On the day I write this post, we’ve been on the road for 859 days, and it will be 861-862 days by the time you read this (depending which side of the planet you’re on). In that time we’ve visited 18 different countries on 6 different continents, and some of them multiple times. We’ve visited and lived in over 140 different cities. We love travel, but I’m starting to feel it’s time for a reality check.
We have had some amazing experiences. Tigger learned to dive, dove with sharks, and has done his first wreck penetration (which you usually don’t get to do until you’re at least 15 years old). He’s hugged kangaroos and pet wombats and koalas. We’ve had the fortune of being awoken by the laughing cry of a kookaburra and the sound of a clumsy hornbill crashing into one of our windows every time it lands in the tree next to our current abode.
We’ve been serenaded by donkeys and a herd of goats when we lived on an oasis in very rural southern Morocco. He’s wanted to adopt every cat we’ve run into on every continent we’ve visited. In Essaouira, I was ready to put down roots and start an animal shelter because we saw so many sickly kittens who were probably going to die.
I’ve experienced culture shock and clashes in some of these countries and am a better man and human for it.
But I’m tired.
Momentum
While we’ve stayed in some places for a good amount of time—2 months on the oasis, 8 months on Utila—we’ve also had some rapid movement. We realized right before Vietnam that we were burnt out after a few months of fairly constant movement. It isn’t our style, and we weren’t liking it, so we’ve tried to slow down.
Housesits have enabled us to do that a bit. We had a month in one spot in Australia and nearly that long in New Zealand.
For the most part, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. Kuala Lumpur (KL) felt like home in a lot of ways, and it’s in the top of the list for long-term bases. We are trying to slow down our pace and stay in places for at least a month before moving on. We have some places I’m really excited to visit, like Japan where we’ll be housesitting in Kyoto during Chrismakah and New Year’s.
But I am so sick of packing my suitcase.
After doing it so many times, I have it down to a science. Even when completely unpacked, it takes me maybe 10 minutes to pack when it’s time. That one suitcase represents most of my belongings. I love the freedom of not having too much stuff and wish I could divest myself of some more.
Still, I’m tired of doing it over and over again.
When we lived in Morocco and left the oasis for a few days, it felt so good to feel like we were returning home when our short trip was done. And because we need so little when we travel, we had small bags with us which was extra nice.
Social life
Even though we meet people as we travel, long-term travel can still be somewhat isolating.
Things really came to a head for me during our last visit to KL. We ended up being in the same place as the people behind the blogs Runaway Juno and Aaron’s World Adventures. Since we were all in the same city at the same time and have been talking online for years, we decided to meet up. For several days we got together, explored, shared food, chatted and visited, and it was so much fun!
Spending time with them made me realize just how much I miss having local friends. I love sharing experiences with Tigger, but it’s even more fun when it’s with other people. The National Mosque and the Blue Mosque just wouldn’t be the same had we not shared that together and having the inside jokes that come with it. “Do they have it in lavender?” and “Mall walkers unite!”
You had to be there.
Looking fab in lavender, don’t you think?
We’ve had a few chances to spend time with other families, and it’s been fun to see Tigger get to interact with other kids. He may be even more social than me. I want him to have the chance to do that more often. I think we’re at a point that when we travel he doesn’t bother making local friends because we’re only there temporarily. He’s able to maintain many friendships online, but it isn’t the same as climbing trees, getting dirty, and sinking your toes into mud with your buddies.
I miss that feeling of community and having neighbors that drop by for a cup of coffee or whatever. I miss meeting up with friends for dinner or brunch. In New Zealand, we spent some time with the Edventure Project family. In addition to play, we shared meals, and delicious and nasty wines, and it was so much fun. When they left, I felt like I was saying goodbye to best friends, and I mourned their absence for a few days afterward. In some ways, we couldn’t be more different and in others we’re very kindred spirits. I find that combination to be such a wonderful one for friendships.
