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Ask HN: What kind of life do you dream about?

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Re: Ask HN: What kind of life do you dream about?

#21

Post by Gualdrapo »

mod wrote: post #6

What's stopping you? I live in a small house somewhere in the woods. I have 40 acres, a house, a woodshop, a nice "man shed", and several more small buildings for animals and equipment---and I bought all that for $60,000 in the Ozarks. The slow life doesn't need much to sustain it after you buy your place; maybe it's time to jump off the cliff. Things I've been doing lately: enjoying our first snow last night. Doing…

> What's stopping you?

> The slow life doesn't need much to sustain it after you buy your place

That's exactly what it's stopping me, being able to afford a place.

Re: Ask HN: What kind of life do you dream about?

#23

Post by alexfromapex »

mod wrote: post #6

What's stopping you? I live in a small house somewhere in the woods. I have 40 acres, a house, a woodshop, a nice "man shed", and several more small buildings for animals and equipment---and I bought all that for $60,000 in the Ozarks. The slow life doesn't need much to sustain it after you buy your place; maybe it's time to jump off the cliff. Things I've been doing lately: enjoying our first snow last night. Doing…

This sounds good but I wouldn't want to be too remote

Re: Ask HN: What kind of life do you dream about?

#24

Post by KeyXiote »

One with the opportunity to meet different kinds of people (not online), less judgemental and more collaborative. A life with multidisciplinary educated folks who want to share knowledge rather than compartmentalize it. The ability to reach out with creative ideas in different networks of knowledge without being passed over as a non expert. Less algorythmicly automated, or more transparent automation so I can better understand how my data is used/abused. A simpler life, basic and sustainable amenities, a job that feels fulfilling, work is work were not always going to love it, a community built around helping each other thrive. Less touch screen more tactile in every aspect. I have great ideas I want to execute on, but find it so hard to reach people in certain disciplines so I can get the right kinds of feedback. I can't drink due to a past medical procedure and this interestingly narrowed my social life, bolstered my physical health but not my mental health. Overall a more natural life that integrates with technology and progress, less fear mongering, more constructive criticism aimed at learning rather than shaming. Overall a freer experience, it's one thing to be told how free you are yet feel imprisoned by non normative systems that feel vacuous.

Re: Ask HN: What kind of life do you dream about?

#26

Post by alar44 »

goethes_kind wrote: post #8

I just need a supporting wife and the basic building blocks would then all be in my hands. Then I could focus on my career, try to accomplish something beneficial for the world, and raise a family who I hope to install with all the wisdom that I collected in life so far.

You need to do that stuff for yourself to get the wife in the first place.

Re: Ask HN: What kind of life do you dream about?

#27

Post by nostrademons »

mod wrote: post #6

What's stopping you? I live in a small house somewhere in the woods. I have 40 acres, a house, a woodshop, a nice "man shed", and several more small buildings for animals and equipment---and I bought all that for $60,000 in the Ozarks. The slow life doesn't need much to sustain it after you buy your place; maybe it's time to jump off the cliff. Things I've been doing lately: enjoying our first snow last night. Doing…

"I'm missing someone to share it with."

That's what's stopping me. I was effectively retired before I had kids. Unfortunately, I want certain things for the people I love:

- My kids to be close to their grandparents (and my wife to be close to her parents), who live in the most expensive metro area in the country and aren't likely to move because their other child now has a home & job here.

- My kids to have good schools where they'll get the academic & cultural base they need to be successful in STEM or business fields, should they choose to go that route.

- My family to not be an outcast because of their race. (I'm mixed-race and so am not going to fit into racial categories no matter where I go, but my kids basically look Asian and it's important for my wife to be around people near her.)

- My wife and I to be close enough to keep up our old friendships.

- Given that I've got to work to afford #1-4, being able to do so in a field that I'm good at, with people that I enjoy working with and a work culture that respects me.

Community and relationships create entanglements. If you are willing to optimize only for your own happiness, you can often reach a significantly higher happiness bar then if you have to compromise for the people around you. Unfortunately, it also means you are optimizing only for your own happiness, which creates its own form of unhappiness.

Re: Ask HN: What kind of life do you dream about?

#28

Post by more_corn »

My friend travels. He doesn’t really have a job or career. He owns a house that he rents out and makes about a thousand a month. That has kept him on the move for a decade and a half. He’s a member of the yacht club when he’s in town so he sails, and dives. He lives cheap and free. He’s living the retired life of travel and leisure many people dream of but never achieve. He’s an inspiration to me. I don’t know that I dream of it for myself but it soothes my soul to know he’s out there living free. He’s currently in Eastern Europe. He’s been gone for five months and doesn’t think he’ll be back till spring.
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