nomadland surviving america in the 21st century

Since 2009, the year after the housing crash, groups of such workers had migrated each fall to the mobile home parks surrounding Fernley. There’s no clear count of how many people live nomadically in America. Most could not afford to stop working – or pay the rent. Many were in their 60s and 70s, approaching or well into traditional retirement age. Its citizens were full-time wanderers who dwelled in RVs and other vehicles, though at least one guy had only a tent to live in. It was populated by members of the “precariat”: temporary laborers doing short-term jobs in exchange for low wages.

My first encounter with one group of the new nomads came in 2013, at the Desert Rose RV park in Fernley, Nevada. But that didn’t mean life on the road was easy. For many, sacrificing some material comforts had allowed them to survive, while reclaiming a small measure of freedom and autonomy. They gave up traditional housing and moved into “wheel estate”: RVs, travel trailers, vans, pickup campers, even a salvaged Prius and other sedans. In the widening gap between credits and debits hangs a question: which bits of this life are you willing to give up, so you can keep on living?ĭuring three years of research for my book, Nomadland: Surviving America in The Twenty-First Century, I spent time with hundreds of people who had arrived at the same answer.

Nomadland surviving america in the 21st century