You’re not alone! Many people get itchy feet, just as you do. And I’ve noticed it’s usually around the three-year mark when it starts to really set in.

While many jobs require travel, people in the military are the most obvious modern example. This nomadic culture is actually built around a feeling of near constant transition. Family A moves to a base and settles in for three years. Families B, C and D live near them. The kids from family A meet all the other kids in the neighborhood, but family B just got their orders – they left within a few months of family A moving in. Family C left within a year and family D was gone in 2. By the time a new family moved into Family D’s house, Family A is getting ready to move again…

So it’s a constant ebb and flow, and endless series of meetings and departures. What I’ve noticed is that the adults who live like this tend to make long-term friends. They grab on to anyone they have anything in common with and hold tight, working hard to actively maintain the relationships even across distances. But the kids who grow up like this have a tendency to sort of drift along, identifying more with the places they live and their teachers – two things that won’t change right away – rather than their classmates. If you ask someone like that “Where are you from” you’ll get an answer like “When?”. They’re not being a smart ass. They just don’t know how to answer.

When those kids grow up… those are the types I’ve seen living out of suitcases, usually. Moving not because an external force makes them, but because something inside them simply says it’s time. To them transition is normal. Buying a house is strange – they have to keep it up perfectly in anticipation of selling it again in just a few years. And while they can talk to people easily, they don’t have a lot in common with those who haven’t traveled beyond the border of their own little town or village or… They’re active, they’re alert, but they don’t put down roots. It’s a pretty amazing way to live!

I don’t know if this describes you, but at the very least you should know that no, you’re definitely not alone!