I can't go this time" can be very liberating.
The very act of having made one step makes it easier to make the second step.

* My touring history is filled with "silly" overnighters. To the outside observer or the experienced, world travelling Bike Tourist they'd be viewed, at best as childish, at worst as pathetic. For me, overweight, unfit, stressed to the hilt they were important stepping stones across a scary, raging river into a different world. Each time I'd come back to my own world but having seen the alternative my perception of it was changing.
And before those there was an hour here and an hour there snatched from the chaos to just get out on my bike. I wasn't just travelling the bike paths in NL, I was going wherever my imagination led me. Step by step.

 

[Electric_Andy]

I don't think anyone with friends/family would even consider this. it might seem like a nice concept but would get very lonely very quickly. I'm not really a sociable person and I enjoy my own company, but when you've got emotinoal responsibilities like partner/children/close family then I think it's pretty selfish.

I think you'd have to be a certain kind of person to want total solitude for the rest of your life. When I was travelling around Australia there were times when I'd not see anyone for a few days, but even that was too much for me.

Of course, if there was some kind of apocolpse and I lost my partner, son and family, then I think I'd survive ok in the wild. There's something in us that can do that if needed, but 99.9999% of us would prefer not to.

I've often thought that it would be great if the world was "reset" and we had to live a simple life without tech and comforts, but the grass is always greener. Most people would start to seek out comforts and companionship I think