30 responses

  1. A Cook Not Mad (Nat)
    July 14, 2014

    Maybe a house sit in WA is what you need to decide whether you want to be there long term. I thought I wanted to be back home and after 16 months we left again.

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 14, 2014

      It’s definitely a mixed bag. I love Washington, and in some ways being back in the US would be very nice. However, compared against the other things, I’m honestly sure how much of US life I can handle anymore. It will be interesting to see.

      Reply

  2. Katie @ The World on my Necklace
    July 11, 2014

    I definitely understand about the downside of long term travel and leaving bits of your heart all over the place. I yearn for Vancouver and the British Columbia Coast as well as New Zealand (my home country) and London (where I lived for 6 years) – it is hard to be away from them but then I love my life in Sydney too. It’s complicated for sure!

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 11, 2014

      SO complicated, and I think the more places you spend time in the more complicated it gets.

      Reply

  3. Linda
    July 9, 2014

    I love the way that housesit popped up. It does sound as if the Universe is listening to you. Even, end of the stay, if it is to prove you wrong! I just spent two days looking for an apartment, I was hoping for a 3 month minimum, but it’s the wrong time of year, so I had to commit for 10. I feel as if I am copping out in a way, because I am back where I began 10 months ago on this last trip, and in a town to which I’ve gravitated back a couple of times in the past too, which should perhaps tell me something. As you say it’s interesting to observe my emotions and reactions, and perhaps only time will tell.

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 9, 2014

      There’s nothing to prove either way. I’ve been missing Washington badly, and now we can go and stay for a bit. Works for me!

      I don’t think it’s copping out to go with your feelings and instincts. If you keep being drawn to the place, I’m sure there’s a reason. Enjoy the ride! 😉

      Reply

  4. Theodora
    July 9, 2014

    I’ve been there. I think if you can find a way to build a base — which may also even entail Tigger making choices around school – but continue to travel for work, it takes a lot of the pressure off.

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 9, 2014

      I definitely think we’ll feel more settled once we aren’t moving around every week. Even though it’s all within the same city, you just can’t feel settled when you’re bouncing around like this!

      Tigger has ZERO desire to go to school, so that one is easy.

      Reply

  5. Donna Janke
    July 8, 2014

    Maybe coming across the house sitting opportunity when Washington has been so much on your mind is a sign to spend some time there. I hope it works out well for you and your son and you enjoy Washington until it is time to hit the road again.

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 9, 2014

      Thanks, Donna. I definitely believe it’s meant to be, even if it is in winter which means plenty of wet weather. Good thing I don’t mind that sort of thing. LOL

      Reply

  6. kay dougherty
    July 8, 2014

    I could never travel so much and I love my travel! I have to have a home base (even if it’s now in weirdo Florida) to come back and recharge. I find it takes a lot of effort to maintain friendships with even the amount of travel I do (maybe 5 or 6 fairly major trips a year) but you must have come up with ways to make friends quickly or are good at staying in touch. I love Washington state so some time there sounds quite appealing to me! For me the hard thing (especially with the move I made to Florida last September) is realizing that it takes time to make up your mind about a new place. There’s saying that you can’t make new old friends and that always crops up in my mind.

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 9, 2014

      There are definitely some places that require more time before you like them. Bangkok was like that for me. I tried living in Florida, and while it’s a beautiful state. . . not a good fit for me.

      Having a home to come back to sure can be nice. We experienced that while in Romania. We did some traveling around the country, and it was so nice to have a home to come back to. I remember being on the train and getting excited every time we saw “our mountain” come into view.

      Reply

  7. Neva @ Retire for the Fun of it
    July 7, 2014

    You really have the best of both worlds and traveled to all of them. I love my home base and I’m so impressed that you have accomplished what many of us only get to read about in your great stories.

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 9, 2014

      Thanks! It’s been very enjoyable so far, and we still have a lot of the world left to see.

      Reply

  8. Anita @ No Particular Place To Go
    July 7, 2014

    I think that reflection is one of travels biggest gifts since you’re always faced with new situations and choices, moving forward or backward or just trying to figure out what you might or might not like next or later or soon… How great to recognize that you need to kick back a bit and each think about what you want and how fabulous to have the options to make the choices!

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 9, 2014

      I love the true freedom that comes with this lifestyle. It is incredibly wonderful to be able to do just that!

