A common affliction for the long term traveler is finding somewhere to call home. I appreciate there are those who will trot out sayings such as ‘home is where the heart is’ or ‘wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home’ but the reality is far more complex than that. There are many places where I would love to hang my hat but it wouldn’t be long before the authorities came and whisked me away for not having a visa, for example.
We have been on the road for a while now and whilst we are not exactly jaded, the living place to place lifestyle does have its limits and we’d both quite like to put some small roots down somewhere, in reality creating a base from where we can launch our future travels, and here is why.
Storage
Occasionally I get down about the fact that we are constantly having to sell the things which we buy as we move to another place, keeping only what we are able to carry. Sometimes we will send some stuff back home to my father’s for storage but that is not the same as having it in your own place. With this in mind then I’d actually quite like somewhere to go back to, filled with all of our favorite things that we have collected from around the world..
Base
I really do like this idea of a long term base, with this we could travel for 3 months and then go home, then do it all again a month later. This would be such a great existence and one which we would all feel comfortable with. Moving on after 3 months to go for a another 3 month stay and having to start again, it can get tiring whereas the opportunity to go back home is a huge one.
Solo Travel
Despite having the kids we still enjoy solo travel and it usually means quite a difficult time for the other partner who is left with the kids. Having a home however would mean that they could enjoy an easy life, with the kids at home, whilst the other went off to do a little bit of exploring. This would in fact not only help out the person who is at home, but being on the road on your own and knowing that your partner may not be having the best time with the kids, that can actually take something away from the experience.
There is something regarding the stability and the comfort of having a home which I am certainly ready for now. This is not to say of course that I am ready to close the chapter on traveling, far from it in fact, this is a move to ensure that we can travel further and for longer, feeling more comfortable and enjoying it far more than ever before. The key to all of this of course, is finding somewhere which we would like to call home.