I have always taken pride in my independence, even if it created complications with would-be suitors who found it challenging that I didn’t need them. I have survived my childhood and early adulthood by not needing anyone else and learning to enjoy my own company.
But I can admit to myself that I do need local friends, too. Not that I can’t continue doing what I do without friends, but they enrich my life so much. My other friends are all online, and I’m so grateful they continue to be part of my life, but I need some ones who can physically spend time with me as well. I need that interaction, that sense of communion and physical conviviality.
Not that dating in the US was all that wonderful, but try doing it on the road!
Reality check
We’ve had some issues that have kept us moving more than we’d like. In Australia, we could only stay longer if we had a housesit or something due to the great expense of living there. No offense to Kiwis, but NZ bored me too much to want to stay longer.
And I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of Bali.
Lately. I’ve had more “blue” moments than I care for. There have been times when I’ve had to force myself to write. If you know me, you know that it’s harder for me not to write than to write, so this is pretty big. Because of my lifelong battle with depression, I keep a close eye on that pulse as it were. I’ve had some of my most calm and tranquil moments during our longer housesits which tells me that I need to stay put longer. The challenge is that I still have so many places I want to see, and I do enjoy travel very much.
I do wonder about keeping the blogging momentum going while doing a more “normal” type of expat existence during those times at our “base,” too.
However, we’re running on an indefinite clock. Well, figuratively. We need to stop traveling like we’re in a race against time.
We’ve started talking more about where we want to make a base. While we’ve identified some places, I’ve managed to come up with some characteristics I require:
- I don’t want to sweat 8-12 months out of the year. I really miss having four seasons. Fall is my favorite time of year, and so far we’ve only had a mild taste of it in the last almost 3 years. So I would prefer a place with four seasons or at least a place that has periods of more temperate weather.
- I really miss running and cycling, and I need to live in a place that has temperatures that are reasonable enough for me to do those activities. I can’t do them in southeast Asia’s steam bath temps. Exercise is a key antidepressant for me, too.
- We adore the ocean and any body of water. We are both addicted to scuba. While I thought I needed to live some place I could dive a lot, the reality of my budget is that I will not be able to dive as much as I want unless I’m working. In the diving industry that often entails 10-hour days with maybe 1 day off a week. That really kind of defeats the whole purpose of redefining my life so that I can get more living into my life and spend more time with my child. So, being very close to the ocean isn’t necessarily a major thing. I’d like to be close, but I don’t have to live in a beach town or on an island.
- In order to continue to travel at least a few months out of the year, it should be near a good travel hub. This is one reason KL is so high on my list.
- While I love the challenge of not knowing the local language when traveling, I need to be able to communicate better in the place we call home. So there needs to be enough people that speak one of the languages I know so I can have that interaction and sense of community while I’m learning the local language.
- I need to be able to be me. I can’t live somewhere that I have to be afraid of being arrested or whatever for being gay. I need that for Tigger’s sake as well since I’m all he has.
- Obviously, it needs to be relatively easy to stay there a while. Having to renew a visa every 30 days is not going to work well.
Tigger’s list:
- A beach with waves so I can surf or Boogie board.
- A place that is cheap but doesn’t have “Amigo! Amigo!” [No touts or relatively few].
- Good WiFi.
- Being near a big city would be nice.
I’ve been keeping my eyes open as we travel to identify a possible base, and we still have some places to check out. I think we can just slow our travels down even more to keep sanity while we continue searching, but I’m also keen on just stopping and breathing for a while in the interim.
No matter your lifestyle, I think it’s important to take time to be honest with yourself and do a reality check. What’s working, what isn’t, what would you like to change, and so on. In the process of keeping your life the way you want it, you sometimes learn some things about yourself along the way.
And that’s never a bad thing.
I’ve been travelling for over 7 months now and I can empathise with you. I love travel but I’m just tired of living out of a suitcase and starting over every couple of days. I appreciate that I’m lucky to be able to do this but it would be great to just spend some time living a normal life with friends ect then continue travelling.
