Job Discussion Forums

[nomadder]

Seems the days of working 25 boring years at one job to get your pension and living in the same house/city till retirement are over.

I'm thinking it would be much better to live globally. Now we can not only switch jobs but countries too. Seems people come up with their own pension schemes, investments, rental properties etc.

Is it possible to also happily move kids around? Pets? Maybe even find jobs in other fields if it suits us. We can communicate, shop, research and more online.

Do we really ever have to "settle down" in one place? Is that totally outdated? Is the future global and changing? Is there anything we'd miss out on if we chose this life?

[leeroy]

Why stay put? Off the top of my head...

* If your life depends on agriculture, you are strongly obligated to stay in one place (albeit not for a lifetime..)

* Staying put allows you to integrate fully into a community.

* If the going is good in one place, there is no reason to "risk it" and go elsewhere.

* Those who are highly patriotic/nationalistic are less likely to emigrate.

But! If we were to apply the above points to a modern-day context of "middle-class westerners living and working in cities" - would they still work?

Well, I'm a middle-class westerner living and working in a city - and none of these apply to me in the slightest. There is no "community" where I live - or at least certainly not for the white folk. There's no agriculture and the quality of life ain't that great. Mainstream British society is not something that I am (/want to be) a part of. Why on earth would I want to spend the rest of my life here? I don't - and recent surveys suggest that as much as half of the British population feel the same way. Once my degree is out of the way then I'm out of here... My temporary settling here in London is only to get a piece of paper to help me move around more freely in the future.

Does this mean, then, that I am destined to spend the rest of my life travelling - or am I a settler at heart (just rather picky about where I do it)? Am I a "global citizen"?

Well, in my 24 years I've lived, travelled and worked in a fair few places (relatively speaking!). In a period of introspection a little while ago, I realised that it's not because I have an intention to travel and walk the earth forever - it's because I'm looking for a place to settle. I want to be a part of a social community that I can mature with, I want to be able to say things like "20 years ago that building looked like..." and "Oh, I remember her when she was a little girl!", I'd like to be able to see (and talk to) someone I recognise every time I leave my house. I'd prefer to be happy and peacefully content in one place than constantly rushing around the world craving new experiences and stories.

Distressingly, everywhere I've been to so far (be it Portsmouth, Cairo or Sumatra) has elicited a similar reaction; "This is interesting, but there's no way I could spend the rest of my life here...". This isn't to say that travelling hasn't been, isn't and won't be fun - but for me a lifetime of it isn't sustainable.

I've seen single people in their 40s and 50s who've travelled for a lifetime - and I don't want to be like them. For the most part they seem sad and lonely (and often, a bit weird) - although I don't know if this is a result of a lifetime of travel or a cause of it.

Perhaps, though, I am a relic of a time past. The global trend might well be moving towards complete social transience. In my search for settlement (ironically, it seems) I am also contributing to this global movement of populace.

It's possible that many who constantly move around as I have done are in fact the same as me - they don't travel because they love travel per se - rather it's because moving is better than the immediate alternative... Was it TS Elliot who said that?..."Travel, for me, is an escape from boredom..."

In any case, good on you folk who want to spend your lives moving around for ever. One day, perhaps, you'll drive past me as I sit on my porch with my pipe, bottle of JD, faithful dog by my side and a guitar... It's equally possible, however, that I will never find that porch - and will spend the rest of my days moving around, spending bits of time here and there, secretly envious of all the "settled" people in the communities that I race through...

All a bit deep for a Sunday - I know!

[juststeven]

Leeroy,
You have an excellent grasp on reality, young man! I'm sure that you will find that 'porch' someday. One thing that I believe is very important to have on that porch with you is someone that you love and loves you.

[shmooj]

[merlin]

In any given place some kind of disaster is likely to take place sooner or later. Better to keep up a fairly nomadic lifestyle and not bet on one particular geographic location.

I have property and a few assets in Europe but I do plan to start up a nestegg in the US, never keeping it all in one geographic location or under one government.

[nomadder]

Almost 40 and still not sure if I've found" that place "but then I didn't start looking until 33. I think you wouldn't be sad and lonely if you had someone with you. Sometimes that person has to be met off the home turf.

Meanwhile off today on another winter avoiding mission to finish off my 30's in style and perhaps better enlightened. Maybe once I hit 40 I'll "settle down" somewhat or at least that's the plan now.

The idea of having 2 locations makes sense. There's no reason to have to put up with winter if you don't want to.

[eslHQ]

It's totally possible to travel with pets and children. It's more expensive, but you really aren't making this career change for the money, right?

Some of my friends love traveling with their children. It's a bit more stress but they can see places through they eyes of their children.

as for me, i met my canadian fiancee while teaching in korea. currently we travel around with our dog, but i think its easier to travel with children. actually, i am almost positive on that one.

[dmb]

[nomadder]

I think I will not set the age but let things take care of themselves. In India there are so many things you could do here and the 2 week holiday would just be a waste of time. The best would be to take breaks between contracts-a freelancer of sorts.


Re: children. Saw a family with 3 kids about 1 and a half to 5ish here in India so really there are no limits. THese kidswere very mellow tho.

So nomadish till something says otherwise. I will be working again one of these days if only to stay in one place for awhile.

[Deconstructor]

For me there is no reason to set time limits. I go with the flow. I TEFLed for 10 years, came back home, got married and "settled down" not because I had planned it, but it just happened.

The thing is, those who believe that one of the few things worth doing in life is traveling, it is very difficult to just be in one place for very long. On the other hand, once in some other country in a traveling mode, you feel you must go home one day. I often feel trapped between two desires: when away I want to be near, when near I want to be away.

[Guy Courchesne]

[Deconstructor]

[quote="Guy Courchesne"]

[Guy Courchesne]

I brought my wife back to Ottawa, and a visit to Chicago, toronto, and Montreal for Xmas a little over a year ago. We were lucky in that it was fairly warm...if -5C can be called 'warm'. she handled it better than I did to be honest I don't think she could handle -20 or lower though.

When people here ask me how cold it is in Canada during winter, I open the freezer for them and tell them that's what spring is like. No wonder people don't ask me to help them get a visa to Canada!

I have a plan to go back around 2030, to retire in Salmon Arm, BC.

[shmooj]

[quote="Deconstructor"]

[Guy Courchesne]