June 4 2017
I’ve been avoiding the words “permanent base” for a good two years now. Even though that’s exactly how we’ve been living, I’ve been avoiding the phrase like the plague.
And in a way, it might be because I was ashamed. Ashamed of trading in a life of full time travel when being a digital nomad is all the craze. Worried I wouldn’t be seen as a “real traveler” if we weren’t living the lifestyle every single day. Anxious that we would be judged by pretentious travelers, because we weren’t traveling in the right way.
But there is no right or wrong way to travel, and I reject the notion that we should compare the way we experience the world to other people and worry if it measures up. Travel is a personal journey and an individual experience, and it really doesn’t matter where your travel style falls in the whole tourist vs traveler debate.
As long as you’re happy with the way you’re experiencing the world, it doesn’t matter if you travel full time, or come home to a permanent base. And despite the over glamorized instagram feeds which push a romanticized version of non stop adventure, and hitting one destination after the next, there is definitely something to be said about having a permanent base.
I Quit My Life of Full Time Travel to Buy a House and My Previously Sold Stuff
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- I quit my life of full time travel
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- I quit my life of full time travel
We’ve been renting for the past two years which has allowed us to hang onto the idea that, if we wanted to, we could pick up and leave at any time. Though now we’re committing to a permanent base. Yesterday we drained our savings account, and tomorrow we drive onto the Spirit of Tasmania; we’re moving to Tasmania and we bought a house!
Full time travel is an incredible journey, and if it’s something you want to do, I highly recommend joining the band of travelers selling everything they own to travel the world. But what if you actually enjoy your 9-5 job? What if you’re proud of the fact that you own a house? What if you love to travel but full time is not something you want to do?
Craving the Comforts of Home
For all the advantages of full time travel, after multiple years on the road there are certain comforts of home you begin to crave. Small things like sleeping on the same pillow long enough that there’s a permanent place for your head. Hanging clothes in a wardrobe knowing they’re not going into a suitcase the next day. Not forgetting to take your medication because the timezone has changed.
Ironically enough, you begin to crave the mundane things you were trying to escape. And there is definitely something to be said about allowing yourself time to take a break. Time to get excited about a trip, and time to reflect and appreciate the experience upon return.
Half the fun of travel is the build up and anticipation, but when you’re experiencing one destination after the next, there’s not a lot of time for that. Nor is there time to sit and reminisce or organize your photos when you’re already taking new shots of the next.
Wanderlust Fatigue – It’s a Thing
The period of our life dedicated nomadic travel was a remarkable one, and allowed us to see so much more of the world than we would have otherwise, though since returning to a permanent base, we’ve found we’re able to appreciate each destination in the way it deserves; for it’s own characteristics, strengths and individual appeal.
Because it’s the most well traveled who are most vulnerable to wanderlust fatigue; that moment you’ve landed in another incredible city but would ‘rather check Facebook than soak up the atmosphere of an 11th century fortress’. The moment you look around to find that everyone else is in awe, though you’re underwhelmed with your surroundings because you’ve already seen a million incredible cathedrals or waterfalls.
When you’re traveling in rapid succession, it can be difficult to not compare everything you’ve seen to something you saw the week before, and when you’re so exhausted from jetlag and transit it’s difficult to stay enthused.
For travelers who do spend their lives on the road, this means prioritizing rest days, and giving yourself enough time to recover and recoup. Slow travel is the best way to go, though not everyone can do this. Most people return to a home base.
We All Need a Break
We all need a break from travel at some point, though we shouldn’t be ashamed to say so. We feel fortunate to be in the position to travel, and perhaps with so many people telling us so, there’s a certain level of guilt in giving up a lifestyle which others aspire to.
But that brings me back to the motto I adopted when I sold everything I owned to travel the world; reality is negotiable, and life can be anything you want it to.
You want to go on a bus tour? That’s awesome. You want to jump between all inclusive resorts? More power to you. You want to cycle around the world and camp for 3 years? Respect. There’s no right or wrong way to travel, and what’s right for one person will always be completely different from the next.
