nomadlyinlove.com
At one point, Stevie Trujillo, 40, described herself as a “high heels and manicures” kind of girl. Yet after getting laid off from her corporate sales job in 2009, the Venice, CA, native decided to store the heels, ditch the nail salons, and take a breather from city life. She gave up her apartment and set off on a one-year road trip along the Pan-American Highway, which runs the length of North, Central, and South America, with her boyfriend, Tree.
And they’ve been traveling ever since.
“It was the most liberating thing to not be defined by a ZIP code,” says Trujillo. Neither marriage nor the birth of their child three years ago has convinced the couple to settle down, either. They’ve continued to meander throughout the Americas for the past seven years—living first out of a van, then upgrading to a recreational vehicle.
“We decide what we want to be doing at various times—rock climbing, drinking good wine, or spending time in the wild—and plan our itinerary accordingly,” Trujillo explains, adding that they live off Tree’s income from running an online outdoor gear website. “When we arrive at a destination, we put down ‘mini roots’ by finding a few favorite shops, sussing out services like laundromats, and befriending locals. When we’re ready to move on, that’s what we do.”
‘Location-independent’ lifestyle explained
For most families, the dream is to buy a house in a good school district and put down roots. But not everyone subscribes to that stable and predictable dream. A small but growing number of families are opting to jettison their permanent addresses to work and live wherever whim takes them.
In some ways their minimalist, home-free lifestyle is the logical next step to the tiny-home phenomenon—a deep-seated desire to cleanse the soul by casting off possessions and living with fewer creature comforts. And in some cases, fewer creatures (it’s not always a pet-friendly existence).
According to Families on the Road, an online forum and collection of English-language resources for families who travel full-time, there are hundreds of these actively nomadic families at any given time. And as the cost of living soars in many urban centers, experts say the number is growing.
In fact, one analysis of the “global nomad” lifestyle finds that living and working in a low-cost area such as Bali, Indonesia, instead of London can save an individual at least $6,000 on basic expenses over three months. (And Bali is nice this time of year.)
Location independence typically entails using an RV or a series of Airbnb rentals for extended periods—and when kids are involved, it can mean home schooling, “road schooling” (using every environment you find yourself in as an opportunity to learn), or temporarily enrolling in local public schools. Friends are made on the go and kept in touch with electronically (not that different from back home, these days). As for practicalities such as a mailing address, most have mail sent to a stationary family member or the physical location of their business.
“This lifestyle is actually easier than people think,” says Paul Kortman, who runs NomadTogether, a website that offers families advice for going on the road. Kortman has been traveling with his wife and four children full-time since 2013. Originally from Michigan, they’ve so far logged time in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe.
How to cut the cord
For those considering this way of life, Kortman suggests starting by determining how your family will earn money and who your support network will be. Also worth checking out: resources such as the 14-day Freedom Kickstart email course, and coaching services that can help a family plan out a nomadic lifestyle, or troubleshoot one that isn’t living up to expectations.
“There are enough people doing this already that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” says Kortman.
That doesn’t mean these families don’t occasionally put down semipermanent roots. For instance, Trujillo rented an apartment in Peru for two months before and after the birth of her daughter, Soleil.
“Being pregnant definitely resuscitated some of my need for comfort,” she admits. “But after a few months in the apartment, we were restless and excited to get back on the road as a family.”
Although there are always people who don’t understand their decisions, plenty of others who hear Trujillo’s story are intrigued by their itinerant lifestyle.
“When we first started living like this, people thought we were crazy,” says Trujillo, who started Nomadly In Love, a blog about her travels. “Now we get emails and comments on our blog from people thanking us for being the inspiration they needed to make similar changes in their own lives. Apparently there are a lot of other people looking for freedom, too.”
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