I belong to a Facebook group for international nomads. These are people who travel the world and have done so for many, many years.

Most are younger people with professions that allow them to work from anywhere, writers, IT or finance professionals. They call themselves location-independent. Few of them are seniors. And, amazingly, there are over 1600 of them in just this one FB Group.

Last week a woman posted this: How do you deal with loneliness? How do you find community when you are always moving? How do you achieve a sense of belonging?

She then posted a story about a holiday meal shared with a family that she had just met. “I felt like they pitied me”, she wrote. “It was a sad way to spend the holiday.”

While we have officially only been on the road for six weeks, this is our second time around. And we spent the last four of the past six months not-at-home. So, I get this question.

In addition, I spent over 15 years as a religious professional, working for two different Unitarian Universalist churches. I learned that when people initially come to church it is often to find a place to belong. A place where their opinions are welcomed by folks who share their values. A place where just showing up to be part of something bigger is what the church provides.

“Where is Bethany?” someone might ask on a Sunday morning. “She was at playgroup on Thursday and went home early with Laura. Another ear infection, I think”, someone else might offer.

Bethany is missed. And accounted for. Bethany is part of something bigger, beyond her small family.

Is it possible to achieve belonging on the road? What do friendships look like when they last only days? Is happy long term travel possible for people who need community?

[Insert answers here]

I don’t have the answers to these questions, and I’m not sure that I will anytime soon. There are greater minds that have grappled with the huge idea of belonging.

But I do know this: belonging is the basis of most communities. And belonging is right in the center of our human hierarchy of needs. Some of us seek it out. Others claim not to need it and instead cope without it.

Pull the belonging block out of the center of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid, and the esteem and self-actualization blocks come toppling down.

Does the single person have stronger needs for community than the coupled person? Does the senior have less? Does the parent have more?

[Insert answers here]

So let’s suppose one of the roles of the nomad Facebook group is to create a sense of belonging for a group that shares values. Can’t we also support our need to belong through Skype, or by posting, blogging, texting, and calling? Is that enough?

All of the communications above were not possible when Ron and I travelled the globe the first time. We wrote letters (!) sent postcards and called home for ten minutes once a month.

In those days, travelers became each other’s community quickly. If we were travelling west, we sought out the eastward traveler and picked her brain. If we met someone whose company we truly enjoyed and we were traveling in the same direction, we travelled together for a while. We shared stores (and meals, new adventures). But it was the stories that formed the basis for our communities.

“Oh my gawd, last month we hung out for a week or so with this American dude who grew up in Morocco. He was dark eyed, dark haired and spoke fluent Arabic. Blended right in. Super nice guy. And handy to have along in the medina!”

“We spent last week travelling with this couple from The Netherlands. Super fun. And the Dutch are fabulous travel partners, they all speak about four languages!”

“You stayed at [insert name of] hostel also? Did you meet Marco? He is the crazy-thriftiest traveler ever. Cooks his own food here in Thailand just to save forty cents.”

These were the stories that formed the basis for most of our new travel communities.

You did that? Oh-my-gawd, so did I! You felt that? Oh-my-gawd, so did I, (I’m not the only one.)

I’m not the only one… The basis for belonging. The basis for community.

Can we find community while traveling in 2015? Will we find it face to face or virtually? Do we need it?

We’ll keep you posted.