The Nomad Within

What is so appealing about being a nomad? Where do I began?! Just the mention of “No Mortgage” should get you interested. But here is a short list of reasons to travel.

• Freedom: Go where the road takes you.
• Explore the wonders of the world: There are definitely more than 7.
• The knowledge you accumulate during your travels. 
• The culture you immerse yourself in
• The people you would not have otherwise meet
• The beauty you would not otherwise see
• The events you would not otherwise witness
• The paradises you would not otherwise discover
• The food...the food...yummmmmm! 

So forget the stable job. Forget the mortgage. Forget all that’s weighing you down. Go and search for the nomad within you.

OK, reality check. It's not that simple...I know. But here are some common questions that's keeping people from their dream of living the nomadic life or extended traveling:

What would I do with my house and mortgage?
Well, depends on how badly you want this. There is always a way. One option of course is to sell it. But that can take some time and if the housing market is not doing so good, you can lose big bucks. Or you can rent out the house by room which can fetch you more money than renting out the whole thing. There is also the idea of home exchange . You can exchange your home with someone from a foreign country for a certain amount of time and that will save you big bucks on accommodation.

What about my job?
What about your job? If you're evening thinking about the nomadic life, a 9-5 job is probably not for you anyway. I admit, it's not easy to look for a job while you're traveling. The most popular route people take is teaching English in the countries they travel in. Another alternative is WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms): working in organic farms in other countries in exchange for accommodation and meals. A similar option to WWOOFing is Workaway : you're still working in exchange for accommodation and meals but there is more variety in the work you do. You can babysit, help out in hostels, house sit, volunteer at an orphanage etc. And if you really want to be aggressive, look for some freelance jobs on Craigslist in addition to the above mentioned programs.

What will I do after all this is over and I've already gotten the travel bug out of my system? Do I just go back home and start from scratch?
This is more of a philosophical question. In your travels, no matter how many countries you've been to or for how long, you will always go home richer in experiences and knowledge. You will have a wider prospective of the world. Most people even start leading happier lives. As I read from most travel websites, people who took out the time to travel never regretted their decisions. However, people who wanted to but never did almost always regretted that they stayed. So, will you have to start from scratch once you get home? Maybe. But what company wouldn't want to hire a person with a global prospective, knowledgeable on different cultures and languages, or even simply street smart. Yes traveling can train a person to be street smart. Or instead of looking for a job, you might start a different endeavor all together. Start your own business (Article on why travelers make great entrepreneurs), be a travel writer, photographer, etc. Who knows? It really is a leap of faith and at the same time an adventure of a life time.
Maybe you won't be a nomad forever but at least for a little while to satisfy your desire for travel, for adventure, for soul searching, or for whatever it is you set your heart out for from the moment you start looking online on the topic of extended travel.