There's More Than One Way to be a Nomad

Like almost everything in life, you should do whatever works for *you*.

For the audio version of this article, read by the author, go here.

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In 2018, right after we left Seattle to become nomads.

Michael and I left Seattle to become nomads at the end of 2017, with a plan to indefinitely travel the world.

We spent our first full year living in a series of “coliving” facilities — lodging specifically designed for nomads and long-term travelers. Coliving is best described as a kind of upscale hostel: everyone has a private bedroom and bathroom, but there’s also usually a shared kitchen, coworking space, and recreation areas.

Group dinners and morning workouts at our first coliving place.

Some of these places were really interesting, and we made many great friends — we especially liked the shared meals. But a few years later, during Covid, most coliving places shut down, and we were ready for a bit more privacy anyway.

So we spent much of the first year of Covid doing housesitting, mostly through TrustedHousesitters.com.

Michael and I liked living this way too, although we quickly discovered that “housesitting” can involve a surprising amount of work, especially in America where many pet owners have apparently become, er, unusually attached to their pets and have what I consider to be, uh, unrealistic expectations of care.

Toward the end of the first year of Covid, we holed up for nine months in a lovely seaside villa in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Once Michael and I were vaccinated and traveling again, we discovered that, given the complete flexibility of our schedule, we could get great deals on cruises, especially in the shoulder seasons. Now we spend two to three months every year living on cruise ships, also using them for transportation to our destinations, saving us money on airfare.

The point is, there are a lot of different ways to be a nomad.