It's intriguing how America has become a stay-at-home collective. It was spawned by the pandemic, but with companies realizing it's cheaper to have workers at home, it became a 24/7 proposition.
Since 1995, I have worked from home, but I was a rarity. Today, nearly every couple I know works from home and a huge component of them have taken off with their own businesses or side gigs to earn money using the Internet.
Things like office chairs, Zoom call backdrops, and aromatherapy diffusers are making workers feel like pampered, pajama-wearing, work machines.
Some of the nesters, many of them millenials or retirees, have taken to small-home living, living on boats, in RVs, converted school buses "schoolies," and finding a more mobile, digital nomad lifestyle.
Home comforts, remodeling, even gardening and cooking are picking up steam as folks learn to nest instead of heading out.
Where we once focused on clothing styles, car we drove, and Starbucks acquisitions each morning, folks are finding comfort in lighting a candle, playing some music, and getting a dream coffee machine.
Relationships have had great trials during this era of nesters. At first, it had to be quite awkward to spend so much time together and share work and living space together. Those who learned to handle it have been inventive, even making a private office in a coat closet if necessary.
The benefits to kids and grandkids is amazing. With more time to parrot parents' ethics and values and less time to succumb to the crowd, there is surely a decline in first-time drug use and unwanted pregnancies.
As a life-long hermit, I grew up with two homes with unlimited exploration of nature available to me. No toys. Just my feet and imagination. Even though I'm stuck in a desert and the suburban setting, my home and yard are my way to escape and feel I'm where I really want to be - the Chesapeake.
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Nesters find themselves -
Getting excited about Marketplace items on Facebook.
Lighting incense, running diffusers, opening windows, and enjoying candlelight.
Shifting wardrobe to workout clothes, sweats, or yoga pants, sometimes wearing the same shirt a few days in a row.
Feel pride in adding a new houseplant to their family.
Finding NextDoor.com is their new social network locally.
Have sifted through all the restaurant offerings being delivered by DoorDash, Uber, and others.
Spend time at the grocery store actually plotting out meals.
Dusted off the board games and cards and began using them again.
As someone who has worked from home since 1995, I am a pro at it. With enough time away from an office, you realize your social interactions depended a lot on that playing field. Eventually, the people you worked with moved on to other jobs or left the industry and now you need new people to hang out with.
Sites like NextDoor.com are a great way to meet your neighbors. Hiking/walking each day also brings in new possibilities, networking to find people who want to do activities with you can be done on sites like Meetup.com. You can find people who like to kayak, do photography, or simply try out the local bars.
Nesters do need time away from home too and you can often find them at - Starbucks, Home Depot, antique malls, and walking the mall on hot or cold days.
If you want to improve your space and not spend any money or much money, I suggest nextdoor.com as neighbors list things they are giving away because they just want someone to come pick it up. You can find leftover unused cans of paint, renovation supplies, gardening bricks, gravel, worn furniture you can redo.
Nesters don't see their homes anymore as a reflection of their status by having the newest design obsession, but they are finding it a place to live out a comfort fantasy, whether it's tons of pictures of family, a tiki bar, a sofa with a blanket strewn over it, or candlelight instead of CFL bulbs running all the time.
You're in good company if you're a nester. These celebrities admit they love home so much they don't like to leave -
Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Reese Witherspoon, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes,
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