Going Home After Full-Time Travel

Going Home After Full-Time Travel

In this episode of TravelEssary, we’re unpacking what it feels like to come home after two solid months on the road. As a family, we don’t always see this the same way: some of us thrive in the rhythm of full-time travel, while others are more than ready to sink back into the familiar comfort of home.

We talk about what “home” feels like after being gone so long, the sameness, the sweetness, the strange in-between of stepping back into old routines. We share the joy of seeing friends and family again, the unexpected emotional tug of returning to a stationary life, and the practical realities that hit the moment the wheels stop rolling… yes, including the financial ones.

We wrap up with the reminders that keep us grounded: the freedom we find on the road, the clarity full-time travel gives us, and the excitement building as we look ahead to the next adventure. Coming home changes you, but so does leaving again.

Transcript

  We're the Essary family and we're exploring America one destination at a time. On today's episode of TravelEssary we are going to talk about going home after full time travel. Let's chat. Welcome and thank you for joining us today. Today I have my son as a guest. Justin, greet your people. Hello mates. So today Jeremy is not invited with us because Jeremy has a different view about going home than we do, and I will share what Jeremy's view is, but it's definitely different than Justin and i's.

That's for sure. Yeah, so Jeremy is the main reason we came home for the holidays. So it is full fledged December, right in the middle of all the Christmas celebrations, and I didn't particularly want to come home after full-time travel. I really wanted to stay on the road and just come in for the special events like Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, things like that.

But Jeremy was very adamant about coming home. And he views it very differently than Justin and I do because I have to say that I still wish we were on the road. What about you, Justin? There are pros and cons to both. Yeah, I mean, I definitely agree with that. I just feel like everything has. Kind of went back to exactly how it was before we left.

Like I feel like we didn't even leave and everything feels exactly the same, which makes me sad because I don't want things to be the same. Right. what it's like coming home after full-time travel. Now we have only been full-time travelers for two months, so that might be a big part of the equation of what we're gonna talk about today is because we just, we just haven't been gone very long.

I think if we were gone longer, and then next time we come back home, Justin and I, we might feel different. Yes, I do agree that after probably like a year, like from next time we come home, I, I do think I'll actually enjoy it. I mean, I'm not like, I'm not enjoying it this time.

It's just different. . I mean, I guess they're a little bit different, but it's mostly the same. And for me it was when we were coming down the road to where we live, we were going down our street and getting closer to home. I just had this gut punch feeling of we never left, and it was all a dream.

That's not true, but that's what it felt like. That's , how my body was reacting. It was like you didn't actually have full-time travel. , You just dreamt it up.

So being home after full-time traveling. Justin, what does feel different? Possibly the people that we came back to. Mm-hmm. Uh, actually quite a few of them has changed. How so? Well, uh, one of them got engaged. Oh yeah. , I mean that is something that is every time we come back home, , people will have progressed further in their lives. People will have gotten. Engaged and married and graduated and had babies and new jobs and yeah, we miss out on a lot of that, but it, I think it's cool to come home and see how everyone has grown and changed.

What's something else that's different? Nothing much really. Instead of it being different, it feels like. For me anyway, that I'm, I'm going back to like the old ways before we left, if that makes sense.

Exactly. And that's the part that makes me sad. Yeah. Yeah. I would much rather be on the road, but I'm sure , the next time we come home, it'll be almost a year later and I'm sure at that point I'll be ready to come home. See everyone and visit and spend that time. I think it's just because, we didn't leave in October and we're already back by December, so it just feels like, like my mind's trying to tell me it's done.

It's over. You're home now. And I'm like, no, I don't want vacation to end. You know, like anytime you come back from a vacation, whether it's a two day vacation or a two week vacation and you come back home and you're just kind of like, blah, it's over like. I don't want it to be over. Well, it's not over.

Don't worry. I, when, when are we leaving? We're leaving again in two weeks. What? After, uh, Christmas or, yeah, three days after Christmas. I gotcha. , It has given me that feeling of didn't really do it and you're already done kind of a feeling. I have to keep telling myself that's not true.

That's not true. We're not done. We're not done. But that's like what mine keeps trying to tell me. So let's talk about the pros and the cons of coming back home after full-time travel. We'll start with the cons 'cause I always like to end on a good note. So the cons . I guess this is a pro and a con, but yes, how everyone changes and you realize you've missed all of that.

