Advice for Those Looking to Start a Nomadic Life
Tip#1: There is no blueprint
My partner and I have been nomadic for over seven years now. For most of our adult lives before this transition, we lived a typical life in Canada. We both worked full-time, we owned a house, two vehicles and a bunch of stuff. We often ate in restaurants, and we bought many things that we definitely didn’t need.
When we set out initially to ‘travel full-time,’ we had no plan, and we didn’t have a clue what we were going to do with ourselves or how we were going to make money; we just went. I won’t say that it is the best way to go about taking the leap into this lifestyle, but it was what we needed to do to make it happen.
After reading an article by Joe Guay, where he shares his thoughts on wanting to live a nomadic life, I was inspired to share some of my wisdom about being nomadic. Please don’t consider what I write as gospel. This is what works for us, but each day is also a chance to change and reinvent ourselves, which we do a lot.
Of course, there is no right or wrong way to live this lifestyle, and it’s impossible to plan for every eventuality that may come at you. You can’t research everything, and if you try to, it will stifle your desire, and you will fearfully turn to what is known and comfortable and not go anywhere.
You MUST take the leap even if you don’t have all the answers. Once you get out into the world, you will realize that you are far more capable than you thought, and your confidence will soar.
Below are a few points that I think are important to consider if you want to live a nomadic life and aren’t sure about the details. Of course, as stated, this looks different for everyone, but this article may help you to understand some of your fears and worries about the unknown.
It doesn’t cost as much as you think
This is the biggest misconception out there, and I need to debunk it immediately. It still boggles my mind that people think this lifestyle is expensive. Of course, it depends on what country you find yourself in and the type of accommodation you are comfortable in, but overall, your cost of living will go way down when you become nomadic. Let me explain.
I think part of the problem is that people are thinking about living nomadically the same way they are currently living their lives. But when you are nomadic, many of your habits and ways you do things shift dramatically.
For starters, you won’t have any monthly bills, at least not the sorts of bills attached to having or renting a home. I’m talking about things like insurance, electricity, water, and gas bills. However, there are other expenses that go with living in a dwelling that are not considered. You don’t need to buy furniture, garbage bags, cleaning supplies, toilet paper (unless you rent your own apartment), laundry soap, and all those other things that keep a house functioning.
You also won’t go shopping and buy unnecessary things because if you do, you have to be able to fit them in your suitcase. Purchasing items becomes a thing of absolute necessity — there is no room for excess stuff that you want ‘just because.’
Think about this list and consider what you buy the next time you go to the grocery store. Think to yourself, “Will I need this when I become nomadic?” I’ll bet the answer is a solid NO. This is money that you won’t spend when you become nomadic, and let me tell you, it adds up dramatically.
Live like locals do
Nomadic people tend to live more like locals than like tourists. This means you stay in apartments and places in local neighborhoods, not hotels or expensive accommodations. We find these places in different ways, but the absolute best deals we have found on accommodation are when we talk to people in stores or coffee shops and ask them if they know of anyone who has an apartment to rent. That is if we wish to stay for a while.
Inevitably, within just a couple of days, we find a solution that is affordable. We rented a whole two-bedroom, two-bathroom house in Guatemala for $225/month, and we rented an apartment in Sudan for $125/month. Of course, neither of these places may be where you want to travel (I don’t recommend Sudan these days), but it gives you an idea of what is available when you talk to the locals.
Bear in mind that furnished apartments are common, and there is no such thing as a long-term contract or damage deposits in many countries. So you can commit to as long or short a stay as you like. We also like knowing that our money is going to a local person who more than likely can benefit from the money we are giving them and not some rich guy who owns 15 Airbnb apartments.
We also find local fruit and vegetable markets in almost every country we travel to. These markets are inexpensive and offer fresh and delicious food that is grown by local farmers. Similar to staying in a local apartment, we like knowing that our money is supporting the farmers on the ground level and not a conglomerate supermarket chain.
Right now, we are staying in North Macedonia. We found a suite in a quiet neighborhood on Booking.com when we were here back in December. Knowing that we were going to return to get some more dental work done, I spoke with the owner and asked what he would charge us for three weeks, without booking through booking.com.
He charged us just $350 for the whole term, and we have everything we need here. A nice room, a small fridge, a cooktop, and anything else to be comfortable.
Shopping in the local markets has us spending roughly $100/week on food. But if we want to go out for dinner, we can also do that for about $25. Life doesn’t have to be expensive if we don’t want it to be, and with this lifestyle, we can choose to be in affordable places.
It’s okay to make stupid mistakes
It is human nature to make stupid mistakes. No matter how well you think everything is going, there will always be something that creeps up to throw you off your game.
Back in 2023, we were denied entry to Bulgaria when we were busing from Turkey because we hadn’t done proper research on the country's visa terms. Instead, we listened to what a local Bulgarian told us and took that as gospel. This meant that we were unable to reenter the country because we had already stayed for 90 days within 180 days.
When the immigration agent told us this rule, I immediately felt stupid. Why had we not looked into it ourselves? Sometimes, there are no answers to our stupidity; it just happens.
Having to take all of our luggage off the bus at 6:00 am and then being told that we not only lost our bus fare but had to figure out a way to get back to where we came from was a blow that we surely didn’t need. Our Turkish visa was expiring the next day, so we had to figure something out. Watching our bus drive away without us was confidence-crushing, to say the least.
