I began traveling long-term in 2022 and went full-time nomadic before learning about THS. That gave me the chance to gradually build to a full-time traveling life before adding the extra layer of sitting. It also meant that I quickly connected with a community of full-time nomads since I sometimes stayed at sites that specifically hosted traveling remote workers – which connected me to resources and strategies that support this lifestyle.
With that foundation, it was easy to move to sitting full-time (which I did in Nov. 2024).
Before going full-time nomadic, I lived in NYC in a rented apartment. Initially in 2022, I went away for several months while subletting my apartment. Then, I let go of that apt and traveled for several months at a time but still returned periodically to NYC and would stay in a sublet for a few months. Eventually, I phased out of NYC altogether.
Since getting rid of my rented apartment, I’ve kept my stuff in storage, live out of a suitcase, and return to my storage unit every several months to swap out seasonal items (or sometimes go thrifting if I can’t make it to my storage unit when needed).
For context: I’m a solo female who was working remotely before beginning to travel long-term.
I love it! It’s a lifestyle that isn’t for everyone due to the inherent challenges, but I enjoy the new experiences, new environments, new people, and new perspectives and am not bothered enough by the trade-offs to stop or slow down just yet.
However, I only enjoy it when I’m spending long stretches in each place. Occasionally, I’ll swing through a particular city/region only briefly (1 week or less), but for the most part, my minimum stay requirement is 1 month, with a strong preference for 2-3 months before I move on to the next location. Since I’m working full-time during the week, I prefer having a longer stay so that I can really explore and get to know the area.
Additionally, when paying for accommodations (as I was doing pre-THS), long-term stays are the only way to get discounts good enough to make it a reasonable rate.
When sitting, I might find a single two-month sit, or I might string together two or three shorter sits that are in close geographical proximity to one another – which also allows me to experience the region/city from different neighborhoods. This is also easier and more budget-efficient than transiting long distances all the time.
Some things I miss:
- My books. They’re all buried in storage, and I know I just can’t access them again until I move in somewhere permanently. Using storage facilities is, generally speaking, a hassle and a pain, and I strongly recommend giving away/selling/throwing away any belongings you can bare to part with (AFTER you’ve definitely confirmed that this is the right move for you!). Storage centers raise prices dramatically and frequently, and it isn’t easy to access most items. Over time, it’s very questionable to me whether paying for storage space is really worth the cost. (But this also depends on you and your situation.)
- My friends. We stay in touch from a distance, and I’ve made new fantastic friends on the way… but it’s not the same as having those long-term relationships with people at home. (Here’s a recent post on this topic: The Loneliness of the Long Term Sitter)
- Ease. There is extra effort required in lots of little ways to organize and maintain life on the road – which is especially true as a sitter. For the most part, I enjoy it and am energized (not drained) by it. I have a solid organizational system in place that prevents stress (Here’s a recent post on this topic: Calendar app to visualize/keep track of sits?). But there can still be occasional frustration or exhaustion here.
There are lots of practical considerations that can be impacted by full-time traveling, depending on where exactly you stay and for how long, including:
- Mailing address
- Legal address
- Taxes
- Voting
- Vehicle registration
- Storage for belongings and/or vehicle(s)
- Living with less stuff
- Other travel-specific considerations like visas, entry requirements, etc
(Here’s a recent post on this topic: How to go ‘nomad’? There are several other posts as well – use the spyglass to search.)
There are also several emotional considerations to keep in mind:
- Your social needs (picking up + starting new over and over doesn’t work for every personality type)
- Friendships/relationships at home (how will these be impacted?)
- Community activities you participate in at home
Note that I’m speaking as someone who travels globally for the most part. Many sitters here stay largely within their country/region, which mitigates a lot of the social/emotional challenges.
There are definitely solutions available to all of the above challenges. But these are some of the “cons” that don’t necessarily get well-addressed by youtubers/influencers.
To a large extent, I string my sits back-to-back. This is especially easy when remaining within a single region / not traveling too far from one sit to the next.
Many HOs offer (or request) that you arrive a day or so early and may allow you to stay for an extra night after the sit. Not everyone makes this offer, and you also need to decide whether you mind staying in their home while they’re there with you.
When traveling a longer distance to reach a sit, I insert as much cushion as possible without leaving myself with too many uncovered nights:
- I might plan on arriving the day before the sit + staying somewhere overnight if the HO doesn’t offer an early arrival
- I might plan on traveling overnight, which I actually prefer to daytime travel and also eliminates the need to book accommodations
- I might still book back-to-back dates, but I’ll make sure I’m scheduled to arrive really early in the day and make sure the sit I’m heading to (1) doesn’t need me until late at night, (2) has the ability to pass the keys contactless-ly, in case my travel is delayed, and (3) has animals that will be ok for a few hours in the event that my travel is delayed. *This isn’t my first choice, but I’ve done it a couple times. In one instance, my flight was scheduled to arrive around 10.00, and the HO needed to leave by 19.00. My flight was delayed by several hours, but it still worked out because I arrived at the house around 17.00.
I’ve been full-time sitting since November of last year (with holidays spent at my parents’ house). Looking back + looking ahead through Thanksgiving of this year (for one year total), here are my numbers:
- 11 nights booked (airbnb or hostel)
- 7 nights of overnight travel (flight, train, or bus)
- 6 nights staying with a friend in NYC (3 nights + 3 nights)
- 32 nights staying with family for holidays and special occasions
- all other nights (309), I was/will be on a sit