Like you weren't able to be there for those experiences that other people are having, like that you love and you want you care for. Actually, I do think that would be more of a pro for me, but continue. You think that's more of a pro you don't wanna, because it has something to say instead of it just being like, ah, nothing happened to me.

And so it's like, oh yeah, this happened while you were gone and this happened while you were gone. Which is a better conversation for at least on the guy side. Okay. So you view it as a pro, as in when you get back you can be like, Hey, this gives us something we can talk about and I get to celebrate with them at a different time.

Yes. Okay. Okay. So some more cons of coming home , after full-time travel, other than just feeling blah. , So for us, I don't know about everybody else, but for us, coming back home is actually more expensive than full-time travel. Yeah, it, it really is, which,, probably will blow a lot of people's mind.

But we spend less money on the road than we do when we're at home. 'cause at home we have all of the utilities that come with it. When we're at our home base and we're hooked up, we have utilities and expenses that we normally would not have on the road. That's another kind of coming home. And then another is, although we are home.

Your father and I, we still have all of the same tasks that we have to get done at home, as we do on the road. I have all of the content that needs to be done. Your dad still has to go and do his transporting. We still have to have prep days and maintenance days while we're here, but everyone like needs our time and attention when we're home, which makes things a lot more hectic and stressful as far as getting our stuff done.

I think we were back, what, four hours before people were already asking us to do stuff. Good night. I know within a day and a half of being back, I had three different people say, Hey, I need you to do this. Hey, can you do this? Hey, let's do this.

Just in a day and a half of them taking almost entire days of the three weeks we're gonna be here, or at least several hours a day, like, Hey, I need to do this with you, or we need to do this, or Can you do this for me? So, yes, being home, it takes away the time that we have together as a family, and it takes away the time we have, , for work, for the things that we need to do to keep our finances going because , you know, it's hard for us to say no, which we're still learning.

But we're only back for three weeks, so it makes it even harder to say no because you're like, Ugh, I, I only have the short amount of time to spend with these people and to help them out. So I feel bad if I say no because I'm about to be gone for a year. But yeah, it makes it hard because we're spending so much time doing all of these things for other people, and it's the holiday season and we're not spending as much time together.

As a family, as we do on the road than we do at home. So for me, that's a big major con. 'cause one of the things I love about being on the road is how much time we spend together. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, what, what about you? What do you think is a con to coming home after full-time travel? It doesn't feel like an adventure anymore.

It feels like I'm in like my own backyard again and it feels plain and just. Normal and I don't like normal anymore. And boring. Well, technically too, you are in your own backyard. So like for you, you like to go out every day and go hiking or take a walk, and now that we're home, you can't just step out your front door and go on an adventure because you're stepping out literally into your backyard.

. . So now that you are doing the full-time travel life, you prefer the adventurous feeling? Of course., I legit said that before we leave, that I was excited for the adventures and to meet new people and being back home, I can't do either. Yeah, because , we already know everyone in our circle and it is very hard to meet new people.

We did meet one new person since we came back home. We did the bell ringing and we met that guy. That was over the bell ringing for the Salvation Army or whatever, and he came up there and he talked to us. Um, I think you actually weren't there when that happened, but your dad That is correct. Yeah. Your dad and I got to meet one new person.

But yeah, we're home. Being at home is very, um, lacking in the adventurous category. Any other cons that you can think of, of being home? Um. Other than those two, not right off the top of my head.

So let's talk about the pros of being back home after full-time travel. And I think the most obvious one is we get to see our loved ones. Yep. , We get to spend time with our friends and family that we don't get to see while we're on the road, especially this coming up year when we're gonna be gone for a whole year.

The only time we'll see friends and family is when we come back for special occasions if we're able to, and then if people happen to come and see us, and that'll be it for a whole year. So, I mean, we are trying to soak up time. With friends and family as much as you know, our work and all the busyness that people seem to keep us into will allow.

So what do you think is a pro for coming home other than, you know, seeing our loved ones? Um, that's a harder one to do, mother. It's harder. You can't think of any pros. You can think of a lot of cons, but not any, uh

um. No, I, I might have to think on this for a little bit actually. This is where your dad would have all the input. Let me tell the people what Jeremy would say because he views it a lot differently than we do. So he would have more pros than cons. I feel like you and I see more of the cons and your dad sees more of the pros.