So I quit my life of full time travel to buy a house and my previously sold stuff. I’m psyched about the fact that I own a couch. I’m excited to hang my clothes in a wardrobe. I’m thrilled that I will be energized for future trips, and fully plan on playing tourist in my own town inbetween international stints.
Full time travel was a blast, but everything in life is but a chapter. Follow our social media updates this week as we make our way to Tasmania and pick up the keys to our new house!
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71 Comments
The only right way to travel, or do anything in life is the way that gives you peace and happiness. Enjoy this new stage in your life, Tasmania will be an amazing base, maybe you can give us some pointers when we get down there.
Well done guys, and I’m sure this is just the ‘next stage’ in your adventures. Congrats on buying a house in one of the most beautiful parts of the world!
I totally agree with Toni, do what makes you happy! Congrats, by the way, there’s a lot we can relate to here. It’s so nice to have a home base, even if it’s temporary. We ended up having a semi-permanent home base since November that was unplanned! It’s leaving us wonder what we are going to do next – like buy a house ourselves! It doesn’t mean we will stop traveling but we can actually have a place to call “home” when we need a break! We are so happy for you guys!
Congratulations Meg and Mike! What a fabulous new chapter.
That’s great news! Happy for your move, and even if you bought or fuelled the digital nomad hype, it doesn’t matter.
Couldn’t agree more with this article :-)
We totally have wanderlust fatigue and we are so looking forward to settling down in a couple of months! A year of travel was amazing but also sooo exhausting.
Totally makes sense, well said and enjoy Tassie!
What a wonderful place to have a home, you certainly will not lack adventures to have locally! Wishing you both the best on this new journey!
We just “stopped” after two years cycle touring. I put it in quotes because we still don’t really have a home, though we’re in our home city, crashing at friends’ houses and staying with my parents three hours away.
I needed a break after two years. I’m a runner, it a cyclist. I wanted to use my favorite kitchen tools and buy bulk items. I wanted to cook over four burners instead of one. I completely understand. When traveling is your job essentially, of course there will come a time when we need a break. Sometimes, it’s really hard to admit that, especially when we’re running blogs and social media about our lives traveling. Good for you guys for listening to your needs and finding your next adventure.
Congratulations on your new house . I am presently here in Dublin Airport, getting ready to board my flight back home in NY. After two weeks of driving around these beautiful country , I am also excited to go home and back to the comfort of my own bed. Amazing article , and you are right , there are no right or wrong way of traveling. Just go !!!!!!!
Good for you! I occasionally think about going travelling in the nomadic style. But the reality is I love having a home base, in the city I was born. I love having time to plan travel and to anticipate it before it happens. And most of all, I love being able to spend time with family and friends – I would miss that enormously if I were travelling semi-permanently. What might happen is that I plan some longer trips, 2 or 3 months long at a time, but still with the intention of coming back to our home base, and the day job, afterwards. I’m a contractor Business Analyst and love that job, so it’s another thing I’d miss if we tried to go nomadic permanently.
Meg, I feel you girl! This was just so identifiable. I could relate to your post completely and chuckled after every line.
All of us do need a break and though not many admit it, continuos travel DOES take a toll. After 12 trips in 2017, I decided to just STOP and I worried if I’d get withdrawal symptoms. But no, I loved it. I realised I was racing between places, not getting time to read up a place, to come back and reminiscent it. Not even getting time to transfer pics.
It started to get irksome. I am completely, thoroughly enjoying this break.
Your article is a refreshing change. It is honest and speaks a unsung story.
Wishing you all the best! :)
P.S: there is really no right way to travel!
I’ve never been aan digital nomad but I Do love to travel. They are not Siamese twins (read inseparable). Having a home base is great too. Where travel allows you to widen your scope and understanding of the world and other cultures, discovering every inch of the area neer to your home base is just as exciting. I actually look at it as changing from a telescope to a microscope and vice versa whenever I like. And you’re going to live in and environment that would be worth to look at through a microscope ?
Enjoy?????
Well done Megan. You’ll continue to travel of course, but I know you’ll love getting comfortable in your own home. Thanks for sharing your journeys.
