What is a Part-Time Vagabond Anyway?

Photo by Dan Cavallari

Photo by Dan Cavallari

I know you’re wondering, why the title “Part Time Vagabond?” How can one be a vagabond only part of the time? Doesn’t the word “vagabond” in itself mean to be a full-time traveler, on the road, pretty much nomadic? For me, the answer is not all that simple.

I’ve had a special affinity for travel since I was a young boy growing up in Connecticut. I loved my home, and I loved my family, but I constantly daydreamed of being somewhere else. Family vacations were a treat for me, not really because of the destination (though that was always fun too) but because the idea of packing up the car the night before a trip, getting up before the break of dawn, and driving down the road when the only other vehicles on the road were truckers and other travelers made me giddy with excitement. I never slept on those nights. I’d stare at the ceiling of my bedroom or gaze out the window and imagine the fun I’d have on this trip, dream about the things I’d see whiz by the car window on the way down to Florida or upstate New York or Maine. I’d groan about the cheesy songs we’d sing on one of Mom’s road trips, or the oldies rock stations my brothers and I would have to suffer through on one of Dad’s trips (my parents were divorced, so separate trips with each parent). In any case, I loved those trips, mostly for the laughter I knew we’d share, either due to a goofy joke or lack of oxygen in the car.

Now, according to Dictionary.com, a Vagabond is “a person, usually without a permanent home, who wanders from place to place; nomad.” It’s that “without a permanent home” part that puts me in the part time category. For the most part. Maybe I could call myself a really slow part time vagabond. In the last 6 years, I’ve moved my place of residence four times. I’ve traveled out of the U.S. four times. I’ve gone all over the States. I just can’t seem to sit still. So in that sense, I think I’m a vagabond. But in the sense that I’m not perpetually traveling, I think the “part time” moniker is appropriate.

I’d love to be location independent, to be sure. I don’t think my career skills and talents require me to be in one spot. I’m at a crossroads in my life and my career, and I’m trying to figure out how to combine my love of video production, of nature and outdoors activities, and the web into something that can pay my bills, help me to live somewhat comfortably, and to see the world. Now I just need to find someone willing to pay me to do that. Then I can become a Full Time Vagabond. Wow. If that happens, I may have to change the name of this blog.

For now, I’ll keep traveling on a part time basis, and searching for the job that will make me happy, keep the bill collectors at bay, and help me stay sane for the rest of my days.

Chris Cavallari

About Chris Cavallari

Chris is a longtime digital content producer based in Maine. Since 1999, he has been an early adopter and active participant in blogging, podcasting, and social media, and has been guiding small and mid-sized businesses in leveraging video, social media, and digital publishing to the fullest. With an avid love of travel and the outdoors, Chris started PartTimeVagabond.com in 2009 to give him a platform to showcase his outdoors and travel adventures, and to help educate others in doing the same.