50 Reasons To Be A Hermit.

You have dashed my romantic notions of hermitism ;(

fenrisulfr the thing about looking over your shoulder all the time is the one thing that puts me off buying my own land.

The vanishing friends thing is really hard to cope with.  When your time is taken up either looking after someone who's poorly or managing your health if it's you with the health problems it's really hard to keep up with friends who aren't doing either.  I found most of mine weren't willing to make any effort and I found it quite baffling that people who'd spent time with me regularly for many years (30 odd, in one case) weren't at all fussed about never seeing me again.  I only spend time with people if I like them so I'd want to keep seeing them whatever their situation.  It's another baffling aspect of human nature.  Yes, doing it completely alone and off grid would be a lot of hard work, I think - certainly more than I could manage.  The winter alone is enough to put me off lol.  There are lots of aspects of the system and modern living that I'm very happy with, I think with me it's more people who are the problem   I guess our experiences shape us in different ways and make different things important and perhaps if your situation is a less usual one fewer people fall into your circle of shared experience?  I can remember once being with someone whose son was dying - awful situation and the family were being so stoical and really focusing on giving him the best life they could.  It's very humbling to be around a situation like that and it really did something to me.  The next day I was with a friend who was stressing about the fact she couldn't find a handbag to match the shoes she was wearing to a wedding the following weekend and the two situations were just so disparate, I kind of remember it as a moment when I feel I 'dropped out' and just couldn't really connect to some people and situations anymore, even if I wanted to.  Maybe the benefit of the nomadic lifestyle is being able to move on when you disconnect from the people around you and go and seek out others?  Or hide from them lol.

Corvus, it is true that you haven't lost much when you find out they're fair weather friends but yes, it's very hard to discover that people you love and care about - and in many cases have run around after over the years and helped through difficult situations - think so little of you that even picking the phone up once or twice a year is too much effort for them.  It's especially hard to discover that about them at a time when you really need them as well   One of life's little jokes, I think.  It's understandable if your situation is impacting on them in a very negative way - I've had friendships that I've had to call time on because their situation was spilling into my life.  One friend in particular had a very bad heroin habit and a string of abusive boyfriends.  I had tried to help her out for years, both with the drugs and the dodgy men, but she seemed to be stuck in that cycle and I didn't want to stay in it with her so I walked away.  I still feel very bad about that and I still miss her but it was affecting my health and I was scared that one of her nutjob boyfriends would turn up at my house one day.  So I could understand it if my situation were creating that sort of problem for other people but when all you need is someone just picking the phone up to ask how you're doing it is hard when most of them don't.  On a positive note I should say I have several friends who have always kept in contact, even if it's just by text, so they've kept me going.  It's not all doom and gloom.  And yes, some lovely peeps on the internet and some very kind and friendly strangers when you're out and about.  And the cat   Lol.  There are lots of people worse off.  Years ago (during the rave years!) a friend and I used to say, in a jokey way, that the country should be divided up so that the same type of people all live together - the party animals in one place, the corporate type people in another, the ones who like their front lawns perfect in another, and so on.  So that like minded folk can be together and not annoy the other people who don't think the same way.  It was always said as a joke, but it does strike me now that I know and have met some really lovely people but they live so far away actually spending time with them is really difficult.  If we all lived in the same town it would be amazing   More incentive for me to get a van together so I can wander about a bit more easily   Lol x

Maybe that would be more tolerable than looking over your shoulder and having all the awful unbelievable crap you are getting now from all quarters.Your resilience living where you are now is incredible.Its always easier when you have just one suitcase,its harder to relocate when you have animals and lots of things to consider.My life was far more flexible when I had nothing.I have found that things,be it a house, land,animals,possessions slow the mobility considerably.Property prices are predicted to plummet after Brexit.There will be many more opportunities for those looking for a place in a position to act.