Thought I'd put a few thoughts in here rather than hijack another thread ..
We Grey Nomads are lucky that we are fortunate to follow our dreams .. Whether its part-time or full-time, we face many of the same highs and lows. Our dreams are very individual and our views and perceptions differ greatly ..
I am at home on the road. My dream always was to be at home on the road ever since a life-change after losing my wife in 2003. I sold the family home to do this and have no regrets whatever. My personal health I manage with a positive attitude and appropriate medication .. ( yes, most GN's use some medication) .. but you can wash it down with a good red .. (hic) !
It may only be (2) years since hitting the road, but I've enjoyed the same bed wherever I be. No more concerns about the well-being of ones home while away. No need to mow lawns these days .. just move on !
I do enjoy and take photos on my travels but rarely more than a occasional one or two .. My home is on the road, so I don't need to take them home later to look at them later .. I'll just go back again if/when I feel the urge to do so as this is my backyard now.
Living in real-time and reactive with a positive attitude, has enabled me to enjoy this life-style without worry for the future. I enjoy life and share it with many friends and my family.
Should circumstances change that I no longer have control of my life then so be it .. I will always look to get the best out of my life ..
Jon
(currently in Tweed Heads)
pauline said
07:50 AM Sep 25, 2011
Very well said Jonathan, that's how I have been thinking for a long time, hope I still feel that way when we do get on the road full time, every now and then have a few moments of doubt especially as we are not getting any younger. As your signature says you are "living life" so maybe we should just get on with it.
Cheers
Ma said
07:50 AM Sep 25, 2011
With your positive attitude and, from all accounts from other nomads who have met you, your friendly smiling face and interactions Jon, how could you not be happy with yourself and your chosen lifestyle.
We too love our travels and do most of the same things you do, being on the road for about 9 months out of every year, but we still do have a base to come home to.
Being in a "village" means we don't have to worry about lawns (we don't have any lawn anyway) and gardens or house security as we have the best "neighbourhood watch" that ever was. Our neighbours are all rather elderly and sit on their verandahs soaking up the sun so keep a very close eye on things and the comings and goings of those that don't live there.
I hope you can have many more years yet Jon as I hope we do too so that we can enjoy this wonderful land we live in. There is so much to see that it will take another lifetime to see it all........not that you ever do I think.
Landfall said
07:57 AM Sep 25, 2011
Well said Jon, enjoy every second and give thanks for the ability to be able to do so.
After all, you only get one shot at living, its not a practice session.
Cheers
Dusty
bill12 said
08:55 AM Sep 25, 2011
I must say that I like coming home.The shed, the big tv,The really comfortable couch,etc. But I also like being on the road, and spend about 3month a year gallivanting about. A positive attitude definately makes a difference, and meeting with old or new friends is also important.I would like to chase the weather, and, perhaps, spend the summer down south(Magnetic island is bloody hot and humid in the summer), somewhere on the south coast.I have to , from time to time, get demagnetized, as I do get stale seeing the same people doing the same things.Living on an island can have its drawbacks.Full time on the road, not at the moment.Perhaps when I win Lotto.......
B-T said
08:59 AM Sep 25, 2011
When we left the ex-home over six years ago we drove down to the main road - opened a bottle of champers and then spun a coin to see "Where to next" It's been a great life ever since.
John
jonathan said
09:07 AM Sep 25, 2011
thanks for your comments ..
The one thing I probably neglected to mention, was about one's "Comfort Zone" ..
Thats what we all live by whether we realise it or not. It becomes more evident when we become challenged by outside influences .. Firstly, once we take a partner and share comfort zones .. then maybe we lose that partner, be it mutually or otherwise and we then build up our defences again to move forward .. thats just one scenario and life is full of them. Each pertinent in its own way in our own life existance ..
but, we each must be totally happy in our own comfort zone to move or change it .. so be happy with yourself then there's more chance others will be happier with you ..
its all good, eh !
Jon
jonathan said
09:15 AM Sep 25, 2011
bill12 wrote:
.. Living on an island can have its drawbacks ..
Hi Bill ..
Gotta say that I did experience that in a different scale too .. I was born and raised in New Guinea and after settling down in Oz in a permanent situation in 1966, there was quite a adjustment to "civilisation" .. as its called ..
Jon
jonathan said
09:21 AM Sep 25, 2011
Ma wrote:
.. There is so much to see that it will take another lifetime to see it all........
Gotta agree with you Ma .. but next timeI might come back as a green tree frog. I dont now how many I've found on my MH when I travel .. must be a cheaper means of travel with less maintenance ..