Good luck and why not? I travelled and lived out of a suitcase in my 20’s then settled had a baby, built a career bought a house in my 30’s – now at 50 we have sold everything to head to Australia and travel again. The choices we make have to be right for us and how we live it must fulfil what we want at that point. Too many people judge – we are crazy (why not wait until retirement I get told)
So enjoy your house and your new life! It will be amazing!
Congratulations, Meg! You have been on an amazing journey for so many years, and I wish you the best for this chapter of your life. I so agree with this perception of travel – to each his own! It’s our lives at the end of the day, and there is no shame in acknowledging the way we want to live :)
Congrats guys! Figuring out and then doing what makes you happy is the biggest adventure of all. Excited to follow along on your next chapter!
Congrats kids it’s great news that you’ve decided on the next chapter of your lives. Tassie is great, I’ll be in touch if/when I’m in the area :)
And what a super place to but a home! I grew up on the West Tamar River, in the north and we spent 5 weeks in Tassie last summer, showing the kids the local childhood haunts.Well done you guys!
Beautiful written. There comes a point where are wants change and we need different things to fulfill us! Thank you for sharing this :-)
This is a great post Megan and I am so glad that you wrote about it…someone really needed to. I am sure it will give strength to others also who can’t and don’t want to live the life of a digital nomad. Congratulations and hope you enjoy your new home in Tasmania. Just a few days back my girl friend and I were making plans of visiting the island…will knock on your door if we do :)
Hi Megan
I don’t think I have ever commented here before but I have followed your stuff. I am Ryan Biddulph’s wife and I know you guys have connected. I totally relate to a lot of what you are saying and since Ryan and I have been traveling,we have pretty much stayed in one spot for at least a month, renting apartments,etc…We have done housesitting jobs where we stayed in one spot for months at a time and this is the way I love traveling most. It is nice to be comfortable and settled somewhere, enjoying a home like atmosphere but just changing up where that is every once in a while. I have always given lots of credit to people who travel long-term and move around constantly–I couldn’t do that and I don’t find it enjoyable. It all comes down to doing what makes you happy and you had amazing experiences and just felt ready for a new kind. I think too many travelers get caught up in trying to impress people with all the places they have been, and their travels are just basically amassing as many places as possible so they can say they have been there, and throw up a picture on social media. Good luck with this next phase!
This might sound strange coming from a person who hasn’t traveled much, but this post is EXACTLY what I needed to see right now. I’ve been daydreaming far too frequently about “selling everything, and traveling full time” but I’ve been torn wondering if I would ultimately feel exactly like how you’ve described in this article.
Over the last 5 months it’s been coming clear to me that what’s really happening is travel is too alluring simply because I’m looking to run away from my reality. However, what I’ve also been realizing is that my problems aren’t going to go away just because I am in another city, country or even another continent. If anything, they could be multiplied because I’m on the road.
Now, I know this isn’t all exactly what you wrote about here, but your raw honesty about wanting a home base and the feelings you’ve felt – I needed to read all of it. Thank you so much for this post, and my all of your home base dreams in Tasmania come true! Virtual hugs from another part of the planet ;)
I completely agree with this article. I feel a lot of travel bloggers feel you HAVE to be travelling at all times to be a success. That isn’t the case, one person’s way of travelling is not the way for someone else. I love slow travel, setting up a base in a different country, becoming part of that community, putting down roots, finding a local bar where the barman knows what you drink. Life is a great balancing act, we have to do what makes us happy. I think what a life of travel can teach us is that we don’t need all the material things that we might have done pre-travel. Congrats on your new home and the next part of your journey.
Congrats on your decision to buy a house and settle in one place for a while. I’m a part-time traveler with a full-time job and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ve toyed around with the idea of quitting our jobs to travel the world full time. In fact, I recently took a 6 week sabbatical from work to do an extended trip to Asia (at least it was extended by our standards :-)). You know what? At the end of those 6 weeks, we were ready to come home. I looked forward to seeing our apartment and getting coffee from my favorite place in Dublin. I looked forward to wearing something other than the 4 or 5 outfits and the single pair of shoes we’d packed for our trip.
