why are you doing this?

This was the first question everyone asked. I think they all have parrot DNA in them. My expectation was that everyone would try and talk me out of it. I told my little sister and closest friends first. The sister figured it out before I said a word. I love her for it and for always supporting me even when she doesn't agree. That being said her questions were more out of general curiosity than a grilling. The reactions from friends was pretty mixed with most of them being accepting in the end. My parents are alright with it. Mom figured it out also. She put up a fight and wasn't for it, but respects my decision. Mostly because she now knows I would be in Quartzsite for the winter and a 4 hour drive away from her. Dad only cares that I'm happy in whatever do. He's not gonna visit me anytime soon, but it's not a me thing so much as a lack of Chinese restaurants in the wilderness.

Explaining can be sometimes hard when you're close to someone. I had a few that were not accepting at first. Keep in mind that most people simply can't accept the idea of willingly living without a formal home. Some can be downright hostile about it. Most conversations started off with direct challenges rather than actual questions. It was usually a barrage of logistics and safety questions. The thing that helped was spending a year'ish learning all I could before I said anything. This made it possible for me to answer questions calmly and intelligently. By the end any hostility is usually diffused and they are at least understanding if not accepting.

The really cool thing I never anticipated was meeting new friends and having to explain it to them. The dynamic is a little different in that they're much nicer about it since I'm not someone close to them. This seems to make them generally more curious and accepting of it. The cool part is the ideas and suggestions exchanged with them whereas it's been Q&A with friends and family.

All in all I think I was very fortunate with how things had turned out for me in the end.