I chose to live nomadically out of my car for several months making ends meet through begging and busking, lived in an anarchist settlement in the desert for a little over a month, and spend...
I chose to live nomadically out of my car for several months making ends meet through begging and busking, lived in an anarchist settlement in the desert for a little over a month, and spend another three or four living a completely money- and possession-free life in a big city. Completely outdoors for most of a year.
It was day after day of this is the hardest thing I've ever done, no wait this is, no wait this is. But it was great and helped me completely redefine my character and find my own inner strength. I'll never be afraid of homelessness or poverty again. I feel like I have a kind of wealth that can't ever be taken away.
For the time being I'm back with my parents, living an extremely comfortable, reclusive existence and helping make life easier for them now that they're moving into retirement age. We're trying to figure out how best to care my grandma and grandpa who are both quite elderly since it's getting about time for them to pass especially since my grandma has lung cancer. I don't have any plans to leave this arrangement; multigenerational housing used to be the norm and I think we missed the plot a bit when that became unfashionable. But if/when it becomes time to move on from this I'll most likely return to a very minimal and nomadic lifestyle.
I live out of my car for ~ 6months, it was tough, though I remember very fondly a petrol station I showered in, probably the best shower I've ever used.
I live out of my car for ~ 6months, it was tough, though I remember very fondly a petrol station I showered in, probably the best shower I've ever used.
One of my fondest memories from living out of the car was this gas station, out in the desert in Arizona off of Interstate 40 I think, there was nothing around for miles and miles, just a travel...
One of my fondest memories from living out of the car was this gas station, out in the desert in Arizona off of Interstate 40 I think, there was nothing around for miles and miles, just a travel stop with a convenience store in it and a gas station, and a big lot full of 18 wheelers. I was traveling with several other vagabonds and we drove out to the back of the lot behind all the 18 wheelers, next to this big ... it was a diesel tank, I think, and it was secluded. We always slept outdoors using sleeping bags unless the weather was bad enough that sleep would be impossible, and being out in the desert you could see all the stars. The night sky never felt so close. I lit up a joint and got super high and watched the stars for awhile and went to sleep. It was such a nice peaceful moment in what was overall kind of a chaotic life.
When you commit to living like that you just kind of harden up to it, mentally and physically, or at least I did, and it stopped being a problem. It took me several weeks to get used to sleeping on the ground though.
It's not for everyone. Out of curiosity, is it that your partner wouldn't go for it, or is it that you wouldn't want to rely on your partner in that situation? You know a lot of people in our...
It's not for everyone.
Out of curiosity, is it that your partner wouldn't go for it, or is it that you wouldn't want to rely on your partner in that situation?
You know a lot of people in our society feel like the quality of a relationship is measured by how long we keep it alive and I don't agree. I'm not urging you to break up or anything, but in the long term you should think about what dream you want to realize most. There's a world in which you have a partner and live nomadically, waiting for you to make it real. I guess all I'm saying is if you stay where you are, do so willingly, knowing that this is the dream you want to realize right now out of many dreams you could be living, not because it's the best you can get or you don't want to risk going for something greater.
I like the ideas of alternative living quite a lot. The holy grail of living, particularly in English speaking cultures, seems to be having a huge house in a neighborhood of similar other houses,...
I like the ideas of alternative living quite a lot.
The holy grail of living, particularly in English speaking cultures, seems to be having a huge house in a neighborhood of similar other houses, and needing a car to get anywhere from the house. And there's a lawn to maintain, a pool, a dog... This lifestyle seems really bloated and complex, sorry for the controversial opinion.
Another thing even deeper ingrained in human needs is having a family with kids. This justifies big houses somewhat but doesn't help making life simpler.
I can consider my living alternative because I live alone in a small rented studio apartment (total area about 30 m^2) in a relatively inexpensive urban location and am going to keep doing so. No animals (except a couple stray spiders somewhere behind the fridge) or plants, no car. This satisfies my needs for simplicity and personal space. I can sleep, eat, cook, exercise, use computer and hang out with someone at my place and it's very easy to maintain.
