In late 1628, when he was thirty-two years old, Descartes set out for the United Provinces for the second time in his life. The reasons he offered friends for his departure from France were that he wished to avoid the customary distractions of a gentleman's life (such as visiting friends and attending court), and that he wanted to escape the heat of the French climate. Descartes' subsequent frequent changes of address, and his almost obsessive efforts to conceal his precise location even from trusted friends, make the first reason more plausible than it might otherwise seem. During the period from 1629 to 1633, the new immigrant had at least five addresses, at Franeker, Amsterdam (twice), Leiden, and Deventer, and on two occasions he considered leaving the country either to return to France or to visit England. Since he asked Mersenne not to reveal his address and seems even to have provided misleading return addresses on his letters, one must assume that he wished to enjoy the seclusion that he claimed was necessary for his studies. His quasi-eremitical success is reflected in the pun used by some of those who were frustrated by his hiding, when they spelled his name as ‘Monsieur d'Escartes’ (Mr. Evasion).