Tassie sounds like an awesome home base. Tasmania was on my bucket list for ages and we finally got to visit in 2015.
Good luck getting settled and I’m looking forward to hearing about your future part-time trips!
Amazing news congrats!!!
it sucks that everyone has an opinion on how life (or travel) should be!
i say “carpe diem” however you want!
I don’t know how you did it that long. Wanderlust fatigue has already set in with me and when I am at my Florida or Panama home, I never leave. I want to be totally submerged in “home” the entire time I’m there. I cannot imagine why anyone would just want to be a full-time traveler, they mostly tend to be young from what I see so maybe they don’t know an alternative or are living life to its fullest while they can do so financially and health wise. Some people have a hard time because they are alone, but for me, I love having a place to call mine that I enjoy laying my head with no stipulations or deliverables.My husband and I ten to be “home” only in different countries, so still alone, but enjoying the perks of home life just the same. Just “being”. I can still travel as much or as little as I want, while having a comfort zone (maybe that is what home is???) for my down time. I’m really happy for you and know that you will still be burning up the globe with fantastic travel stories and a fabulous career. Bonus, you (me, all of us) can share our “homes” with others while we travel elsewhere. Win-win! Congrats!
Love this post Meg! I’ve had a permanent base throughout my travel years and now in my 30s am focused on building a wealth base for a freedom lifestyle, one that gives me financial security and the freedom to do what I like. What I like will be some travel, volunteering, and living in different places to immerse myself in new languages and culture. Having a home base is important to me, and like you say there is no right or wrong way to travel.
As much as travel is the thing that gets me up in the morning, I also love having a home base to recharge in between trips. A fridge with only my food, a wardrobe and space to unpack and the familiarities and comforts that make it feel like home.
Good luck on your new adventure. Tasmania looks like an absolutely brilliant place to settle into :)
Fantastic post with great insights. I love having a base – but for the last nine years have made it a country other than my own, so I feel as if I’m still ‘foreign’ and e Moore my adopted country – and also get to appreciate my own country with new eyes when I go home! Best of both worlds.
I’m not against a permanent base of operations. Just that if you want to travel all the time- who maintains the base?
I love the title of this piece as everyone else is writing posts with titles about how to travel full-time. I really love this post because it speaks to me. I own a condo, love my full time job and travel part time. A part of me felt like if all these people are able to support their full time travel then I’m doing something wrong and I’m not a real traveller. While the other part of me is like piss off, I’ve travel more places that the average person and some people who are travelling full time. This post freed my guilty thinking of doing something wrong by not choosing to travel full time.
BTW in the words of Dr Seuss. “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind”
If someone has the audacity to judge you send them to me ?
Congrats on you house and inspiring once again!!!
Congratulations on that bold move, Meg.
Its always nice to have the comfort of your own home.
All the best with your new adventure. I’m sure you will still have a great time.
I think it’s awesome and I know exactly what you mean. The few times I’ve thought about stopping I feel like so much of my identity is now wrapped up in travel. I was just having this conversation w/a friend of mine recently. After three and a half years on the road full time who am I if I’m not traveling?
Also, what you can wanderlust fatigue I refer to as Beauty Burnout. I know exactly what you’re referring to- same symptoms, different names.
Congrats on the purchase of your new place! I’m sure you’ll love it.
I think that you have taken the right decision. The right decision is what your heart says. We too like traveling but also like to come back to the comfort of our own home once done, to reflect and plan the next outing. The feeling of heading back home after a long sting out is really great.
Congrats on your home! I believe you can be a world traveller and a home owner. For me, there is nothing like returning home after weeks or months on the road.
Congratulations on the new house! It must be nice time you’re going through at the moment. And I know the feeling of missing a sofa and a wardrobe. I still live out of my backpack and I probably will for a long time, but you’re so right. There isn’t a right or wrong way. You do what you feel is right.
And you’re still a real traveler :-)
You picked a good spot. We might be neighbors one day.
The fatigue is definitely real..it hit me hard last year …so much so that i returned home for the first time in 6 years …my plan was to do exactly what you guys are doing. However after a few months back in England I realised I need to get back out there and travel haha. Gook luck to you.
