What Mike says above, more or less.

I've been retired 15 years now and travelled a lot. Staying the winters in various warmer places, S. Spain, Guatemala, Mexico, Oz, S. America.
I'd return to all of them tomorrow for another visit, but there are lots of other places still to see.

Nearly every place I visit I think - well, this is a great place, nice people, warm biking climate, a good place to live.
The places where this really kicked in were Bali, New Zealand, Bolivia, Oaxaca Mexico, eastern suburbs of Malaga, Margarita Island (N. coast away from the holiday towns, Venezuela), Cartagena Colombia, Western Kenya and others.
But every time, after a short or maybe a long while, I get homesick.
For London.

Winter here now. Inside the M25 40 mins from the West End. An hour from Brighton:




I took the photos a couple of hours ago, then read this thread.
I don't think being an overlander has anything to do with it. It's the depth of your roots, the sense of belonging, the sense of place.
My travelling has been mainly by big Honda, big Ducati, big Aprilia and little Yamaha. Never felt any sort of draw towards those Bavarian machines.... (My word, they're getting controversial in these threads lately!)

In fact I think the more I've travelled (I travelled around the world a bit for work before retiring), the greater has been the sense of belonging here.
Something about being born within the sound of Bow Bells I suppose.

And to confirm the purely mercenary aspect hinted at by Mike. Yes, the index linking of my pension stops the minute I move abroad.

So it's very nice to imagine a home in the sun, to daydream a new life, but reality is much better.
Home is where the heart is!

(From above, it seems I should add some of these to go with the winter Vitamin D ... )

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TTR250 - London to Cape Town

Nicely said and with a little more thought and good nature than Mike.

I have also been to many places around the world where I thought, yes I could live here but as you say, the return home gives you a certain sense of place.
Obviously not for everybody and it may turn out eventually to not even be for me but it is interesting to hear other peoples perspective either for or against such a move. Happy

And in case anybody else takes offence at my use of the word "Overlander" I use it with reference to mode of transport wether Motorcycle, Bicycle, 4WD, Mogi and yes even cranky old gits on BMW R1200 GS"s.

I find it hard to imagine how offence can be taken with that word, but it does seem to be used increasingly within the HUBB; just as the website has developed/evolved into aspects of riding bicycles, driving 4x4 etc etc.
Maybe the word adventurer (with or without motorcyclist) is "so last year".

Next, there will be a section for the walking fraternity; then there will be real ructions, with rambling rights, access to the countryside etc
The hubris associated with that would be enough to kill off the jibes at Boxer twins.

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Dave

[QUOTE=Walkabout;408576]
Next, there will be a section for the walking fraternity; then there will be real ructions, with rambling rights, access to the countryside etc

I think the term independent ambulatory explorers might be a suitably PC term for their own forum

Thanks for the nice thread..You are not alone after this target(incl. me)
and nice life lessons are given here..Cheers All.
Mehmet zeki avar

I think about this a lot when I'm travelling. The grass always seems greener when on holiday because we're not bogged down with the mundane chores of living there.

At first, I too struggled to read Maja's post, but having read it again, I think he was basically saying - he likes living in Scotland

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Elaine

Striving to live the ordinary life in a non ordinary way

I am like McCrankpin, the more I travel the more I appreciate my home in Devon and have no wish to live elsewhere, but having spent 2 of the last 4 winters in warmer climes fully appreciate the benefits and would like to do it as often as possible, Asia being the favourite destination for a variety of reasons, price being one of them.

It will take more than that!

Having been an expat for the last 18 years, I fully expect to retire in a country that is not my "birth" country. Or, more precisely, I expect to retire in travelling mode for as long as that's physically possible. Maybe that will change when my kids have kids - but they have been expats their whole lives, so the likelihood that they will have those kids in a settled "home" that equates to my birth country is not high, anyway. At least for AmCits, pensions are portable . It's already the case that close family is spread across 3 continents - no reason for that to change!

I`m under 40 - and cant talk about the life as pensioner

But - i like the standard we have at home (switzerland) in any kind. Democracy, Quality of Food, Restaurants, cultural stuff, Healt Care, Income, Security and safety, public services, technical services and and and and....

I like to travel, like to overland, can life in easy environment for a while - but - would always go back 2 switzerland - that is my (also) beautiful homecountry.

Surfy

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About Overlanding, Travelogues, Equipment
Trans-Africa over the west coast

has been requested.

A common factor in this thread appears to be the idea of emigrating from a "westernised" highly developed country (for which you can read, over-drawn on both personal and national debt) in order to live in one or other of those developing countries that aspire to join that group; along the way those developing countries face the problems of avoiding the mistakes of the countries which they aim to emulate; personally, I think their chances are not good, international capitalism being what it is nowadays since the demise of communism as a creed that tended to maintain a balance.

Blessed are the youth for they will inherit the national debt (or another round of world war, or both). Individual national governments struggle with this issue IMO, having no answer except, perhaps, to try to replace those people who choose to leave their home country with other, "less fortunate souls", who in their own turn wish to leave very poor, destitute countries for a better life; the churn of economic migration.

Just a thought.

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Dave

Very true although my ramblings were not country specific, for example it's cheaper to live in Europe or the USA than it is to live here in Oz!

I love to travel for 7-8 months.

It's long enough to get really home sick whilst still having a huge break from my normal life, which I need often.... Not that I have a terrible home-life. It's actually very comfortable. It's just monotonous and unadventurous.

In the first few weeks, everywhere I like, I think:

"Oh man, I could totally live here". And I make little plans how to do it in my head etc.

As the weeks go by I think

"This is really nice, I'd love to 'come back' here"

Months later I'm like "This is okay. But I really want a bag of hot chips on a wet Wirral beach.

At the end of the trip, I'm torn in half. I usually love where I am. (A beach in South Africa or in the Mountains of Colombia etc.) But I'm pretty home sick too.

I miss English butter on Crusty Brown bread. I miss bacon butties whilst looking out of my kitchen window and I miss supping cold s with my mates in the garage, tinkering with bikes...

I think the real trick is to keep moving. Don't grow moss.

Whatever the rolling motion has to be.


Obviously the dream would be to spend the year travelling and half the year at home in the U.K but my lottery numbers have still not come though...

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Ignore that last post...

I want to live by the beach in Brazil..... Like now !!

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Ted you pretty much described exactly my feelings about travel.

As you said the lifestyle of perpetual travel with periods at home is beyond most save a lottery win.
Which got me interested in the Tiny House movement which started in the US in response to the Global economic crisis and people losing their homes.
Basically these tiny homes are built on trailer beds for around $20,000 US if you buy all of the materials from home depot or similar.
They are not trailer homes. While portable, they are not meant for extended travel.They can be placed in somebody's backyard, In their driveway, on a farm and only need an electrical cord for power or some are "off the grid" capable. Because they are on wheels you don't have to comply with building reg's for permanent housing.
People often exchange free rent for parking on peoples property with odd job's etc or park in a relatives yard or driveway while they travel.

So that long winded intro leads to my idea. If I build this sometime in the next 7 years when I can retire, I will then have a small but comfortable home that is free of mortgage and upkeep costs that regular houses have, I can free up capital for my travel, I can move it anywhere I want to, beach one year maybe country or mountains the next and I am not paying rent on it when I am travelling.
Some of these houses are very cool and have everything you need to live comfortably. Its not for everybody but if you can live in a small space with only the necessities it could give you that life you want on far less than you would need if you had to maintain a house/flat while you travel or the hassle of moving and storage each time you take off.
Theres lots of info on the net or google tumbleweed tiny houses.

Jimmy