Unconventional Retirement: Is Nomadic or Semi-Nomadic Living For You?
Retirees with a sense of adventure and a desire to travel will eventually need to decide whether or not they need a home base. There are three different types of home base options for people wanting to embrace travel in retirement: fully nomadic, semi-nomadic, and permanent home base.
In our lives, we’ve experienced a permanent home base while working, as well as nomadic (no home base) living, and are now semi-nomadic (with a home base). When deciding which lifestyle suits your needs, it’s important to note key differences between the options.
And remember, no decision is permanent. As the seasons of one’s retired life change, adventuresome retirees do toggle between semi-nomadic, nomadic, and a permanent home base.
About Us
Darren and I left corporate careers in our late 40s after 20+ years each in agriculture science. We are semi-nomadic and spend a few months a year in a small house in the Great Plains of the United States.
We spend 40 - 120 days per year thru-hiking in Europe and about 90 days yearly in the Caribbean and Central America. This blog documents our journey to nomadic living, financial independence, and lifestyle adjustments to make our post-W2 lifestyle work.
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What’s the Difference Between Permanent, Semi-Nomadic, and Nomadic Retirement Lifestyles?
By far, the most common living arrangement for retirees is a permanent home. We define this as a residence maintained on an ongoing basis, with the resident(s) spending most of their time at the residence while occasionally traveling elsewhere and then returning home. Some people—especially real estate marketers—call this a “forever home,” although we all know that nothing lasts forever.
For the remainder of this article, we will focus on the difference between semi-nomadic and nomadic lifestyles.
A nomadic retirement lifestyle typically refers to a lifestyle where one continuously moves from one place to another, without a fixed home base. A nomadic retiree might rely on mobile shelters, such as RVs, a boat, AirBnBs, hotels, or pet sits. Nomadic retirees frequently change locations for a variety of reasons, which may include weather, cost, and pursuit of adventure.
In contrast, a semi-nomadic retirement involves a mixture of settled living and occasional or frequent mobility. Semi-nomads have a fixed home base but may periodically travel to other locations for specific reasons. This frequent traveler with a home base may or may not rent out their home base while they are away.
Frequency of Movement
Nomadic living can involve frequent and regular movement. The frequency can be determined by many different factors, which can include visa restrictions, cost, and weather. Nomadic retirees may have specific routes or patterns of movement followed throughout the year. Nomadic retirees may also be perpetual travelers, extending our itinerary as we go along.
In contrast, a semi-nomadic lifestyle typically involves less frequent movement. Semi-nomads may move periodically, such as during seasonal changes. However, we tend to have some periods of settled living in a home base in between or at the conclusion of a series of travels.
Freedom and Flexibility
Being retired typically provides individuals with more freedom to structure their lives to align with their values.
Nomadic retirees appreciate the ultimate flexibility to travel whenever and wherever they want without the constraints of a fixed work location, a home to return to, or other obligations. We can adapt our plans on the go, stay longer in places we enjoy, and move on when we desire a change of scenery.
Semi-nomadic retirees also have a great deal of freedom and flexibility as we, too, can choose when and where to travel. However, we will return to our home bases regularly (though this may be once every few months or just a couple of times per year). Since we keep a home base and some possessions there, we have a bit less freedom and flexibility than those who are fully nomadic.
Cost of Living and Budgeting
Some retirees find that a perpetually nomadic lifestyle is more cost-effective compared to settling down in a fixed location. By moving between countries or regions with permanent or seasonal lower costs of living, we can stretch the retirement savings further. Additionally, fully nomadic people do not have the expense of maintaining a home base. Many full-time nomads will have some expenses for storage for some possessions that they placed in storage.
For semi-nomadic retirees who maintain a home base that they return to periodically, there’s the added expense of maintaining that residence. Depending on the location and property details, this could be quite expensive or very modest. Oftentimes, semi-nomadic people will rent out their property while they are away, which can help offset the costs of expensive property. With more modest properties, it often makes sense to leave the property monitored but not inhabited.
We have a small home in rural North Central Kansas for our periodic breaks in travel. The costs of living and property monitoring are low.
Climate and Seasonal Considerations
Many of us are familiar with snowbirds—people who migrate from colder locales in North America to warmer locales in the winter. Snowbirds may have a permanent home base in a cooler climate, or they may be fully or semi-nomadic.
Fully nomadic retirees may follow the footsteps of traditional snowbirds, or decide to expand their migration to anywhere in the world. Some nomadic retirees prefer cooler weather year round while others are seeking warmer, tropical climates year-round. Some fully nomadic retirees are climate / seasonally agnostic, letting personal interests drive the next stop on an itinerary. Again, being fully nomadic offers the greatest amount of freedom and flexibility.
