My Partner and I have been on the road for about 3 months now. We left our new homebase in Upstate NY and headed off to England, Scotland and Iceland and are currently in Colorado.
This is our first time traveling longterm since getting that homebase and I’ve been having some thoughts and feelings that I wanted to work out. So I wrote this post 🙂 .
But first, some caveats. Everything on this blog is obviously just based on my experience so your mileage may vary. These are my thoughts 5 months after getting a homebase and prior to that, being a full-time nomad for 5 years.
- I Got A Homebase! (But Will Still Travel 1/3 Of The Year)
- My Packing List As A 5 Year, Full-Time Nomad
Comparisons
During the last part of this 3 month trip when we were back on US soil in Denver, I found myself doing something I have never done in my full-time travels. I started comparing our new accommodations to my new homebase.
Previously I had nothing to compare our Airbnb to. Before we started traveling in 2020, we got rid of all our furniture and our apartment in Seattle, so there was nothing to go back to. There was nothing to compare to.
Each monthly Airbnb I stayed in WAS my new home in a new city and new country. I had nothing to compare it to and I didn’t.
Every place has its own pros and cons so I reveled in the pros and wasn’t bothered by the cons but now, I’ve discovered a different style of thought sneaking into my mind this month. It sounded something like this “My bed at home is more comfortable than this bed, my couch is softer than this couch, my blanket is more plush than this blanket.”
I’ve never had these kinds of thoughts before and having them made me less satisfied with our temporary US “home” knowing that “my” stuff was out there just waiting for me.
I expected these types of feelings of missing “my” stuff when I first became a nomad in 2020, and that’s why I originally thought we’d travel full-time for perhaps a year, but that wasn’t the case. I loved it and felt no pull to settle down, so we just kept traveling.
But now I have a point of comparison – I have an apartment that I’ve stocked with my ideal furnishings and when we’re in the same country, I can’t help but compare to what I could be experiencing.
An International Aside
Interestingly this hasn’t been the case at all in international locations. I never felt this while we were out of the country and staying in Airbnbs around the world.
I suspect that might be because I can’t replicate that experience with my homebase. I can’t walk out of my house and look at the Northern Lights like I did in Iceland or watch a double decker bus drive on the left side of the road like I did in London.
Living in different countries didn’t invite this comparison so it seems to just be something I think about while living in other places within the US.
One-Sided FOMO
Previously when I would see my Partner’s family in our group chat doing fun things, I would have some FOMO while I was traveling, but now it’s a totally different feeling because I literally COULD be there. I have a home right there that’s just waiting for me. It’s a different sensation that I’m not loving.
And curiously, I have never felt the flip side – when I’m ‘home’ (that’s still weird to write or say) I don’t have FOMO about traveling. I’m happy to be there and am just having fun with the family I’ve chosen.
Sitting Empty
I don’t like the idea of my apartment sitting empty while I’m away and me taking up 2 apartments across the world when I can only physically be in one at a time. I’ve tried to combat this feeling by offering our place to our family as a spot to stay or visit, but no one has taken me up on it yet.
People have suggested renting it out while I’m away or putting it on Airbnb, but I never wanted to be a landlord and running an Airbnb is a literal job, which I don’t want. I would also never like to be in the customer service industry again thank you 🙂 .
So I’m torn. Logically I know that my apartment in Seattle sat empty for a similar amount of time that I will be traveling in 2026 (a week or a month at a time), but this feels different for some reason. Maybe because I feel like I’m “living” elsewhere instead of just visiting like I was before I retired.
Next Steps
So what does all of this mean? When my Partner and I got this homebase, we planned to still travel for 1/3 of the year and based on our plans for next year, that’s still going to happen.
However, if we decide to renew our lease for another year, we’re talking about traveling either a little less or for shorter lengths of time. So instead of going everywhere for at least a month like we usually do, we would go for less time and it would be more of a vacation than a move.
