By Karli Vezina
With the increase of people working from home, the ability to travel while working is becoming possible for many. In his new book, The New Nomads: How the Migration Movement is Making the World a Better Place, Felix Marquardt said the ideas behind nomadic philosophies go back to ancient times. He identifies being nomadic as "the urge to migrate, to quest, to go on a journey,” or to answer the call of the wild, if you will.
Back in the day 12,000 years ago, nomadic people roamed the Earth in tribes and that was normal. Migrating to follow animals and seek shelter from season to season was common and staying put in one town or village is relatively new in comparison.
The nomadic Scythians of Greece from the 5th century BC were heralded as elite warriors with sophisticated weaponry. They lived in wagons and left no trace of themselves when they left. 12th century Mongols were another tribe of super nomads who gained the largest land empire in history at one point with claims on land from southern Russia to southern China. Another formidable group, but these were seen as rebels by their neighbours because they were against the forming of state lines.
Historian and author Marie Favereau said there was a lot of bias against mobile communities throughout history because their sedentary neighbours feared them. We still see discrimination and prejudice against nomadic tribes today, like the Romani. Marquardt told the BBC these attitudes are changing now, finally. Where nomadic life once had the label of vagrant and hobo, the lifestyle is now seen as “the ultimate status symbol.”
As Chesca Ford, a UK native who took up YouTube and van life with her partner says, "There are alternatives to the script we've been fed.”
Where would you like to wander to, Staker?