Ask HN: Anyone doing some absurd stuff after getting laid off? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Anyone doing some absurd stuff after getting laid off?

#131

Post by noahth » Mon, Jan 23, 2023, 9:52 PM UTC

bosch_mind wrote: post #117

noahth wrote: post #39

I worked for several years as an independent contractor; when my last big project ended several months ago, I decided to take a sabbatical for the climate. So far that has meant spending more time with my kids, learning to compost, building some new raised garden beds, mending some clothes that I previously would've replaced, reading more books, and various other little things. I plan to start volunteering soon with…

On a more personal note, how much money did you save to feel comfortable doing this?

When my wife and i decided to try this, we figured we had runway to live without dramatic changes to our standard of living for 3-4 years. The initial period we agreed on for the sabbatical was 6 months and we've extended that to 1 year. Of course, we are intentionally changing our budget and standard of living along the way. Most likely I will not go four years without working, but I may spend some time exploring other work options before I hang my shingle out for software projects again.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone doing some absurd stuff after getting laid off?

#132

Post by bosch_mind » Mon, Jan 23, 2023, 11:28 PM UTC

noahth wrote: post #131

bosch_mind wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a more personal note, how much money did you save to feel comfortable doing this?

When my wife and i decided to try this, we figured we had runway to live without dramatic changes to our standard of living for 3-4 years. The initial period we agreed on for the sabbatical was 6 months and we've extended that to 1 year. Of course, we are intentionally changing our budget and standard of living along the way. Most likely I will not go four years without working, but I may spend some time exploring ot…

Gotcha. I’m 27 and have quite a bit of cash/investments and also interested in taking a sabbatical to study my own stuff for a bit without the distraction of work. Good to get ideas of what other people consider comfortable to do.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone doing some absurd stuff after getting laid off?

#133

Post by bradlys » Tue, Jan 24, 2023, 2:27 AM UTC

strikelaserclaw wrote: post #130

bradlys wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly: The biggest issue I find is finding any women who are single to begin with. I do find women here and they do show up (especially compared to SF) but it’s still shit odds cause they’re always in relationships! It doesn’t help that I’m the Dalit of the professional world. (Working in tech) Here, finance reigns king. Doctors and law are fine. Tech though? (Even if rich) May as well be a janitor. Status obsesse…

so you were married but now you are too ugly to get dates? Why did your previous wife marry you?

I had dance moves. It helps with some women. It's a hell of a niche though.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone doing some absurd stuff after getting laid off?

#134

Post by sacnoradhq » Tue, Jan 24, 2023, 4:30 AM UTC

Never depend on an employer for balance-sheet or income-sheet security.

It can only be had through ownership. Ownership is harder and riskier.

Worker-owned co-ops are the way to go, not megacorps.

Startups are special kinds of fast growth businesses that are rare and rarely successful. They exist, but there aren't many. There is a lot of money thrown at startups because the upside is potentially very lucrative, e.g., IRR positive.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone doing some absurd stuff after getting laid off?

#135

Post by sason » Tue, Jan 24, 2023, 8:28 PM UTC

SeanAnderson wrote: post #56

I'm proud to say I am taking some time to work on cool stuff! It's definitely in the "I should start coding and stop brainstorming" phase, but I've been enjoying all the theorycrafting. I'm creating a web-first colony simulation game. I'm inspired by SimAnt, RimWorld, idleRPG, and Tamagotchi. My goal is to establish a strong, daily, mental health hygiene routine which promotes box breathing, gratitude journaling, and…

This is awesome and heavily resonates with me. Specifically this line:

> Sometimes when I get depressed I stop caring for myself, but I'm always good about showing up for others.

What stage of the project are you on? How can I track or contribute? I would love to see this come to fruition.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone doing some absurd stuff after getting laid off?

#136

Post by emh68 » Thu, Jan 26, 2023, 9:18 PM UTC

pornel wrote: post #105

emh68 wrote: post #103

I haven't been laid off, but due to the economy I've been trying to come up with something I can do to become self-reliant. I've built a forum platform, and I've been buying up ___forum.com domains and pointing them at it. So far it has been costing me lots of money, and no users are showing up, but it's my vision and I'm not going to give up so easily.

The hard lesson with forums is they're not about the software, or a domain, but the people who can be reached there. Communities will endure the worst software, and also collapse as soon as key people leave.

I think that's very true. However many forums die due to the owner not being able to pay the bills or stop spam. Xenforo + anti-spam addons ain't cheap, google ads won't take just anyone and the payout is very low. Or they just get bored with running a final fantasy fansite. This is where reddit becomes more appealing because if someone deletes a subreddit you don't have to find an entirely new site to join, someone will just recreate it. Of course Reddit is busy trying to make it's VC owners back all of their billions, so its vision has become heavily compromised.