Where do you live?

There are an abundance of living arrangement options for the long-term traveler.  For me, long-term travel is more about what I do rather than where I sleep.  One of the downsides of long-term travel is that you never really have a home, more just like a place to stay for a while.  I have called numerous locations home for a while and my living arrangements have included a combination of the following:

Tent

Badlands National Park in South Dakota, 2005

When I first started traveling around the United States I camped at National and State Parks in a L.L. Bean 2 person dome tent.  After a couple years I upgraded to a smaller but lighter and more weather-proof North Face backpacking tent.

Badlands National Park in South Dakota, 2008

Camping is a good option for budget travellers.  There are even a few places you can camp for free.  And even if you’re not on a budget, camping at National Parks provides a completely different experience than staying at a hotel nearby.  Even if I was a millionaire, I would choose to camp at National Parks for the all-encompassing outdoor experience it provides. And then after hiking for a few days and getting all grubby, get cleaned up and pamper myself at a lodge for a night.

Car

Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado

There are times when I have been camping when I didn’t want to sleep in my tent so I opted for my car instead.  Like when it snows in the mountains in the middle of summer and I don’t want to deal with the cold and snow on my tent.  Or when the campgrounds are bear infested I would rather have peace of mind in a hard-sided vehicle instead of waking up at every sound of heavy footsteps.

In the past year I have experimented with occasionally sleeping at rest areas off of interstates in my car mostly because it is free and convenient. Sleeping in your car at rest areas works in a pinch and is an ultra-economic form of travel.  But sleeping your car gets old after a while.  Well, maybe unless your vehicle looks like this:

The Ultimate Road Trip Vehicle...except for gas mileage....

Hotels

Watching the Sunset over Florida from a Hotel Balcony

I don’t stay at hotels very frequently when traveling mostly because they break your budget quickly.  But if you need a place to stay for more than a night or two most hotels offer reduced weekly or monthly rates.  I stayed at a hotel for a little over a month once and the lady the front desk was super excited to give me sizable refund since after a month you become a resident and don’t have to pay hotel tax.  Also, if you travel in what is considered an off-season for the location you are visiting the staff may be willing to negotiate a reduced rate for an extended stay.

Hostels

Hostel in Boulder, Colorado

Hostels are the typical budget travelers accommodations.  Hostels are good for meeting people, but other than that I’m not a big fan of hostels.  They are typically loud, dirty, and sometimes can even cost as much as a hotel.  But staying at a hostel is a way better option than writing off your dream of traveling because it is too expensive.  And you will definitely meet some interesting people.

Employee Housing

Employee Housing at Wallops Island, Virgina

There are an abundance of seasonal jobs that offer modest housing along with modest wages in exchange for work.  You’ll live where you work and most likely work long hours, making days off a much needed getaway.  Given the choice, I would rather get a higher paying seasonal job so I can bank some money for traveling and find cheap housing on Craigslist.

Craigslist Roommates

My Craigslist Digs in Naples, Florida

Craigslist is an excellent resource for finding short and long-term housing.  Many places will rent rooms month-to-month or even week-to-week so there is no lease to worry about.  And you can get a furnished room so there is no need to cart all your possessions around while traveling.

Of course you run the risk of having a roommate horror story.  The key to having a good experience with Craigslist is knowing what you are looking for and the right questions to ask.  Ask yourself what living style you are looking for and then find someone who fits that.  Don’t get desperate and take the first place you look at if it isn’t a good match.

Family, Friends, & House/Dog Sitting

Dog Sitting in Santa Cruz, California

After traveling for extended periods it is always fun to meet up with family and friends, share a few laughs, and recharge.  Thanks to everyone who let me crash for a day or two…or a couple months.  : )

There are an abundance of housing options available for long-term travelers.  Don’t let the fear of not knowing where you are going to live get in your way if you want to give long-term travel a try.  It really is more about the journey and the adventure than where you live.

Nora Dunn over at The Professional Hobo is doing a series profiling a week in the life of long-term travelers.  She asked me to contribute a post to the series.  Check it out:

A Week in the Life of Sue: Road Schooled

After you read about how much I cram into a week on the road you’ll understand why I haven’t posted this week.  The past week I was traveling from the Seattle area where I spent the summer to the San Francisco Bay area which is my base camp for the foreseeable future. Therefore I haven’t had much time to blog.

I travel fast.  I like it that way because when I slow down I get bored and antsy.  But I don’t recommend traveling as fast as I do for most people.

As a matter of fact one of the pieces of advice I would give to a newbie long-term travelers is to slow down and try not to cram in too much.  And if you want to travel fast like I do, pick a few places to stay more than a day.  In my case for the week in the life post I was traveling fast for a week, but I started at Padre Island National Seashore where I had been camping on the beach for 6 weeks and ended at the Grand Canyon where I camped for about a week (for free!).

The week in my life that took me from Padre Island to the Grand Canyon was in April.  In the 4 months since then I have traversed the Pacific coast from San Diego, California to Vancouver, British Columbia with weeks long pit stops in Santa Cruz, Portland, and Seattle.

And now I’m in the Bay area writing this post from a coffee shop in San Rafael.    A year ago San Rafael was a pit stop.  I lived here for two months last summer.  In the year that has passed not much has changed in San Rafael.  But I have changed a lot.

A year in life of Sue post may read a bit differently than my week in the life post.  The past year was one of the best and worst years of my life.  And now life has come completely full circle and I’m sitting here writing this post in a coffee shop where I sat a year ago.  Everything looks the same yet totally different. Traveling changed my perspective.

I wonder what life will look like a year from now after spending a year living in the same place.