In some cities living spaces are often even much smaller, that's very interesting and even cozy but seems a bit too much. Maybe that's what people in big houses think about regular sized apartments as well...
Speaking of traveling, I also probably see it more an overrated thing than many others. Of course there are some desirable exotic places to hopefully visit in the future, but going to a popular city or waterfall millions of pictures of which are online would take away money, comfort of home, and add a bunch of CO2 into atmosphere from air travel, just for standing there and snapping another pic.
I currently live in a big house surrounded by other houses that look like mine, with the grass and the pool and the kids and the dogs and cats, etc. I agree that it is very bloated and complex. My...
I currently live in a big house surrounded by other houses that look like mine, with the grass and the pool and the kids and the dogs and cats, etc. I agree that it is very bloated and complex. My goal is to wait until our kids finish high school and then switch to an alternative life style off the grid somewhere. We already camp regularly and are looking into buying a camping trailer this winter.
We've raised chickens and we maintain a small garden. Also, I know how to do most repairs around a house or yard.
For me traveling isn't about the destination, but rather the journey. Traveling broadens your outlook in life and lets you experience things you'd likely never experience at home.
I think actually seeing a place is worlds different than looking at a picture online. If you're there, you really get to experience the place and use all of your senses instead of just sight....
I think actually seeing a place is worlds different than looking at a picture online. If you're there, you really get to experience the place and use all of your senses instead of just sight. Sight is only one part of it. Sorry for the tangent.
That's an interesting thought. I actually found having a partner simplify a lot for us. We share a lot of things that would otherwise each need a version of (if we kept separate households). Of...
Life just gets so complex when you partner up...
That's an interesting thought. I actually found having a partner simplify a lot for us. We share a lot of things that would otherwise each need a version of (if we kept separate households). Of course, I can see a simplicity in being responsible of everything, but I do find a lot of comfort in knowing I can lean on something in case of emergency (like loosing my job or unexpected expenses). There's a lot more buffer.
Partnerships sometimes can be a bit different than usual. For example, a close friendship of people who live in separate places close to each other: they can hang out often and stay together at...
Partnerships sometimes can be a bit different than usual.
For example, a close friendship of people who live in separate places close to each other: they can hang out often and stay together at someone's place in case of need for care, and emotional comfort is there, and so is the plentiful personal space and freedom in doing personalized housekeeping, cooking and decorating.
Also when homes are a bit farther apart but at least one friend/partner has a car.
This is probably kinda rare because most people have romantic feelings strong enough to pull 2 people into 1 home and this is the prevalent relationship then. Home needs to be bigger, then often kids are born, and so on. But we are talking about alternative lifestyles anyway
I've been living an alternate style in the midst of the ordinary for years. It comes from a renegade gene alteration, I suppose, although my father was a life magician, my mother a musician, and...
I've been living an alternate style in the midst of the ordinary for years. It comes from a renegade gene alteration, I suppose, although my father was a life magician, my mother a musician, and all my sisters essentially adept at a kind of life sorcery.
Marry this attitude into an essentially mid-western family and you have my situation. The result is outwardly pedestrian, inwardly a journey into the alternative. Currently going minimalist, floating on a twig in a roaring river. I've had the good fortune to meet some wonderful folks along the way, true free spirits who pay for their freedom with suffering. I'm not that brave.
I'm speaking of sorcery in the crazy Castanedan sense. He tells a story of an old mexican-indian whose sorcery was his dancing. I knew a young man myself of average intelligence who was amazing at...
I'm speaking of sorcery in the crazy Castanedan sense. He tells a story of an old mexican-indian whose sorcery was his dancing. I knew a young man myself of average intelligence who was amazing at languages. At the age of 19, Hartwell spoke romance languages, japanese, arabic, and was learning mandarin. He used this ability to talk to basically anyone, though around his fellow english speaking americans he was shy and withdrawn.
