Nomadic. When Life Travels.
By Courtney Lanctot
The contents will be as follows, if you’d like to skip ahead.
1. Definition of nomadic and my relationship with it.
2. Safety, dating, and making friends.
3. Logistics of how you can do it.
4. Why experience it?
Nomad
/ˈnōˌmad/
noun
1. a member of a people having no permanent abode, and who travel from place to place to find fresh pasture for their livestock. (Read livestock as soul/ spirit/ sanity)
I am a thirty-something Black woman who has been traveling through the American outdoors (mostly solo) for the last 6 years. This last year I have been completely nomadic. For most of this time, a week wouldn’t pass before I asked myself, “Courtney, what TF are you doing?”
Have you ever felt in your gut or soul that if you didn’t do something fantastical then the life you are supposed to live will never be? That is why I am here, side eyeing this adventurous life I have been living.
I used to be solely focused on international travel. Collecting passport stamps was what I worked for. I joined a few group trips through Europe, South America, and Mexico. My first solo trip abroad was to Spain for 2 weeks in November 2016. I loved it but it was too late. The American outdoors already had its hooks in me. Summer 2016, after a breakup, a close friend invited me camping with his family. My normal response had always been, “Na, we don’t do that shit”. For perspective, he and his people were not what most Black folks assume to be outdoorsy, he was hood, Detroit culture Black. He loved the outdoors and I needed the distraction. So I went, and I was hooked on the outdoors from then on.
I felt my soul call me to my first solo camping trip to the Colorado wilderness in October 2017. So much of that weekend I spent praying to survive and wake up with all my toes. (I was not prepared, it was colder than expected and my toes were freezing.) The challenge and “surviving” this experience was absolutely hilarious in hindsight and ignited a new version of me that has continued to snowball. I wasn’t far from a town and realistically there was no real danger but I had no idea at the time. My first solo nomadic experience was from Denver to Oregon, the entirety of California coast, Mexicali, MX and finally Arizona during a 2 month journey from mid December 2018 into February 2019. It completely opened me up to the possibilities of who I can be and what there is to experience around me, within a few hours drive or a quick flight into nature. (badass!)
After this first trip, I would take 1 to 5 week nomadic camping trips around the West Coast. Utah and Arizona were my go-to’s. If you want to find God, go to the desert. If you have never been, it’s the opposite of nothing as most would assume. In its vastness, the incredible and seemingly impossible canyon structure and colors instill that life is bigger than you could ever imagine and that literally, anything is possible. New Mexico’s mountains always take my breath away. Idaho has an incredible amount of natural hot springs all around the state. These naturally forming pools are hot enough to soak in and are surrounded by nature, often on the edge of a river. I started taking groups of Black folks there bi-annually now because of how unique of an adventure it is.
My spirit really loves a challenge so being fully nomadic was obviously going to happen. In truth, until recently, I have not really enjoyed it. Not because it hasn’t been super dope but because I have realized how deeply I need roots and a home base in order to be fully present in whatever adventure calls.
How I originally planned to experience it was to spend 1-2 months in New Orleans come November 2021, then spend a month in each region of Florida to experience beautiful weather for their winter and beach vibes. From there I would enjoy my summer in a place that usually has cold winters and finally decide where I wanted to home base by fall 2022.
Life often doesn’t go as planned. My dad passed August 2021 leaving me some responsibilities which required me to be more present at my childhood home in Anchorage, Alaska. Did I mention I grew up in Alaska? From August 2021 to October 2022 I would go between Alaska, Denver and New Orleans, with a few days to a few weeks adventuring through Alabama, California, Georgia, Virginia, New Hampshire, and others. The things I have seen, experienced, and felt have been life altering.
Did you know Alabama has caves you can explore?
Let’s talk about safety
No matter how you travel, my biggest tip in safety will always be to follow your intuition and don’t be afraid of being rude if your gut says to leave immediately. It doesn’t matter if you are a man or you know someone there or “they seem nice”. I have never been in an unsafe situation because I will absolutely leave without hesitation if something doesn’t feel right.
Share your location with at least 5 people close to you. Why 5? People have lives. People will forget to check up on you. If you share it with 5+ trusted people and you were to disappear, someone will notice.
I have never personally been harmed or bothered. I attribute it mostly to sticking to myself and following my gut. There have been a handful of places where I was getting crazy stares by white folks to which I will usually finish what I am doing and head out. This has been truly rare.