Jon
Beth54 said
10:32 AM Sep 25, 2011
Very well said Jonathan. You rig is perfect for fulltime 'life on the road'. You have everything you need.
I don't know if I could do it, but that's the beauty of it, we all have the choice.
If you're still in the area on the 3/10, come up to Jacobs Well and have a cuppa with Gubby and Mrs Gubby, and whoever else turns up.
-- Edited by Beth54 on Sunday 25th of September 2011 10:39:10 AM
sharon said
10:34 AM Sep 25, 2011
Hello,
I just read your post and all the replies and it was sooo refreshing. Thankyou for making my day, I feel a lot happier having read it. Cheers. Sharon & Gary
Vic said
10:50 AM Sep 25, 2011
Great thread Jon, and well thought out. Thanks for sharing your views. Also those who replied to your thread. Interesting to see how we all view life and travel etc.
I don't know that I can really add anything, already been summed up by you and others here.
Father Ted said
11:10 AM Sep 25, 2011
Thanks Jon,a well written post and a joy to read.
Travel Bug said
11:19 AM Sep 25, 2011
G'day Jon.... Them's my sentiments exactly!!!
More on that soon......Watch this space!!!
jonathan said
01:31 PM Sep 25, 2011
.. I didn't expect such a great response .. but I'm so pleased to see it .. thanks all ! ..
Now I must try to improve the smile on the face of this Ratfink (avatar) ..
Jon
lilly31 said
02:20 PM Sep 25, 2011
Great thread jon ....
jandas fun said
02:21 PM Sep 25, 2011
Good onya Jon you have travelled a long way, in more ways than one, since we first met you. John and Anne
dazren said
03:54 PM Sep 25, 2011
Gidday Jonathon, I to enjoyed your thread very much, and the reply's as well. you come across as a very happy and content man, and this is what IT is all about, depite this crazy world we live in, Just keep doing what your doing, It's working ??? dazren
jules47 said
05:28 PM Sep 25, 2011
Well said Jon - I have pm'd you - ok?
AmandaJayne said
09:51 PM Sep 25, 2011
well said Jon.. and speaking of ones comfort zones... going 'bush' I feel at home its the getting there with me... to do so I go outside my comfort zone but when I am there its wonderful ... if I did not push myself to go I would never leave the house.
Cruising Granny said
10:03 PM Sep 25, 2011
Thank you Jonathan. You summed it up perfectly. I can relate. I always say, "I'm on the road, and where I'm parked is where I live". Always sleep in my own bed. It's a good life, and it shows we don't need all those rooms in a building on a block of dirt to prove anything, or to have a "nest". I can absolutely relate. While I'm parked up for a while, I can still do more kms when I feel the need to, but hopefully I'll get regular work so I can do the travel without the van. I carry my own camp bed too and I sleep well.
B-T Welcome to the GN's. Nice to see you here. Tells us a bit about yourself and your nomadding plans?
Les_Donz said
01:21 PM Sep 26, 2011
Thank you Jonathon, for putting a smile on my face.
Les and I (Donna) are organising a journey together in about a year's time. We don't know where it will take us or even how we will share our comfort zones together but I'm sure that we will meet many wonderful oldies (I mean that politely of course) along the way. If we were to set goals for our journey together it would be to finally take time for ourselves. We have each raised our own families. Les still has his two adult sons living with him and I have three of my four children, and one grand-daughter, living with me. So we feel that the only way to make them branch out and begin their lives is for us to run away from home. The open road is the answer. There is so much out there to experience, so many experiences to re-energise our tired hearts, so many positive and happy people like yourself to meet. I can't wait....12 months seems such a lifetime away but I know it will go fast, as time always does when you get older.
Donna
jonathan said
02:44 PM Sep 26, 2011
your very welcome, Les & Donna ..
The big "wait" can be a lot smaller Donna .. and thats to make the "waiting" an experience of its own .. The learning curve is not there to confuse you, but to give you the opportunity to step outside your current comfort zone to do and learn things you frst thought impossible .. Thats the best preparation 'cause thats how it will be for you ..
enjoy the time
Jon
beachball57 said
04:59 PM Sep 26, 2011
i have to agree with bill i don't mind being "on the road" for awhile, but being a truck driver i'm "on the road all the dam time" sometimes i just like to sit still and thats when home comes into play,, guess it's good to travel but i like my shed, doing the garden and my sleeping chair,,, guess i'm not ready for the open road full time yet,,, but that's just me and each of us are different
jonathan said
05:29 PM Sep 26, 2011
.. you're so right Tony .. we are lucky to be able to be different .. enjoy mate!
