Quitting the Western City Lifestyle for a Nomadic Lifestyle
Since I started traveling, I have met countless young adults who have left their comfortable lives in big Western cities for a nomadic lifestyle. Who are these nomads?
When I was living and working in Copenhagen, I often forgot that there were people of my age, cultural background, and socioeconomic status who had decided to do something completely different with their lives. It seemed like everyone, like me, had studied for some years at the university and was now working in the big city — partly enjoying the comfort of the Western lifestyle and partly struggling with the high pace of this lifestyle.
My own idea of leaving my life in Copenhagen to travel arose when I met several nomads and long-term travelers during a short 2-week vacation in the Western Balkans back in the summer of 2022. They told me how they were traveling without a plan and a deadline, which both provoked and fascinated me equally. How could they just leave everything behind? What do their family, friends, and jobs say about that? Recognizing my reaction, I knew I had to do it.
Why Do Nomads and Long-Term Travelers Leave the West?
I’ve met several nomads by now, and their stories share a few patterns. Obviously, this is not a scientific article about the phenomenon; it’s purely based on my own observations. Their reasons to leave often revolve around three different topics:
- The pace of the lifestyle in Western cities can lead to burnout. Lack of boundaries and dis-embodiment make it hard for many people to realize how little they are thriving in their jobs and life before it’s ‘too late’. Travel can be motivated by a desire to recover.
- The rigidity of life back home. A regular full-time job requires you to be in the office between 9–5 (or more). It leaves very little free time for other hobbies. Some people feel very connected to their computers but very disconnected from nature — and from their own nature. They are curious about themselves: who could I be if I were living a different life?
- Personal issues. On top of this, some people have other personal reasons to leave their home: family problems, a breakup, etc. Sometimes, the life situation can be so hard to handle that it feels right to escape for a while to gain a new perspective.
How Do the Nomads Sustain Themselves Financially?
People make money in all sorts of ways, and I have stumbled upon a few different categories:
- Yoga teachers, masseurs, therapists, or coaches who can teach, work, and provide therapy in various places, as long as they speak the language of the country or work with English-speaking clients. Lots of flexibility but very little security. Often, the pay is much less than similar services in Western countries. It sometimes requires a significant online presence, building an Instagram persona to gain credibility or marketing themselves through posters and messaging groups on WhatsApp or Telegram.
- People going to the US to work on weed farms for a little while or returning to their home country for 2–3 months a year to earn enough money to sustain themselves for the rest of the year.
- Digital nomads working online, often within marketing, coding, or software development. Some people are also able to create some kind of passive income through investments that allow them to work very little.
I am always humbled by the nomads’ courage to try out a completely different lifestyle and potentially endure lots of financial instability for a long time. Personally, I can’t help but think a little more long-term and get anxious: how will they cope if they have children (and more expenses)? What if they get really sick? What about when they get older and need a pension? Clearly, this lifestyle requires a lot of trust in things working out bit by bit. It’s not the typical mindset of most Western people who like to be in control of their lives and future.
Could I Be a Nomad Myself?
Many people I meet assume I am also working remotely or aspiring to do so. Obviously, this has made me think. Would I like to be in these places and communities long-term? What would I work with? Would I enjoy it? Am I ready to take THAT much responsibility for my own work life?
For now, it’s not calling me. I love being the observer and hearing people’s stories. It fascinates me and gives me perspective. Yet, at the same time, I always come back to Denmark in my mind. My family, my friends, and my network — the familiarity of knowing how things work: the bureaucracy, the society. I always come back to the privilege of being born in such a well-functioning place.
However, I do fear going back to the high pace and the rigidity. I fear losing touch with myself, my values, and people who have a broader perspective of life. Fortunately, what I’ve learned from my experiences so far is that you are not more bound to a place than you decide to be. After this sabbatical, a part of me will always be a traveler.
Are you curious about other kinds of traveler archetypes? Read my article on them here!
