Ask HN: Will soon have lots of time and little money – how to spend it?

Considering that I've been practicing diets without any carbs for a while now, I can say that:

1. They aren't much more expensive if you plan ahead. You need to buy in bulk and refrigirate at home. 2. You do get added benefits of canceling any drinks with carbs, which means no juices and beer and much less carbonated stuff (all you can do needs to be sugar less). 3. You should feel better across the day. I always got super tired after eating rice or pasta (especially the simplest, white stuff, full grain is usually better but not much).

If you need a very good crash course on what to do, read the 4-hour body from Tim Ferriss. That's a nice starter for people trying to change their lifestyle.

BTW: Since I reduced/removed carbs from my diet I lost 10-15% of body weight, am much less tired/sleepy and can perform better mentally. I also eat less without even trying, overeating is very hard + regardless of the fact that I eat at least two eggs daily + insane quantities of fatty foods (ribs, suckling pig, bacon, butter) my bloodwork (including holesterol) improved.

Try to reset your mind off the 9 to 5 work mode schedule. Be free and open to new experience. Let inspiration come to you at any time. Choose when, how and where you work. It can be early morning in bed. Afternoon in a coffee shop. Lunch time in a park, whatever. Do not build artificial restrictions. They will come on their own with clients and deadlines. Keep it flexible, exciting, adventurous.

But above all - be mindful of your body. Stay active. Hike, bike, run, anything. Find sport you like. Go out regularly and play it. You will meet new people, socialize and keep yourself fit. Physical fitness is a direct feedback loop to your overall condition.

Good luck.

A slightly more expensive and less sociable backup is working at a cafe - which I still find preferable to working from home.

I was a homemaker for years and I homeschooled my sons for a long time. We are solving hard (personal) problems and making a significant transition in our lives in part because we tend towards not having a TV, have gone through periods without a phone, and tend to have fairly quiet lives, literally and figuratively. People who have super busy lives often have very noisy lives. While driving, they have the radio on. While jogging, they have the ipod on. While relaxing after work, they have the TV on. Their phone is always on and they are super plugged in to social media and on and on.

I think constant noise makes it hard to think. I think it promotes that sense of needing to do a million things and not being able to afford to do just "nothing" for a time if you wish. If your brain is constantly being bombarded with musical lyrics and TV advertising and on and on, how can you ever really, truly think about anything?

When my kids were little, I was able to deal with some serious personal issues in part because I was able to be a homemaker. Cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and caring for small kids took all my time but it did not take all my mental capacity. Thus, it allowed me to think deeply about a lot of things without much interruption. It became a habit and I continue to arrange to live quietly in some sense so my brain is not bombarded with other people's word, ideas, etc all the time so my own ideas and feelings can find their way to the surface and be expressed.

Congrats and good luck!

Can you recommend some at similar price points that offer good connectivity, access to nature, the beach, etc?