Continual long term travel can cause a change in lifestyle, eating habits, and possibly a host of health problems. If a traveler consumes the prime opportunity to change eating habits, the morning routine, and the overall disposition—changing geographic locations presents the possibility.
Traveling from geographic locations to the next can cause climate and culture shock, yet allows the disposition of the individual to break any bad habits if desired. Climate shock can cause problems for some people—I seem to adjust to major heat within three weeks, and from the heat to the cold under two weeks. Both extremes are difficult to deal with when traveling. I have experience some extremely hot regions and some ultra cold days and nights. Culture shock can affect some travelers—I seem to adjust quite quickly, but can be affected in the long term from certain cultures, mostly the shame based cultures get under my skin after three months.
Food is my biggest dilemma while traveling. Eating out provides low nutrients unless the country provides good raw food. When moving from place to place staying in hotels or hostels and eating out can be unhealthy on the chemistry. Some countries causes more weight gain that others, most notably, the middle east and India. Yet, I lost weight in India because I was eating a lot of raw food at the home I was renting.
Here in Berlin I am eating very good having a kitchen in the hostel and lots of fresh raw food including cherry juice that can keep the uric acid levels down, yet, eating out in Berlin can cause high calories. This hostel has been ultra quite except for a couple of small groups that passed through.
Long term travel can be difficult, we humans are designed for a regular routine. Younger people can learn by observing older people. I observe lots of young westerners that struggle in life because they fail to understand the benefits of a good routine. Within the last 3.5 years of traveling and nesting I have tried to keep a routine while on the road, and when I nested, I always had a good routine. But on the road, moving from place to place is the most difficult to maintain.
After 5 years of travel, Nomadic Matt is setting up home in New York City, however Matt never traveled the Middle East or India, he mostly stuck with South-East Asia, and the western countries. Matt also visited the states at least two times within this time.
Andy Hobo-Traveler says he is semiretired after about 12 years of travel. Andy wrote on his blog that his is more interested in living different places around the earth for under $500 which is possible. Currently he is in the Dominican Republic Living for under $500 a month.
This summer I am heading down to Macedonia for three months. Macedonia is cheap and offers excellent raw food. After this three month stay, I have a flight back to the home city where I grew up. The prime reason is to reorganize my technology and in the mean time visit family and friends.
I still have a large chuck of money from when I started traveling back in November 2007. Heading back in September will be almost 4 years from the time leaving the USA. I am contemplating if I should continue traveling? On the health side, traveling from place to place is not the best for my system. But, what could I do that is alternative.
I will not go back into the work force and live some common life. But, I do have a strong interest in buying a camper van and living a mobile nomad life. I did live in my truck in Santa Cruz for year and did enjoy the lifestyle. This time I will be much more comfortable. Cables.com provides everything that I would need to go the bathroom, cook, and sleep in the van. Then I would buy a nice 15 inch Macbook Pro and an iPad 2 with G3 that would allow me to have the internet anyplace, and an iPhone.
I wouldn’t have to stay anyone place, but it is always easier to stay within one area. The shower concept could be difficult nesting in more than one area, but only because America is very anal about the alternative showering from a bucket in the street. Staying within one area there is always the gym for a hot tub and shower, I visited the gym everyday when I lived in my truck.
Making money would be easy for this type of lifestyle, I would continue with the web design, start up an ebay business, and possibly do some massage.
And the only location I will consider is the West Coast and the South-West of America. I always have the option to learn Spanish and head south. I could go anywhere in North America.
This idea is not a final decision, but I will figure out what is best. Right now I am more attracted to this lifestyle that moving from place to place. Nesting around the earth is attractive, such as the idea of Andy-Hobo. There are also a lot of house-sitting situations around the western world which provides free housing and most situations with a pet to take care of—house sitting is the best situation, the kitchen is all set up.
If I continue traveling I would head south to Central America, but we will see.