If you live abroad and see yourself neither as an expat nor as an immigrant, that’s not surprising. Those are 20th century concepts for 20th century ways of living. They continue to exist in the 21st century, but millions of people are living in a new way that’s having a profound impact on cities, societies and economies, yet it’s hiding in plain sight. This lifestyle is roaming. Featured in Forbes, Monocle, and Italy’s leading newspaper La Corriere della Sera, roaming has been labelled a megatrend by trend forecasting agency Nelly Rodi. easyJet Traveller magazine calls Roaming, this generation’s manifesto. Roamers make an active choice to live internationally because they can find better jobs, more intellectual stimulation, or simply more adventure abroad. Roamers are distinct from immigrants and expats because they might stay in their host country for another year or they might stay for a lifetime. They’re not lured overseas by a lucrative expat package. Also, unlike expats, roamers don’t necessarily expect to repatriate to their home country, at least not for good. They often struggle with the once simple question, Where’s home? One in ten Canadian, British and Swiss citizens live abroad, as do 7 million Americans and 20 percent of New Zealanders. Who are all these people, and why are they leaving their home countries? Roaming is a radical new way of living that defies age-old categories like home and abroad or expats and immigrants . Roamers move from country to country with an ease and speed that was unheard of thirty years ago. But this new phenomenon raises questions for us all: How can societies cope with this constant flux? Can you really be at home abroad? What are the pleasures and pitfalls of living as a roamer? In this clever and timely anatomy of roaming, CM Patha crisscrosses the globe to cover these questions and ends up uncovering many, many more. Roaming is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand this fast-growing lifestyle and what it means for governments, societies, and roamers themselves.