So he would say, um, pro. All of the tools and materials that he needs to do maintenance on the truck, and the RV is already home so he doesn't have to spend money on it on the road. That's true. That's true. That's one of the things that he would say. Another he would say is that whenever he leaves to go up to Indiana and do his transporting, we are here with family and friends, so if anything happens that it's not as big of a deal because we're surrounded by family and friends. , I'm trying to think of all the reasons that he said we had to come home when I was trying to convince him otherwise.

Uh, which is really hard to do. I think those were the, the main two things that he talked about, and obviously, you know, spending the holidays with our friends and family, but it's definitely like a, a bittersweet. Type of feeling when you're coming home after full-time travel because yes, you do get to see your loved ones and your friends and family, but here's the thing, they're all still on their same work and school schedules right up until Christmas, and so we're really not able to see them very much.

Yes, we do get to see them, but it's very briefly during the time that we're here. So, I mean, that's not idea, but we can't do anything about it because not everyone, , works remotely like we do. , I can now think of one more pro. Okay. Uh, go ahead. By being here, I can't wait to be on the road even more. Okay. So it's like, you know, absence makes the heart grow fonder kind of thing. Yeah. , Once we leave. December 28th, you're gonna be that much more excited about leaving.

Well, especially because now you know what to expect while we're on the road. That's true. Yeah. It'll make us appreciate the travel part even more., Like story-wise and just, you know, if I'm talking to people, it's so much more interesting to talk about something.

Like I have only ever seen like once or like something crazy then just to say, Hey, I saw my backyard. And people I always see every day instead of, you know, when I'm on adventures or in the walking in general, I'll see um, autistic man taking a plunge into the lake and we'll talk for a while. It's just the fun stuff.

Yeah. So that happened on our last stop, I think right before we came home. That happened. . Yeah, we just get to experience more when we're on the road. We really do. . We might should have brought your dad in on this conversation 'cause it is a little bit one-sided. Just a tad bit. But we already know what he's gonna say.

So for everyone listening, he's just gonna be like, no, it was the best idea to come home. But you know what? Since we have been home, which we've been home almost a week now. He even mentioned the other day that we may not come back the next holiday season, like not for weeks at a time. We may come in for the day or a few days, but he talked about us not coming in for like a full month or so, like we are doing this time.

 . Maybe he's starting to lean towards our side. And you know what? The funny thing is? What? We're here more than he is. I know. Which is why I think that we don't like being here as much as he does. Like, I think that's why we're more, can we please stay traveling? Because he is out on the road.

He's gonna be out on the road. Two thirds of the time that we're here. So he doesn't have to just stay here. He still gets to go on his transport adventures whereas we literally are still here in our backyard. , And I really feel like if it had been longer than two months, we wouldn't feel this way.

If we do come home for the next holiday season and stay for three weeks or a month or something like that, I think I'd be okay with it. Yeah, I think in the beginning I would be a lot more excited than I am right now because we'll have been gone for a whole year, but just doing it for two months, it's like giving someone a cookie, letting them take a bite, and then taking the cookie away.

Like that's, that's a weird analogy, but it works. That's what it feels like to me. Like I feel like that's. That's what happened. Someone's like dangling in front of my face and like, you enjoyed all of this and it was so much fun and you got to experience a lot and you got to grow and you got to work on all these things.

I published two books while we were gone. I've been able to do so much. And then it's like, just kidding, you're done now. , And they take it away. That's just what it feels like to me and it makes me a little sad.

I gotcha. Also, this is not just us complaining, but like, legit, this is how we're feeling about this. Yeah. This is how we feel it. It makes me wonder, um, for those who full-time travel, if you are a full-time traveler, whether it's in an RV or whether you're traveling around the world, backpacking, do you feel this way?

Let us know. Do you feel this way? When you come back home? Are you more excited? Is it more of a bittersweet. Type of thing or do you just not go home? When was the last time you went home? Like how long do people go as full-time travelers before they come back home? I have so many questions. I need to talk to someone who's been doing this for a long time and interview them and ask them all of these questions.

