Somewhere in Southern England, a couple in their 20´s are packing a rucksack with clothes and dreams. Taran and Hannah are not planning a regular trip, the love birds have bought one way ticket to a nomad marriage life.
We might not have left our home yet, but we have already changed our lives quite significantly in the past year, trying to live in a simple way. Hannah explains while planning their journey to Australia.
Seeking adventure around Europe, Paul and Kristin have been travelling since March 2013. The nomad marriage started from desire to explore new things.
As Kristin said: No place was good enough to be called long term home and that is how nomadic idea was born.
Together for 13 years and travelling for more than 5, the Hecktics are a big inspiration. They decided to start a nomadic life after some family tragedies and deep reflection.
We knew that even though we weren't terribly unhappy, we could do more. So we decided to hit the road, says Dalene.
Inspired by them, we (myself and my husband Rob) decided to quit our jobs, sell everything we had in Brazil and travel the world. That´s how the Love and Road project was born, and we are proof that nomad marriage works and can make you happy!
The nomad marriage is not a new trend or a crazy idea that comes to young minds out of nowhere. Couples have been travelling and living on the road for many years, the difference now is that we are showing our faces. More than ever, we are proud to say that we don't need to be a hippie to pursue a nomadic lifestyle.
Every couple have their own reasons to leave the normal life behind. It doesn't matter why, how, where and when they travel. The important lesson to learn is that you can have a happy marriage without: a standard job, a mortgage, kids and the pressure that society puts on you.
Years ago, this lifestyle would not be accepted as a long term option. Nowadays, families are more understanding and supportive towards the idea of nomad marriage. And for us (nomad couples) this was the best life resolution we could ever make.
Even if we had to stop tomorrow, travelling would always remain a part of who we are, and we would have regretted not trying it, says Kristin from Yes Nomads.
We love our lives and can't imagine living them any other way now, admits Dalene from Hecktic Travels.
The nomad marriage is not as easy as it sounds. It´s a relationship like any other, where happiness, dreams and fears walk side by side. For Paul and Kristen, the worst part of being a nomad is the difficulty of making long term friends while moving cities so frequently.
Taran and Hanna, the newbie nomad couple from Nomad´er How Far, are already preparing themselves to deal with homesickness.
We'll be each others main source of comfort and home, but we are quite happy to take it one day at a time, and go forward with a positive attitude, explains Hanna
Homesickness is not the only big issue. We also have big concerns about money. I'm not going deep to the subject about how to make money while travelling, this deserve an article of it's own. What I want to say is that most nomad couples are also entrepreneurs, developing new ways of remote businesses and jobs.
Rob & I, Dalene & Peter, Kristin & Paul, and Hanna & Taran. We all work while travelling, and our biggest accomplishment is to write about our journey. We are: travellers » couples » bloggers. An interesting out of the box way to live. We are not creating anything new, we are just highlighting a lifestyle that has been overshadowed by a default concept of marriage.
What do we expect for the future? The same as every couple do, the only difference is that we don't have a fixed address and the world is our back garden. When someone asks us about settling down, the Hecktics have the best answer:
Never say never, but right now we just can't see that happening. It comes up in discussions on very rare occasions, and those talks never get very far!
We have been travelling for nine months, at the beginning I thought we were just a few courageous couples that wanted to embrace the happy/complicated romantic relationship and spice it up by adding a trip around the world. Now, after meeting a bunch of nomad married people, I'm more than happy to say that like us, many couples are already living on the road, and others are just waiting for the wake up call to pack and go!
Hannah said it beautifully:
We just want to see it all. We want life to be one big and long adventure.
Or as I say: We travel... We Live... We Love!
If you want to learn a little bit more about our nomad marriage, or have a sneak peek of this unusual routine, be inspired by Love and Road, Hecktic Travels, Yes Nomads and Nomad´er How Far. Maybe you become a nomad too!