Vicarious Nomads
You may not be in a position to drop everything and travel the world. (We might not either, but we're talking about you right now.) If you'd like to participate vicariously, your financial support of this adventure will help us to document it, and hopefully show that even today (perhaps especially today) a family can choose where and how to live.
We're not expensive folks. Even the smallest amount will make a very real difference.
Must Have Been That Wrong Turn at Albuquerque
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Joel D Canfield posted this in Challenges, Reasons on 2 September 2010
I wrote a few days ago that the real challenges are inside us; the journey simply exposes them.
Here’s my challenge: guilt.
And I don’t even know, for certain, why.
I feel like I’m cheating the system. Living without the cost of a house and its utilities is less expensive. I know a lot of people who’d travel if only their significant other wanted to, or the kids were older or not born yet or whatever; if only they had a job that blah blah blah.
Everyone I talk to says, how nice for you. Some of them seem to mean, that’s great; how can I make it better? But I feel, sometimes, like there’s a subtext of, sure, you get to go driving all over creation, dragging your wife and little girl along, while the rest of us have to have a real job and be mature and keep civilisation from collapsing.
Continue reading The Real Challenge
Sue L Canfield posted this in Reasons on 2 September 2010
Looking back over my 46 years of life (I’m not afraid of my age), I think now perhaps there’s always been a part of me that wanted to get up and go – travel.
As I child the only vacation I remember our family taking was driving to the Grand Canyon. Many times dad just took mom and us four kids for a drive on a Saturday afternoon. That was our entertainment (we weren’t big TV watchers). My favorite thing about going camping when my older kids were growing up was the journey of getting there more than the camping itself.
Yet as an adult I didn’t like the idea of not having a home and stability. I wanted to feel rooted and safe. However as the years passed there were many times when I just wanted to get in the car and drive – and drive and drive and drive. I wanted to pack up and go with no real reason, destination or plan. Yet I never did until I started my life with Joel.
Continue reading Have I Always Had the Travel Bug?
Sue L Canfield posted this in Reasons on 2 September 2010
When I asked Fiona if it was okay if we just traveled like this for a while, she said, “yes, as long as after we visit every place in the universe, we stop traveling.” So then I asked how long she thought that would take. She said, “Ten years.” Daddy asked how old she’d be then [...]
is yes.
Sue just gave 30-day notice on the house. She’d already called the phone company and pulled the plug. The two adult children living with us intend to be living elsewhere before the end of [...]
Joel D Canfield posted this in Challenges, Reasons on 22 August 2010
We are not ascetics. We love good food and wine (well, Sue’s pancreas has decided she can’t have alcohol any more, but she loves the smell) and we prefer nice furniture to garage sale stuff. We like a comfortable life and nice things.
Clearly, though, folks who are doing their best to divest themselves of stuff aren’t focused on said stuff too much.
Our goal is a simple lifestyle. This doesn’t mean living on crummy food or in dingy basements. (Consider that some of our best alcoholic beverages originated in monasteries.) It’s about choosing which stuff needs to be nice, and which stuff doesn’t matter.
Continue reading Desire for a Flood
Joel D Canfield posted this in Reasons on 16 August 2010
A small but appreciative group gathered to sit on the hard wooden benches as I started playing at the bandshell in Queen’s Park tonight.
No sensible person would spend an hour loading gear, driving, unloading gear, setting it all up, and half an hour afterwards tearing it down and loading it up again, just to play for an hour.
I’m so glad I don’t have to be sensible.
Continue reading Musical Fulfillment
Joel D Canfield posted this in BC, Destinations, Reasons on 15 August 2010
Yesterday we found out what an adventurer Fiona really is.
At 1:10 yesterday afternoon we were standing at the bus stop near Queen’s Park waiting for the C4 line to take us to the Columbia Station for the Sky Train.
Confession time: other than a few rides I took on the San Diego Trolley a quarter century ago when it was new, neither of us has ever been on public transportation. Airplanes, taxis, but never a city bus or subway or el or anything like that.
At 1:15 the bus, scheduled to arrive at 1:18, passed by on the other side of the street. I thought they were going to make a U-turn at the corner, but, no. They made a left and disappeared.
Continue reading Our Amazing Adventure on the Sky Train
Sue L Canfield posted this in Reasons on 10 August 2010
Today has been a typical day for our family. Except we can do it as a location independent family. We did all the usual things we do when we’re living in our rented home in California – except we were able to do it from New Westminster British Columbia from the home were we’re house sitting and dog sitting.
We had our usual breakfast and lunch and the usual routine in Fiona’s non-school day. Well, we do have to make sure the dog eats and gets out regularly. Fiona loves that!
Continue reading Working Location Independent
Joel D Canfield posted this in Challenges, Reasons on 8 August 2010
Ken has been a good friend to our family for many years. He’s a deep thinker with a sense of humour skewed in directions we like. He sent this as an email, and at Sue’s request is allowing us to post it here.
The nomadic lifestyle took awhile to sink in with me but I’m on-board now. I cannot say whether it is an absurd idea or brilliant but I suspect it is a bit of both. Here is what I like about it:
- It serves that inner voice in many of us to live life with gusto
- It also serves the inner voice that speaks to our wanderlust (But we may need to be aware of too many inner voices as we may end up on medication:)
- A chance to meet people and REALLY get to know them
- I think you and Sue have the brainpower and personality to pull this off
- The world has become very virtualized and there are not many things you cannot do over the Internet
- Freedom, not total freedom, but freedom to a degree that most industrialized people will not voluntarily seek
- Exposing Fiona to an unconventional and rich array of experiences, I suspect she will grow up to be a different sort of person and I can’t wait to see
- I would hope there is a potential through your website to catch an audience that may fuel you both spiritually and financially
- If you can be successful, I would think you would achieve a comfort with living your life in a predatory world and not fear the future. (See Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance)
Continue reading Guest Post: Ken Grossman on Brilliance and Absurdity
Joel D Canfield posted this in Reasons on 7 August 2010
Sitting here recovering from this morning’s headache, I’m watching Fiona play tug-of-war with the dog we’re watching.
Now, if you’ve grown up with dogs, this might not seem like a big deal. For us, it is.
Fiona has never been comfortable around dogs. Our life so far has made caring full time for a pet impractical. Even when she’s gotten to know a dog well, like Boston the giant chocolate puffball her adopted pseudo second family’s dog, she’s always a little hesitant.
Since we’ve been here, she’s decided that this is her dog to care for. She’s very conscious of walk time. She watches his water and food bowls. She worked hard to make him comfortable sleeping on his bedtime pillow in her room instead of his usual place in ours.
Continue reading Changes in Fiona
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