Abram was a city dweller. He started out in Ur, one of the largest and most important cities of his time. God called him to leave the city and move into a tent. From that day on, Abram became a wanderer.
Various things caused Abraham to move. In (Genesis 12) alone he moves because of God's word (12:1), because of his circumstances (12:10), and because of his own wrong actions (12:19-20).
Yes, on a number of occasions God promised Abraham a place, a land where he could live. Even so, Abraham continued to wander. Almost everywhere he went, he built an altar: God was of first importance to Abraham, not the place where he lived.
Actually, it seems that Abraham never felt at home even in the promised land. When Sarah died and he went to find a place to bury her, he told the Hittites, "I am a foreigner living among you." (Genesis 23:4). The word "foreigner" means a temporary dweller. This is quite amazing, because when Abraham said that, he was 137 years old and he had been living in the land for sixty-two years! It did not matter to him that God had given him the land and that he had been in it a very long time; he still saw himself as just a visitor.
Even so, we can learn something else from how Abraham behaved in the land. In some of the places he lived, he dug wells (Genesis 26:15) and even planted trees (21:34). These are not the actions of a person who is just passing through and has no responsibilities. It would seem that, on the material level, we should live responsibly.
"It was in faith that all these persons died. They did not receive the things God had promised, but from a long way off they saw them and welcomed them, and admitted openly that they were foreigners and refugees on earth. Those who say such things make it clear that they are looking for a country of their own. They did not keep thinking about the country they had left; if they had, they would have had the chance to return. Instead, it was a better country they longed for, the heavenly country." (Hebrews 11:13-16)
At the end of his letter the writer of Hebrews makes it clear that what was temporary for the fathers is also temporary for us. "There is no permanent city for us here on earth; we are looking for the city which is to come." (Hebrews 13:14) May God help us remember where we really belong.