Do you have a home base?

[jabbott]

I was wondering of anyone who lives this life; do you have a home base?  Like a place you own or rent long term (and rent out when you're not there ) that you come back to? 

If so, how did you decide on where to do that?

If not, how do you move?

I'm not there yet; but I'm planning to be FI in the next decade and make the move as soon as I feel the call; I love reading the exploits of the GCC family and how they go around wherever wanderlust sends them... 

I was originally thinking about settling somewhere in Europe, but reading about being a nomad just seems to sound infinitely more fun!

Thanks for the blog, I hope to see more adventures!

[gocurrycracker]

We are about 5 1/2 years into semi-nomadic living. We've never had a home base.

If we like a place, we stay. If we feel restless, we move on. Nothing is permanent, even a decision to have a home base. You can try with and without and see which feels right.

[MightyInvestor]

I personally do have a home base of Colorado, but not in the sense that I've bought property--just that that is where I spend the most time and have deep family and friendship ties there.  I'm with GCC that one doesn't need to be in a huge rush to buy property, especially in places where the cost to own has shot to the moon. 

My second quasi home base is Croatia where I lived for three years and have a lot of connections as well.  I spend a lot of time there every year.  I'd probably make Croatia my permanent home base if I could do so legally.

My sense is that people tend to want to get a home base a bit more as they pass from 20s or 30s into their 40s or later.

[jabbott]

This is amazing to me; I love the idea and I'm going to be seeing how I can incorporate more nomad-ness in my planning.  Thanks for the answers!

[MightyInvestor]

This is amazing to me; I love the idea and I'm going to be seeing how I can incorporate more nomad-ness in my planning.  Thanks for the answers!

Jabbott,

Go for it! I definitely suggest giving a trial run (as in don't burn bridges unnecessarily) before you jump in. Pearceonearth.com is another good example of someone pulling this off.  Cheers!

[aj76er]

I've thought about this too. Would be interesting to find an area with low property taxes, no (or very low) state taxes, and in an area/climate that didn't require too much maintenance (e.g. away from coastal areas). Also, having an area that people would like to visit (i.e. catered to a "niche" activity so it would be easy to AirBnb). Some examples:

* A tiny condo in a Colorado mountain town
* Something in Memphis or Nashville
* A small place in WA Gorge

[gocurrycracker]

* Reno, Nevada

States w/ no income tax:
Alaska (actually pay you to live there)
Florida
Nevada
South Dakota
Texas
Washington
Wyoming

[clubsoda]

* Reno, Nevada

States w/ no income tax:
Alaska (actually pay you to live there)
Florida
Nevada
South Dakota
Texas
Washington
Wyoming

Property taxes are high in the city of Anchorage, Alaska. But, there are a lot of creative ways that people live part time in Alaska, and it is full of quasi-nomads, so you'll never have to pay for furniture if you don't want to :-)

[Cashonda]

I think this is a fascinating topic. I have a home base, but I just sold it. I debated this for a long time. Should I keep the home base apartment and rent it out? It is in a highly desirable area that makes it easy to rent for the day or for the year. But then if it is rented out I can't just come back and stay there on a whim. I'd have to plan ahead, months in advance and evict the tenant, and then find a new one... ugh is that worth it? Or I'd only be able to come back and stay if a tenant happened to move out. What if that didn't work with my plans?

Anyway, long story short I tried renting it out while traveling for a year and I found it way too stressful. If you have a wonderful manager who can take care of any issues I think it would be the only way I would do it. I think it is a personality thing. I just worried all the time that something would go wrong... and things did go wrong and it was a pain to deal with it from abroad.

Another idea which appeals to me more is to buy something so cheap that I wouldn't need to rent it out - like maybe a trailer or mobile home or something like that. But I don't think anything is cheap enough to make it a good idea (for me). I'd rather invest that money and use the returns to pay rent.

My new plan is to use a small storage space as a "home base". That way I can keep some stuff in a place that I return to again and again.  Then I can rent an apartment and still have a few of my own things... my fluffy pillows and blankets, a bike, extra clothes. It's not ideal, but it could be an option if you have 1 or 2 regions that you travel to every year. My storage is less than $20/month which is a lot less stressful than owning a home. We'll see how it works out going forward!

Curious to hear what other people do!

[gocurrycracker]

In Taipei I know a guy who manages Airbnb apartments for people. Since it is all short term the owners can return home on a whim. I think he just gets a percentage of the rent.