Thanks for sharing the less glamorous side of the nomadic lifestyle, Charlie! As a person that has gradually become more and more nomadic over the last five years, I can definitely relate.

But more than anything I think it’s your style of nomading that’s the problem. The longest you stayed in one place was three weeks, you say? That does sound exhausting, indeed. I tried that lifestyle for a while, and I even wrote a blog post about why I pivoted away from it (see My Nomadic Travel Pivot). Luckily, there’s a difference between being nomadic and a backpacker.

Being nomadic, or location independent, is more about the mindset than anything else. You don’t have to be traveling all the time. In fact, even though I have no permanent home, I don’t see myself as a constant traveler. In my mind, I move around every few months, usually staying in one place for one to three months at a time. I might travel for a week or two between moves, but moving is not traveling.

Sharing an apartment with others for a few months will give you an instant group of people to hang out with. You’ll be able to build much deeper relationships than you can in just a few days. And you’ll get to know the city, the people, and the culture a lot better than if you’re just Instagramming your way through a continent.

Being a nomad doesn’t mean you never go “home”. In my mind, I have many homes around the world. Home is wherever my friends are, or in some cases a city I just feel at home in. Personally, I return “home” many times per year. I’m home in Lisbon. I’m home in San Francisco. I’m home in Copenhagen. I’m home in Berlin. And I’m home when I visit my friends and family in Norway.

Being a nomad doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice friendships, either. I probably spend about half the year making new friends, and half the year hanging out with old ones. By now, the people I care the most about (other than my close family) are spread all over the world anyway. So the best way to see them regularly, is to keep on moving.

I’m not saying that loneliness isn’t a real problem for many nomads. It is. And so is the feeling of being desensitized to objectively mind-blowing experiences. But these issues can also be mitigated without settling down permanently. Change your pace. See your friends and family more. Practice mindfulness. Stop and smell the roses.

Being a nomad is about the freedom to be where you want, when you want. Stop traveling all the time. Keep on nomading.