American Nomads
Beneath the America we think we know lies a nation hidden from view - a nomadic nation, living on the roads, the rails and in the wild open spaces.
In its deserts, forests, mountain ranges and on the plains, a huge population of modern nomads pursues its version of the American dream - to live free from the world of careers, mortgages and the white picket fence.
When British writer Richard Grant moved to the USA more than 20 years ago it wasn't just a change of country. He soon found himself in a world of travelers and the culture of roadside America - existing alongside, but separate from, conventional society. In this film he takes to the road again, on a journey without destination.
In a series of encounters and unplanned meetings, Richard is guided by his own instincts and experiences - and the serendipity of the road. Traveling with loners and groups, he encounters the different 'tribes' of nomads as he journeys across the deserts of America's south west.
Anyone knows the music song in 28:30 of the documentary??
our narrator looks horrified at what he’s encountering. you’d think someone who says he’s spent twenty years’ on the road as a ‘nomad’ would be a people person taking delight in who he meets.
Four years ago I had to watch my highly successful older sister metaphorically 'drown' from the weight of all the possessions she couldn't give up after losing her husband and well paying job. All she had to do was downsize and lighten her financial burden, but her property, possessions and the appearance of success were what she'd built her life around. She killed herself, I'm heartbroken to say.
Having seen what clinging to temporary possessions can do to destroy your life, I've decided to stop spending all my money on paying rent and to buy an RV to live in, instead. The US no longer has an adequate safety net to protect the elderly and ill from homelessness and food shortage, so while I can I'll begin a new, nomadic life with friendly others who are going the same direction.
wow why is it so long?
I loved it.. I have an ever increasing desire to sell it all and wander,Free!
I am one of the "American Nomads". I am currently on the road. I choose freely to live this life. it has been a blessing to be able to live a truly free life while ithers seem confined by financial obligations. i only have my dog and myself and i am truly happy. And honestly it is none of my business what others think about me. i am free, i am happy, and i got everything i need. if i can bring a smile to one person's face everyday then it is all worth it.
Love and peace...
BamBam
Awesome my desire also to live and enjoy
i commented on this about 10 months ago.
i`m seriously thinking about being semi-nomadic.
if i knew how bad the world was going to be now - i would have bought a camper van instead of other material things.
as an estimate - i`ve `wasted` at least £45,000 over the past 18 years.
i could have bought a kick-ass camper van / RV and just lived in that. rent-free. no bills.
i would have kept it on my neighbours farm. out of the way.
i wouldn`t have debts like i do now.
the way things are going - i`ve been seriously contemplating change for many years. i`ll have to concider the near-future options...... possibly going off-grid using tents. selling / dumping my material things in the process.....
Comfry please move to civilized areas. Always looking over your shoulder is not a healthy way to live. Stop running from your happiness and yoursadness. Live your life fall in love have a home. Enjoy life for real. Not all freedom frees you from yourself. Sometimes life is supposed to be an inconvenience but you can do it. You are a handsome and smart young man who was given a gift greater than anything responsible parents could ever give.
You have your mind and your will and your health. Stopliving tve life of a nomad and clean yourself up. God bless you Comfry.
Just thought I'd let ya'll know that Comfrey is alive and well-this doc ended on a worrisome note. Managed to track him down through mutual traveling friends.
Anyways though, I loved this! I've existed in the rodeo and traveling kid ways of life, and the portrayal here rings quite true. Again, loved it
i`m living in a small flat. in/out of work. i`ve always enjoyed camping + caravaning as a child. i`ve lived near forests. it`s the profound natural pull of these places/travelling that makes us feel misreable in our 9-5 jobs.
we`re lying to ourselves when we sit in a concrete jungle.
i`m in my mid 30`s. more and more, i`m finding myself camping out. the live of watching squirrels run up trees right by me. the shooting stars at night through tree tops. animals walking by.
this is the true nature of being human.
no amount of money, materials and social circles can match the natural living of being free.
i`ve been thinking about it for a few years. eventually, i`m gaining the skills and knowledge to live off the land.
then i`ll give up the flat. move to the woods.
and then that will be my home. the world around me.
