We Were Briefly Back in America. Here's Everything We Had to Do.

As nomads, you *can* go home again — but you'll be very busy when you do.

On the beach near Seattle.

Recently, I answered some basic questions about our life as nomads.

Here is another aspect to our unusual lifestyle: at least once a year, we return to our former home, Seattle. And for that three or four week period, we find ourselves very, very busy.

This time around, we were there for twenty days. In that time, here’s some of what we did:

• We repeatedly visited my dad in his assisted living facility sixty miles south of Seattle.

• I got together in person with my Dungeons &Dragon buddies for a four-day weekend of gaming. Meanwhile, Michael visited a friend in Seattle.

• Michael and I both had Covid boosters, various shots including flu, tetanus, and shingles vaccines, blood testing for different issues, and Michael had an in-person appointment to check for possible skin cancer. (See how we arrange and pay for our overall health care as nomads here.)

• We had our prescriptions refilled for the upcoming year, and I sorted through our snail mail for the previous year. With paystubs and 1099s finally in hand, I finally did our taxes for 2021.

• Together and apart, we had a grand total of nine dinners with various friends, and ten different lunch dates. At one point, I had coffee and/or a meal with three different friends in a single day.

• We went shopping for everything under the sun, including new glasses and a new laptop for Michael. We replaced almost our entire wardrobe.

• Michael returned and replaced a defective backpack.

Me and my dad.

Here’s the thing: we regret none of this, especially all the time spent with friends and family. The worst part of nomading really is being away from the people we love for most of the year.

But if that’s true, it’s worth asking: why don’t we stay home longer?