There’s a lot to be said for having a secure base, a solid home life surrounded by friends and family. So they tell me. I’m comfortable with a different situation. Twenty years ago we decided on a course of action: abandoning jobs, friends, family and moving to a country where we knew nobody, didn’t speak the language and, in the absence of an income, would be forced to live off our wits. Best decision we ever made.
It wouldn’t suit everyone, this modified version of living on a desert island. Only people comfortable in their own company should attempt it. An absence of interest in material possessions will help as well. Treating life as an adventure has its rewards, but it’s not suited to everyone.
At first we renovated old houses. Ruined houses may be a better description. The places nobody with any sense would buy. Restored them to life, added value, sold them on and bought another wreck with the proceeds. Earned enough to live on, just about. Almost twenty years went by and other factors came into play. We’d lived in France, Spain, North Africa; had experiences denied to most people, but it was time for a change.
We came back to England, renewed ties with friends and family, bought a house. Became traditional householders again with a library card, a bus pass, all the trappings of genteel respectability. For two years we returned to our roots.
A few months ago, we went wandering again. In a small camper-van with very few mod cons. Eastern Europe; former USSR states in the main. Places we’d never visited. We loved it. The life suits us. Travelling doesn’t have to have a specific purpose. It can be a means of experiencing different cultures, different ways of life. When we travel our needs are few, costs are low, yet our lives are enriched. We don’t keep in touch with people ‘back home.’ That’s a conscious decision. Life is easier that way. When we go, we go. We don’t pick up emails, don’t have an address where we can be contacted. Like I said, this wouldn’t suit everyone. I keep in touch with writer friends on FaceBook and Twitter because they aren’t judgemental, don’t pose problems, provide an access to an interest that I can follow anywhere – writing.
Where next? We’re thinking Morocco. Algeria. The High Atlas. The Sahara. Areas we’ve been before, enjoyed very much. We love mountains. Love deserts. Love the relaxed way of life, far removed from the tourist trail. We’re travellers, not tourists. On the rare occasions we get hassled by the locals I usually say, scornfully, ‘we’re not bloody tourists,’ in the language appropriate to our surroundings, never in English. That works. It’s true as well. Tourists drop in for a week, maybe two. Go to places where other tourists go. See what other tourists see. We go to different places. Have very different experiences. Immerse ourselves in a land very different from our own, mingle with different cultures. We’re travellers, you see.
Our approach has been different than yours, but we also travelled the world. I’ve called 7 countries home now, and often feel a longing to go off to another place. Stand and watch an airplane fly over-head and wonder where it is going and wish I could go too….
Although not quite as independent as yourself we have also taken leaps, the Middle East for twenty one years but often in places where we were the only “Brits”. Okay we usually had the backing of a company but in those days you couldn’t find work without and with two children we did need an income. Once we gave that up we bought in Europe, now we have some roots because the place in France is simply too beautiful to leave. However, we now have our second VW camper van and still up and go pretty well when we wish. We don’t cut off ties completely with family but I can fully see the reasons for doing that and envy you the courage. May the road ever rise up to greet you and the wind always be at your back (to paraphrase that lovely Irish greeting) Vaya con Dios
Just found this. And I so agree that travelling is totally different from being on holiday.
I gave up work/house/car etc to go round the world, on my own (I’m a widow), in my 50s. Without realising this isn’t something most people do. The result – a book Over the Hill and Far Away (on kindle – the paper version will be out in Jan) – and still I have itchy feet. I spend time at home being a grandmother, and then off again – Nepal in the spring ….