Congratulations on your new home!! Tasmania is beautiful and seems like a wonderful base to live and write in peace. I’ve only been to Hobart but would love to see more.
What you wrote was right on point. When I’m traveling too frequently I get burned out. I don’t fully appreciate places and don’t have time to reflect because the next place is coming up. But to each their own.
We just moved to D.C. and don’t have a big overseas trip planned for several months. I’m enjoying thinking about the trip, planning, researching and also reflecting back on cool adventures.
Enjoy your new life chapter!!
Congrats, Megan! Buying a house is a HUGE and a wonderful accomplishment. And it DOES feel good to put down roots somewhere. Cheers to you and Mike, and to the two of you taking time to savour travel (& life) at a slower pace.
I really enjoyed reading this because as someone who works full-time away from the blogging world and yet enjoys travelling/writing about it when I can, I have sometimes felt like I’m “not doing travel right” based on the experiences of others. You’ve made some fantastic points and as a highly regarded travel blogger, I have a lot of respect for you making this decision! Enjoy your break :)
Totally agree with what you said! We found that long term travel gives you perspective and that Traveling for the sake of traveling is no better than staying in one place because you are too afraid to leave. I think the secret to happiness and contentment is knowing that you have freely made your choice. All the best in the new chapter of your life. We love Tassie!
Such a great post! I am such a big believer in there not being one right way to travel. Sometimes I feel like less of a traveler because we have never cut our ties permanently. Our kids like school, they like routine, they like home. It is so refreshing to have it reaffirmed that you don’t have to be a full time traveler. Every one will find what works for them the best. I definitely sometimes wish we were traveling indefinitely, but I also appreciate that we have a home to come back to. Thanks for this! We are in Melbourne and love Tassie too!
I’m looking to seeing your new house! Travel is a way for you to build up yourself about life experiences and real knowledge but at somehow we need to come back to our lovely house to have a break. Please keep updating more on your journeys! :D
Spot on, we are coming to the end of almost a year of travel with 2 young children, we still don’t know if we will buy again or rent or maybe even keep traveling , but we do know that we need to have a break from it all and be back with friends and familly just to let it all sink in… it’s been an amazing RTW trip so far, but I fully get your point about it all becoming “seen that done that” thing and that sometimes the magic of a place is lost because we are comparing it to yesterday/last week/ last month… but one thing that is never lost in the “wanderlust fatigue” as you put it, are the magic familly moments . Or just laughing our heads off because our VIP ticket turned out to be sharing a 4 bed Vietnamese sleeper train cabin with 3 other families
I love this! My partner and I travel together, but not full time. We both have jobs (he’s an assistant manager and I work 30hrs a week part time) and we travel as much as possible. I do have a travel blog, and sometimes I wonder if it’s not as helpful due to the fact that I don’t travel full time. But I guess in the end, it’s all about what makes us happy!
Thanks for sharing your story :)
I’m from South Australia and I’m dying to visit Tasmania!
Nothing wrong with settling down for a while. Now you can appreciate staying in one place, until you get the travel bug again!
I love this post so much! Sometimes it feels like there’s so much competition to go further / harder / longer, and while travelling full time can be a wonderful thing, so can curling up in your own corner of the world.
Like so many people I love travelling, and can’t imagine life without it. But I also dearly love my own bed and realised a while ago that those time outs between travel are very important. Not only does it avoid that wanderlust fatigue (the struggle is real!) it means I can spend days working at my desk without feeling like I’m missing out because I’m not out exploring.
It’s like I have two sets of batteries that need charging… the travel batteries and the home batteries. It’s a balancing act I’m slowly figuring out. So a big thank you for sharing this one, and well done you for living the life you want in every way.
Congratulations you two!! A new chapter! There is no one way to live and travel – and who cares about what people think anyway? It’s your way. I am always curious about ‘reentry’ and how full time travelers deal with having a true home base. Will you accumulate stuff? Will you still maintain a level of measured, controlled list of things you need and buy? That will be a great future topic :)
Congratulations on your new home. You’re absolutely right … having a permanent base doesn’t diminish your travel cred one bit.