      Reply

  9. Patti
    July 7, 2014

    It seems as if it would be an interesting transition to come full circle and find yourselves (you) back where you started. And even more interesting to see how your perspective of life in the U.S. has changed (if at all) now that you’ve lived the nomadic lifestyle. And, while I’m thinking about it, how will you feel 6 months from now when it’s time to leave Mexico bound for the U.S. Ha! So much to think about and it’s not even my life! 😉

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 9, 2014

      Well, technically we’ve come full circle already by coming back to Mexico where our journey began. 😉 I won’t lie and say I don’t have misgivings and concerns about returning to the US. I’m not sure we’re ready for it, but hopefully going back to WA will make it easier to deal with it all. It’s going to be interesting, that’s for sure.

      Reply

  10. Michele Peterson
    July 7, 2014

    I sympathize with your situation completely. I divide my time between Toronto, Canada and Puerto Escondido Mexico with long sojourns in Guatemala in between and after about 3 months in one home I find myself missing the other place. Badly. It’s really quite inexplicable but hopefully I’ll settle into a routine at some point. Good luck with your plans wherever they take you!

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 9, 2014

      Wow, that’s a lot of bouncing! I can understand why you’d miss other places. That’s a lot of variety in there as well.

      Reply

  11. Viv
    July 7, 2014

    Guess the “grass is always greener…” statement somewhat applies to this post. Maybe we always want what we don’t have – I’d love to be a permanent nomad, but the wife likes her home base. Will be interesting to see what you do after spending some time (during the winter) back in WA. 🙂

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 9, 2014

      I don’t think it’s a grass is greener type of thing so much as it is the more places we go, the more places I love. It’s a side effect of this kind of travel. LOL

      It will be interesting to see what happens after our time in WA. I’m kind of curious to see what unfolds really.

      Reply

  12. noel
    July 7, 2014

    I can’t imagine always being in transition unless it’s for a relatively short time frame. Sounds like Washington with a nice fire, wine and company of friends will be a wonderful way to enjoy being back in the US.

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 9, 2014

      The physical location changes aren’t so bad as long as they aren’t so dang fast. Really do much prefer slow travel. That burst we had for 9 weeks was especially exhausting. I am looking forward to being back in WA for a time, though. That’s for sure.

      Reply

  13. Aleah | SolitaryWanderer.com
    July 7, 2014

    The longest I’ve lived outside the Philippines was 4 months in Thailand, and I admit I felt homesick, too. Maybe it was because I was living in a city that wasn’t completely of my own choosing (I’d followed my BF there).

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 9, 2014

      That could easily cover your perception of a place for sure. The nomadic life definitely isn’t for everyone. I think you have to be wired for it to be able to enjoy it really.

      Reply

  14. Steph (@ 20 Years Hence)
    July 7, 2014

    There are definitely some places that Tony & I have been in our travels that if I really thought we’d never get to revisit them, my heart would well and truly break. So, I suppose I deal with those feelings by promising myself that even if we can’t be exactly where we want RIGHT NOW, we will make it a priority to go back when we can.

    Tony & I are in a transition phase ourselves right now, since we’re back in Toronto, but neither of us wants to be here long-term. We have reconciled (I hesitate to say “resigned” because it’s not truly as bad as that) to being here for the time being because it makes sense—it gives us a chance to recharge our batteries while continuing to build our sources of income and save up money before setting off on our next trip—but we both are handling it better than I thought we would (we DID NOT want to come home!) probably because we know this is only temporary. I also promised myself that when we did arrive home, I would do my best to delay any judgments until we had been here for at least a month so that we’d have time to adjust to our new situation and really give it a chance. These things take time (as you know!), and I always think back to our time in Saigon: although I agreed we needed to take a break from traveling and base ourselves somewhere for 3 months or so, I was still really hesitant and worried our first week back in that city, uncertain I could really spend 3 months in one place. And wouldn’t you know, by the end of our stay, I would have given nearly anything in order to extend for another 3 months!

    I think in your situation it’s probably important to give both you & Tigger some time to breath and acclimate, and to also recognize that if Mexico really isn’t working in 6 months or a year or whenever, you can deal with that then. The best gift we can give ourselves is the freedom to change our minds and our plans, so once the dust settles you might have a clearer picture of what will work for both you and Tigger, but for now, I say enjoy the new/old adventures that await in Mexico and eat all the tacos! 🙂

    Reply

    • Talon Windwalker
      July 9, 2014

      I definitely agree. That’s one of the most beautiful parts about this lifestyle. If we decide something isn’t working for us, then off we go! It’s as easy as that.

      I’m sure things will feel better once we’re not bouncing around every week and can stay in one spot and unpack. You can’t feel settled when you’re still living out of your bag and changing addresses every week!

      Glad to hear you guys aren’t done, just recharging batteries and the bank account!

      Reply

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