Nomadic Families

[Sarahfina]

Looking to connect with other mothers who travel a lot. We travel every year, for extended amounts of time, often overseas. Typically, we have a period of 3-6 months a year without any kind of home base.

We're about to have a 7 month stable period, and of course we are already dreaming of the next trip...

Anyone else have a similar lifestyle?

[theretohere]

We don't travel- we move. My four year old has moved 4 times in 4 years- my 1.5 year old has already lived in 3 states. Does that count?

[MCsMom]

I was going to say that we move too. My 3 1/2 year old has lived in 8 different places, including overseas. My 14 month old has been in 3 different places so far. And at this point I don't realistically see it slowing down that much in the forseeable future, even though I keep dreaming about it.

[Sarahfina]

Frequent moving can count, sure why not? You understand the challenges of packing, relocating, resettling, living with very little to simplify the lifestyle....
We've just resettled into a rental home that we also had last winter (its seasonal) and will be in one place for 7 months! Exciting!!

[KaraBoo]

This lifestyle really appeals to me. I'm a wanderer by nature, I guess

I was going to ask about some practical matters like money and legality of living overseas, etc. I suppose if you call it travel instead, you can get a travel visa for extended trips?

Do you have a place where you store furniture or other items or do you dwindle your possessions down to suitcases?

[paakbaak]

yup, we move too. my 2.8yo has lived in 4 places already...but i`m worried. cuz his scenery changes, i mean his family changes. got divorced, back to moms place and now at my partner`s place. he isn`t handling it too well. any inpput? cuz i don`t plan on keeping still for a while, i want to live everywhere and my partner does too.
i`ve been moving since i was born. i`m 33 and i`ve lived in 11 cities, 7 countries and i love it!

[theretohere]

Originally Posted by KaraBoo

This lifestyle really appeals to me. I'm a wanderer by nature, I guess

I was going to ask about some practical matters like money and legality of living overseas, etc. I suppose if you call it travel instead, you can get a travel visa for extended trips?

Do you have a place where you store furniture or other items or do you dwindle your possessions down to suitcases?

We don't move furniture. We thrift or rent depending on how long we'll be somewhere.
It's all about keeping it simple, or there's no way I'd keep my noggin attached with all the moving.

[MamaFern]

Move-A-Lot-Mamas..Trying To Find A Place To Call Home.

Im a move-a-lot-mama.. i can never seem to stay anywhere very long.

its hard. i love to make a home cozy and beautiful...and i love to pack it all up and try it out somewhere else. its not like i'm running from anything..but i just get such itchy feet to go somewhere else..see what else there is to see.. BUT... i have 3 kids now, and a dog and cats and *stuff* and its not as easy as it used to be!

since my son was concieved we have moved.. (need to count it out) something like 13 homes?! probably more even. not always very far from the other, but sometimes over 600 KM too! its mind boggling and i wodner why i can't seem to find a place to put down roots. i felt like when i moved into this home that i was finally going to stay. but here i am, 9 months IN and already considering moving..and not close either!

when i was small we moved a lot too, so maybe its a learned thing, or maybe im just a gypsie at heart. i dont know.

right now im living in a small town. it is beautiful and my home is nice. its not perfect but its good. its cheap rent and close to the school where my son goes. he has some friends. its not too far but far enough from town. we can walk down to the river to swim in summer, and to the school/health food store when its not so cold. we have some wonderful friends. my sister moved here to be near to us.

ive worked on this home to make it ours. painted and fixed it up..and yet still im thinking of moving. i have good reason. my SO's sister lives in a lovely small town about 6 hours from us and our kids are similar ages(we are the only ones in either of our families with kids around this age) and we really want them to grow up together. she is an MDC mama and really great and the town has a lot more to offer a family like mine than the one we are in. there is a possibility that the house she lives in will have an opening for a 4 bedroom suite, which is what we need..and its so lovely and we would be right next door to eachother. this is whats got me thinking of moving again..but there is always a reason or excuse to move!

Is there any other move-a-lot-mamas around here?

[MittensKittens]

Yes, I'm in. I have moved quite a lot internationally and also within countries. I know how you feel. I am also thinking of moving again but really can't stand the thought.

[kcstar]

On average, I've moved about once per year over my lifetime. But I've been through several phases where we moved at least 1-3 times per year. My dad was Air Force, and he got out when I was 16. We lived at one base for 9 years. I stayed at my first job location for 8 years before moving closer to family last year, but those are the two longest stretches.

I'm *trying* to settle down, but I'm also trying to have a career, and trying to honor my family values. The three haven't quite meshed yet, but I guess I'm still young.

[sisteeesmama]

Oh, this is so me! I always moved since childhood, my mom and I lived in Cali, then NEw Orleans, then Missouri and then when she remarried we moved to Africa and then to Philly and then my Step dad joined the Airforce and we moved to Hawaii and then I moved back to Philly, then back to New Orleans.....LOL and then I just kept moving......S.C., Arkansas, COlorado now....and I'm nowhere near done.
It is a total itch to be everywhere all at once, I'm glad I'm not the only one!

