Terminal wanderlust?

Douglas Coupland first summarised this condition in Generation X, a book that both scared and comforted me. According to him, it's

"A condition common to people of transient middle-class upbringings. Unable to feel rooted in any one environment, the move continually in hopes of finding an idealized sense of community in the next location."


I don't think that I had a middle-class upbringing (although it wasn't strictly working-class either), and I don't know if I'm really searching for an "idealized sense of community". Rather, I think my TW is related to newness.

I haven't lived in the same area for more than 12 months since I was 18. Even through uni in Manchester I changed location every year, finding new local shops and bars, new things to do, and having a nice new, different pad to crash at when wandering got too tiring. Now I think it's a problem. I was in Toronto for 12 months, and now I've been in Sydney for a year, and I love it - I'm even trying my best to extend my visa - but a part of my is itching to go (specifically, my feet).

My recent too-brief jaunt to Asia has worsened the situation, and having made some great friends over there I'm fairly desperate to go back to Malaysia. I listen to Bob Marley and all of a sudden want to be in Jamaica. I watch a Rammstein video and need to be in Berlin. I can't be in all of these places and can't afford to travel constantly.

Is this wanderlust really terminal? Will I ever settle?