This is the intro to a new series/section of my site, as I’ve grown to love/appreciate another way of life: nomadic living.
While I’m currently not living nomadic, I thought it’d be fun to document the process I went through to get from point A to point B. (Also, figured it would help all the other newbs out there who don’t know a damn thing about it)
So, let’s start with the basics:
What the heck is ‘nomadic living’? A ‘nomad’ is a ‘a member of a people having no permanent abode, and who travel from place to place to find fresh pasture for their livestock’. While I don’t have any livestock, I have always wanted to travel and see the world. The one thing that has been stopping me (aside from lack of funds) is the fact I can’t take my house with me. Seriously, I want to travel and see the world, but not leave the comfort of my own home. Maybe that sounds a little ridiculous to some of you – doesn’t that defeat the purpose of travelling? Maybe, but if you aren’t comfortable, then there’s not really a point, is there?
This is why I was super excited to learn of an alternative way to live, called tiny living. The tiny house movement has been picking up steam in recent years as people realize that living in mansions isn’t exactly sustainable. Maybe you’ve even seen some articles or pictures on Instagram about it.
Most people who live tiny reject the social norm of staying in the normal 9-5 grind, and decide instead to live in smaller houses, buses, RV’s or even vans and travel around the globe. It’s essentially the ideal definition of ‘living the dream’ just… smaller.
Since you’ll be living in a smaller space (usually no more than 400sq ft is considered a ‘tiny house’), it will kind of force you into a minimalistic lifestyle, too. And, most tiny lifers are often nomads as well, since their homes are on wheels.
There are so many different Youtube channels/videos dedicated to this way of life, too. Some of my favourites include:
- Living BIG, In a Tiny House (1st Youtube channel I found about tiny living, Bryce tours absolutely stunning tiny homes all over Australia)
- Eamon and Bec (one of the most rockin’ couples I’ve ever seen [and would absolutely love to meet in person, one day!] who live out of their van, are from Toronto and vegan! They break down van life into easy to understand videos, and often vlog their travels)
- Tiny House Nation (These two guys go around helping people build tiny houses, and make clients dreams come true by going so above and beyond what they initially asked for it’s insane)
There are many amazing tiny house builder companies all over Instagram as well. I follow a lot of them for inspiration, though I already have a floor plan of what I want my tiny to look like. I had first discovered this tiny house movement around this time last year (late 2018/early 2019), when I was beginning to think seriously about what I wanted my own home/life to look like.
… I just now realized that up to this point – since this hasn’t been a lifestyle blog – none of you really know who I am. That is in part my fault, as I was told by some trusted colleagues not to disclose things like my age, gender, etc. since I was trying to break into the world of writing. I think I’m established enough now to disclose the truth, so here we go:
Hi, my name’s Ater. I’m a newly 24 year-old (birthday just passed Feb. 15th which is actually funny b/c I’m writing this waaay before my b-day) woman who is currently still living at home. No you will not get to see pictures of my face. I believe I can both maintain my privacy and share what I want from my life with you. Also, when I get famous for my writing, I don’t want to be swarmed on the sidewalk. (And in case you couldn’t tell, this is partially sarcasm. I’m pretty sarcastic, and no, there’s no font for that) My feelings toward this may change in the future, but as for right now, I hope you can respect my privacy.
The place I’m currently in is scheduled to be knocked down in 2023, so I thought that would be a perfect timeline for moving out on my own. (Since I’ll have to pack up all my stuff anyway)
My ultimate dream is to be able to live off my writing/blogging while I travel the world and live as compassionately as I can. I’ve already begun to take steps to make myself profitable, and align myself with a more compassionate way to live, and I’m hoping to become (one day) self-sufficient in the sense I can grow most (if not all) of my own food, and be 100% off-grid.
My plan right now is to get a 25 foot coach bus to convert and travel in. I’m hoping to get an EV Star as it’s a solar-powered vehicle, and I really don’t want to have to buy gas. At the time of writing, I currently don’t have a full license – in Ontario, we have something called Graduated Licensing – but am working toward it. It would suck major balls if I bought a bus I couldn’t drive! The EV Stars are also not currently available for residential purchase, so I may have to bite the bullet and get a regular bus.
The title of this section ‘No. Mad’ is a play on the word nomad, as I mentioned above, but I broke it up in the way I did so that it also can be read as ‘no anger’, as in living compassionately. I think this simple title is a great way to encompass everything I want this part of the blog to reflect/be about. This section of the website/blog will be a lot more conversational as I open up about my lifestyle and I just want to say here, that if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment! I’m just a regular gal trying her best, and I bet I could benefit from some of your advice.
Aaand, I think that’s where I’m gonna leave this intro. We’ll be going into the topics of traveling, tiny living and living off-grid in the articles to come. Don’t worry, there’s a lot of material to cover as I live, grow and learn. And, hopefully by letting you in on my mistakes, I can help some of you from repeating them.
So… yeah. Welcome to No. Mad., ladies and gents!