[serenekitten]

Mom was a move-a-lot Mama. She had to move a lot as a kid, then as an adult. Since I was born, we've moved more times than I care to count.

I'm probably going to be similar, but not necessarily on purpose. I'm living with my elderly father in an apartment, and hope to get my own apartment before the baby is born. After that, I'm hoping to move in with my DPs, if they can get a place of their own.

I don't have the money to buy my own home, so I'll probably be apartment hopping for the next few years. Bleh!

[namasterica]

We move around once or twice a year.We only switch states but I want to go overseas.I love it. It keeps things fresh.

[Nolliebfly]

Mom also moved us kids around a lot...so I think I must have been conditioned to be that way. I moved around a lot as a kid and then continued the journey when I was able to leave home.
It wasn't until I met my DH that I settled down. And believe me...there were times I felt so antsy to pack up and head out.
Now having my DD's..I am trying to keep them a little more stable than I was...and the fact that there is family here. But now due to money and some things going down in our neighborhood, we are thinking about moving. I suggested renting so we could easily move if we didn't like the area. Not sure if we move DD's away from family or not?????

[remijo]

This is me too! Since my DS was born, he has lived in four different states and about two different homes a year. I think the longest I have stayed in one house since I moved out of my childhood home was about fourteen months and that was when I was married the first time. My DH is a wanderer too and he just signed up for military so I don't see this pattern changing anytime soon - in fact the military might actually make us stay put longer than we might normally.

I'm a minimalist, I hate having alot in my house but I like my house to be comfortable. We discussed RV'ing but my DS doesn't have the temperament for small spaces. Or maybe we don't have the temperaments to deal with him in small spaces. I can't stand to be in one place for too long, I just always want to be in different places.

I will say one thing though, my DS has the most adaptable personality from being moved so much. He can handle any situation at any time and he loves meeting new people and seeing different places. I know part of this is due to his outgoing, social personality but I think it also has something to do with having to deal with many different situations.

Right now, we are looking at apartments or homes here in the town where my in-laws live. I'll be here for a year before DH gets his permanent orders, he ships out in February. Nice to know I'm not the only one with wanderlust.

[Deefodil]

I'm an itchy-footed mama, too. We've been in the same town for nearly three years now, but have moved into several different houses. Before that, I didn't stay in the same town for more than two years, since graduating high school. Now with three kids, we finally decided we need to be *gasp* responsible and actually save up some money before packing everything up and moving across the country. We're hoping to leave within another two years - but I don't know if my itchy feet will stay still for that long.

[Nikki74]

I'm a move a-lot-mama. Dh and I now have baby no.3 on the way, so it's getting harder, but I think we've moved country (in-laws in different countries) about 7 times in 5 years of marriage, and have moved house 9 or 10 times. And we're both at the stage where we love the idea of settling down, but whether it'll ever happen or not, I don't know.

I am concerned though, that our kids might be better off with staying in one place. For all the mamas who moved a lot as kids, did you mind? Looking back, do you think it would have been better to have stayed in one place? Or do you look back on all the childhood moving with good memories?

Thanks.

[ithappened]

I am definitely in this category. Until I was 16 I think my family moved something like 17 times (my dad has major wanderlust) and since I was 16 (I moved away) I have probably moved on average 2-3 times a year.. this is the first year I will have lived in a place for more then 8 months.

I love to travel and I like to live in new places, Ive moved across the country a few times, and now I'm living abroad.. . we're considering moving again next year when our lease is up.. so I am not sure there is any sign of stopping until our DS is born and needs to be in school..

[Kidzaplenty]

[Nolliebfly]

Originally Posted by Nikki74

I'm a move a-lot-mama. Dh and I now have baby no.3 on the way, so it's getting harder, but I think we've moved country (in-laws in different countries) about 7 times in 5 years of marriage, and have moved house 9 or 10 times. And we're both at the stage where we love the idea of settling down, but whether it'll ever happen or not, I don't know.

I am concerned though, that our kids might be better off with staying in one place. For all the mamas who moved a lot as kids, did you mind? Looking back, do you think it would have been better to have stayed in one place? Or do you look back on all the childhood moving with good memories?

Thanks.

Nikki74...I don't think I minded so much moving as a kid, I think what I didn't like was going to a new school all the time. I never had that group of kids that I went to school with since 1st grade. I have scattered friends all over. I think the way my Mom did it wasn't so much the best way, but I know she did what she could...sometimes not so good choices. As I got older I always felt like i needed to move if I was anywhere to long. Now don't get me wrong, I love to travel and see new places, but when I get somewhere new, I feel ok for about a year and then feel the need to move on. When I got married I had a hard time settling down, and really feeling like this is my home. I guess that's it...I never felt like I had a "home"...my grandparents home was the only stable place I knew. Even now 6yrs later...I do not feel like this is my home...my Dh feels like home to me...but not the house. Does that make sense??? I lived in a VW for 1/2 a year and I think I felt more at home in that tiny space, cause I knew it was not permanent.