Indiana makes the fourth state I’ve lived in since I moved out at 18. I never planned on living in four different states by the time I was 23. When I was a kid, I thought I would just move out of New Jersey to California or New York and stay there. I haven’t quite made it out to California just yet, but living in different places has helped me grow, and has perhaps helped shape who I am today. Here’s what you should expect if you’re considering a modern nomadic lifestyle:

1. Forget about relationships.

My last relationship ended four years ago. Moving around doesn’t only mean being independent, it also means being seemingly endlessly single. Of course, I’ve had crushes and flings throughout the years and I’ve longed to stay put long enough to date someone with the potential of moving forward with a relationship, but your 20s are the best time to be completely and unabashedly selfish. Entering a relationship would mean devoting time and energy to someone other than yourself. If you’re planning your next move, be it for school, an internship, or to just experience a different way of living, you probably can’t give a significant other the love and attention they deserve.

2. Homesickness.

You may not experience homesickness right away. When I first moved out to New York, I was so happy to be more than five miles away from home for an extended period of time, that I only really missed the family dog. It was only when living in Florida (my third state) that I felt not only geographically far, but emotionally far. My mom didn’t call or text every day and I missed three major holidays for the first time in my life; Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve. You will get homesick when you look at a calendar and realize how long it’s been since you did the things that were routine for you at home.

3. You’ll meet new people...not necessarily friends.

According to Aristotle, human beings should only have one friend. If they have more than two, at the very most, they do not know the true meaning of friendship. Facebook is so successful because it allows you to keep up with people you thought you’d always be friends with. I can assure you, though, that what people say about college is true: you make your lifelong friends there. I’m happy to say I only have three best friends that I am confident that they will always be in my life and I in theirs. Every other person I meet as I travel is still wonderful and amazing, but friendships, just like relationships, are commitments. You will be beleaguered to find time to commit to more than a few. It’s not because you don’t try or want to make new friends, you just know that you won’t always live where they do, thereby making it harder to continue a friendship.

4. You’ll fall in love with the city.

When you initially move to a new city, you’ll be eager to try everything there is to do; all of the local restaurants and bars, hike at all the parks and trails, experience a taste of how the locals live. If you know you’ll only be in a city for a certain amount of time because of school or a temporary job, I urge you to get out and experience as much as you possibly can. Temporary addresses helped me cope with depression by getting out of the apartment to experience things I may never have been able to.

5. You’ll get addicted to moving.

Once you start changing your address, you may not want to stop. Stagnancy becomes your worst enemy and you begin to fear contentment. Being content would abruptly stop the flow of your energy as you move about. Remaining in one place for too long would become stale. The excitement of knowing you’ll be on your way to the next place keeps you hungry for life.

6. You’ll experience a different part of the world.

This may sound dramatic, but it’s true. Living in New Jersey is different from Florida, which is different from Indiana, which is different from New York. Even though you may never get a chance to move overseas, the American northeastern lifestyle is significantly different from the midwestern lifestyle. You’ll not only learn about the area and its’ lifestyle, but you’ll learn about yourself and how you adapt and adjust.

7. Home is wherever you are.

Once in a while, you’ll picture a map in your head of where your permanent home is and where you are now, and you’ll imagine the many miles separating the two and you might feel dizzy for a second thinking about the distance, but it only lasts for a second or two. Then you realize that “home” is not a house, an apartment, or a condo. It’s not where your parents are or where your sister is. It’s where you are. You become home for yourself. Accepting the notion that home is not a physical structure, but that it is within yourself, gifts you the freedom to move anywhere and feel comfortable.