Going from a lifestyle of saving and worrying about the tiny details to actually going ahead and living nomadically is the biggest change yet. You go from a mindset of balancing income vs time. To a Mindset of relaxation vs money. I want to state this right here; You can’t plan for long-term travel, you can have an idea, but within the first month, the plan will be changed so much from the original, it won’t be recognisable.
All these tips are based on my own experiences, They will not be the exact same as yours, but travel never is the same. These tips are here, to make you feel not so alone, stop you from panicking that you are not on your path or help you relax if you still just planning to live nomadically.
Nomadic Travel Tip 1: You Are Not The Person You Thought You Were
Sounds super creepy but bere with me, when you thought about travelling, you had this idea about yourself that, you were going to be a better version of yourself right from the get-go, this could be “When I travel I’ll be better at saving money” or “I’ll eat less meat when I travel” or “Be travelling non-stop”.
Yes, you may start like this for the first couple of days, or maybe the first couple of days your say… it’s ok I’ll start next week when I get into the swing of things. You won’t leave your house a luxury-loving meat-eating homebody and turn into a budget vegan traveller in one day. This takes time. Don’t forget the person you want to be and slowly work towards it.
Nomadic Travel Tip 2: You Are Not The Only Person Doing This
You might have thought: “Travelling is going to be lonely, short term relationships, short term work friends and hookups”
As soon as you are in the travelling lifestyle, you meet people just like you. Many people are doing just what you are doing right now, sorry you’re not special, but this is fine. This is more than fine, you can talk and meet others that give you tips, ideas and team up, or maybe you just work with someone in the same boat.
I’m currently read Matt Kepnes (Nomadic Matt) Book about how he started as a nomadic traveller and there is a bit where he is in a hostel and he hears the words “do you want to join us”, you might not be in a group yet but when you are, Be that guy.
Nomadic Travel Tip 3: Travel Slower
In the first couple of weeks, I did so much travelling around Scotland, I wanted to see everything like it wasn’t going to be there tomorrow. It’s going to be there, take your time. Your miss more if you rush, people give you tips the longer you’re around. (don’t be shy ask people for their travel advice)
It’s not a waste to spend a night in a hotel in a city that you haven’t explored, You can go back, you don’t have to pass go to collect £200. Resting your body will make you appreciate the area more.
Nomadic Travel Tip 4: Don’t Live By A Label
You want to travel, but living out of a hotel room or renting a place for six months doesn’t make you more or less of a traveller. A rule I made in my own head before travelling was I couldn’t count myself as a nomadic traveller if I stay in a place longer than 6 months. So I never planned for a car, or renting a place or falling in love.
You didn’t decide to go travelling because you wanted rules, freedom isn’t about keeping moving, it’s about doing what you want.
Nomadic Travel Tip 5: Put The Camera Down
I want to say this is personal to me as a travel vlogger, but it’s not. Social media, Blogger, Vloggers, Pictures for scrapbooks. There are so many people nowadays attached to their digital devices (I sound like a right boomer here).
I was guilty of this on trips I have taken previously where I would go out my way to see stuff that others may enjoy online rather than something that I would enjoy. I haven’t done this since living nomadically but sometimes I feel guilty or bad that I’m not capturing every moment. That’s not why I wanted to travel or why I enjoy vlogging.
Nomadic Travel Tip 6: You Will Over & Under Achieve
This doesn’t just reflect on you personally like in tip number one, it’s more about the things you think will be Impossible and you find so easy and other things will be easy, you find challenging.
For me, Friendships and relationships I thought would be impossible, but I overachieved this. Even being in the first months of Nomadic life myself I feel I’ve known a lot of people for a lifetime already. But something I have found easy before with long-term travel is to not miss friends and family at home too much, but I’ve found this a lot harder than normal.
Nomadic Travel Tip 7: Find Inspiration To Travel More
A thing I have enjoyed since I left more house is the joy of reading, watching or talking to other travellers about their travels. This could be a travel book, an Instagram story or a guy at a hostel talking about the mountain he just climb.
Where when you were at home you had this thought of “I wish I could be doing that“. Where now you can have the thought of “Do I want to do that?”. That change of mindset will help you interact with other like-minded people. Use this inspiration for further travels.
Nomadic Travel Tip 8: Your Not An Idiot
If you haven’t left your house yet you might be reading this and thinking, why am I going to think I’m an idiot? It doesn’t matter how much you have travelled before you leave for nomadic travel, the likelihood is you going somewhere new and you’re going to talk to someone that been there longer.
You’re going to go from the guy in your friend group at home who is the “travel friend“, but what happens when you talk to someone that has travelled more than you and knows more than you about travelling. You can feel like a fraud or an idiot.
You are not an idiot or a fraud, it can be overwhelming to realise you’re not the top dog but you’re not the underdog, there is no competition when it comes to travel. Plus travel is about sharing tips. They have been to all the places you have, talk about your home town ( you know loads of hidden gems there)
Nomadic Travel Tip 9: Be Careful With Money
Your coming from a place of saving for travel, there are two mindsets you will have. I need to save or time to spend.
Money has a completely different meaning now. You need to relearn, what you already know.
Be careful, watch your money and learn. Need more, earn more, but don’t hold on to it like your never going to get any more, or spend it like it’s a 2-week holiday. Balance is key.
Nomadic Travel Tip 10: Enjoy The Party But It’s a Marathon
You’re only in a month in, So enjoy the start but don’t party to hard that you blow everything, including your health.
You can always party tomorrow, but don’t always put it off for tomorrow. Be careful but try new things, you didn’t go travelling to stare at a different 4 walls but you didn’t go travelling to return in a box.
Thanks For Reading
At the time of writing this, I’m 2 months into my Nomadic life, currently in Scotland.
EDIT: Here is the next Installment, read it when you’re ready to learn about the 2nd month to 6th month of your new nomadic life 2-6 Months of your Nomadic Life
But I’m more known for my work on my YouTube Channel: Funny Backpacker Check it out for vlogs around Scotland and my life as a nomad for the next ten years
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