Alter-Nomad: Traveling Phases

Wherever I’m traveling to I find myself to go through three main emotional phases. Those three states greatly impact my mental health.

As I previously proposed, humans are not meant to be fast travelers. Mobility generates precarity. Precarity is the enemy of stability, but you need stability to perform deep work. This is why digital nomads rarely move from one city to another in just a couple of days. I need a good week before getting back to full productivity. I feel tired, sluggish, and lazy before the end of this adaptation period. One thing to take into account when you work remotely is this adaptation period to a new place. I don’t know the psychology behind it, but I suppose since mobility breaks routines, it depletes will power as well. A change of environment influences your physiology. You have to add jet lag effects if you have been traveling over a long distance. Traveling across countries mess with your circadian clock. Resetting your internal clock takes a few days. Pro tip: don’t forget to go to bed when the sun sets and rise with the dawn. I got my circadian cycle torn up a few times because I would stay awake the whole night and sleep during the day, which prevents you from enjoying the local life to the fullest. In the meantime, rely on your habits to get you through the work days and explore your surroundings.

After a week, you enter the Oyster period. The honeymoon period of travel: the world’s your oyster! The more you stay in a place, the more you will expand your comfort zone. Being able to feel at home wherever you go truly is the traveler’s high. After a few months in the same place, being recognized as part of the neighborhood truly feels special. Local business owners know you and say ‘Hi’. You made friends and lovers. You know where to eat and get your groceries. You know where to head for the night, got acquainted with some bartenders and you can list your favorite local drinks. Your new routine is fully formed and you can get work done in an optimal fashion. At some point, it’s time to leave because you planned something else or your visa is about to expire. I always have this weird feeling when I’m leaving a place. Like I’m leaving a part of me I will never find again. Your heart balances between nostalgia and excitement of the unknown. You felt part of the local community. New memories have been made.

The last phase is homesickness. Traveling is draining and the fatigue is inevitable. Homesickness has a huge impact on your mood. It’s uncertain if it will go away. It’s time to spend a few weeks resting in your main base or visiting friends or family back in your home country. Last time I went abroad, I started feeling homesick after six months of solo-traveling in Asia. I missed my friends and my family. I missed the green pastures of France. I missed the food. I missed the cold. It’s always hot in South-East Asia. You might think it’s a blessing. I wish we could send all the people dying from hypothermia to Asia during the winter. But it’s also humid. Everyone relies on air conditioning to cool down, but the effects are not the same as living in cold weather. We tend to hate the cold. It has its virtues, however. I have chronic asthma and the humid weather weakens me. There is something cathartic about running or biking in the cold early in the morning. Or an exhilarating cold shower after a good workout. Or the frost biting your frustrations away. A burning fireplace surrounded by loved ones during a cold winter night will always feel warmer than the hottest summer day. The scarf of your lover smells of flowers. Cold is the surest proof you are living. I long for a heated cup of coffee on a foggy morning. The hot weather makes me lazy. Once I traveled back to France, I couldn’t wait to wear my poncho, put on my good ol’ boots of Spanish leather, and eat some camembert! You get the picture. Even if our feet are meant for us to walk, we all need to get back to our roots once in a while.