An Incredible Unexpected Bonus of a Vagabond Lifestyle

Vagabond Lifestyle

If you’ve encountered any of my prior meanderings, you know I currently maintain a quiet life abroad. For thirteen years, I have wandered across four countries while making periodic returns back to my native country. For nearly the past five years, however, I have been located in foreign lands.

A lover of change, today’s locale becomes my “home.” Thus far, it’s been India, Thailand, Bali, and Mexico. Four trips to India. Two to Thailand. One extended stay in Mexico. Two to Bali, where I currently hang my hat.

The sizzle of unique cultures drastically different from mine captivates my inner vagabond. Whether a character deficiency or strength, I thrive from change. Predictability and the same-same familiarity tend to bore me. I especially enjoy time spent outside the Western Hemisphere.

I never set out to be a wanderer or nomad. It was accidental, yet serendipitous. After savoring the sweet nectar of unstifled freedom, unencumbered, carefree days with no schedules or demands, and endless new adventures, I was hooked.

For the first few years after becoming infected by the wanderer bug, I popped back to my native country briefly between long-term trips. Each stay, however, more strongly affirmed a profound longing to be on the move again.

The decision was solidified during my final ten months in the States after years in India, Thailand, Bali, and Mexico, with stops in Nepal and Egypt tucked in. My abdication this time would be permanent. The vagabond lifestyle had permeated my soul.

It has now been more than a dozen years of answering either, “I’m homeless” or “Wherever I am today” to the inevitable question from residents around the world, “Where do you live?”

Who knew that after age 50, one’s world — of an American middle-class comfort zone — could drastically morph into transient unpredictability? Despite believing there are no accidents in life, how and where I find myself continues to mesmerize and enthrall me.

It’s a marvelous, otherworldly adventure. The best and unimaginable.

Everyone I know in my former home is either paying off a mortgage or pouring monies into paid-off abodes for landscapers, pool service, renovation, or maintenance.

I bear no similar commitments or duties. My landlord’s staff handles all those issues. Friends may be excited about their latest four-wheeled purchase, likely another SUV or possibly an electric one. Never again shall I own an automobile.

I typically walk everywhere. Occasionally, I hop on my rented Scoopy motorbike. Or, if traveling a farther distance, a ride share it is. In some countries, I board a bus or train or grab a rickshaw or taxi.

When others obsess about aging, health challenges, or financial woes, my mind drifts to joyous reminders of this peaceful daily existence. I smile and feel contented.

Wandering the beach. Reveling in the meditation of crashing waves. Basking under the regenerative endless sun. Reading new books.

Writing. Visualizing an upcoming spa treatment. Deciding what new eatery to patronize.

Doing my yoga practice at a time convenient for me. Stopping at the local temple to offer a silent blessing.

One enormous advantage of a vagabond lifestyle is if one country no longer intrigues or satisfies, it is relatively easy to move on. No longer am I shackled by a house full of furniture, a collection of tchotchkes, and extraneous stuff.

That discontent occurred after spending two-and-a-half years in Mexico. When moving there, having not visited the city previously, my thoughts were two.

First, I expected to remain…to die there. Second, I would move elsewhere, though, if I became unhappy.

Upon concluding the country wasn’t my cup of chai, my excitement level ratcheted up. I started researching the next leg of this brief journey we call life. Juices were stirred as I explored myriad possible new “homes.”

Living in Foreign Cultures

While living outside one's native homeland is uncomfortable for many--those who prefer familiar surroundings, routines, and comfort--we admitted wanderers, nomads, or vagabonds cherish the experiences and interactions of new and unfamiliar places.

Myriad obvious benefits exist. Exploring new beaches. Reveling in doing nothing. Zooming around the island on my scooter. Writing. Visualizing an upcoming spa treatment. Deciding what new eatery to patronize. Doing my yoga practice at a time convenient for me. Stopping at the local temple to offer a silent blessing.

One enormous advantage of a vagabond lifestyle is if one country no longer intrigues or satisfies, it is relatively easy to move on. No longer am I shackled by a house full of furniture, a collection of tchotchkes, and extraneous stuff.

Residences

When moving to a foreign country, there typically are myriad options of housing. I've stayed in ashrams, apartments, studios, hotels, and inns of various sizes and styles. As a solo, older traveler, my needs are different than younger individuals or families.

My current arrangement is essentially a hotel property with sizeable suites in the nature of studios. There are typical hotel and vacationing guests as well as more permanent residents.

An unexpected perk of this living arrangement is the bliss of the twice-weekly staff appearance— at my convenience — to clean, leaving a sparkling suite. Despite being lazy and loathing house cleaning, I initially felt pampered and spoiled. I’ve since come to cherish the service included in my rent payment.

Try life in a foreign land. It may capture your soul, too. 😊