Become a nomad! Leave your life behind! Live on the beach! No thanks. Right now, I’m in an office. With miserable company, an uncomfortable chair and a longing for my bed. But I also sit here with a fire burning in the pit of my stomach longing for something much greater.
For most, that fire is ignited at the promise of a lifestyle where you can ‘work from a beach’ (isn’t that hella tempting!), but the commitment to sustain such a lifestyle is often overlooked.
It’s becoming more and more common for us millennials to sell our belongings and flee the nest to the opposite side of the world, but I can’t help but feel a little under-represented as someone who doesn’t really want that nomadic lifestyle, but equally aspires to be a successful travel blogger.
In truth, my aspirations for financial stability and creative freedom aren’t far from that of a nomad, but the sacrifice of leaving behind friends, family and lovers doesn’t appeal to me.
Don’t get me wrong, I love everything about travel. I love that feeling of stepping off the aeroplane into a new country, with my spreadsheet-ready itinerary and fully-charged camera (spot the tourist). And I love the freedom to explore new cities (that’s a lie, I’ve probably already google mapped every street).
But I also love to return home – and then write about it.
It seems to me that becoming a nomad is the newest trend among millennials, and those that have achieved it are put on an enormous pedestal – and so they should be, they’ve achieved something amazing in a world full of uncertainties and older generations telling us the things we ‘can’t’ do and ‘shouldn’t’ do.
But as unusual as it may be for someone in my era, I do actually quite enjoy my job, and equally love the city in which I reside. So I don’t feel like I’m really missing out by not travelling full-time. And because I’m able to maximise my holiday entitlement, I’m travelling almost every month and visiting up to seven new countries a year!
We’re sold the dream that being a digital nomad is the ultimate freedom – but is it? If you’ve already found happiness in your current location, do you need to uproot your entire life and leave it all behind?
I may have lost sight a little of the message I’m trying to convey here in my mind splurge, but what I’m really trying to say is you’re no less of a person for choosing a gentle life, nor are you any less for choosing to become a digital nomad, both are fine as long as you are happy – just don’t buy into someone else’s dream as an escapism for your own life.
Disclaimer: As envious as I might become of those who live the digital-suitcase lifestyle, I know that digital nomadery isn’t for me. So this isn’t a I-hate-digital-nomads rant (I actually really admire you), but rather a fresh perspective on how you don’t have to be a digital nomad to achieve ‘success’.
