HOW CAN I STOP SEARCHING (online)?Help! - I don't want to spend so much time behind the computer

One of the things that has definitely disappointed me since I stopped working is the huge amount of time I still spend behind (in front of) the laptop and with my smartphone!!! This is definitely not what I want!

Already in the Christmas holidays of 2019, I felt that enough was enough. In that year I went to America, tried to set up my own business in addition to a 36-hour work week, while in fact I had already been working for an extra income for 5+ years prior to that. During these 2 weeks of Christmas holidays, I decided to stop developping my own business.

I discovered that I didn’t want to help people online at all. Because that meant getting behind the computer again. The marketing has to be done online, designs have to be made online, the website is done online, EVERYTHING is online when you start your own business, aimed at helping healers get known online.

I started looking for a place closer to Utrecht (where the office was). Just me, myself and I during the week, and then I would come home in the weekend. Unfortunately, I did not find that place. And in March 2020, the world was turning upside down anyway and I didn’t come out of the house at all. Instead of having more time for myself, there was even less time for me. There was also no commute travel anymore, also a time that I was alone. And I spent even more time behind the computer. Instead of speaking to my direct colleagues face to face, it now became a conversation through Teams. EVERYTHING was online.

Pimping the caravan helped me through the initial period. A project that I had already thought of prior to that moment, since we had bought the caravan in 2019 shortly before our vacation. It was a pretty old lady, and with some love and care it would be a pretty older lady. We had actually already bought and chosen everything before the country was turned upside down and it became more difficult to visit shops.

Also for the pimping, I searched like a mad woman for what I wanted in it. I made a Pinterest board with the styles I liked, and a board with what we finally chose. Finding out how to paint the cupboards without seeing every scratch, how to wallpaper without it falling down during hot days. I did everything online. I searched like crazy. But I also found all the answers!

In May 2020, I felt deep inside that I no longer wanted to stay in the Netherlands. I was done with my work, could not teach the publishers and my colleagues anything extra about how to make money with email marketing (the own webshop doubled in turnover in the last few years). All they had to do was apply the knowledge I had given them.

Then the search began to which country we could go to. I started looking for people who already lived in those countries, who had taken the plunge and could tell me about the options in terms of land purchases, prices, visas, taxes, regulations etc etc. Search, search, search.
Where were the measures the worst? How did the government react? How did the people respond?
Everything and everyone had to be found online. All conversations took place online!

After we decided to go, another online search started. First finding a buyer for our house, then finding buyers for our things and in the meantime I was looking for things that we would need when we go. And I was looking for confirmation whether the initial choice of Brazil was the right one. And while I was searching, the doubt struck and hubby said that he had felt all along that it had to be Portugal.

The day we left (August 27, 2020), I immediately noticed what was happening. By the time we knew in which area we would end up, the online search for a suitable campsite started. With a cat, we are a bit more picky. And we don’t like crowded campsites with many (and often noisy) children anyway. Well, the chance of that happening at the end of August 2020 was pretty small, but we didn’t know that beforehand.
And I often phoned the campsite to see if they had any space available. In my best French. After searching for the telephone number online, of course.

Once in Portugal, it went on… From campsite to campsite, which I had to find every time. Where could we get groceries, search online for areas, stories about regions, communities…

And while we were crossing different campsites, through different regions, I kept looking for places where we could live. Temporarily or not. We had promised the children a (rented) house. So that they could get started with their studies. Our son could use his gaming computer (not a laptop) and we also took his gaming desk with us.

Despite the huge vacancy, finding a place to live turned out to be not so easy. A huge online search started again. In every place we went, the search started all over again. Looking at houses. Searching for the place where we feel good, that doesn’t cost a fortune (although I never thought I would have to rent a house for 900 euros a month!!!). Searching on social media, searching on holiday sites, searching at estate agents, searching, searching, to find that 1 place.

Even when we had the place, the search continued. Searching for the shops, searching for restaurants/terraces, searching for like-minded people, searching for beautiful places, searching for pure food, searching for … .EVERYTHING you need or want to do in a new place!

When the first 6 months were almost over, I had to look for a place for the summer. A house was out of the question, unaffordable in summer. Our son had already left for The Netherlands and we had expected our daughter to leave in the summer as well, but she stayed. Not knowing what kind of study she wanted to do anymore. She also had choosen not to finish HAVO 5. We were definitely not going to rent a house for the summer, but wanted to live as cheap as possible on a large piece of land. And my search ended in that place! By the end of those 6 months, a place for the winter had to be found again.

Our daughter lived in a tent, and the first winter showed us that a tent was far from an ideal place to stay in winter time, even in the Algarve. So the search started all over again.
In the meantime, we also had to search in the new environment for all the places that were important during our stay there. I was looking for the right permaculture course, I was looking for a way to make a positive contribution… always searching.

Then we rented a house by the ocean for five months. And the wish for a motor home came, to travel with after those 5 months. Away from Portugal. To be in unique places that only a camper can go to. And again my search began. Where can I find a motor home? They have become VERY popular. Everyone wants to find freedom with a campervan or motorhome. Can we buy one in Portugal without an address, I was looking for information if that is possible/allowed. Can we buy it in Romania, where the prices are lower? I searched for regulations, but I cannot find them. I looked for all kinds of sales platforms and checked them regularly. We did not find the right motor home, or they were too far away and we did not dare to take the step. Anyway, after 5 months the moment came that we started to travel again and left Portugal, with our van and caravan.

From the south of Portugal we went to the south of Spain. And once again, I discovered that I spend a ridiculous amount of time looking for the right campsite. Searching for an internet subscription, because the one from Portugal did not work in Spain and so this was something that had to be repeated in every country. Searching for the right shops. Searching for nice places to visit. And so it went on for 3 months.

I regularly sighed that we should stay longer in one place, so that I wouldn’t have to spend so much time searching.

But we didn’t want to drive through France straight back to the Netherlands, so it became a three-month trip with 18 campsites in total and crossing 9 countries .

At the beginning of this year, we had already decided that we would go on holiday to Norway with our two youngest children (now 19 and almost 18). Also one of the reasons to find the right motor home. And so I started looking online for places to go. I found it challenging. And really had to do start a proper research once we stayed in The Netherlands. What should we take into account. What about tolls, ferries, campsites, food, you name it. I searched like crazy. And I spent whole weeks behind the laptop. And I don’t like it any more. I wanted to go to fun events in the Netherlands, meet people, and we literally went to only one fun excursion (Dolmenexcursion 2.0 by Ard Pisa) and a few people we only knew through Facebook visited us. And that is it. In the 5 weeks that we have been here!

It is enough. No, I am just so fed up!! I don’t want this anymore. I don’t want to live like this. I don’t work, but I don’t even have time for fun things at the moment. There are 15 weeks of hours of preparation in the upcoming holiday. It’s ridiculous!

But I don’t know how I can get out of this constant online searching.