Learn to pivot
This leads me to the next point — learn to pivot. When plans don’t work out, as they inevitably do, you have to figure out a new plan. We sat at the Bulgaria border for quite a while that morning, trying to figure out what to do. Suddenly, a bus pulled up that was heading back to where we had come from.
I spoke with the driver and asked if we could get a ride to the next town so we could figure out what to do from there. For a fee, of course, they let us on the bus, and from there, we figured out how we were going to get to Greece instead.
Of course, this is an extreme situation and I don’t wish this scenario on anybody. We were appalled that we had made the critical mistake of not researching visa terms, but we are also human and sometimes we do stupid things. It’s just the way it goes.
Don’t plan too far in advance
This lifestyle becomes infinitely more manageable if you don’t plan too far in advance. It is easiest to make daily decisions if you don’t have a whole schedule of events lined up for the next place. If we feel like staying an extra day somewhere, then we stay. We move on when we feel good and ready, and if visa allowances permit it.
As travelers that are going on vacation, we tend to want everything lined up when we get to a place so we don’t have to figure it out when we get there and we can have the holiday we so desire. But as nomads, there is no timeline and you can decide each day what it is that you want to do. Taking each day as it comes and moving when you are ready leads to a pretty stress-free existence.
It’s okay to go back to your home country
Let me say this loud and clear — YOU ARE NOT FAILING IF YOU GO BACK HOME. This is something that we had to learn ourselves. For years, we wanted to avoid going back to our home country because we were worried that we would get trapped back in the never-ending cycle of working to survive. But we realized that just because we are in our home country doesn’t mean that we can’t still remain nomadic.
Since 2023, we have now committed to going back to Canada for about 6 months of each year. Not only does this allow us to rest from the constant worry about visas and determining how long we are allowed to stay in each country, but it also gives us the opportunity to visit family and friends that we wouldn’t have been able to had we still been living our conventional lives.
It also allows us to make some extra money, which has lightened the burden of making money online while we are out in the world. We have realized that there are opportunities to work, even in our own country, where accommodation is provided as part of the deal.
These opportunities seem to just pop up, and I think it is because they align with our chosen lifestyle, so the universe shows us ways that will work for how we live. You can’t even imagine the scenarios that will come your way until you are out in the world and doing something different.
Keep in touch with people you meet
As we travel and move around, we inevitably meet not only locals but other travelers. I have been told that I am exceptional at keeping in touch with people, and even years after meeting somebody in a hostel or in some random situation, I will message them occasionally to see how they are doing. Often we are told that if we ever find ourselves in their countries, to please let them know because they have a place for us to stay.
By doing this, we have created a global network of friends which has allowed us to visit them on their own turf. Just this past winter we visited nine different friends in their home countries. Of course, there is no tour guide like a local, and we have had the best time getting to know places through our friend's eyes.
Exchange your skills for food and accommodation
A major way that we lower our costs is to exchange our skills for food and accommodation. There are many ways to do this — farming, gardening, painting, construction, computer work, marketing, social media management — the list goes on.
Mostly, as a way to get free accommodation, we either house-sit or paint murals for hostels and accommodation providers. There are online platforms that you can sign up for that provide ample opportunities for these sorts of exchanges. There are even reviews from past participants, so you know that others have done what you are considering doing.
I even did bookkeeping for a botanical garden in the Caribbean for 6 months in 2019. Not only did we get a free house to live in, and a vehicle to drive, the owner paid us a food allowance. Chris was also volunteering there and was in charge of the maintenance of the property; plus, we introduced her to composting and soil building to bring much-needed nutrients back to her soil. In essence, we lived for free for those six months just because we had skills that she needed and didn’t have herself.
We have met lots of people who volunteer in hostels for various things — working at the front desk, housekeeping, and even social media management. Imagine getting a free place to stay in exchange for promoting a place on Instagram. You never know what kind of skill you possess that will come in handy for somebody in another part of the world.
Trust in the process
Finally, and this is a big one — you MUST trust in the process. Once you decide to shift your lifestyle, things will start to fall into place that you never could have imagined. You have to believe that this lifestyle is possible and that you will be living it; otherwise, it just can’t happen.
Don’t allow the details of it all to get in the way. You must adopt a deep-seated knowing that no matter what, everything will work out in the end. Just look at our terrible story of being stuck at the Bulgaria border. At the time, it was hard and we were not happy with where we found ourselves, but at the end of the day, here we are.
Humans can survive some pretty horrific things, and it is in that survival that we grow as individuals. Each time we navigate something new and different, we become stronger and more resilient. That, I think, is the most rewarding part of this lifestyle.
Don’t allow yourself to turn to comfort
After reading this, I hope you feel a bit more at ease with some of the unknowns that you will face in the world. This lifestyle is definitely not all rainbows and unicorns, and there will be challenges that you will face, but it is all part of the process of growing as individuals.
The more you seek the uncomfortable, the more you will become comfortable. ~ Connor McGregor
Staying comfortable is easy and predictable, but that makes for a boring life. At the end of the day, you will regret the choices you didn’t make, so you may as well give it a shot and see what you are made of. It is never too late to go back, and at least then, you will know what you are missing.
Like you, we had no idea what we were getting into when we chose this lifestyle. We simply wanted to see and experience the world in a different way. Along the way, we have learned more about ourselves than we ever thought possible. We are stronger, more resilient and at times feel like we can tackle anything. That in itself has made it all worth it.
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Great piece, thank you for this. It's what I needed to hear today...2 months in... working at trusting the process. So many emotions in the beginning.
So many great tips in here! The money one especially is a hard myth to bust but an important one. And definitely trust the process.