Neo-nomads and highly mobile people

First of all - and this may seem paradoxical - neo-nomads are not actually highly mobile, or at least their mobility is not ‘high’. In fact, it is limited or, to put it a better way, it differs from the mobility of highly-mobile people in two ways: it is not an acceleration, and only partially answers the question that arises for highly-mobile people and which leads them to adopt particular mobility practices; namely, ‘How do I get from Point A (usually home) to Point B (usually work) in the most efficient way possible (in terms of time/distance)? Bear in mind too that there can be multiple Points A and Points B.

The studies conducted by the JobMob team clearly shows there are indeed highly mobile individuals, but they do not form a homogenous class, social group or even ‘family’ in terms of their use of space and transport. If you extend this observation to neo-nomads, we can say that some of them have mobility practices similar to those of certain highly mobile people, despite what was said above. For example, neo-nomads who have several ‘homes’ – pieces of land where they can set up camp – and go from one to the other either by working or for work.

However, the majority of neo-nomads are not highly mobile, or at least not like the others. In fact, they themselves are not very mobile at all; it’s their ‘homes’ – the buses, trucks, vans and mobile homes they rebuild, furnish, decorate and live in – that are highly mobile. Meanwhile, in the current climate of job insecurity – for self-employed and salaried workers alike – the decision to live in a lorry is the result of  compromises as regards work, housing and more or less restrictive lifestyle choices. It’s perhaps in this sense, at least in this crisis period, that a comparison can be made between neo-nomads and the highly mobile.

The personal histories of the working people and mobile individuals we studied point to two typical scenarios. While some base their choice of habitat on employment opportunities and, as a result, have decided to live in a modified vehicle, others have taken the opposite route and base their work – which is sporadic both temporally and spatially – on their itinerant way of life.

Depending on economic sector (industry, agriculture or services), their jobs have the commonality of being based on the seasons (tourist or agricultural seasons, or rope workers on construction sites), the academic year (organising social, cultural or sporting events), the creative process (artists, manual workers or entertainment industry technicians) and/or the needs of companies that periodically require  additional personnel (carers, nurses, construction workers or agricultural labourers).

The free time created by the temporary and fluctuating nature of their work means that the itinerant lifestyle also lends itself to cultural, festive, creative, constructive, associative and training activities. Thus the importance of considering work above and beyond the salary dimension.

Attachment is necessary for people who aren’t neo-nomads on a purely occasional basis. Attachment makes it possible to arrive somewhere – free of obligations and maintaining all possible itineraries – and to leave again. This is the very nature of being a traveller. However, growing roots is not necessary, even if it does not prevent people from being nomadic and that having roots – at least in our imaginary – is never pointless.

Longer stays at a given location require a degree of organisation that are reflected in an alternating yet complementary relationship between a primary lair (though these may be numerous) and secondary locations. These primary places – often called ‘living places’ or ‘squats’, are like base camps, complete with the infrastructures and facilities that make daily life more comfortable. They are places of refuge where we have built connections and can come back to on a regular basis to stop, rest, plan, store belongings or repair or make alterations to their lorry.

The people themselves, like the moving constellation of places where they live, maintain links of a physical, virtual or symbolic nature with other individuals (friends and family) in France and beyond. While most mobile people are skilled at creating such links (though sometimes remote or ephemeral), they also have a capacity for living in isolation. At the same time, ITC enable people with mobile habitats to keep in touch and share experiences with each other, as well as also maintain regular contact with these informal networks.