# Stuck in place, how do you deal with the itch?



## technotrash (Jun 11, 2016)

So this and last year I decided to settle down a bit, work up some coin. Right now I'm living in a sweet cabin on the beach, making good money at a job I like, living with my partner who I love. 
But man, sometimes, at night, or in the mornings, I just want to rush out the door with a day pack and my thumb stuck out. I know I should stay the course and tie up my loose ends but when I close my eyes I just can't help but see some field in the middle of nowhere America and I'm on my way west or east or whatever it doesn't matter. 

TL;DR: how do you keep it in yr pants?


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## Koala (Jun 11, 2016)

I've been dealing with that same itch since I got home about a month ago...
I come to this site a lot, meet up with traveling friends if they're in the area, and pretty much just fantasize about my next travels all day lol...are you planning on traveling in a bit or are you staying settled for a while still?


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## Deleted member 20 (Jun 11, 2016)

I have been have been struggling with raising a family and lived in the same apt for the last 10 years. I am a natural nomad but my wife is not & needs me around just as I need her & my daughter. I do try to go to as many cross country regional events, concerts where I dont exactly wander but I am out traveling with a time sensitive destination in mind. I have accepted that my days of pure wandering are behind me. These expeditions allow me to travel and attend stuff I want to. Sometimes I will work in cycles and take advantage of the natural lull between jobs to travel longer distances but I still use the same vibe of going to an event and then heading back home. Having a loose open styles job with natural periods of nonwork helps too. Seasonal employment works and or an industry that has natural slow periods and or voluntary lay off time is ideal.

I have also done a lot of non traveling family style activities to get outside and keep busy. We go outside and go hiking a lot in areas that arent all that far from where we live. I once thought only cool places existed elsewhere, often never really exploring my home area for free stuff to do and see. I take bike trips to go out camping and exploring for a few days, etc.

Right now I cant find any work to keep the cycle going, so it sucks. I know that if I take off now without getting my rent back on track then I will soon be forced to relocate. It sucks too to have all the time in the world but no end in sight. Its funny how we can have time or money but rarely the both at the same time. If we are working, things go smooth and then I am like enough is enough. The problem with doing ling term in the same place is that you exploit what little employment resources that may exist. I feel like I have burned many bridges buy coming and going, changing jobs etc. I definitely could benefit from relocating elsewhere but have others to consider.


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## Kal (Jun 11, 2016)

I have tried to stay in one spot but I always get the itch and so I take off. The last time I tried to stay in one spot was in my home state Oklahoma stayed for a few months then got the itch again tried to ignore it but couldn't. I really don't think there is any way to deal with it so I wish you all the luck.


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## Whereamiwhatdoido (Jun 11, 2016)

Personally I recently had those itchy feet, it didn't feel right though, because all I want at the moment is to settle down and form a network, get a girlfriend etc. What really relaxed the stress syndrome was to pack a light backpack and just walk out of town, only walking for a day and half totally sorted me out, took the bus home and contained the itches to not be gone, like always been gone before.


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## Deleted member 20 (Jun 11, 2016)

I think we all view the grass as greener on the other side. I know with me I am in a constant struggle for balance between my inner soul & my outer environment. As an adult with a nontraveling spouse & children; I must compromise. I think that there must be some psychological reason to my wanting to always traveling. Fight or Flight reflex on a slower more involved scale. Maybe I have a fear of responsibility & fear of becoming a sheep in society. Often we read about those who are desperate to get away from negative consequences made from bad decisions or bad luck, usually they are stuck. It is comforting to not have to run away from my life, just because it isnt perfect. I think being stuck is purely a conception & rarely reality. If I want to deal with the consequences I can do anything, go anywhere & be anyone I want to be.

Sometimes by taking a short trip & or being away from your support network do we fully appreciate what/who we have. I think constant wandering gets old but is always available regardless how old we get. Traveling alone & not being in a serious relationship gets lonely. Then again being in a serious relationship can feel constrictive. I have been trying to convert my wife to live in a sort of hybrid life between the stability of stationary life & full time travel. Since she requires a home to feel emotionally secure & I crave the Road we are always at odds. I am not willing to abandon my family to start another life, only to be alone & make them suffer. If we must suffer then we can all suffer together, I guess. Who knows maybe I can convince her to move into a motorhome or relocate to a more off grid type place to achieve more from a stationary/semi nomadic lifestyle.