Jon
Andrea said
06:04 PM Sep 26, 2011
As said above -- you've expressed it so well, Jonathan! John & I have been almost three years on the road so far, still consider ourselves 'newbies' in some ways, but have never looked back. We also consider ourselves to be sooo lucky, and both are quite sure that we'd never feel quite comfortable living in a stationary dwelling! (We tried it briefly at a house-sit in NSW -- couldn't wait to move back home! )
Travel safe!
Andrea
jonathan said
08:14 AM Sep 27, 2011
I feel very much the same Andrea .. Staying with family or friends is what I do when travelling, but prefer to stay in my 'home' .. although being invited to stay in their homes by my lads ..
Usually after a week or so, its time to get back on the road ..
Jon
colsa said
08:47 AM Sep 28, 2011
Hi Johathan, well said thats exactly how we feel been on the road 5 years now everything we own is with us. Hubby loves "when the lawn needs mowing we move on" or " if the neighbours are a pain we move on" who could wish for more. In Adelaide at the moment both of us been in hospital in the last couple of weeks but got great nieghbours here so i wasn't too worried being on my own, got that almost all sorted then we head west in about 5 weels can't wait, will miss grandkids here but got 3 more in Perth, life is great.
jonathan said
09:38 AM Sep 28, 2011
I agree with you Colsa .. for me it helps to keep me flexible and aware .. so yes .. til I find need to change .. its stays the same ..
Jon
Cruising Granny said
06:54 PM Sep 28, 2011
I hope you've recovered from whatever was ailing you. Being crook is no fun. Contact me by PM and we could catch up if you'd like.
Hi Guys & Gals ..
Thought I'd put a few thoughts in here rather than hijack another thread ..
We Grey Nomads are lucky that we are fortunate to follow our dreams .. Whether its part-time or full-time, we face many of the same highs and lows. Our dreams are very individual and our views and perceptions differ greatly ..
I am at home on the road. My dream always was to be at home on the road ever since a life-change after losing my wife in 2003. I sold the family home to do this and have no regrets whatever. My personal health I manage with a positive attitude and appropriate medication .. ( yes, most GN's use some medication) .. but you can wash it down with a good red .. (hic) !
It may only be (2) years since hitting the road, but I've enjoyed the same bed wherever I be. No more concerns about the well-being of ones home while away. No need to mow lawns these days .. just move on !
I do enjoy and take photos on my travels but rarely more than a occasional one or two .. My home is on the road, so I don't need to take them home later to look at them later .. I'll just go back again if/when I feel the urge to do so as this is my backyard now.
Living in real-time and reactive with a positive attitude, has enabled me to enjoy this life-style without worry for the future. I enjoy life and share it with many friends and my family.
Should circumstances change that I no longer have control of my life then so be it .. I will always look to get the best out of my life ..
Jon
(currently in Tweed Heads)
Cheers
With your positive attitude and, from all accounts from other nomads who have met you, your friendly smiling face and interactions Jon, how could you not be happy with yourself and your chosen lifestyle.
We too love our travels and do most of the same things you do, being on the road for about 9 months out of every year, but we still do have a base to come home to.
Being in a "village" means we don't have to worry about lawns (we don't have any lawn anyway) and gardens or house security as we have the best "neighbourhood watch" that ever was. Our neighbours are all rather elderly and sit on their verandahs soaking up the sun so keep a very close eye on things and the comings and goings of those that don't live there.
I hope you can have many more years yet Jon as I hope we do too so that we can enjoy this wonderful land we live in. There is so much to see that it will take another lifetime to see it all........not that you ever do I think.
Well said Jon, enjoy every second and give thanks for the ability to be able to do so.
After all, you only get one shot at living, its not a practice session.
Cheers
Dusty
When we left the ex-home over six years ago we drove down to the main road - opened a bottle of champers and then spun a coin to see "Where to next" It's been a great life ever since.
John
thanks for your comments ..
The one thing I probably neglected to mention, was about one's "Comfort Zone" ..
Thats what we all live by whether we realise it or not. It becomes more evident when we become challenged by outside influences .. Firstly, once we take a partner and share comfort zones .. then maybe we lose that partner, be it mutually or otherwise and we then build up our defences again to move forward .. thats just one scenario and life is full of them. Each pertinent in its own way in our own life existance ..
but, we each must be totally happy in our own comfort zone to move or change it .. so be happy with yourself then there's more chance others will be happier with you ..
its all good, eh !
Jon
Hi Bill ..
