I Don’t Have A Physical Home Anymore. I live In AirBnbs and Its Amazing
By: Kate Conradie
Tags: Life Lessons, Traveling, Travel, Life, Lifestyle

I Don’t Have A Physical Home Anymore. I live In AirBnbs and Its Amazing

We live on the road now

Photo by averie woodard on Unsplash

When this year started I had no idea this is where I would be. Living in Cape Town, South Africa. We planned a very different sort of life this year. And we got different. Just not the different we wanted.

We planned to move overseas. A move we had planned for over a year. And then everything happened this year and so our plans changed.

Instead of travelling the world and immersing ourselves in a different culture, we immersed ourselves in our own unique South African culture.

Instead of taking a flight overseas, we took a car full of all our things to travel around South Africa.

Instead of falling in love with another country, we fell back in love with our own.

We learned to appreciate the things that make South Africa a great place to live.

We rediscovered our own backyard.

View from Lion’s Head (Author’s own)

It has been adventure so far.

We left Johannesburg at the end of August. Oversea travel still banned. We could either move to another flat in our hometown or we could move to another city in South Africa.

We choose the latter.

We made our way to Durban to spend time with family and the great trek from Durban to Cape Town. For two months we have not had a physical fixed home. We have lived in AirBnbs in beautiful Cape Town and it has been wonderful.

I thought I would miss having a home, a fixed address or a place to call our own.

I don’t. I love not having a fixed address. I have a home, it moves wherever I move.

You Don’t Need A Fixed Address To Feel Like Home

A place can feel like a home after a week. Our AirBnb in Bantry Bay feels like our home now.

It is familiar now.

We have our trusted coffee shop down the road and convenient (within walking distance) grocery store. It feels like we belong here now. Like we were meant to live here. I feel safe here.

It does not take long for a strange space to feel like your own.

We don’t own much anymore, our bikes and a couple of personal items strewn around the flat, and suddenly it is our stuff taking up space. And it feels like our flat.

The rest of the stuff, the stuff we did not pick, it feels like we did. The first night felt strange but now we are used to this place.

We Released The Burden Of Stuff

It feels amazing to have less stuff. We only have a suitcase full of clothes, our laptops and our mountain bikes.

We need so little to survive and to live a good and happy life.

It is a lie that the more stuff you have the more fulfilled you will be. The less we have the happier we are.

We shed all our stuff except for the bare essentials. The things we actually needed and not just the things we wanted because it felt nice to have stuff in our flat. The more we got rid of the lighter I felt.

I don’t miss any of it. Not even a tiny bit. There was so little life in our stuff. We create life with our actions and everyday movements. Stuff is only a hindrance, a burden.

Once we got rid of all our stuff we were able to pack our bags and move from city to city. Light on foot.

Life is easier with less. The stuff is only a burden around your neck.

I love the freedom

Perhaps I won’t always feel this way. One day I will want a fixed address. But we are so free now.

My friends complain about their leases, bonds and rent. They have to stay in one place for a year or more. They cannot simply pack their bags and spend a month somewhere.

I love living in different parts of the city. I don’t mind the moving around. I love exploring different areas of the city. When we first got here we lived in Camps Bay. Now we have moved to Bantry Bay. Each different and special. We have found new favourites and local spots.

Although we did not plan this year to be this way, I find myself wondering why I ever wanted to leave South Africa. It is a beautiful country. Breathtaking. There is so much beauty here. So much wonder.

I was eager to leave. To explore the world. Now I am eager to stay and explore this country, my place of birth.

We have found a new adventure. We have found a new place to call home.

Home is where you decide it is and it is where you feel your best.