Moving Abroad: Coping with a Lack of Roots through Community and Routine
Although I have had stints of being a digital nomad, I definitely don’t consider myself nomadic. I consider myself an ex-pat looking to be an immigrant somewhere lol. Truthfully, I’ve never felt as if I wasn’t rooted. To be rooted, for me, isn’t designated to a place, but rather a sense of self. I’m always deeply rooted wherever I go because I know who I am, who I am evolving into and I move in alignment with that knowing. I have, however, felt “unsettled”. As a type-A, Capricorn introvert, I’m definitely a home-body and I like routine. Even when I’m nomadic, I quickly create a routine for myself. So when I feel “unsettled” I know that I need to look outward for support and community. It requires effort and participation in the world and a community to develop a sense of belonging, familiarity, “settledness” and perhaps for some “rootedness”. I’ll also add that my friends and family travel (and live abroad) so I don’t feel as if my community, my people, or my belonging is ever tied to a single place.
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