As for my sisters, their sorcery is music, which is normally just a gift, but they take it to a level that I can't explain. Like me they are highly intuitive and can entrance with their ability and in normal life are never quite all there, (same here). They practice their art professionally and seemingly effortlessly, and have performed unbelievable feats, capturing the hearts of people around them, even though at face value they seem ordinary. They've been know to heal people with their music and with their company. In other circles I suppose they would be called empathics.
Of course, Castaneda was by all accounts a charlatan, but his sorcery was in his writing, which is marvelous. His work opened me up to the idea of our rather limited take on what we assume to be reality, even though scientists and extremely intuitive people realize the illusory nature of many of our assumptions.
It's hard to know how we should have been when we are being it. With all we don't know, we almost have to cling to the tiny bit we think we know and hold on for dear life and sanity.
It's hard to know how we should have been when we are being it. With all we don't know, we almost have to cling to the tiny bit we think we know and hold on for dear life and sanity.
Curiously, I too am looking for a patch of land with water in the northern Midwest right now, fleeing an oversized house in hurricane territory. I'm trying to convince the spouse that we don't...
Curiously, I too am looking for a patch of land with water in the northern Midwest right now, fleeing an oversized house in hurricane territory.
I'm trying to convince the spouse that we don't need 2,000+ sq. ft. to heat, that we can do a small home (preferably earth-sheltered and/or straw-bale construction), self-build as much as possible, with modest solar/wind, and a prefab outbuilding plus temporary structures for everything else. The intention is to make nature our living room to the extent we can.
We're not old-old yet, but I can see it on the horizon, and I'd rather not contend with the demands of stuff.
The spouse's hangups about smaller housing are the products of growing up in New York City, and being one of 5 boys in a 3-bedroom house. I can't dispute that he has legitimate attachments to...
The spouse's hangups about smaller housing are the products of growing up in New York City, and being one of 5 boys in a 3-bedroom house. I can't dispute that he has legitimate attachments to lebensraum.
As to obstacles...
Firstly, finding employment in a place where we can get affordable land to build a more harmonious homestead without also sustaining a long commute. [If we can get to item one, it's living in an RV or local apartment until we can make items 2 and 3 happen.]
Secondly, finding friendly local building codes for non-standard construction. It can be a real PITA to obtain variances.
Thirdly, enough time/capital for the design and construction. One of the reasons for the lifestyle reboot is that my work week varies from 50 - 70 hours, with travel on top. Capital depends on selling the current house.
If your families are already living together in a large home, professional assistance for your elders can be much further out. Much of what makes taking care of our parents hard in America is the...
If your families are already living together in a large home, professional assistance for your elders can be much further out. Much of what makes taking care of our parents hard in America is the degree to which we don't live near them. If you have to travel across town to make them a meal that's a lot harder than if you were working together to feed a large family, including a couple of people who can't contribute as much in the way of physical labor any more.
Multigenerational housing was the norm for much of western history, the modern conception of the nuclear family being the ideal is 100 years old at most. Go for it!
Multigenerational housing was the norm for much of western history, the modern conception of the nuclear family being the ideal is 100 years old at most. Go for it!
I chose to live nomadically out of my car for several months making ends meet through begging and busking, lived in an anarchist settlement in the desert for a little over a month, and spend another three or four living a completely money- and possession-free life in a big city. Completely outdoors for most of a year.
It was day after day of this is the hardest thing I've ever done, no wait this is, no wait this is. But it was great and helped me completely redefine my character and find my own inner strength. I'll never be afraid of homelessness or poverty again. I feel like I have a kind of wealth that can't ever be taken away.
For the time being I'm back with my parents, living an extremely comfortable, reclusive existence and helping make life easier for them now that they're moving into retirement age. We're trying to figure out how best to care my grandma and grandpa who are both quite elderly since it's getting about time for them to pass especially since my grandma has lung cancer. I don't have any plans to leave this arrangement; multigenerational housing used to be the norm and I think we missed the plot a bit when that became unfashionable. But if/when it becomes time to move on from this I'll most likely return to a very minimal and nomadic lifestyle.