'cause I, I genuinely want to know these answers. Feel like most people when they come back from a vacation, they feel sad about it. Maybe not everyone. I guess if you don't have good vacations and not that full-time travel is a vacation for us because we are still working. Our rear ends off, you know, to make a living and to make things work so that we can full-time travel.

I've been telling people this whole time it's not a vacation, it's not a vacation. Travel, not vacation. They are two different things. But now that we're back home, I'm like, man, that sure felt like a vacation. Yeah. Yeah. Legit. , I don't even understand the difference quite myself.

Uh, but I've told everyone else that, yeah, we came back from vacation a little bit. We're gonna go back on the road after a while. You know, it's how it is. You've been using the word vacation too then. So. For us, for your father and I, vacation is more like you don't have to cook, you don't have to do laundry.

You're not having to worry about working and all of that stuff. But we are still doing all of the normal day-to-day tasks that it takes where a family to function. We are still doing laundry. We still cook, we're still working. Although our jobs do look different than most people's, we still work.

Yes. We don't have to do it as much as everyone else. And a big part of that reason is because we have very few finances that we have to worry about right now. And then two, we get to pick our own schedule and that's really nice. But we are still working. So we say yes, we're traveling, but it's not a full-time vacation.

Hmm. My definition is different. Hold on, I'm gonna Google it. You're gonna Google the definition. I'm gonna, I'm gonna Google the definition of vacation. What is your definition before you Google it? Uh, a vacation is someplace that's not home. So on a technicality, visiting grannies would be a vacation. Well, so would going to Walmart?

Yes. Which is a nightmare, not a vacation. Well, no one said it was a good one. 

What does Google tell us about vacation? The exact definition. 'cause apparently it's important to this conversation. An extended , period of leisure and, recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling. Another one would be the action of leaving something one previously occupied.

 So your father and I take like the beginning of it leisure and recreation, which is only part of what we do while we're fulltime traveling. So I guess we're. Full-time travelers, part-time vacationers?

I would say yes, something like that, because it's definitely not a full-time vacation, but after coming home, it felt like a full-time vacation. It didn't feel like it while we're traveling, but now that we're home, it. Does feel like we did that because my view outside the window where I'm working, my workspace, it was constantly changing and I loved that.

And now I'm getting the same view that I've had for a while. Like I'm back into the same. View of the countryside, which is nice, but it's like it doesn't change. Lights change. It's so weird. It's so weird. So before all the traveling, I was kind of nervous 'cause I'm like, oh, everything's gonna change. And then we went traveling.

I'm like, oh, everything changed. And then we're back. I'm like, oh, nothing's changing. Yeah. So now you've, you're addicted to that nomadic life that change. Yeah. I like the change now. I look forward to it now, which is weird to say, but true. Yeah. Well, I'm glad you feel that way since we're traveling. I can tell you before we traveled, uh, it, it was mixed.

It was mixed. You had mixed feelings. I had mixed feelings. But now that we are traveling, you prefer the traveling? Yes. Yeah. I've seen both sides of the coin. I prefer traveling. It has been really fun. Even your sister, people ask her, , have you been having fun while you're traveling? And she's like, yeah.

, We've been having a good time. It has been really nice just to go out and just do something new. As an 18-year-old who has got to experience two months of full-time travel, who is now home for a little bit.

Summarize that for us really quickly of what that is like.

It's weird. It's weird. It's weird. Okay. Because everything was changing. There was an adventure almost every single day. There was people, the people, oh, goodnight mother, the people. Yeah. We got to meet a lot of people and talk to a lot of people. Yeah, but everyone was different and I loved it.

Like I met some, I met some weird people, and I met some good people. I met some people that were doing some crazy stuff. Like to me it's the people. . It has been really good. Meeting people and , we have made some pretty good friends just in the two months of traveling.

And it makes me that much more excited once we hit the road again, of who else we're gonna get to meet, what else we're gonna get to do, what else we're gonna get to experience. So I think a good summary is yes, coming home is so sweet because you get to see people's faces that you love and care for.

But it also makes the traveling that much sweeter because it makes you  📍 realize what you have when you're on the road. A hundred percent agree. Yeah. So if you wanna hear more about full-time travel life,, make sure that you stay tuned and keep listening every week to our podcast. Thank you for joining.