The Lifestyle

The Fabulous freaks are leaving town
They are driven by a strange desire
Unseen by the human eye
- Dead Can Dance, "The Carnival is Over"

The Gypsies have been a traveling people ever since Daenna and Sarrath first fled the Ivory City amid a vast sea of refugees. Over the years, various families and factions have formed as the Gypsies spread and multiplied, each becoming more specialized in the process. Yet each family continues to hold dear the freedom of the road.
For many years, Gypsies traveled from town to town in wagons known as vardos. A few Gypsy families maintain this practice even today, but most Gypsies have been forced to adjust their old lifestyle to the onset of technology. In fact, many Gypsies have been unusually creative, cleverly adapting new technologies to their own advantage. Modern Gypsies travel North America in caravans consisting of trailer homes, Cadillacs and Harleys; some  even have computer systems to enhance their eclectic businesses. Laptops and other forms of portable technology have become particularly valued among many Gypsies.
Gypsies have grown particularly fond of modems, traveling the burgeoning information highway with the same panache they do the cracked blacktop of the interstates. Although Gypsies are, as yet, a minor presence on the net, they are beginning to make an impact by running electronic scams and creating magically altered modems, which can crack security measures or even pilfer information from any computer that has ever hooked into the net. Many other electronic devices have been altered or refined to extract money from automatic teller machines, charge items on gaje credit cards, and perform other useful business dealings.
During the past century, many governments have stepped up efforts to coerce, bribe, or even force the Gypsies to give up their traveling lifestyle (when they aren't busy trying to kick the Gypsies out altogether!) Governments can't stand a large group of individuals that refuses to be labeled, marked and categorized. A Gypsy changes her Social Security number (if she even has one) as easily as your average American would change a tire. This type of behavior and constant movement make it extremely difficult for governments to monitor Gypsies, and just about impossible for governments to control them.
Most governments also try to force Gypsies to keep their children in normal schools - which the Gypsies refuse to do, preferring to educate their children in their own manner. The education received by young Romani is usually quite different than that of most children, and this separation helps the Gypsies maintain their own traditions and culture amidst the pressures of modern civilization.

- Teeuwynn