Have you ever considered Spain as a base? It has seasons and depending on where you live can be very good value for money!
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Living out of the suitcase sure can get old easily.
We didn’t really care much for Spain. We have to go back and explore some new areas.
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It’s a catch 22 isn’t it. I have being a military wife and relocating constantly, but yet we’ve seen more and done more than I ever would have dreamed possible. I’ve been to places I never even considered going. We’ve been in one place now for over a year and a half and it’s nice. Maybe you should move to Portland too!! Our beaches are cold though.
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I’m not really cut out for living in the States, but if we were to live there again, the Pacific Northwest would be high on my list.
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I found this post really interesting we are heading off to begin our trip in a few months. I have been wondering about the impact of long term moving and lack of having friends around. I hope you find peace somewhere
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Surprisingly, once we got out of Asia we realized we just needed to get out of there. In Europe, we’re still prepared to be nomadic. Guess we just needed a major change in location!
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Although we’ve not been on the road nearly as long as you guys, we also struggle with the pull of all the places we haven’t seen yet and wanting to slow down and stop for a month or three. It almost seems like the inevitable result of long term travel…it seems very few bloggers who’ve been on multi-year trips keep going past, say three or four. Hope you’re able to find a place/way to do this, and I’m looking forward to seeing where you choose. Also, Chrismakah in Japan?! Super exciting!
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We will continue to travel, both locally and internationally, from wherever we base. We’re definitely not done with travel. We just need to slow it down more than what we’ve been doing and to have a sense of community somewhere.
I was VERY excited to do Chrismakah and NYE in Japan, but in the end I decided my mental health was important so we have cancelled the sit.
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I will admit to an occasionally indulging my envious self when reading about the things you do and see, Talon, though none so much as this post. I’ve always admired the honesty you afford yourself, your son and us ~ and that you walk the walk you talk. Thank you, again, for letting us see that the shine does wear off sometimes.
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The great thing about living like this is that you can steer your ship in another direction without too much trouble. 😉
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<3
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Thanks LaLa!
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A great piece, Talon! I totally feel you… and at the same time, it is hard to read you. It seems like many of the long-term traveling families are now feeling a need to stop and have a base… We are back home now after 5 months in Costa Rica and a year on the road after that and are debating selling everything and leaving or keeping a base (which is financially not very viable for us, even if we rent). Our girls love to travel, but at 9 and 8, I can see that it will be challenging to keep moving and not have a place to come back to. And from the discussion on our FB group, I can see that it’s even more challenging when kids get older… My girls just started taking music lessons and joined a trail running club (their requests) and I feel like it will only be harder and harder to leave…. meanwhile, I am enjoy fall and my amazing tribe here in Quebec (fellow unschoolers, especially!), but see depression lurking around the corner (with fall and winter comes SAD for me… as much as I love the 4 seasons). And yes, my writing well is much drier since we are back home… I don’t have much inspiration. Thank you for sharing this reality check, it is very helpful!
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I think it may be even more difficult for small families. Larger families have more of a tribe. For us it’s 1 adult and 1 child, so it gets to feel isolative at times for both of us. It may be that even our base changes from time to time, but I think we definitely need a place that is “home” for longer than a month. And I kind of would like a place we can come back to after travels and feel like we’re returning home.
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Wow I love your honesty. I guess having a certain lifestyle isn’t about traveling or living somewhere. It’s about doing what’s best for you and your family. Does that make sense? I guess what I’m trying to say is that it doesn’t matter if you’re traveling or not. You’ll still be the same person with the same attitude towards life. So go for it. I wouldn’t want to live in KL though, I tried that for a month and I was glad to leave again. It’s too damn hot!!
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The heat is a big deterrent for me with KL. We’ve been in SE Asia for about 6 months total, and I’m just so tired of sweating all the time.
