Sharing stories of nomads during the coronavirus pandemic (Vol. 2)

We’ve been reaching out to our nomadic friends to make sure they are safe, healthy and offered them to share their stories on our blog as everyone’s situation is very different, especially when you don’t have a fixed home. Since we’ve received a few of these stories, we decided to publish every Wednesday. (Make sure to sign-up to our newsletter to get these stories are soon as we publish them).

This week we are sharing two stories. The story of Shoshannah (currently in Arizona) and Eric (currently in Michigan). Through their stories, you will learn about how they ended up where they are today, how they are currently handling this pandemic and what’s next for them.

Shoshannah 

Hi friends! I am Shoshannah and I’ve been a full-time traveler since autumn of 2018 when I sold my house in Europe and hit the road. It’s been pretty awesome so far but of course, that has come to a standstill for now. 

My plan for 2020 was to do the same as in 2019: work in the winter and play in the summer. In the winter months from about November to May I try to find apartments to stay in so that I can hunker down and get work done online, while still having some time to explore and enjoy. Then come spring I go camping and road tripping. This summer I was thinking of driving to Alaska. 

So far this winter I had spent two months in Arizona, two months in California, and was planning to spend another two months in Arizona again before buying a van and hitting the road! I feel very fortunate that my apartment reservations almost perfectly coincided with the COVID-19 global explosion. We could see it happening in Asia at the beginning of 2020, but I guess many of us thought it was similar to SARS or Ebola and that we would unfortunately see devastation in isolated pockets but not globally. I wasn’t worried that it would impact my travel plans. I did have friends and family planning upcoming trips to Asia and so we were definitely watching the news. 

In early March I was visiting family in Los Angeles and that’s when the news started to get alarming for the entire world. Usually when I am in Los Angeles my number one activity is eating all the food in sketchy dives around the city! This time I didn’t eat out at all. At this point I still wasn’t concerned for myself, but my parents are older and I was extremely concerned that I could be a vector.  

I could not wait to get out of the city so I took a short camping trip to Death Valley National Park. No cell service and no crowds, it was really awesome. During those early days COVID was still a situation seemingly happening in pockets: Wuhan, Seattle, Iran. We didn’t know the scope yet to come. I was washing my hands a little more, and social distancing a little more, but not very concerned about myself. No one else seemed very concerned either.

After I left Death Valley and came back to society things had changed! On my drive back I stopped for coffee and the shop would not use my stainless mug. They insisted I use their disposable paper cup. I thought “how dumb”. Little did I know that was the last time I’d go out for food or drink for a while.

A few days later I packed up for my drive to Arizona. I only stopped for fuel and washed my hands like a maniac. When I arrived at the Airbnb I cleaned like a madwoman. Unfortunately this Airbnb was not stocked with lots of supplies like some are. I did find a bottle of Pinesol and used it to clean all surfaces including door handles, light switches and countertops. Then I grabbed my own pillows and blankets and went to bed. 

Since then (March 10) I have been in self-isolation with a few trips to get groceries. I found myself in a strange situation. As I mentioned, this Airbnb was not very well stocked. There were a few cleaning supplies and a few rolls of toilet paper. Usually this is no problem – just hop to the shops and get more! No can do now. I went to the shops the day after I arrived to stock up. No toilet paper. No rubbing alcohol. No bleach. No beans, no rice! And 14 days later I still haven’t found these supplies. I wish the hoarders could have left a little for people like me. However those first trips to the shops I actually found quite funny. The empty shelves made me laugh. People hoarding beans and toilet paper seemed hilarious to me. I laughed my way through the store and found other shoppers to laugh with. It just seemed so absurd.

As a camper I figured I could make do, no TP no problem. I’ll just use my squeeze bottle bidet upcycled from a bicycle water bottle. I joke that I am boycotting toilet paper. And I already had a small box of “camping food” with a few cans of beans and tuna. So I had the basics to survive a week or two, and I was able to stock up on more items. I’m just grateful for wifi and running water!

Of course I am very worried about my family and friends and the world in general. These past weeks I have spent almost every moment lamenting that people are not staying at home and that the US Government is utterly failing to lead. I have exhausted myself trying to convince my parents to stay at home, and I think they kinda hate me. One lovely thing about this is that I was not alone. So many friends and strangers had the same experience struggling with their loved ones wanting to socialize and go about daily life. That made me feel better. I thought I was the only crazy a-hole who was harassing their parents. 

As far as going bonkers in self-isolation, as I mentioned earlier, these months are normally my time to work and focus. I stay home and work long hours online or doing art, and then get off my butt to go on hikes and walks or swimming. I barely socialize. So, I am not doing much differently. Well, actually I am. I cannot focus. I can only work for about an hour or two before getting completely distracted. My normal quiet solitary hikes are now crowded with people and it’s difficult to maintain 6 feet distance. I am concerned they will close the parks here like they have in other states. 

