Photo by Carmel Apartments
Settling down into a normal routine could be very difficult for many after traveling long-term. You’ve spent months or years on the road living out of a car, truck, RV, or hotels rooms and hostels, and you’ve decided to take the plunge and settle down in the same place for the time being.
The Waypointe in Norwalk CT that can be found at this page http://www.carmelapartments.com/the-waypointe is a great place to make a home if you plan on living and working on the East Coast in the US. Or maybe you’d prefer settling down in a house with your significant other so you can start a family. Your options are endless now that you’ve decided to stop traveling full-time to pursue other opportunities in life.
Remember, life is all about making transitions. We move through different phases during different seasons of our lives and these changes are often difficult in the beginning. But if you go slow and are willing to face the challenges you’ve accepted in front of you, you’ll have an easier time getting through this transitional phase as you establish a new routine while living in the same place.
With that said, we’ll now take a look at some effective tips for settling down at home after long-term traveling. Please use these tips to your advantage and this transitional phase, which seem so difficult to bear right now, will be over before you know it and you’ll be much better off because of the experience.
- Try Not to Bore or Discourage Your Friends and Family with Never-Ending Stories about Traveling
Some people find it tough to let go of life on the road when they first transition to a more permanent home life once again. They love telling the world about their experiences while traveling and unfortunately it’s all they ever seem to talk about.
In some cases, it’s hard to talk about anything but your traveling experiences if you’ve spent many years on the road. But the way you word certain things is important and it can make the difference between upsetting or causing jealousy amongst family and friends and telling an interesting story that everyone would love to hear.
Instead of starting off your stories by saying, “When I was living it up on the French Riviera…” Or, “The traditional Pho Ga that I ate while traveling through Vietnam was so much better than this inauthentic drivel.”
Do you see how starting off stories this way can get old really fast? Do you see how easily you could upset family and friends? While it’s great that you’ve had a chance to experience these things while traveling the world, not everyone wants to hear about them all the time. So to avoid discouraging or even boring your family and friends, feel free to tell stories about that great Vietnamese soup you ate one day but try not to make it sound too stuffy and pretentious, and maybe leave out the fact that you ate it in Vietnam.
- Don’t Despair Because You’re Allowed to Travel Again Once You’ve Settled Down in Your New Home
Every so often perennial travelers are forced to return home for various reasons. Maybe you’ve received a dreaded phone call while on the road letting you know that one of your parents or someone close to you is very sick and they are in desperate need of your help and care. Or maybe your visa ran out so it’s time to go back home.
In situations like this, we have a tendency to get depressed and sad once we’ve settled down because we’re afraid that our days of adventure and excitement are finally behind us. And you don’t want to give up on traveling forever. Guess what? You don’t have to! You can travel again when the time is right. In fact, plan on it if it’ll make you feel better and make it easier for you to adapt to this new stage in life.
Think about this for a moment. You managed to travel for months or years of your life already, so there’s no reason to think you could never pull it off again. If you want something bad enough, all you have to do is come up with a plan to make it possible. Remember, anything is possible in this life if you’re willing to put in the work and believe that it can happen.
So forget about giving up on your dreams of traveling. This is only a temporary bump in the road if that’s all you want it to be. And on the flipside, if you’ve chosen to settle down but still feel sad and depressed because you’re no longer traveling, just remember that you can go on vacation whenever time permits. If you really want it enough, you can figure out a way to take another extended trip while traveling during the holidays or any other time of the year – albeit maybe a shorter one this time – and have the time of your life experiencing the sights, sounds, and emotions of the world at large.
Never give up on your dream. And never believe that you can never travel again. You know you can pull it off if you want it bad enough.
- Appreciate Your Amazing Traveling Experiences
Unfortunately, many people never have an opportunity to travel at all. They spend their lives living and working in the same place and because of circumstances beyond their control, they never get to leave. You, on the other hand, had the opportunity to travel for months or years at a time and you’ve done and seen things that most people only dream about.
Now that you’ve settled down at home, it’s time to take a moment to reflect on your amazing traveling experiences. Stop moping around and hold these memories close to your heart. Realize how much they’ve enriched your life and made you a better person because of them.
When you get old and gray, you’ll have plenty of great stories to tell your grandchildren. If you traveled the world every day, these stories wouldn’t mean as much because they’d be a part of your normal day-to-day life. So keep that in mind and appreciate your traveling experiences as often as you can.
Final Thoughts
Nobody said settling down after long-term traveling was going to be easy. It’s going to take time to adapt to your new surroundings and lifestyle. Just know that it’s possible to adapt to your new life quickly if you take the suggestions we’ve shared to heart and begin incorporating them into your thinking. Before long, you’ll have established a new routine and you’ll think about your days of traveling the world less and less, which is a good thing because these thoughts won’t be nearly as painful as they used to be when you first settled down.