And you are very right. A big part of our life is having time together, and I don’t want to live somewhere where I have to work more and take time away from Tigger. Or from myself. And we’ll still be traveling. Just in smaller doses.
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Looved the post and I have tons of admiration for you and Tigger.
Expat life felt easier for me and I probably could go on for years… On the road, non-stop travel was harder for me. I started feeling burnout after 7 months. I couldn’t relax.
The difference between LT travel and expat life is like a marriage vs a fling, especially if you throw in a job. It’s a different mental switch and you can still “fling”, but from a stable base. Having a steady job is also helpful because it offered added structure and organization to my life, extra money, the concept of creating ‘a home’ & more meaningful interactions with countrymen. Twas the first time I held a 9-5er and for the first time, under those circumstances, I was ok with it. I was in Korea and didn’t know a lick of the language, but there’s an expat community and figuring things out (or not) is all part of the fun and stress of travel and adapting. Talon, I wouldn’t be so quick to scratch that language aspect off your list yet. I’m sure you’d surprise yourself! Other expats will help and that’s what makes each day interesting, a challenge, a frustration and fun. There wasn’t *one* day I felt bored with my life as an expat.
I’m very excited for you both in your new adventure and thanks for sharing this story.
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I love the marriage vs. fling analogy!
Language isn’t a huge thing for me. I just want to make sure there are enough English-speaking people around to connect with while I’m learning the language.
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Great open post Talon! I agree on so many things and also have a post in draft (along with 100 other drafts) along the same lines. I still think you should give Hawaii a shot! Its not as expesive as you think and you cannot beat the weather or the cool family there:)
Also even when not traveling as quicky you will still be exploring, loads to still write about for the blog!Mary
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If Hawaii wasn’t in the US, I would definitely consider it. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to afford health insurance, and both of my meds require a prescription. It’s also not the easiest place to get out of when you’re ready to travel somewhere.
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I think I’ve said this in a comment here before but the biggest mistake we can make as human beings is to operate under the assumption that we are fixed and never changing. The dreams and desires that propelled us a year ago may no longer be the ones that make us tick and motivate us today, so you are 100% correct that it’s crucial to stop every so often and take your temperature, really figure out if the life you are living is the one you currently want vs. the one you thought you would want or used to want but no longer fits. Nothing wrong with updating plans and putting down roots somewhere for a while if that’s what you want—you guys have been going for an incredible amount of time and I can fully understand how tired you must be. Tony and I are also pretty burnt out at this point (Indonesia is such a beast to travel around!) and are really looking for a place where we can tuck in and roost for at least a month (or two… or three…) so we can recharge the batteries before setting out once more. One place you guys might want to consider checking out at some point is Taiwan—the cost of living is quite good for the quality of life, you get a 90-day visa on arrival for free, and you get a huge diversity of landscapes to explore as well. Plus, it’s a pretty temperate place—when we were there in November/December we were actually chilly while in Taipei, but just travel a few hours south and it heats right up again.
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Definitely important to reevaluate regularly. And definitely a good idea to stop and recharge as needed. We did that in Vietnam, and it was so useful.
I’ve considered Taiwan. I’m just not sure how realistic it would be to stay there long term. They don’t have a lot of cheap flights going out of the country comparatively speaking.
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It is a bit tricky to keep up a travel blog when you’re not traveling, but I think even if you choose to stay put for 5 or 6 months you would still have a voice for your blog, different circumstances, different message. And staying in one place for a while will give you a connection to the community and you’ll be able to dive deeper into your writing. I’m sure you have a vast store of untold stories!
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That’s a good point. Exploring, doing weekend trips, etc., will all be good fodder for the blog. And yes, still many untold stories left!
