Why We Will Never Be Nomads
Our inspiration and outlook
Scrolling through the ‘gram, reading travel blogs, listening to podcasts about location independence, and scouring all the other places cool full-time travelers are sharing their experiences always makes us want to ditch the house and jobs and head out to explore the world full time. We discuss it and we sometimes make plans or take actual steps to make it realistic. However, we (probably) will never be full-time travelers and it comes down to two main reasons. Disclaimer: This is about what is right for us and not at all a commentary on anyone else’s lifestyle. People who do travel full-time inspire us and we are so grateful for that.
- Our Relationships
- Our Passion for Social Justice
Relationships
Relationships are big for us. We both very much love our families. We love being an aunt and uncle and sister and brother and son and daughter and cousin and guardian and all the other roles we fill within our families. We love being present for all the traditions and events that come along with that (something Sarah has taught me to value). I’ve learned what it is like to know when and what to expect with family, and yet create new memories each time… and it’s awesome. This is so true, that I have become the one to create them in my own family (with moderate success).
Missing out on family time is killer. We haven’t lived anywhere near our families since we were in high school, so we have missed a lot. It sucks to be the one on the other side of the FaceTime, not enjoying family bonding. We are all often in our own world growing at our own rates, but when we come together we get to enjoy the people we are and have been, while also learning to understand each other’s current lives.
Right along with the families we were born into comes our chosen family: our friends. We love them in the same way, and we love the way they make us feel when we are around them. Now in both of these cases, we don’t get to see either group daily (or even weekly or monthly), and we are already constantly trying to find more ways to not miss anything. How can we be there for every holiday, vacation, and life milestone? We already feel like we are missing too much. We can’t imagine making a choice that would mean missing even more when it comes to the people we love most.
Passion for Social Justice
Social Justice is not just the section of the book store we trend toward or the type of articles we read on our phones, it’s also the biggest driver in most of our decision-making. Where we live, what jobs we have, who lives in our house, where our money and resources go, what gives our life satisfaction… it’s all dictated by this passion.
For each of us, our journey here was different. For me, I think it was the Catholic values being taught to me in school and at church, coupled with the full lives I saw people practicing those values lead. It made me want to be around these people and learn to be more like them. For Sarah, it was her family’s belief that easing the burden of others wasn’t just the right thing to do, it was expected. Her mother, especially, modeled compassion towards every individual.
Those experiences have made both of us extreme empathizers. So much so that we are constantly feeling the weight of how inequity negatively impacts others, and we truly can’t feel okay unless we are working towards something better. One of the first thoughts that crosses my mind when thinking about becoming full time travelers is: “Would I be able to get over the injustices that I see or read about without working towards solutions?” And ultimately the answer is always “no” for us. Travel is certainly a passion for us, but this one just burns hotter.
These two truths may not prevent us from traveling full time for short intervals here and there, but these are the factors we always weigh, and each time they come out on the same side.