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While I have found myself being very similar to professional nomads, more or less following the 4-hour-work-week new rich lifestyle. It is somewhat equivalent to a gypsy (except one who works on selected projects on one’s own terms, while living live like a millionaire as described in Tim Ferriss’s book). However, this post is to reiterate that a gypsy is not the same as a homeless hobo.
Let’s start off with a dictionary definition of both those terms (courtesy of dictionary.com):
Gypsy: -noun (lowercase) a person held to resemble a gypsy, esp. in physical characteristics or in a traditionally ascribed freedom or inclination to move from place to place.
Homeless: -noun the homeless, persons who lack permanent housing.
The similarities lie in the fact that both gypsies and homeless lack a permanent location to settle down. However, the differences between them lie in the fact in the temporary shelters that they live in, and also personal goals. Let’s take a further look at those differences:
- Temporary Shelters: Homeless people typically sleep in homeless shelters operated by the government or charities, or on the streets. Gypsies at most sleep in tents, RVs, homeless shelters at desperate times if they cannot live in hotels like wealthier travellers. Most of them plan the accommodation details before arriving on-site, hence avoiding the situation of homelessness like you see on the streets from 11 pm to the next morning.
- Goals: A homeless person’s goal usually only include staying reasonably fed for the day and being admitted into a homeless shelter to avoid having their throats slashed on the streets. On the other hand, a modern day gypsy’s goal usually include briefly wrapping up work-related tasks for the day to keep finances afloat, touring fascinating landmarks at a location, and socializing with friends and new acquaintances. To summarize, a gypsy chooses this path to keep opportunities open and personal freedom alive through the mobility, and to avoid boredom taking over his/her life through surrendering to demands to settle unwillingly.
So there you have it. Before you discriminate a gypsy as a homeless hobo, please do recall the clarifications brought up in this post.
Fellow nomads, what are your thoughts of this defense? Feel free to drop me a line at blog@sysil.com or in the comment box below.
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