I am very concerned about the US Government response and I expect we will be seeing things get much much worse in the coming days. But as a biologist and nerd I have hope that the global science community will find solutions for us. I have to hold on to that hope. They say science is a religion and I’ve never agreed more. I believe! 🙂 

From an economic perspective, yikes! I make the majority of my income from the travel sector. I will earn no money while this goes on. Luckily I have savings and I’ve been a solopreneur and semi-retired for many years now. I have faith that I will figure something out and I can continue to work even if I am not making income now. But I definitely feel for those who cannot work due to this situation and were living paycheck to paycheck. It’s devastating.

From a nomadic perspective I am also struggling to come to terms with the fact that I may be stationary for the foreseeable future. And that’s a challenge because I then need to figure out where, how and how long. National parks and state parks are closing down and camping isn’t an option. I don’t want to be a traveling vector. My family (and even strangers!) have invited me to stay with them – how sweet people are – but I think staying solo is the safest option so I don’t take the chance of infecting others. Should I stay here in Arizona for the summer and be confined inside during the sweltering days? Should I try to find an apartment in a cooler place for the summer months? Should I wait and see?

In any case I am trying my best to be a good global citizen. Checking in on friends and family all over the world. Staying self-isolated, minimizing trips where I touch anything in public, keeping distance from people when going for walks or bike rides. Trying to stay mentally and physically healthy myself. 

I’m scared of course, but simply thankful for the things we do have. Running water, electricity, wifi, food, shelter and our health.

Eric

How are you doing? In which country are you currently staying? For how long? 

Eric: Hello Mr. NN. I am doing well so far, I just got back to Michigan and am in self-quarantine in my parent’s basement. Initially, I considered getting a hotel or Airbnb to self-quarantine as I was concerned about seeing my parents if I was infected. I instead decided to go straight to my parent’s house after consulting a few medical professionals who determined it would be ok to just social distance for 10-14 days in the same house. So that is the current system we have in place where I am in the basement and they bring me meals but we are staying away from each other. They picked me up from the airport for example and I had gloves and a mask on so being as cautious as possible. 

When and where were you when you realized that things were getting real with regards to the coronavirus? What was the first thing that came to the top of mind for you? 

Eric: Similar to you Mr. NN I do not follow the news. In general, I believe the news does more harm than good, promoting fear and panic instead of informing people of the true facts.

So that being said, up until Friday 3/13 I was not concerned or following updates on the coronavirus situation pretty much at all. Things were business as usual in Bali and it was pretty much out of sight, out of mind for me. But then two things happened, the US travel ban from Europe and I had a Zoom call with my family who let me know that they felt the situation was getting more serious. Shortly after that as well, Malaysia, my next planned destination had a large spike in cases of COVID-19 and they stopped allowing the entry of foreigners. 

My original plan was to be in Malaysia for all of April and May 2020 before returning to the US in June for a wedding. With the situation rapidly deteriorating my girlfriend and I made the tough decision to end our travels early and return to the US. Luckily we received a full refund for our Airbnb in KL.  We also got extremely lucky as we flew through Australia and were on one of the last flights to leave before they banned foreigners from entering the country. (Unsure if that applies to people transitioning through). 

Back in the US, air travel was smooth as the airport was not crowded and my flight back to MI was about 75% full. I feel I got extremely lucky with timing in regards to flying home as I wasn’t in the first wave of travelers heading back to the US so my ticket was pretty affordable and I didn’t have to wait in any crazy long queues or health screen lines. But, I think we booked a ticket early enough before countries and airlines started banning all travel. I am extremely grateful to be able to have made it back to the US and to have a place to stay with my parents to wait for this pandemic out.

What are you most worried about right now? 

Eric: My top concern currently is just hoping I do not have the virus from traveling, and being in multiple airports. I’m not concerned as much about my own health as I am young and healthy but would be concerned if my parents were to contract the virus. 

So that is my top concern right now, praying my parents do not get sick. 

As for other concerns, luckily I have a cash cushion so I am not concerned about finances currently. I am also not concerned about the market, bear markets are natural and I have faith that this will hopefully blow over sooner rather than later and the economy will bounce back stronger than ever, possibly with more remote work opportunities!

Ultimately, where do you go when you live everywhere but nowhere? 

Eric: I’m very privileged and very grateful to have my parent’s house as an option if I need a home base to go back to. It’s nice to have this option for the current COVID-19 situation but on the flip side its also nice as a positive, living this lifestyle and being able to spend more quality time with family!

Mentally, I am doing pretty well. I feel much better being with family. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone during this scary time. I know a few people close to me who lost their jobs or are negatively impacted in other ways. This is definitely a very surreal and scary time, really hoping the world gets a handle on this sooner rather than later so we can start recovering.

I hope everyone stays safe out there and if they were trying to get “home” wherever that might be that they made it there safely. 

Again, stay safe and keep in touch at nomadonfire.com or @nomadonfire on Instagram, the social media channel I’m most active on.

Want to read other stories?

Check out the previous stories we published on our blog:

• Volume 1: James & Emily (Cyprus) & Michelle (Australia)

Do you want to share your story?

We are living in an unprecedented time and we would love to share your story with our audience and connect with our community. So if you are interested to share your story, please reach out to us. (We created a story outline template if you are looking for guidance about what to discuss).