Great post Meg.. reading it was like reading my life when I was much younger (yes I’m a little older than you.. just bit lol) I traveled for 2.5 years in my 20’s and finally got tired and craved for my own place and normality and just to stay put for a while, like you said traveling can be tiring and you get jaded. I remember getting excited about having my own stuff, my own bed and decent kitchen to cook in. I took another step too that you have already taken.. I got married as well. Now in our 40’s we have enjoyed owning a home for years and living the normal life but felt it was time to live another dream so sold the house, put the stuff in storage and are now back on the road for the next 18 months or so or until we get tired! So maybe in many years to come you will do it all again. This will be our last big trip we will settle again after this and I look forward to purchasing our next home out in the bush :-)
Well done on your purchase, Tassie is gorgeous and being in the countryside is the best place to be :-)
On youtube, it seems the digital nomad is still a craze. I am location independent, but I don’t want to be a ‘nomad’. Don’t fancy the idea of moving to another place every few months. I need a place as a base, particularly since we have 2 kids.
After traveling to Chiang Mai, we do really like it, and want to make it our base. My wife is training to become a Mandarin teacher to work in one of their international schools. Then we can base ourselves there all year long and travel around Asia.
Hi Meg, Congratulations to the next step in your life.
Thanks for this great article. I think your life as a nomad was an experience you have never regretted, but why not experience another one.
I fully agree with your thoughts “As long as you’re happy with the way you’re experiencing the world, it doesn’t matter if you travel full time, or come home to a permanent base.” and I am convinced you guys will not stop to experience the world.
Another important point you touched is the reflection. Since my husband and I quit our jobs, we have more time to travel. As we film all our travels in 4K, we cannot edit them on our trips, otherwise, we would sit the whole day in the hotel, instead of discovering the destination. So we do it later at home, which has the advantage that you experience the travel twice. But, if we travel too long or too often we have exactly the issue you described, “taking new shots of the next..”.
I will continue to follow your journey. Be aware of the Tasmanian devil :-)
All the best!
The problem with always being on the move is you see too much to take it all in and over the years it can become a bit of a blur. You also miss out on all that anticipation and excitement of a new trip!
Well done folks, and I’m certain this is quite recently the ‘following stage’ in your undertakings. Well done on purchasing a house in a standout amongst the most delightful parts of the world!
Congrats on purchasing the home. What a whirlwind everything must have been. Traveling in really can have a fatigue as I used to do it a lot when I was younger for work, so I feel you
Kudos, Meg!
While I’ve had a few home bases around the world, I recently returned to Canada to set up a(nother) home base myself. I don’t know for how long it will be home, and it will remain a base for continued travels for about half of each year.
But there’s SO MUCH to be said for having somewhere to return to where you can unpack, unwind, and integrate your experiences.
Enjoy your new house in Tassie!
Congratulations, Meg! You have been on an amazing journey for so many years, and I wish you the best for this chapter of your life.
Congrats! I always love to read and explore travel blogs and now, I’m looking forward about the website which could offer cheap airport parking. Can you please help me?
Nothing wrong with settling down for a while. Now you can appreciate staying in one place, until you get the travel bug again!
I like how you describe the feeling when you realizing you need a place that you can call your house.thanks so much for the post.
Congrats! Well done Megan. Thanks for sharing your journeys.
This is the best decision you’ve made for your lifetime investment. I’m sure this new journey of life with your new home will be exciting and memorable for both of you.
It is very hard to sacrifice your previous lifetime, but I am grateful for both of you. This investment is lifetime. Have a blessed and happy experience in your next journey.
It’s nice to read your post, I think anyone need a house, though travelling is great way to exploring life. Anyway thanks to sharing about your life your journey.
Congratulation! I’m happy to hear that, and it’s great when you’ve shared your journey, it will inspire many people, especially those who like traveling like you.
Great journey! wish you were like that, that’s great. Thanks for sharing them
Congratulation! Figuring out and then doing what makes you happy is the biggest adventure of all. Excited to follow along on your next chapter. Thanks for sharing
We all need a break from what’s become routine! Good for you!