Freedom

"Freedom, give it to me,
That's what I need now..
Freedom to live,
Freedom, so I can give...." - excerpt, Jimi Hendrix song.

Freedom, the siren's song for the Nomad. For half my life, I've been a Nomad, seeking my desired existance, while luxuriating in freedom. Free to choose when and where I live or work, because I have no permanent ties, anchoring me down. Free.

Most of us probably watched our parents' generation, live and toil the majority of their lives, indentured to the consumerate system. They graduated from school, got a good job, got married and bought a house, then spent 20 or more years paying it off. They didn't have the freedom to quit a job, or move to a different area easily. The house and other commitments tied them down to the rut, they had signed up for.

I tried to follow in my dad's footsteps. I went to university, studied engineering, while working as a draftsman in Toronto, ON. But, memeries of the ocean, mountains, skiing and adventuring, tugged on me. I looked around the huge office where my cubicle was just one of many, where the banks of flourescant standards, bathed me in a sickly excuse for light. I decided then and there, this would not be my life for the next 30 years.

Since I've been a Nomad, I've lived and worked, in many towns and cities of British Columbia and Alberta. Jasper, Banff, Lake Louise, Kelowna, Penticton, Whistler, the Gulf Islands, Vancouver, Victoria, Sooke. I've enjoyed years of living in all of them. I've travelled to Europe, Central America, the Caribean, New Zealand and Australia. I've logged numerous 100+ day winter ski seasons, 100+ day summer mountain biking and fishing seasons. I've enjoyed many road trips, into the States and across Canada; last year, my Sentimentality Tour '07, took me coast-to-coast of my beautiful homeland.

You can't do that if you have a mortgage, that you struggle to pay off. You can't take months off to travel any time you want to, when under the burden of such a huge debt. Sure, I haven't had my own house, yet, but look at the life I've lived. The world at large has been my home, and I have no regrets of my path.

Vandwelling further serves this purpose. Instead of wasteing money on rent, while working commitments in different places, you save even more money. You can work less, travel more, have more free time, whatever you want. I have no debts, only savings. Your personal freedom has grown exponentially, because you have ability to get up and go, at a moment's notice. If things aren't working out in one place, just leave. Turn the key and drive!

Happy Trails!