It would also probably cost a similar amount since the monthly discounts that most Airbnbs offer often make a 2 week stay cost the same as a 1 month stay, but whatever 🙂 . Money isn’t my only consideration anymore.
We also might be able to travel for a shorter amount of time, but have the same amount of experiences because my partner will be retired in 2026 so we will have a lot more free time together and I don’t have to plan adventures around his work schedule.
Conclusion
So that’s what I’m currently thinking and feeling. Getting a homebase has unfortunately made slow travel in the US feel worse to me, so I’m changing our travel plans accordingly.
I’m going to plan shorter US trips in 2026 and if that takes us below our original “still travel 1/3 of the year” goal that’s fine. However, it’s also possible that my thoughts will change after 6, 8 or 12 months of having this homebase. We shall see 🙂 and I’ll be sure to keep y’all posted if they do.
But at this time, I found the thoughts I’ve been having unexpected so I wanted to share them with you in case they can help anyone else plan their future travels or make these kinds of decisions.
That’s a very interesting perspective, your travels and life are evolving enjoy the change. It may be worth looking into Home Exchange if you have a home base I haven’t used it it is as all the places we wanted to visit during our mini-retirement in Sth America did not seem to have availability but some people find it helpful.
Haha yeah – that’s a good way to look at it. Based on the experiences of my friends who use Home Exchange and similar platforms it isn’t for me, but thank you for the reco!
Hi! I don’t have any bright ideas but, hopefully you can find a solution to your dilemma!
On an unrelated note, I don’t know if it’s just me but after you changed the ad company, the number of ads has exploded for me. There’s constantly at least one ad visible, usually some animated casino ad, which makes it really hard to concentrate on reading. Plus there are a couple of pretty annoying “pop up ads” but at least those you can close.
Love your blog! I’ve been a long time reader (and will continue reading) but I thought I would report that the user experience has suffered with the change.
Hope you have a lovely day!
Hi – thank you 🙂 . And thanks for letting me know that! Can you send a screenshot of what you’re seeing to my email (purple [at] apurplelife.com) so I can look into it? I see the same number of ads as before on my end and I’m pretty sure I have ads from places like casinos blocked so it would be helpful to see what you’re seeing. Thank you again and I hope you have a lovely day too!
This is so interesting! I definitely noticed on my last 2 month trip that I was ready to go home sooner than my 6 month trip. Obviously having pets changes the timeline of time I can be away but for the first month away we did “host a sister” and a lovely lady lived in our home for the month and took care of the kitties. Sleep is one of those things I notice changing in different accommodations. Some places had comfy beds that I slept amazing in, other places smelled musty and weird and I didn’t sleep as well and missed my own bed. It’s also interesting that you don’t get travel fomo when you’re home! I succumb to that after a long time at home
Interesting! And yeah I can imagine having pets to get back to could make this even more stark. Good to know you get travel fomo – I’m not sure I’ve ever really had that strangely.
Just dropping by to say I appreciate your online musings. It’s so important to capture times of uncertainty or almost vulnerability, the process of figuring it out, not just to present everything as hunky-dory.
FYI I first read your blog in Jan 2023 and was inspired to cut down my work to part-time, which I just did in September 2025! I’m really enjoying the set-up and I have you to thank.
Thank you so much! And congratulations on working part-time!!! I’m so happy to hear that I had a small part in that decision.
You’re so smart to capture these feelings so you can see how it evolves over time! It sounds nice (if surprising to you) that you have a place you really love and want to snuggle into for now. It’s just a different season in your life.
Side note: I would really love to hear your friends’ experiences with Home Exchange-like platforms, if you could get one of them to guest post. I would love to hear the real deal!
Haha thank you 🙂 . And that’s a great way to look at it – that I’ve built a place I love. So true.