I live out of my car for ~ 6months, it was tough, though I remember very fondly a petrol station I showered in, probably the best shower I've ever used.
One of my fondest memories from living out of the car was this gas station, out in the desert in Arizona off of Interstate 40 I think, there was nothing around for miles and miles, just a travel stop with a convenience store in it and a gas station, and a big lot full of 18 wheelers. I was traveling with several other vagabonds and we drove out to the back of the lot behind all the 18 wheelers, next to this big ... it was a diesel tank, I think, and it was secluded. We always slept outdoors using sleeping bags unless the weather was bad enough that sleep would be impossible, and being out in the desert you could see all the stars. The night sky never felt so close. I lit up a joint and got super high and watched the stars for awhile and went to sleep. It was such a nice peaceful moment in what was overall kind of a chaotic life.
When you commit to living like that you just kind of harden up to it, mentally and physically, or at least I did, and it stopped being a problem. It took me several weeks to get used to sleeping on the ground though.
It's not for everyone.
Out of curiosity, is it that your partner wouldn't go for it, or is it that you wouldn't want to rely on your partner in that situation?
You know a lot of people in our society feel like the quality of a relationship is measured by how long we keep it alive and I don't agree. I'm not urging you to break up or anything, but in the long term you should think about what dream you want to realize most. There's a world in which you have a partner and live nomadically, waiting for you to make it real. I guess all I'm saying is if you stay where you are, do so willingly, knowing that this is the dream you want to realize right now out of many dreams you could be living, not because it's the best you can get or you don't want to risk going for something greater.
I wish you the best then! Enjoy where you are and wherever you may go.
I like the ideas of alternative living quite a lot.
The holy grail of living, particularly in English speaking cultures, seems to be having a huge house in a neighborhood of similar other houses, and needing a car to get anywhere from the house. And there's a lawn to maintain, a pool, a dog... This lifestyle seems really bloated and complex, sorry for the controversial opinion.
Another thing even deeper ingrained in human needs is having a family with kids. This justifies big houses somewhat but doesn't help making life simpler.
I can consider my living alternative because I live alone in a small rented studio apartment (total area about 30 m^2) in a relatively inexpensive urban location and am going to keep doing so. No animals (except a couple stray spiders somewhere behind the fridge) or plants, no car. This satisfies my needs for simplicity and personal space. I can sleep, eat, cook, exercise, use computer and hang out with someone at my place and it's very easy to maintain.
In some cities living spaces are often even much smaller, that's very interesting and even cozy but seems a bit too much. Maybe that's what people in big houses think about regular sized apartments as well...
Speaking of traveling, I also probably see it more an overrated thing than many others. Of course there are some desirable exotic places to hopefully visit in the future, but going to a popular city or waterfall millions of pictures of which are online would take away money, comfort of home, and add a bunch of CO2 into atmosphere from air travel, just for standing there and snapping another pic.
I currently live in a big house surrounded by other houses that look like mine, with the grass and the pool and the kids and the dogs and cats, etc. I agree that it is very bloated and complex. My goal is to wait until our kids finish high school and then switch to an alternative life style off the grid somewhere. We already camp regularly and are looking into buying a camping trailer this winter.
We've raised chickens and we maintain a small garden. Also, I know how to do most repairs around a house or yard.
For me traveling isn't about the destination, but rather the journey. Traveling broadens your outlook in life and lets you experience things you'd likely never experience at home.
I think actually seeing a place is worlds different than looking at a picture online. If you're there, you really get to experience the place and use all of your senses instead of just sight. Sight is only one part of it. Sorry for the tangent.
That's an interesting thought. I actually found having a partner simplify a lot for us. We share a lot of things that would otherwise each need a version of (if we kept separate households). Of course, I can see a simplicity in being responsible of everything, but I do find a lot of comfort in knowing I can lean on something in case of emergency (like loosing my job or unexpected expenses). There's a lot more buffer.