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Talon – I love your article. We have only been traveling the world for 14 months, and so it is good for me to read your honesty and openness. I guess we are ‘shopping the world’ for a new home, and like you we will have to choose to settle one day. I think boys need to have mates, and you I love when you talk about ‘hanging out with friends.’ Good luck in your decision. One day you will wake up, and it will be home. It might not always be home, but it will be for a while – or longer, and you will feel good. I look forward to reading where that is. Good luck – findin g a home in itself is your next adventure!
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We’re okay with not even finding “home.” We just need to stay unpacked in one place for a longer time period. 😉 Although I suppose one day we will find a place that definitely does feel like home. The best thing is we will still be able to travel. Just more slowly.
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I’m from NZ – I totally get how you saw it as boring. The great scenery certainly isn’t in Auckland, and the culture is a bit bland, safe but bland. It’s an easy place to live (if you can get a visa) and do business, that doesn’t make it exciting.
I can’t believe how long you’ve lasted on the road -I never got past 8 months myself. I think to that you need to decide which country Tigger may do his uni education in – he needs to be in the “system” of wherever that might be.
And do your research – you said you liked Australia – but do you know even if you got a visa – you’d still have to pay overseas (ie big) fees for uni education?
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The South Island scenery was AMAZING. NZ is definitely a gorgeous country, especially in the south. But yes, it’s a very bland life, and I’m not very vanilla in my cultural tastes. Glad you get what I was saying.
Australia isn’t on our list for bases. I really enjoyed it there, but it’s way too expensive. It’s also too vanilla for me, although I loved the people and the energy and especially loved Melbourne.
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A very interesting read filled with the wisdom of experience. Thought-provoking for me, when thinking about what makes for a happy home locale. I loved Tigger’s list, too. Haha! He’s brilliant.
Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. It’s been wonderful.
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Thank you, Shawn
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NZ bored you? Seriously? I’m from New Zealand and have traveled all over and it’s a gorgeous country. From your status updates you spend most of your time in some nice suburb in Auckland… eating Hells pizza. Aside from that you had a brief trip to Queenstown, with a quick stop in Christchurch and that was it right?
I think most places would be somewhat boring if you didn’t invest the time in exploring them and most of your updates were about a fastfood joint.
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I find what you remember of our time in NZ quite interesting. Nevertheless, there is more to living in a place than doing activities and sightseeing. NZ was boring for me because I’m the type of person that needs to be surrounded by different languages, cultures, lots of different types of ethnic foods, strange smells and sounds, etc. I like living somewhere that has a certain type of energy to it. Not every place is perfect for everybody. I adored Dalat, Vietnam, while someone else found it dreadful. I love KL and know others who are mystified at the attraction.
We’re all different and have different needs. NZ is a gorgeous country with very friendly people, and if you’re into spending your life outdoors it’s a superb place for that. It also has the most polite drivers I’ve ever shared the road with. It just isn’t my kind of place.
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I think the hardest thing about settling down after being away is connecting with like minded people – since developing friends involves having commonalities (not exclusively but you know what I mean). The hardest thing about moving any place new is making friends (in my experience) and harder when you are the one who sees the world differently. Since you are considering other places besides America, you may very well find that elusive quality or maybe I just find it difficult because I am stationary and would rather be traveling which doesn’t make sense to those in my community who are happy to be stationary!! Good luck. I do remember the feeling of wanting to stop and have a home base, many times, during my year away. It is only natural, I think!!
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I do wonder how easy it will be to make friends when we’re so different. Since we aren’t planning on the US, and probably not Canada either, we’re going to be very different from everyone else. On Utila we had lots of friends because they were all into travel and scuba. Some place else we’ll just be the weird foreigners. LOL But hopefully we’ll still be able to find some connections, especially if we can get actively involved in the community.
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I think you made it quite a long time before deciding this. Not bad! I realized when I came home from traveling for only 4 1/2 months that I really want a home base. I do love to travel, but I don’t think I really want to be a full-time nomad. Good luck with wherever you decide. From your criteria, sounds like either the US or western Europe for seasons and relative temperate weather.
