This is the continuation of How I Became A Nomad: Part 2. Make sure to read Part 1 and Part 2 first.

Now that I had cleared the biggest hurtle for moving to Colorado, I had to pack and get rid of a lot of stuff. By stuff I mean furniture, clothes, computers, etc.

I think like most Americans I liked having things. My mom is an interior designer so I always had my share of furniture. I had dressers, book cases, desks, and side tables. I also had several computers. I had one very large desk that I had built which had three computers on it. Did I need three computers? Probably not, but I had them.

I also had more clothes than I needed. I always found myself thinking I couldn’t get rid of that shirt or those pants because I may need to wear them someday, just not today.

I guess you could say I was materialistic. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing but had to change if I was going to go to Colorado.

My plan for the move was to take as little as possible so that I could be mobile. I didn’t expect to find a place to live right away, so I needed to be able to sleep in my car or camp out. I had decided that the most important thing for when I arrive in Colorado was to get a job. Then I could find a place to live.

So I had to go from materialistic to minimalistic, and fast. Fast because I was ready to leave as soon as possible.

I decided I needed to make a list of the things I would need so I could travel light. My list consisted of:

  • 3 shirts
  • 1 pair of pants
  • 1 pair of shorts
  • 2 pairs of underwear (don’t judge)
  • 2 pairs of socks
  • 1 pair of tennis shoes
  • 1 pair of flip flops
  • 1 jacket
  • minor amount of toiletries
  • a survival knife (another story about this later)
  • first aid kit
  • watch
  • peanut butter and crackers

There were a few more things but these were the most important. I was able to fit all of this in to a backpack. Besides the things listed I brought a pillow and a sleeping bag.

Now everything else I owned had to go. I probably could have sold everything, or most things, and made a little money, but I didn’t have time for that. So instead I called several of my friends and told them they could come over and take anything they wanted. Almost everything was claimed and the rest I donated.

So now I had dropped out of school and became a minimalist, now I had to say goodbye to all my friends. There was a part of me that didn’t want to say goodbye or even tell everyone what I was doing because I didn’t want to make a big deal about it. So I decided to only say goodbye to my closest friends.

It was Wednesday night and I had said my goodbyes and was all ready to get on the road. My Jeep Cherokee was fueled up and my one bag, pillow, and sleeping bag were in the back.

So I am off to Colorado, but where in Colorado do I go? I decided Denver made the most sense because I could probably get a job there fairly easy. So I was off to Denver only 3 days after returning from the weekend with my parents in Wichita Falls.

To be continued… Read Part 4


Related Posts:
  1. How I Became A Nomad : Part 4
  2. How I Became A Nomad : Part 5
  3. How I Became A Nomad : Part 2
  4. How I Became A Nomad : Part 1
  5. 20 Dollar Experiment