Is there something like a resident nomad? Does staying in one place for some time make you less „nomadic”. If being a nomad is only defined by one’s physical travel then we’re about to loose this mark-up. Despite our decision to stay put in Uzès for a longer period of time we still consider ourselves as nomads. We rediscover the joy of diving into daily routines e.g. going to the same coffee shop every morning, sipping on a Belgian draft beer at Le Vieux Cafe in the late afternoon, or chatting with the Australian neighbor and his dog that we meet (almost) every morning when we take Joiz for a walk.
I wish that all those „patriots“ dreaming their nationalistic dreams would remember how complicated and difficult traveling and exploring will become again if they succeed. When I moved to France in 1984 it took months to take all the administrational hurdles. All kind of documents were required to get the residence permit which you only got if you already had a working permit which again was only given to you if the employer could prove that no national did qualify for the job. The whole process was very time consuming and expensive. In a connected word with a rapidly changing society going back in time won’t solve any of the current problems.
The same people that decry globalization (because they consider this as the reason for their personal misery) are the ones that line up at Primark to get their hands on a 4€ Shirt that was manufactured in Pakistan, shipped with a Chinese container ship to a Dutch port from where it was transported to Germany by a self employed Romanian truck driver working or a Polish company just to be sold in a warehouse owned by Saudi investors and leased by a British company .
We do value the luxury of temporarily settling down without a lot of paperwork and meet with people from all around the world that live here as well. I like the French president and his focus on keeping Europe united despite all the problems the EU obviously has. We will try our best to integrate into the local community, speak the language, dive into the French culture and remain nomads by heart (until we hit the road again)
One Life. Live It!
Live can be a bit “shrimpy” down here 🙂
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