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I just need something that is sweat-producing all year long. We’re considering Eastern Europe and would probably leave for the winters to a more mild clime. I just need a break from constant heat.
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What a honest post Talon, thank you for sharing it with us. If there is one thing that I admire a lot in people is their ability to be honest with the others and themselves too.
I haven’t been traveling as long as you and Trigger did, but at some point I might start feeling as you do now which is completely understandable. The only thing I can say, is to take it easy, I’m sure that as soon as you’ll find the right place you’ll be ready to stop.
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I think so, too. I think we’ll know it when we find it, and we’re both ready to give it a shot. I just hope we find it before we feel burned out completely. LOL
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I’ve started feeling this way too after almost a year. Romantic relationships are pretty much impossible when you move around all the time.
I absolutely love KL too! The only thing about that is, not close to the ocean for SCUBA (though Sipadan isn’t too far and so cheap to get to with air asia. MAN that’s an epic dive spot!) and you’d be out of luck with your four seasons. Good luck on the search, I’m looking too and have a similar list of wants 🙂
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If I could just have some cooler temps, I could be okay without four seasons. LOL I’m hoping to dive around Sabah and Sipadan. Although it might make it hard to leave. 😉
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Love this article, your honesty, the way you write and your connection. It is always a good idea to pause, reflect and reconsider your choices and priorities. I can feel the love you have for your son and I hope you guys are happy with whatever you decide 🙂 Best of luck!
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Thank you! One of the lovely things about this kind of life is we can always move on if we don’t like a place. Or stay put if we love it. It’s the ultimate freedom. 😉
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Your posts are really good, and I hope whatever you do, you keep writing. Watching Tigger grow up after losing my own son has been a wonderful substitute.
Now, with the exception of it being a travel hub, I strongly suggest Cape Town.
It IS a good idea to put Tigger among long term friends.
Keep the faith.
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Thanks, Forrest. I’ll definitely keep writing. I’m one of those people who can’t not write. 😉
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I can completely understand your desire to be grounded. My husband and I are considering some longer term travel with our sons within the next couple of years, but we’re pretty sure we need a home base too. 3 months at a time will probably be our limit. We love having animals and there’s just something to be said for coming home to your own bed. And yes, friends and familiarity is nice for everyone.
Good luck in your search for a place to settle and I’m looking forward to hearing where you decide upon!
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We definitely miss having pets. Housesitting gives us some lovely time with pets, but in the end we have to leave them behind. I kind of would like to have pets of our own again, but since we still plan on traveling that could be rough.
Definitely advantageous to have a spot to plop down for a few months and refresh before hitting the road again.
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I get it. We’re trying to figure out the balance, too. The friend issue was a big one, “especially for the kids” was what we thought as we traveled, but really for us, too. Sitting down with my girlfriends for some hours of gabbing and solving the world’s problems felt so good after a year away.
But at the same time, we realize our house feels really big and the maintenance of it seems overwhelming right now. Why should we spend a weekend working in the yard when we could be out exploring? Or spend thousands to fix the sewer line that might have otherwise gone to saving for our next trip?
I have to admit that as we were traveling we were always evaluating places as to whether or not they could be a more permanent home base. We had a list pretty similar to yours, minus the scuba. We didn’t find the perfect spot, though there were a few close calls. We loved Colombia. Not sure about the four seasons, but I could live with just the one perfect season in Medellin!
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I’d be okay without four seasons. I just need somewhere that has a period of temperate weather. This sweating year round stuff is just not for me.
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Talon, I just love this. Don’t worry about not being as nomadic, travel is in your blood and you will move when you need to and stop when you need to. It is good to identify when “it is time” and allow it to be a discussion between the two of you. It is great that you two communicate like that and respect each others thoughts and feelings. We knew of the 4 of us in my family that we all weren’t made with the “nomadic” gene. Thus we decided to settle in Spain and travel here and there as much as we could. That was a good compromise for our full family as we all get a taste of what we need. We too would love to see “everything” but realize we can’t. We hope to be in Europe another 6-9 months and then potentially hit SE Asia next. It just kills me that we won’t have covered all of Europe in the nearly 2 years we will have lived here. For the rest of the family they are good with it.
