-Part 1
Dreams have a peculiar way of manifesting themselves. Sometimes they whisper to us for years, floating just beyond our grasp, while other times they burst into our lives when we least expect them. Our journey into nomadic life was a bit of both.
I had always harboured a dream of extended travel—selling everything and taking off for a year to explore the world. It lived in the back of my mind as a "someday" dream, one of those things you talk about but never quite reach. Just a month before our lives changed forever, I remember asking my husband when he thought we'd be ready for a sabbatical year of traveling. "Maybe next year," he said, echoing the familiar pattern of our lives: maybe when we finish our studies, maybe when we buy our first house, maybe when we settle in, maybe when we get that dream job. Maybe, maybe, maybe—but never now.
The irony wasn't lost on me. It was like our decision to have our first child—there was never going to be a "perfect" moment. Yet life has its own timeline, and sometimes the right moment finds you.
Our path to nomadic life began, surprisingly, with putting down roots. In 2020, during the first lockdown of the pandemic, we bought what seemed like our perfect home—an old, renovated house that checked all the boxes on paper. I fell in love with the lifestyle it promised: the smells, the forms, the shapes. Everything was there, or so we thought.
But life has a way of holding contradictions. That same year, as I was burning out and seeking therapy—a decision that would ultimately change our lives—my husband was sinking deeper into what would become a nightmare of insurance claims and renovations. Twenty-four claims, endless problems to solve, and a year of stress that eventually led to PTSD. I remain forever humbled by how life can deliver both heartbreak and pure illumination in the same breath, teaching me to hold devastation and bliss simultaneously.
Then came the pivot point. We had planned a month-long vacation in Croatia when, just a week before our departure, city acquaintances approached us about renting our house for 8-10 months while their house underwent renovation. We took a few days apart to contemplate, but the universe's invitation was clear. Should we travel for 8-10 months? The answer resonated in our souls before we could even fully form the question.
What followed was a journey that expanded far beyond our initial timeline. We spent one and a half years exploring, moving from Croatia to the Caribbean, discovering alternative communities and education systems, joining a traveling circus in Guatemala, went through so much inner growth and self discovery on the banks of Lake Atitlan and eventually finding our way to Anahata in Mexico and more learning and growth before we headed back. When we returned to Denmark, it was only to sell our old house—we couldn't see ourselves fitting into that life anymore.
The year 2018 marked our first major transition, selling our initial house and taking time to digest our experiences. But even before we fully understood what had happened, the world inside us had grown too big for conventional boundaries. By late 2022, we knew we needed more. We sold everything, rented out our house for three years, and embraced full-time nomadic life.
Since January 2024, we've been weaving our way through Asia—from Vietnam to Thailand to Japan, then crossing through Bali, Australia, and Malaysia and back in Europe for Christmas. We found ourselves once again contemplating our path at the end of last year. The questions still arise: Why are we doing this? Will we stop? Will we return?
I've captured many of these moments of doubt and questioning in my writing (check out my previous posts, https://www.ivanapetersen.dk/post/do-we-wanna-keep-going) , observing how our movement flows in seasons and circles. Last year, I wished for simpler living, unified slow traveling, and a flowing life. So far, this year has delivered exactly that.
But like all good journeys, ours isn't finished. The road continues to unfold before us, and we remain open to where it might lead. Because sometimes the best destinations are the ones you never planned to reach.
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