Rolling stone no more

Adieu, digital nomad life, hello homebody lifestyle

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Hello friends,

I’m now back home in Kuala Lumpur after my sojourn as a digital nomad in Penang, feeling grateful to have had a taste of a lifestyle that I’ve always dreamed about and amazed that I had even pulled it off in the first place.

My return to “reality” was dramatic. After delaying my flight due to floods in Selangor, I finally got home, only to get stuck at the side of the road after my bro’s car broke down a km from the airport near midnight. That signalled the start of a hectic, mad two weeks.

I spent most of my Christmas break signing the rental contract of a lovely apartment on top of a hill, and then frantically fixing up the place up while moving furniture from three locations. (PS: Will so do an apartment tour on my blog soon!)

I enjoyed my digital nomad experiment, but it made me realise that a permanent nomadic lifestyle was not for me at this stage of my life. Come to think of it, I’ve been nomadic since 2012.

I first moved to Australia, where I bounced from home to home almost five times in 3 years. When I returned to Malaysia, instead of moving back to my apartment, I continued renting it out and began bouncing around a series of rented apartments, AirBnbs and hotels, sleeping on furniture I didn’t own, living with clutter I didn’t want.

While I didn’t move from country to country like an Instagram digital nomad, I have not had a fixed address for more than 2 years since 2012.

Pandemic 2020 and 2021 gave millions the chance to experience the digital nomad life. And I am burrowing my roots into the ground instead. Typing this from my table with a view of the hills, I have no regrets.

It’s time to stop moving. It’s time belong somewhere.

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What they said

“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” — Maya Angelou

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3 reads to inspire

1. The A-Zs that rocked 2021: New digital nomads — the pandemic gave these Singaporeans the chance to work and play around the world

2. Rhonda Hetzel’s blog made me long for the simple pleasures of home — watching the clothes dry on my balcony, cooking my lunch in my kitchen, and living the simple, sustainable lifestyle that makes my heart sing.

3. What does home even mean anymore? Digital nomads share what they think about “home”

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What I’m watching

I’m the sort of person who finds it relaxing to watch a miniseries about a post-apocalyptic world where a flu virus wipes out 99% of the human population … while living in an actual pandemic. Your mileage may vary.

It may seem strange to recommend this series when the theme of the newsletter is home, but this theme resonates throughout the series. The main protagonist of the show, Kristen, doesn’t believe she should set up base and settle somewhere. Instead, “home” is the “wheel”, the road around Lake Michigan, where she and a group of travelling actors have roamed for nearly 20 years. For others, “home” is an airport they were stranded in when the deadly flu hit the world, and they would defend it to the death.

Highly recommended.

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Journal prompt

What is home to you?

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May you have a relaxing weekend, wherever home is for you. And to my Chinese readers, Happy Chinese New Year!

Liz