As for Home Exchange programs, I’m not sure it’s necessarily the “real deal” aka new information because the friends I’m talking about have blogs and have written about that stuff like All Options Considered did here: https://alloptionsconsidered.com/2019/02/25/using-trustedhousesitters-to-find-homes-on-the-road/
That kind of life just isn’t something I’m interested in personally because of the stress of having to always be on your phone to check out and jump on a new listing as soon as they appear and being constantly available for the people you’re sitting for. It’s not the leisurely life I’m looking for, even for free accommodation.
I also have no interest in caring for (often sick) pets – that’s also not relaxing to me. So yeah – it seems like a great option for a lot of people, but not for me. I understand how it could be a fair trade off that saves literally thousands of dollars, but that’s not worth it for me personally.
Wow — what a timely post! I’ve been having very similar feelings, though I may approach the solution differently. My partner and I were fully nomadic for three years, but this past spring we decided to lease an apartment in the U.S., aiming to try out a hybrid lifestyle: traveling about six months of the year while maintaining a U.S. home base.
I love having a home base — but I also kind of hate it. I constantly compare my short-term rentals to my apartment and often find myself longing for my bed and the glorious water pressure in my shower. On my most recent trip, I even considered cutting it short just to come “home.”
But there’s also a deep tension. I hate feeling tethered to a space I’m not using half the year. It feels restrictive — and wasteful — to pay rent on a place that sits empty for months at a time. There’s also the logistical burden of having someone check in on it, water plants, etc. In those moments, the freedom of full-time nomad life starts to feel like it’s slipping away.
Lately, I’ve been thinking that my ideal middle ground might be a shared home base — one with roommates. That way, the space is still being lived in and cared for while I’m away, and I wouldn’t carry the full financial or emotional weight of maintaining it solo. It would create a sense of continuity and belonging without the guilt or inefficiency of leaving a space empty.
That’s very interesting and sounds like a great solution for you! Thank you for sharing 🙂 .
I’d also encourage you to think about this as possibly temporary. I absolutely hated and worked very very hard to get away from where I was raised. It took me a really long time- UGH low-paying careers and giant recession- so during that time I used the cheap rent to travel as much as humanly possible.
Every bed while gone, every person I met and every city I saw seemed better when traveling.
Then I moved to a city I loved and suddenly, leaving wasn’t feeling that important anymore. There really wasn’t any city in America I would rather be in. I have the option of the comfy pub where everyone knows your name or go a block another way in to a different world. I had everything here.
Twenty years in and the bug is back. Part of it is seeing so much terrifying change even here and though I’m proudly watching my city and my gov fight back, sometimes I just want to be in a weird country and forget it’s happening.
That being said, I’m the idiot that went to London during a huge stupid protest and got one destination destroyed by, of all things, a presidential visit. I guess now I have to check the white house calendar before leaving.
But I digress. This urge may wax and wane. You are very young and still could have a few different life stages in there. You also aren’t a homeowner yet. That recent change in my life has me running to escape projects. lol
And who knows… even when you thought you weren’t missing home, there was a need for it growing. I certainly never thought I’d be content in one place for this long, but it happens:-)
Yeah – everything is temporary 🙂 . I was raised somewhere that is basically opposite of this town we now live in and my Partner has said he loves being back here so it’s working out well for us currently. Thank you for sharing your experience!
I love this post and find it so insightful. I’ve found in life that we I have one option and my mind and can relax and focus on accepting one thing at a time, I can find such enjoyment in it, almost no matter the circumstances. Experiencing the choices can split my attention and make me not enjoy or focus. It’s why I gave up on Spotify and use cds, vinyls and my old iPod. I very much believe comparison is the thief of joy and even comparing against your own options can take away from the experience being the best it can be. This made me think a lot and I thank you. I don’t really have any thoughts or advice of how it could improve but I’m curious your journey in this.
Thank you! I’m so happy to hear that. And that’s a very interesting way to look at things. It’s so true that comparison is the thief of joy – I just usually apply that to things like a net worth amount instead of how comfortable a couch is lol. Fair point though 🙂 . And I wasn’t sure anyone would care about these silly thoughts of mine so thank you for reading!