Community and Dating
Dating has been its own adventure. Experiencing different versions of Black men based on where I am, where they are from, the location I am in, etc etc, I have been witness to all versions and that is something I will be entirely grateful for when I do find my partner. Due to the way I navigate in order to feel safe as a solo Black woman traveling, unless I am staying put for longer than a week, I don’t usually bother to make new friends. If you look at how things naturally flow in meeting someone, hanging out and the follow up often takes a weeks timespan. If I am sitting still for a week, I will update Tinder/ Hinge to my location and see who is around. I have met some incredible men and people as extensions. Bonus! It also has allowed me to explore the area like a local. Some of my most entertaining experiences traveling have been meeting someone from a dating app and experiencing life from their perspective.
Let’s talk about friends. “Do you wanna hang out?’ are literally words I have gotten comfortable with asking as I try to make new friends along this nomadic journey. It’s weird trying to make friends as an adult. *chuckles in reflection*. However, think about how much the last really great friendship you made changed your life. Making friends while traveling is the ultimate bonus experience.
Let’s Talk Logistics
So, you’re probably wondering what it logically looked like, huh?
What to do with your place-
When I would leave for a week to those couple months, I would rent my place out on Airbnb. It would usually balance out but a few times I made a profit. It was great to not have to come out of pocket for rent AND adventure for temporary nomading. If you are not renting out your place, have a friend look after it, maybe set up a smart doorbell or camera. It’s good to know what’s happening at your place while you’re away.
Logistically how I sleep and “live”, I split my time between Airbnb, car camping, and staying with friends (or this past year at my childhood homes). I loved each for their own vibes.
Car camping was great because I could be in the middle of nowhere in nature where I go for my mental wellness and where I feel closest to God. I camped next to the ocean multiple times, falling asleep and waking up to the waves crashing. Sleeping in the desert was so quiet but also dark. So dark I could often see the Milky Way vividly. I prefer car camping because I can be inconspicuous while traveling but other options look like renting, making or buying a conversion van, an RV, a trailer, etc. The options are pretty endless.
Staying with friends was such a beautiful way to reconnect with friends from different parts of my life, exploring who I have become since then. I got to see the variations in our journeys and the beauty in each. Some friends let me stay on their couch, some had a spare bedroom for me, a few let me stay at their place while they were out of town. With one friend, I even helped film a pilot for his TV show in Oakland.
The way I would often Airbnb was to find something cute with high ratings and since it was just me, I would book a room with a private bathroom, guest suite, or tiny home in the home backyard. It is an inexpensive way to afford to Airbnb regularly.
What about work-
This obviously depends on what you do, your skills, and how creative you want to be. A benefit of COVID is that many people started working from home. On that first 2 month nomadic journey I was still a website designer. I had to get creative to find balance between adventuring and working. I would stay near a city or town with a coffee shop I could work from, stay with a friend or at an Airbnb from Monday to Thursday for consistent wifi. Thursday night to Monday morning I would adventure the area or to the next destination. Figuring a schedule that works for you is actually part of finding your freedom.
If you work a trade or skill, you may have to get more creative. I was getting a facial in New York chatting with the esthetician about how she could travel more intentionally. I suggested she sought out wellness retreats somewhere dope like Sedona to offer her services.
We are conditioned to fit certain boxes and only those boxes, especially us Black folks. Not just from society but from our own families and communities. Traveling reminds you that you’re more than any box.
Why do this?
When you’ve only experienced those you grew up around your perspective is limited. Traveling for a weekend, a week, or even two you often never leave vacation mode. You don’t have to do this full time to experience the freedom of it but you do have to immerse yourself in the local culture or land and be present to how life unfolds to you.
I won’t be doing this forever, I try to experience and explore as much of the American outdoors as possible. Unfortunately, a lot of these places won’t be around or accessible forever. I have gone back to places I loved and found them either ruined by people trashing the place or closed off from public access. To be any version of nomadic is to choose to trust your soul and live this life in the freest way your Black ass can. It looks different for everybody. Everyone has their own wants and needs for their experience. You just have to start.
I mentioned before, I facilitate group trips to some incredible places. I also offer curated itineraries for those who want to adventure through nature but don’t know how to plan it, as well as consulting on adventures you are planning yourself. You can find more about these 3 offers at TheUnpopularBlack.com. You can find my work (essentially this) on Instagram @TheUnpopularBlack and my personal Instagram @TaterTotBot. Please let me know if this interests you, if you have thoughts or want me to elaborate on anything mentioned here.