These are not, new or novel questions. We are all conflicted, I think. How many of us can benefit from having loved ones in our life & a stable homelife & income source. That being said, some of us can certainly go stir crazy with the notion that we have settled for less & compromised our souls so much to the point that we are no longer free. That feeling of being imprisoned surely exists with those who are housed up & off the road. Most of my homelife is that of sheer boredom. The knowledge that my pack is always ready & if that inner turmoil gets to be too much for my personal health & welfare. All I need to do is open that door & walk out. Not to run away but just to get away. 

I think much of the naivete in traveling with young people is the notion that it gonna be long term, full time & indefinite in nature. Being happy, joyous & free, whether traveling fulltime, parttime, seasonally or not often at all most certainly is a yin & yang scenario. I dont have a job atm ,no legal problems, little connection to my local community. What I do have is complacency. I dont want to sound like a quitter in that I am not striving to improve my Life with some internal sense of urgency. The drive is there but through experience I know that that "the grass on the other side" may not even be green at all. I have my basic needs covered atm. My wife receives disability & has a car to get to her many Doctors appointments, my daughter is in school, we get food stamps free health/dental insurance, shutoff protection from our utility providers etc. I get to hit the road once in awhile. I am usually looking for work & struggling to pay for my housing costs. Having a stable home & address enables us to receive the long term benefits that we need to live, and puts my wife & daughters minds at ease. My mind usually feels conflicted & constricted. Being sober helps me have sanity in my life, where i can recognize the good & bad in my life without having to sabotage it all for a different version.

Survival can be complacent. Sometimes Survival is just what is needed & at other times we need danger & risk.

To me, Tue Utopia doesnt exist! We need to find what works for us, find who we want to share it with, where we will be or go. We need to accept our situations to make the best of them or move on & try again. We all need to solve this ancient uniquely personal question ourselves.


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## Art101 (Jun 11, 2016)

Im stuck for at least through winter 2017.I will admit it is due to my own stupidity.I spend time on here,watch some youtube stuff (thanks Wize) and just generally prep for next journey.I talk to my gf a lot about and whats happened on the road.Hell yeah there are times at night I here the phantom train whistle and sometimes the rocking motion that comes from a rolling box.


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## Deleted member 20 (Jun 11, 2016)

I will agree that the train whistle doesnt get any easier over time. Ive been scratching this itch for decades & the sights & sounds of moving freight trains dont make it any easier to live stationary.


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## Free Jones (Jun 14, 2016)

I read somewhere that when your brain is in survival mode it is impossible for negative feelings to have permanence. maybe this is part of the reason traveling feels so beutiful. so maybe consider that either way what ur doing has some biological response to what u will feel. maybe just think about what you would like to accomplish with your time and try not to seperate ur traveling and stationary life. I don't know if this helps. I know for me there was this PTSD like aspect of coming back to visit family in the suburbs after being through some shitty and awsome stuff on the road and I just couldn't handle it, but as soon as I set out again I felt 100% fine. but does that mean I made the right choice or was it just science? so I'm thinking now about ways of life in the future where I have some security but I still have to do everything myself like cabin in the woods type of thing. still have a lot I want to see tho


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## Vulture (Jun 15, 2016)

For a second there, I thought this was about something else...the itch...


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## technotrash (Jun 16, 2016)

Vulture said:


> For a second there, I thought this was about something else...the itch...



I thought about that after I posted, people are going to think I mean opiates (yuck none for me thanks)



Wise thoughts everyone, thanks. ['Specially @highwayman, you still in ma? Let's get a beer someday] 
It's only a few more months now and I get to head out again after 3 long years, I feel as though this time really gave me a chance to set up a stable groundwork to return to when the time comes. I learned a lot from my mistakes last time I was out, and a lot more being home and so i've got a really good feeling about this one.


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## Deleted member 20 (Jun 16, 2016)

technotrash said:


> Wise thoughts everyone, thanks. ['Specially @highwayman, you still in ma? Let's get a beer someday]



YW.  yup Im here in New Bedford. I dont drink anymore & am in recovery but we can grab a coffee some day for sure.


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## I give up (Jul 19, 2016)

I deal with it by slowly freaking out then I self destruct pick a direction and start walking


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## Art101 (Jul 20, 2016)

Lol I been there.Usually involved binge drinking,drug use and waking up on my way to Portland or Spokane.I have been the past master of self destruction.The next trip I am actually planning and doing a lot of research.


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