Increasingly, Retirees Dump Their Possessions and Hit the Road

Increasingly, Retirees Dump Their Possessions and Hit the Road
HELGOLAND, GERMANY - AUGUST 03: An elderly couple walk on August 3, 2013 on Heligoland Island, Germany. Heligoland Island, in German called Helgoland, lies in the North Sea and until World War II was a popular tourist destination. During the war it became strategically vital and all overground structures were obliterated by massive Allied bombing. Today the island has a population of about 1,200 and is again a popular tourist destination known for its abundant wildlife. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
HELGOLAND, GERMANY - AUGUST 03: An elderly couple walk on August 3, 2013 on Heligoland Island, Germany. Heligoland Island, in German called Helgoland, lies in the North Sea and until World War II was a popular tourist destination. During the war it became strategically vital and all overground structures were obliterated by massive Allied bombing. Today the island has a population of about 1,200 and is again a popular tourist destination known for its abundant wildlife. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

SOME call themselves “senior gypsies.” Others prefer “international nomad.” David Law, 74, a retired executive recruiter who has primarily slept in tents in several countries in the last two years, likes the ring of “American Bedouin.”

They are American retirees who have downsized to the extreme, choosing a life of travel over a life of tending to possessions. And their numbers are rising.

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