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What is a semi-nomadic lifestyle? Well, we’ve talked about it here, and here. While there is a growing interest in a more mobile lifestyle, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. These are questions we want to help answer for you – and help you start thinking about your own potential for adventure.
What is a semi-nomadic lifestyle?
Almost everyone has heard about the folks who ditch their city apartments or sell their family homes, buy an RV and hit the road. Then there are the digital nomads; the ones who travel abroad, stay in hostels, and literally live like nomads.
And then there’s the semi-nomad…the folks like us, empty nesters, early 50’s, wanting a more luxurious lifestyle and a sense of home. The ones who want to see the world…just NOT from a 42 foot RV. I prefer a little more functionality to life. I want a full-sized oven, a full sized-shower, a freezer big enough to hold a turkey at thanksgiving, and a place for seasonal decor.
To us, being semi-nomad means we have the versatility to live wherever we want, but we are tempering it with a one year window. We live in rentals for a year, and then we are on to the next location – wherever that may be.
Cost of nomadic lifestyle
All of this talk of rentals brings up some interesting questions. How can you afford it? How do you get deposits back? What is the actual cost of this lifestyle? While cost varies from place to place depending on the cost of living of the area, most expenses can be estimated with planning.
Rent is one of the simplest costs to estimate before hand. We like living in luxury apartment communities for convenience sake, and sources like apartments.com is a terrific way to research potential areas. You can find information on schools, churches, drivability and walkability. You can also look at most community google reviews to get insider information before planning a tour.
Rental housing is often a bit more questionable. Some neighborhoods aren’t particularly fond of renters simply based on the turn over rate. However, if you use good manners, follow local HOA guidelines, and don’t cause a ruckus while you live there, most neighborhoods will prove to be welcoming to you. But do your research! Search crime rates, look at surrounding neighborhoods, ask around (local churches are a great place for this info) to see what the locals say about the neighborhood.
We determined that we would work costs of deposits into our monthly rental fee. For example, if rent is $1,500 a month, and we have to pay a one-month deposit, then we simply estimate our rent to be $1,625 to absorb the cost in the event we don’t get the deposit back. Factoring for the loss ahead of time makes monthly budgeting easier to determine.
Work and income
This one falls into a couple of categories. You either work remotely, or you find work when you get where you’re going. For most, working remotely in a full-time career is where the ability of this lifestyle gets its merit. However, if you are retired, or semi-retired, or have enough saved, then potentially working a part time job locally is all you may need to do.
Before embarking on a remote semi-nomadic lifestyle, be sure to check with your employer first to determine what legal steps need to be taken.
Downsizing your belongings
Downsizing your belongings is key to the semi-nomadic lifestyle. We talk about downsizing from a house to an apartment here, here, here and here. There is also the concept of luxury downsizing, which is exceptionally helpful when trying to create a high-end look with less.
Learning to live with just the essentials, and maybe a few extras, is one of the things that makes this life possible. Moving every year isn’t such a struggle when you live with what you love and let go of the rest.
To Sell or Store
Determining what to sell or store is a little bit more challenging for some. We struggled with feeling like we had to store everything in our 4,000 square foot home. But when we decided to only keep the best of the best, it makes the remainder feel like child’s play. What we could make a little money back by selling, we sold. This included things like a solid cherry bedroom suit, a leather sofa, and a dining set.
Other items we thought about storing for later use, we asked these questions about:
- “Are we going to want to use ‘this’ thing in ten or fifteen years when we settle back down?”
- “Will ‘this’ thing still be in style?”
- “After being in storage for this period of time, will it still be useable?”
The truth was, there were a lot of items in our home we were getting rid of because they were fifteen-twenty years old, they were out dated, or we had them simply because they filled an empty area of the 4,000 square feet of space. In fifteen more years, those items weren’t even going to be something we wanted.
Simply put, if we didn’t want to take it with us, or it had exceptional value or sentimental value, we sold it or donated it. We only paid to store those things we knew we couldn’t replace easily.
Adventures & New Places
Traveling to new destinations is the best part of this lifestyle. We view every new place as a new adventure. Even then, we strive to live like a local everywhere we go. We look for local restaurants, attractions, concerts, county fairs, and sporting events. Each of these things helps us to get to know our community, meet friends and neighbors, and actually experience the places we live.
Make a bucket list of things you want to see and experience. Know if you prefer outdoor activities like state and national parks, or if you prefer exploring the bustle of new cities. Maybe it’s a little of both? Keep an open mind to new interests and experiences too. Getting out of your comfort zone and getting to know people while you experience new places is what makes this semi-nomadic lifestyle so rewarding.
Relationships: Old and New
While we are on the topic of relationships, the question we get asked a lot is about how we form friendships or relationships while we move around so much. We wrote a whole post about thathere, when we made our first move. So far we’ve met traveling nurse anesthetists, retired professional political fund raisers, auto mechanics, teachers, plumbers, electricians, and college students. We find that meeting people isn’t hard when you make yourself friendly and approachable.
We live in a digital age, and keeping up is easier than ever given the state of social media accounts. Step out. Don’t be afraid to say hello. Be a friend, and you’ll find yourself making friends!
