[iam-TJ]

Slightly left of topic, but the use of "nomad" in the context of "too much stuff" would be better described as 'asceticism'.

Traditional nomadic life was about entire communities or extended families (rather than individuals), usually carrying their entire home and possessions with them either on travois or animals and/or carts, and travelling between home sites as the seasons changed or the food source moved.

In current times it's not too challenging to carry one's entire digital possessions in a back-pack if you trust to there being an always-on quality network connection, but it'd be far more comfortable to kit out a mobile home, caravan, recreational vehicle, boat, or similar, if you want basics with you such as favourite clothing, personal items, and physical documents.

A challenge of this minimalisation is overcoming built-in obsolescence of most digital devices that often leads to collections of older 'stuff' kept 'just in case', as well as connectors, adapters, wires, and other bits. Oh, and avoiding buying 'convenience' single-purpose devices.

Having Siberian Huskies I once tried to figure out if I could live off the back of a sled and have the huskies be my means of transport. The sled would have needed to be 5 meters long and about 2 tall so I abandoned the idea!

[shoo]

> Having Siberian Huskies I once tried to figure out if I could live off the back of a sled and have the huskies be my means of transport. The sled would have needed to be 5 meters long and about 2 tall so I abandoned the idea!

perhaps you just needed a few more huskies. is there anything like a rocket equation for dogsledding? e.g. each husky requires some mass of supplies which must be hauled which implies additional huskies.

[iam-TJ]

Huskies aren't the cause of the ever-growing sled - it'd need permanent shelter and sleeping accommodation (at least 2m long) because conditions might preclude erecting a tent every night-fall. Then add space needed for storage of potable (drinking & cooking) water, food, cooking equipment, toilet disposal facilities (human & huskies), ropes, winches, and tools for getting out of trouble and making repairs (so also spares for harnesses, sled, etc.) ...

Once you analyse what is required to be truly self-sufficient and self-reliant, even for short periods of time, the amount of equipment needed is quite surprising.

In settled life many of those things are externalised costs or can be obtained on-demand.

I'd still love to give it a go at some point - but would need to move to Alaska to do it (Only rain and mud in the UK!)

[CRConrad]

I don't think it would necessarily have to be all that humongous: Have your tent permanently erected on the sled, on top of the supplies. Not necessarily fully erected; spread out and attached at the bottom (probably / preferably on a rigid floor above the supplies down on the bottom of the sled), but collapsed down on top of the floor or supplies. Perhaps with a solid(ish) "lid" for a roof and collapsible textile only for the walls. Keep your sleeping bag and hammock and other use-every-night stuff in the tent, above the floor or other supplies. If you go with a rigid floor you might sleep on that; if not, you'll have to go with a hammock (which is probably preferable anyway).

[selfhoster11]

Sounds like an idea for Randall Munroe's next book.

[ttyprintk]

Very good point. We’re talking about the values of expats, who demand reliable power and networking. The values of true nomads are different. In my experience, the amount of stuff true nomads have is nontrivial if you count the herd of livestock. And minimalist expats would find nomadic culture extremely traditional.

My take is that we’re talking about minimalist expats here. While they value 21st century conveniences, they don’t value how those conveniences are maintained.

Maybe the symbolic necessity to become a digital expat destination is an Apple store. Which rules out a number of continents.