I hope you figure out what place works best for you. It sounds to me like Southern Spain could fit your bill, but not sure about the budget. We are finding it very inexpensive compared to other locations in Europe. I am sure South America and SE Asia is cheaper. Good luck to the two of you and we can’t wait to see how your future unfolds. Not to worry about writing slowing down while you aren’t moving as much. Just dig deeper into the culture you are in and you will be fine.
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I’m not a huge fan of Spain so it really isn’t on my list. Our budget is a big hindrance to some places for sure, but I’d really like to not have to work too much to sustain ourselves. That just takes time away from Tigger which I don’t want.
We still love being nomadic and traveling. We just need to get a different balance between staying in one spot and moving on.
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I hope you find just the place, at just the right time! We’re only about a year into traveling full time, and in that time we’ve spent five months in one place, and much of the rest of it in our travel trailer in the US and Mexico. Having the trailer adds a sense of stability for the kids, getting to sleep in the same bed every night, have their own little spaces, etc. Part of me would love to travel further afield and more independently, and I don’t doubt we will someday, but for now this seems to provide a good balance to having a “home” and moving, too.
All the best to you and Tigger. I will look forward to seeing where you land.
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I agree that it probably makes a big difference that you are traveling in your home. That gives you a sense of stability and space that moving from lodging to lodging just can’t do. Plus you don’t have to completely pack every time you move!
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Wow Talon. I understand fully, especially as someone who’s planted roots here, in Peru for the time being. But for me, the knowing that NOTHING is permanent, and we’re free to change those decisions at any moment keeps me feeling liberated, versus the tied down feeling I got in the States. I’m always saying it, do what feels right to you both, in the moment, in the “now” and give yourself permission at any moments notice to revise, revise, revise as you feel needed. Nothing is permanent (except for change).
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That is one of the blessed freedoms of this kind of life. I love being able to be somewhere “for now” and deciding to stay longer if we want or get the hell out of Dodge. Like you I can’t stand that feeling of being tied down and locked in. And yes, revise, revise, revise as needed. Love it!
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LOVE this post… honesty is such a good thing. We’ve found that we have to hunker down from time to time too… and sometimes for a full six months in one place to just feel connected and rest a bit. We loved the time with you guys too. I know our paths will cross in other places and our boys will continue to be buddies. It’s funny how the friendships we forge out of commonalities on the road can be instantaneous and deep, isn’t it?? We love you guys!
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I definitely feel like that will help. Even if our 1st place isn’t a place we want to call a more permanent base, even setting down temporary roots for 5-6 months or so will be valuable. Sometimes even a nomad needs to let some roots sink down. I look forward to when we do meet again!!
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I don’t even know where to start with my response. What I do know is that this just might be my favorite article of yours that I’ve ever read. You’ve had a bunch of good ones, but I feel that I really connected with this one.
First of all, I didn’t realize that you also suffer from depression. I’ve been on and off with it my whole life as well. Second, as a fellow adventurer I have many of the same thoughts and feelings you have mentioned here. I could write a full article about it all, but will save it for a phone call or talk with you one day.
I’ve always known that you and I are connected and this article reaffirms that.
For some reason, most humans have a “the grass is always greener” mentality. I’m definitely one of them. Here I am living on a tropical Caribbean island and still complaining and missing things that I don’t have. Strange, but true.
I hope you find a place that provides all the things you’ve listed for you and Tigger…..you deserve to have it all.
Darryl
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There are so many wonderful places we’ve seen and have yet to see it makes it challenging. But we have time. Tigger is only 12. All part of the Journey. 😉
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