Partnerships sometimes can be a bit different than usual.
For example, a close friendship of people who live in separate places close to each other: they can hang out often and stay together at someone's place in case of need for care, and emotional comfort is there, and so is the plentiful personal space and freedom in doing personalized housekeeping, cooking and decorating.
Also when homes are a bit farther apart but at least one friend/partner has a car.
This is probably kinda rare because most people have romantic feelings strong enough to pull 2 people into 1 home and this is the prevalent relationship then. Home needs to be bigger, then often kids are born, and so on. But we are talking about alternative lifestyles anyway
I've been living an alternate style in the midst of the ordinary for years. It comes from a renegade gene alteration, I suppose, although my father was a life magician, my mother a musician, and all my sisters essentially adept at a kind of life sorcery.
Marry this attitude into an essentially mid-western family and you have my situation. The result is outwardly pedestrian, inwardly a journey into the alternative. Currently going minimalist, floating on a twig in a roaring river. I've had the good fortune to meet some wonderful folks along the way, true free spirits who pay for their freedom with suffering. I'm not that brave.
Would you be able to expand on this? My interest is piqued.
I'm speaking of sorcery in the crazy Castanedan sense. He tells a story of an old mexican-indian whose sorcery was his dancing. I knew a young man myself of average intelligence who was amazing at languages. At the age of 19, Hartwell spoke romance languages, japanese, arabic, and was learning mandarin. He used this ability to talk to basically anyone, though around his fellow english speaking americans he was shy and withdrawn.
As for my sisters, their sorcery is music, which is normally just a gift, but they take it to a level that I can't explain. Like me they are highly intuitive and can entrance with their ability and in normal life are never quite all there, (same here). They practice their art professionally and seemingly effortlessly, and have performed unbelievable feats, capturing the hearts of people around them, even though at face value they seem ordinary. They've been know to heal people with their music and with their company. In other circles I suppose they would be called empathics.
Of course, Castaneda was by all accounts a charlatan, but his sorcery was in his writing, which is marvelous. His work opened me up to the idea of our rather limited take on what we assume to be reality, even though scientists and extremely intuitive people realize the illusory nature of many of our assumptions.
Your sisters sound lovey. I can relate (on few levels). Thank you for indulging me. :)
It's hard to know how we should have been when we are being it. With all we don't know, we almost have to cling to the tiny bit we think we know and hold on for dear life and sanity.
Curiously, I too am looking for a patch of land with water in the northern Midwest right now, fleeing an oversized house in hurricane territory.
I'm trying to convince the spouse that we don't need 2,000+ sq. ft. to heat, that we can do a small home (preferably earth-sheltered and/or straw-bale construction), self-build as much as possible, with modest solar/wind, and a prefab outbuilding plus temporary structures for everything else. The intention is to make nature our living room to the extent we can.
We're not old-old yet, but I can see it on the horizon, and I'd rather not contend with the demands of stuff.
The spouse's hangups about smaller housing are the products of growing up in New York City, and being one of 5 boys in a 3-bedroom house. I can't dispute that he has legitimate attachments to lebensraum.
As to obstacles...
Firstly, finding employment in a place where we can get affordable land to build a more harmonious homestead without also sustaining a long commute. [If we can get to item one, it's living in an RV or local apartment until we can make items 2 and 3 happen.]
Secondly, finding friendly local building codes for non-standard construction. It can be a real PITA to obtain variances.
Thirdly, enough time/capital for the design and construction. One of the reasons for the lifestyle reboot is that my work week varies from 50 - 70 hours, with travel on top. Capital depends on selling the current house.
If your families are already living together in a large home, professional assistance for your elders can be much further out. Much of what makes taking care of our parents hard in America is the degree to which we don't live near them. If you have to travel across town to make them a meal that's a lot harder than if you were working together to feed a large family, including a couple of people who can't contribute as much in the way of physical labor any more.
Multigenerational housing was the norm for much of western history, the modern conception of the nuclear family being the ideal is 100 years old at most. Go for it!