Global Nomad

Global nomad refers to people who are living an international lifestyle. They travel from one country to another without a permanent home or job and their ties to their country of origin have loosened. Most of them work in jobs that are location independent such as IT, writing, teaching, and handicraft.

Nomad originally referred to pastoral nomads who follow their herd according to the seasons. Unlike traditional nomads, global nomads travel alone or in pairs rather than with a family and livestock. They also travel worldwide and via various routes whereas traditional nomads have a fixed annual or seasonal pattern of movement, and although pastoralists are professional travellers, they move in relatively limited areas mostly walking or riding donkeys, horses, and camels. Global nomads, on the other hand, travel worldwide.

The modern-day global nomads' lifestyle has become possible because of fast and relatively cheap transportation methods as well as the communication technologies that enable people to connect in real time across wide geographical distances. Global nomads often come from Western countries. They are privileged actors: they have the financial resources to move (either they have savings or they sell their property or they get a pension) or they have the talent needed to set up a small business venture in their new location. Global nomads also hold passports that allow them to move more or less freely.

Global nomads' lifestyle is characterized by high mobility. They might stay in one place for days to months. However, sometimes the term is also used to refer to lifestyle migrants, who travel between their country of origin and their new, chosen home country.

Global Nomads have travelled continuously, internationally, and many years without a permanent home or a job. A book called Free as a Global Nomad: An Old Tradition with a Modern Twist (Drifting Sands Press, Phoenix, AZ, USA, 2012) contain interviews of 30 Global Nomads and information about the lifestyle.