I started working remotely on 2020 and travel for longer periods 4-8 weeks at a time and I feel the same way. This is part of the reason I never made the move to full on nomad. But it doesn’t matter if I’m travel internationally- I’m still annoyed haha.
I don’t even notice the bed so much since i can sleep anywhere but the fact that most places don’t have black out curtains and the sunlight wakes me up super early, no comfortable couches, bathrooms with no counter spaces, terrible water pressure in some places or not enough hot water for long showers(mexico city), but the thing i hate the most is the lack of good kitchen appliances. No tupperware, old pans that should be thrown out, no spices/good oils, no mason jars for overnight chia, the list goes on. I have never been in an airbnb better equipped than my house and I live in a very regular house. I’ve also stayed in airnbnbs all over the world. I now understand why wealthier people have second homes at other locations instead of moving around a lot.
Also love the blog but I’d have to agree with someone else about the ads. They’re very intrusive. Its hard to concentrate on reading or writing with those ads.
That’s very interesting – thank you for sharing! I seem to have gotten lucky with Airbnbs then – I haven’t experienced any of those issues (though I haven’t looked for mason jars since I don’t make overnight chia).
And thank you for letting me know about the ads. Can you specify what is more intrusive about them than before? I’m seeing the same number that I have since the beginning of 2025 so I would love to know what’s happening on your end. Since I received that earlier comment I’ve decreased the frequency of the ads so feel free to let me know if you see a difference or not going forward.
This sounds like a version of the paradox of choice. Having more options can make us less happy, because we’re mentally comparing the choice we made to all the options we passed up.
When you didn’t have a homebase, your current monthly rental was the one and only place you had to live in, so there was nothing to compare it to. But when you have the option of going home, you can’t help thinking about if that’s preferable to whatever you’re doing right now.
It’s interesting that this doesn’t happen with international travel! Maybe the novelty factor of being in a different country is still enough of an attraction to overcome any feelings of FOMO?
That’s a great way to look at it! I hadn’t connected it to the Paradox Of Choice. And yeah with international locations that’s not something I can at all replicate so I haven’t had the same feeling during those trips luckily.
I live in a two bedroom apartment and just got into house hacking last winter with a roommate. Funnily enough, she splits her time between here and Maine so I still often have the place to myself, my expenses are offset and the apartment doesn’t sit empty for too long. As I now start my early retirement, I think I’d like to keep this as a homebase rather than go fully nomadic but we’ll see!
Oh cool! That sounds like a nice arrangement.
This makes so much sense to me. I’ve never had a nomadic pull because..well, lots of reasons, but I learned that my top limit on travel is 2-2.5 weeks because I just want to be home. It’s not perfect but it’s comfortable the way I need it to be and nothing elsewhere is going to match it.
It’s hard to believe it’s 5 years this year, I love and appreciate that you’re still blogging strong. I’ve been overwhelmed with work for the past couple years and fell behind reading blogs but glad you’re still here to catch up with.
Big congrats to your partner on his imminent retirement!
That’s really interesting! And yeah I’m still here and enjoying writing 🙂 . And thank you!
Hey, thank you for another thought provoking post! I saw you’ve done some investigations of home exchange but if you’ve only looked into trusted housesitters, etc I understand why you wouldn’t want to do it. However, my partner and I slow travel a lot like you and we adore home exchanges that are literally just async house swaps for “guest points”. We’ve had incredibly lovely experiences (ex: haven’t had to so much as water a plant during a month long stay in Hawaii). And we’ve connected with lovely people while sharing our own home in a really relaxed way. Dates don’t always line up and there’s some messaging leg work but we’re chill about that and when they do it’s wonderful. It’s a sub economy (side benefit is thwarting capitalism somewhat) and the people are wonderful. No pet care required! Just thought I’d provide another perspective. And happy to share my referral link lol
Christina