Nomad

By: Andrew Slaton

Sample article from magazine NOMAD: Issue 2

When asked what the hardest part about being a full-time nomad is, Genevieve Jahn, 38, responded, “Literally the first response that popped in my head was ‘being single.’ I guess a couple living on the road might say ‘living in close quarters with another person’ but while I have no qualms about bumping into someone in a small space, I think that being a woman on the road alone is just so much more exhausting, than if I were to be traveling with a male companion or if I were a solo male nomad. From fielding sexual harassment and condescending and sexist comments on the daily basis, to having no one to share the chores, expenses, maintenance and responsibilities with, and let’s not forget the trials & tribulations of trying to start a real relationship on the road, all the extra stuff that women deal with in the world, is intensified when you’re this free spirited nomadic wild woman out in the world alone.”

I met Genevieve as we crawled our way up the Eastern Sierra, on the increasingly famous highway 395 in California. She was camped out near Mono Lake. Genevieve is vibrant and beautiful… self assured, and independent. Her travel companion, a rescued Husky named Sailor. In spite of living on the road for nearly four years now (since September of 2015), she doesn’t romanticize the rewarding, yet difficult lifestyle.

 “I miss home-making, cooking all the time in a kitchen that I don’t have to pack up, storing heaps of fresh & frozen foods, designing & decorating a serene space big enough to fill with all the things I form sentimental attachments to and a place that my friends can stay when they come visit.”

 Life on the road can be less comfortable than traditional living. Genevieve doesn’t pull any punches. But she recalls the deep longings that have brought her to this point, living in 55 square feet of a 1985 Toyota Bandit, she affectionately named Willy Rose after her grandmother.

 “Although I spent 35 years in one state, the only constant in me has been the need for change, the need to learn by experiencing different places, people & cultures and the need to spend time in beautifully wild places, surrounded by beautifully raw people.”

 When I asked, why, why the nomad lifestyle, she replied, “Freedom and a low cost of living. The freedom is kind of a given but very few realize how easy it can be to save money by living so small. People often think us nomads live off savings but I’m the kind of nomad that socks away all the extra cash I have at the end of paying each month’s bills, which is pretty darn low. Low enough that I’ll never rent again, because it seems like throwing money away, at this point.”

She wears a big, beautiful native artifact around her neck. I asked her the significance. “My Native American spearhead (which I turned into a necklace) was found by and passed down to me, by my grandmother on my mom’s side, my Mema, Wilhelmina Rose Apuzzo. She found the spearhead at the farm in Indiana, where she spent summers as a child, and she, through her stories of travel love & adventure (including the story of jumping hand-in-hand with my grandfather from the top deck of a burning sinking ship), instilled in me a sense of yearning for creating my own stories. She passed away in 2006, but I always feel she is with me, so I named my Bandit ‘Willie Rose’, after her.”

When we meet fellow nomads, I’m always curious about how they make a living. I can definitively say that every answer is distinctly different.

 “Originally, I went on the road when my full time employer technically fired me as a salaried employee and re-hired me as a remote contractor. I could work anytime, from anywhere, so I did. The remote work fizzled out, after about a year and a half, so I sought out seasonal work, in one of my favorite spots and where summers wouldn’t be too hot for my husky. I’m about to start my third season at that same (now more than) seasonal gig, while again taking on contract work from my previous employer. Both jobs are in business development, of some capacity, which stems back from my previous experience in Marketing & Development. However, while I’ll be making double the annual income of last year, by working two jobs this year, I’ll still make only a fraction of what I used to make in a full time career. So sacrifices are definitely made in order to work less overall.”

 When asked how long she plans to do this, she candidly told me, “Well, when I started, I said ‘one to two years’ and since then, I’ve kind of stopped making plans. My goal is to sustain a nomadic lifestyle seasonally, for as long as I live, but to eventually create a home and eco-educational haven for travelers somewhere in the wilds of the Eastern Sierra Nevada, where I can spend summers hosting to other nomads in the only place to ever feel like home and winters continuing to be a nomad myself.

 It is possible to live a normal functioning life as a full time nomad. You can hold onto regular jobs while still maintaining your freedom and the ability to escape the rat race. It’s not for everyone, but giving up a few conveniences & things can bring so much beauty & happiness into a life of simplicity.”

You can follow Genevieve at ladyadventures.com and on instagram @joie_de_vieve