Some retirees, however, choose a semi-nomadic lifestyle to escape harsh winters, hot summers, or extreme weather conditions. We may have a home base in a region with a favorable climate for part of the year and then travel to other destinations during seasons that offer more desirable weather during other times. This flexibility allows us to enjoy the best of both worlds and avoid climate-or allergy-related discomfort.
Minimalism and Downsizing
There’s a default life script that pressures older Americans to stay in their home as long as possible. Often, the idea is to maintain homes that may be too large just in case children or grandchildren might need the space. But fans of minimalism know that we can let go of things—including homes—to accommodate a new season or phase of life.
Embracing a nomadic lifestyle often requires downsizing and adopting a minimalist approach to possessions. Some retirees find this appealing as it allows them to declutter their lives, focus on experiences rather than material possessions, and enjoy the freedom of not being tied down material responsibilities. Others find it difficult to downsize and let go of possessions aquired during their lifetime.
In contrast, a semi-nomadic lifestyle often includes more substantial infrastructure and possessions. However, this infrastructure can be a small footprint, such as a cabin, tiny home, basement apartment, or a small room in a farm shop. Semi-nomads may have permanent houses or structures at their home base, along with more belongings and amenities.
Social and Cultural Aspects
Living a nomadic lifestyle can offer opportunities to meet new people and form connections with fellow travelers or locals. Retirees who crave social interactions can join travel communities, participate in group activities, or engage in volunteer work while on the move. This helps us build a network of like-minded individuals and foster meaningful relationships.
Retirees may have family members or close friends in different locations, and a semi-nomadic lifestyle allows us to spend time with loved ones while also satisfying our travel aspirations. Semi-nomadic retirees can divide their time between visiting family, exploring new destinations, and having a home base to crash in a few months a year.
Semi-nomadic retirees may be caring for a loved one during a portion of the year when not traveling. Other semi-nomadic early retirees might be like us—enjoying the adventure and exploration of travel while also maintaining a sense of belonging to a small community by having a home base to return to.
It’s all about striking a balance between maintaining social connections and satisfying wanderlust in alignment with your values.
Health and Wellness
Some retirees choose a nomadic lifestyle to prioritize health and well-being. We may seek out locations with favorable climates, access to outdoor activities, or a slower pace of life that promotes relaxation. Living in different environments can also provide opportunities for cultural immersion and access to diverse healthcare practices.
On the other hand, moving from place to place frequently can make it difficult to maintain an ongoing relationship with some individual healthcare practitioners. Therefore, some retirees may adopt a semi-nomadic lifestyle to prioritize their health and well-being, with a focus on specific healthcare needs near their home base. By doing so, we are able to see the same doctors, dentists, and other healthcare providers on a regular basis. We may also choose to spend time in locations that offer specific health benefits, such as access to saltwater swimming, alpine hiking, or specialized healthcare services at a wellness center.
By alternating between different locations, both nomadic and semi-nomadic retirees can optimize their well-being and find environments that support their physical and mental health.
Hobbies
The choice to be fully nomadic may or may not allow one to continue enjoying their chosen hobbies. Birdwatching, running, playing the harmonica, and other hobbies that require very little to no specialized equipment can travel easily.
If your hobby requires equipment that’s impractical to travel with, it may be possible to find the equipment in your new locations. For example, if you enjoy cooking, you may choose to stay in places with well-equipped kitchens.
However, if your hobbies are not easily mobile, a semi-nomadic lifestyle may be more for you. Hobbies like perennial gardening, woodworking, or homebrewing are not very mobile but can be practiced in a semi-nomadic lifestyle since they are amenable to starts and stops.
In Summary
Overall, nomadic living involves a continuous and highly mobile lifestyle without a fixed home base, while a semi-nomadic lifestyle combines periods of settled living with occasional mobility. The choice between these two lifestyles depends on various factors such as geographical, economic, cultural, and personal preferences.
It's important to note that not many retirees choose a nomadic lifestyle, and there are many other ways retirees can spend their time, such as staying in their hometown, traveling occasionally, or engaging in local community activities. The decision to become nomadic is a personal one based on individual preferences, circumstances, and priorities.
We want to see different parts of the world, experience diverse cultures, and discover new landscapes. Traveling allows us to fulfill our thirst for adventure and create lasting memories.
Some retirees like us choose to live a semi-nomadic lifestyle, which involves spending a significant portion of their time traveling or moving between different locations, but also having a home base or returning to a familiar place periodically.
