Does settling down have to mean staying in one place?

I’ve moved over 30 times in my life. I feel like I’m supposed to be tired of it, but I’m not. So, I’m considering a new definition of “settling down.” 👇🏼🌎

These moves have taken a variety of forms, from short-term and long-term stays, living in the UK, Greece, China, Australia, North Carolina, Ontario, British Columbia, California, and most recently Mexico.

Of the 30 moves, 25 of them have been in the last 23 years. That means I’ve moved on average just over one time per year over that period! That seems like a lot when I look back, and for whatever societal reason, I think, should I settle down?

📈 See the image for a snapshot of the moves

While there are many things that I’m tired of when moving so much, including buying and selling the same kitchenware and furniture over and over again, I am not tired of traveling and meeting new people.

In fact, I feel like I want to lean even further into it.

We live in a time where there is unprecedented opportunity to live and work in a new way, defined much more on my terms. And when I say unprecedented, there is literally no one who has lived through the shift that we’re living through right now, so it’s hard to define a right or wrong way to respond to it.

A Disclaimer: This is what feels right for me, in my situation, but obviously everyone is very different and has varying commitments as it relates to family, friends, and work. That said, I am hoping that some might feel inspiration or resonance with it as well.

My vision for settling down’ish

I highly value community and consistency, but I also highly value adventure and exploration.

I don’t believe that it has to be either/or.

I don’t want to make adventure and exploration just something that is done on vacation. I’d like to weave that into my day-to-day life so that I’m not longing to retire, or waiting for something, but am working each day to live a life that I would want in retirement.

Work & Retirement

My career is important to me and something that brings a lot of satisfaction. But rather than work hard for 40 years and then stop altogether, I’d prefer to find balance and satisfaction in life and work now. Particularly since the world is shifting so quickly, I don’t know what it’s going to look like 20–30 years from now.

Community, Friends & Family

I often get asked the question if I’m ever lonely when traveling so much, and the answer is yes, but it is honestly pretty rare. The reason is that when traveling, I am often surrounded by other people who are also traveling, are like-minded, and are open to others.

This is in contrast to living in a city, which I think can often be even more lonely as it can be difficult to make plans with friends who are busy and meet new people who are already in their routines. Any way you look at it, community is something that needs to be worked at. It just has a different shape when traveling frequently.

My 4–6:6–8 framework for where I’m living

I want to continue traveling, learning, and experiencing new things for the rest of my life. This doesn’t mean doing it all the time, but rather building it into every year. I also want to have a home base community, a place that I return to with consistent people and experiences.

The simple structure is as follows: Every year I’ll spend 4–6 months at a home base, and the other 6–8 months somewhere else in the world.

The home bases might change, and the time frames might change, but this is an approach I’m beginning to feel comfortable with and I’m excited to use it as a structure for my life. 🚀

The big caveat, of course, is that there are no rules. And if I want to change my mind, I can. But I’m looking forward to continuing to experiment with this :) 🤷🏼‍♂️