People come and go from my life, and I come and go from theirs as I leave and move somewhere new. It's something that I've been talking about with nomads lately, how to maintain relationships - romantic, friendships, family - when you're never in the same place for very long. And expats too would know the problems you face living away from your family and all the people you grew up with; you're rarely there for weddings, Christmases, birthdays, births. You see lots on your travels but you miss lots at home too.

I've heard of nomads who don't have cell phones or facebook or email, they say 'I'll be with you while I'm here, but once I'm gone, I'm gone'. This seems a bit abrupt and extreme to me but I understand the sentiment, it's hard to be strewn across the world, across time zones via Skype and email and Whatsapp and Facebook whilst trying to be present where you are all at the same time.

But there are many, many plus sides to this set-up too. I think of it as quality time over quantity time; when you see people you haven't seen in so long, the feeling is one of pure happiness and sheer joy, you treasure each other, you're very present. You also get the opportunity to meet so many people across the world living like this; different backgrounds, cultures, professions, beliefs. You become fast and deep friends with people and you change each other. I look now at my network and it's a bunch of very special people, made up of old and new friends I get to spend time with however we make that work.