Gotta say that I did experience that in a different scale too .. I was born and raised in New Guinea and after settling down in Oz in a permanent situation in 1966, there was quite a adjustment to "civilisation" .. as its called ..
Jon
Gotta agree with you Ma .. but next timeI might come back as a green tree frog. I dont now how many I've found on my MH when I travel .. must be a cheaper means of travel with less maintenance ..
Jon
Very well said Jonathan. You rig is perfect for fulltime 'life on the road'. You have everything you need.
I don't know if I could do it, but that's the beauty of it, we all have the choice.
If you're still in the area on the 3/10, come up to Jacobs Well and have a cuppa with Gubby and Mrs Gubby, and whoever else turns up.
-- Edited by Beth54 on Sunday 25th of September 2011 10:39:10 AM
I just read your post and all the replies and it was sooo refreshing. Thankyou for making my day, I feel a lot happier having read it. Cheers. Sharon & Gary
I don't know that I can really add anything, already been summed up by you and others here.
Thanks Jon,a well written post and a joy to read.
G'day Jon....
Them's my sentiments exactly!!!
More on that soon......Watch this space!!!
.. I didn't expect such a great response .. but I'm so pleased to see it .. thanks all ! ..
Now I must try to improve the smile on the face of this Ratfink (avatar) ..
Jon
you have travelled a long way, in more ways than one, since we first met you.
John and Anne
Gidday Jonathon, I to enjoyed your thread very much, and the reply's as well. you come across as a very happy and content man, and this is what IT is all about, depite this crazy world we live in, Just keep doing what your doing, It's working ??? dazren
well said Jon.. and speaking of ones comfort zones... going 'bush' I feel at home its the getting there with me... to do so I go outside my comfort zone but when I am there its wonderful ... if I did not push myself to go I would never leave the house.
I always say, "I'm on the road, and where I'm parked is where I live". Always sleep in my own bed.
It's a good life, and it shows we don't need all those rooms in a building on a block of dirt to prove anything, or to have a "nest".
I can absolutely relate. While I'm parked up for a while, I can still do more kms when I feel the need to, but hopefully I'll get regular work so I can do the travel without the van. I carry my own camp bed too and I sleep well.
B-T Welcome to the GN's. Nice to see you here. Tells us a bit about yourself and your nomadding plans?
Les and I (Donna) are organising a journey together in about a year's time. We don't know where it will take us or even how we will share our comfort zones together but I'm sure that we will meet many wonderful oldies (I mean that politely of course) along the way. If we were to set goals for our journey together it would be to finally take time for ourselves. We have each raised our own families. Les still has his two adult sons living with him and I have three of my four children, and one grand-daughter, living with me. So we feel that the only way to make them branch out and begin their lives is for us to run away from home. The open road is the answer. There is so much out there to experience, so many experiences to re-energise our tired hearts, so many positive and happy people like yourself to meet. I can't wait....12 months seems such a lifetime away but I know it will go fast, as time always does when you get older.
Donna
your very welcome, Les & Donna ..
The big "wait" can be a lot smaller Donna .. and thats to make the "waiting" an experience of its own .. The learning curve is not there to confuse you, but to give you the opportunity to step outside your current comfort zone to do and learn things you frst thought impossible .. Thats the best preparation 'cause thats how it will be for you ..
enjoy the time
Jon
.. you're so right Tony .. we are lucky to be able to be different .. enjoy mate!
Jon
As said above -- you've expressed it so well, Jonathan! John & I have been almost three years on the road so far, still consider ourselves 'newbies' in some ways, but have never looked back. We also consider ourselves to be sooo lucky, and both are quite sure that we'd never feel quite comfortable living in a stationary dwelling! (We tried it briefly at a house-sit in NSW -- couldn't wait to move back home!
)
Travel safe!
Andrea
I feel very much the same Andrea .. Staying with family or friends is what I do when travelling, but prefer to stay in my 'home' .. although being invited to stay in their homes by my lads ..
Usually after a week or so, its time to get back on the road ..
Jon
Hi Johathan, well said thats exactly how we feel been on the road 5 years now everything we own is with us. Hubby loves "when the lawn needs mowing we move on" or " if the neighbours are a pain we move on" who could wish for more. In Adelaide at the moment both of us been in hospital in the last couple of weeks but got great nieghbours here so i wasn't too worried being on my own, got that almost all sorted then we head west in about 5 weels can't wait, will miss grandkids here but got 3 more in Perth, life is great.
I agree with you Colsa .. for me it helps to keep me flexible and aware .. so yes .. til I find need to change .. its stays the same ..
Jon
Contact me by PM and we could catch up if you'd like.