I've called 12 different countries home. Living abroad taught me how lonely freedom can feel.
A frequent traveler reflects on the emotional toll of living in 12 different countries, highlighting the loneliness that accompanies constant relocation. While the lifestyle offers freedom and adventure, it requires the repetitive effort of rebuilding one's life and identity from scratch.
Why it matters
It challenges the romanticized 'digital nomad' narrative by addressing the psychological challenges of rootlessness.
The author, shown while in transit on a train, said that every move feels a bit like starting over. Courtesy of Shannon O'Brien. Throughout my life, I've lived in 12 different countries. The moves are all exciting, and I enjoy my life, but I'm paying an emotional toll, too. I always feel like a foreigner, even when I return home to the US, and that can be hard. She arrived in Malta on a Thursday, and by Friday, we were stretched out on one of the island's pale limestone beaches, watching the water shift from turquoise to deep blue at the horizon. My best friend of 24 years was visiting from San Francisco, where she has lived since we graduated from college.
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