TRUE FREEDOM.
full of interesting ideas and beautiful description by RIchard Grant...but i got lost and confused as he started his documentary by being himself on the road for years and nowadays he cant stay 3 weeks in his rented home until he leaves again and at the same time most of the nomads he met i felt he was biased against them and what they are doing is wrong ...i would like to know his real opinion as an experienced nomad of this lifestyle its "bads" and "goods" so we can learn practical thing from this documentary. thank you. enjoyed it and learned alot!
Temping as a lifestyle... But hard thing to do in Sweden. Would probably freeze to death or been eaten by a polar bear...
Very well done! Makes me wanna quite my job! Ha. :)
Mother Nature heals.
Spent much of the last 5 years traveling on and off, backpacking mainly, but some hitchhiking and tramping around in my truck (rubber tramp), doing seasonal trail work, all kinds of stuff. Used to be able to fit everything I owned in my little Ford Ranger. Now, having watched this, I'm looking around my room in disgust at all the stuff I've somehow collected over the last 9 months. That guy Yogi is doing things right, and I gotta get back to that somehow. I miss that freedom, the open spaces... and owning all this furniture and stuff just feels like a burden sometimes.
I watched this documentary because today I chanced upon a young man who is a genuine modern American nomad. He came into the library where I was a patron, asked the desk to use the computer and managed to get a guest card so he could do that. We started talking, exchanged a couple of tales of our own personal adventures and decided to become penpals via email. I was impressed by him, especially by his openness and willingness to engage in conversation with what, to him, was an elderly woman. He must have had a good mother to make him as comfortable as he seemed. At least, that's who I attribute such an attitude to. Or maybe it's because he is a nomad, one who, by his own report, has been on the road for at least a couple of years, his 90-pound pack on his back, his face reddened by exposure to the weather. He has already written to me, and I can see that he will one day write that book, as his wrote entertainingly, articulately. I look forward to hearing from him again. He ended his email by saying, "At any rate, that's my story.Your turn." Kind of reminded me of young Comfrey in this film--intelligent, personable, likeable. Just not as heartbreaking, though.
I love the ending. This was a very inspirational documentary c:
This documentary is amazing. There's something incredibly special about it, though I can't put my finger on what that is. It think the presenter/writer, Richard Grant, has a lot to do with it. I love the meandering journey he takes us on, both geographically and in his style of presentation.
It's more than that though. It's the (broad spectrum of) people he meets too – They've decided to de-shackle themselves from the usual drudgery of every-day, 'regular' life – the bills, mortgage, 9–5 job etc. Some stories aren't as happy as others, but all are handled with interest and tenderness.
It's 90 minutes of freedom – an escape for the mind.
All this along with the beautiful scenery and kind of quirky slide-guitar soundtrack, it just culminates in one really beautiful, heart-warming (in places) piece of film-making.
I couldn't recommend it high enough to those who, like me, view the free-living travelling life through rose-tinted spectacles. And if you do watch it, also like me, you'll look high and low for other documentaries written/presented by Richard Grant one the credits roll.
On the strength of this film I've just ordered his book, Ghost Riders, and am thoroughly looking forward to getting stuck into it.
the description says there's a "huge population"of nomads. I'd like to know: how huge?
We are actually featured in this documentary. We are a family of 4 that has chosen the nomadic lifestyle. We are not hippies ... and no we are not tweakers. We are actually one of hundreds of families that live in their rv and travel the states full-time. No bridges were burnt and we were not forced into this lifestyle. My family does spend our winters in Az (Quartzsite) and although there are many "hippies" and homeless there it does not mean they are on meth or are bad people. I honestly think those of you that have nothing nice to say are just jealous that you cannot live as freely and simply as we choose to.
Gotta say, this Documentary wasn't so bad. It's always good to see how other people in this planet of ours live...sadly, many are in a terrible state. I would also love to see the Nomadic Life of the Middle Eastern Bedouins!
take a deep breath, in the name of jesus ho! eesha la deedeedeedeee
where is the world going..
this could have been way better if it was presented by somebody else. this guy has no idea what roughin it is.
This Comfry kid seems like he has a good head on his shoulders.
Someone should offer him a scholarship to a university so he can make use of his smarts and maybe have less of a hard life.