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How do I become a self-sufficient old man in a shack?

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Re: How do I become a self-sufficient old man in a shack?

#31

Post by mman »

SageRaven wrote: post #21
Ixiaus wrote: post #5

A mentor of mine did this, with $300,000.00 for four years. He bought a plot of land in Wyoming, built and underground cabin, and bought a Backhoe to help himself build it. He lived there for four years before moving on with his life...

I read about this kind of failure all the time in homesteading and survivalist circles. It takes a certain mindset to succeed, which involves adopting a bit of minimalism and humility. One thing people have trouble wrapping their mind around is this: the more "toys" (tractors, machinery, etc.) that require consumables and maintenance, the less self-sufficient you will be. To be honest, even today's Amish are a far cr…

Do the Amish accept new members?

Re: How do I become a self-sufficient old man in a shack?

#33

Post by swah »

mman wrote: post #30
swah wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For that, what are the advantages of a cave, comparing to a silent library? Also, toilets instead of holes and toilet paper instead of leaves.

I have to sleep somewhere that is legal and that doesn't annoy people, and also to not be dependent on others. This means no panhandling, etc.

You just recalled me of a documentary that showed chinese (IIRC) folks sleeping in LAN houses because it was the cheapest thing for them. A nice idea I must say.

Re: How do I become a self-sufficient old man in a shack?

#34

Post by mman »

lionhearted wrote: post #27
mman wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Again, I'm sorry as the title is a little misleading. I don't really care about being isolated or roughing it in the wilderness. I'd rather not spend time learning any survival skills whatsoever, or even how to farm. I want to minimize involuntary tasks. It could be in the middle of NYC for all i care. But no roaches or bedbugs are allowed.

Okay, I understand better now. Why not do a kind of work you find really enjoyable, and sell/trade that work with people whose company you enjoy? This is generally my philosophy to entrepreneurship anyways - there's a bit of involuntary time involved (taxes, accounting, errands), but I think you could get it down to less than one hour per day. If you didn't care about having extremely nice material comforts/status sy…

Yes, this all stems from realizing the only reason i want to "get rich" is basically so i can live the life described. I want to do only the things that i want to do all the time. And the things that i want to do are extremely simple. But i am willing to give up some time to do other things. Yes, I would consider trading and selling involuntary activities.

The only voluntary activities are reading, writing, thinking, and communicating. I guess eating, sex, and shitting can all go in the voluntary slot, too.

Re: How do I become a self-sufficient old man in a shack?

#35

Post by SageRaven »

mman wrote: post #26
SageRaven wrote: post #18

More parameters are needed, in my opinion. What you want is possible, but not with only $10k. That, or give up some requirements (internet, unless you want to walk to a public library) and be prepared to squat on someone else's property. I live close to your desired existence. I own my humble hermit's cabin outright, have no debt at all, and a few grand in savings. I grow some of my own food, hunt some more, but I st…

So is $100k and whatever you already own the minimum you would say this it's possible to do this with?

The minimum for me. I want in-home internet access for the rest of my days, and of course cover taxes and some other minor luxuries like coffee and ammo.

Again, it all depends on what you require and how you want to live.

Even if I started out with nothing, with $100k I could probably buy a place outright (a truly run-down shack, mind you) and still have enough to bootstrap myself into life-long self-sufficiency(excepting maybe the internet requirement). There are very cheap properties (some rural, some urban) in many states (even Hawaii!), so it all depends if you want 1 undeveloped acre on a tropical island or 5 acres in the mountains of West Virginia with some 100-year-old moonshiner's cabin already built.

Re: How do I become a self-sufficient old man in a shack?

#36

Post by pvdm »

aristus wrote: post #20
mman wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, there is a catch: I'm not actually an old man, i just want to live the life of an old man in a shack. What i really want is to maximize the hours per day dedicated to sleep and whatever else i want to do, which currently is only reading and writing. I had a relatively bad undergrad GPA and basically want to live the life of a professor without having to worry about grad school, then phd, tenure, teaching if i…

If I remember correctly, Joseph Campbell waited out the Depression this way. I don't know how he supported himself (probably borrowed the cabin from family), but he basically read books for 5 years.

And what he discovered during those 5 years was really grand. Do you have a reference for his auto/biography ? I know he ran track at Columbia, manage to visit Europe and learned sanskrit.

Re: How do I become a self-sufficient old man in a shack?

#37

Post by SageRaven »

mman wrote: post #31
SageRaven wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read about this kind of failure all the time in homesteading and survivalist circles. It takes a certain mindset to succeed, which involves adopting a bit of minimalism and humility. One thing people have trouble wrapping their mind around is this: the more "toys" (tractors, machinery, etc.) that require consumables and maintenance, the less self-sufficient you will be. To be honest, even today's Amish are a far cr…

Do the Amish accept new members?

I've heard of people moving into their communities and converting, but "the Amish" are not like some hippie commune you can simply "join". Most real estate in Amish areas is prime farmland and not cheap.

Re: How do I become a self-sufficient old man in a shack?

#38

Post by mman »

siculars wrote: post #22
mman wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, by "escape the system" i meant escape the system we create here, as in keep my freedom, not be incarcerated, not be prevented from having sex or children for the rest of my life, etc.

This lifestyle will almost assuredly prevent you from having sex. Your budget will not buy you much of it either.

I just mean that i can't be a celibate monk unless i can also stop being a celibate monk when i feel like it.

Re: How do I become a self-sufficient old man in a shack?

#39

Post by mman »

SageRaven wrote: post #35
mman wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So is $100k and whatever you already own the minimum you would say this it's possible to do this with?

The minimum for me . I want in-home internet access for the rest of my days, and of course cover taxes and some other minor luxuries like coffee and ammo. Again, it all depends on what you require and how you want to live. Even if I started out with nothing, with $100k I could probably buy a place outright (a truly run-down shack, mind you) and still have enough to bootstrap myself into life-long self-sufficiency(exc…

Public internet ok, no coffee, no ammo. Cookies sometimes but not all the time. And milk for the cookies.

Re: How do I become a self-sufficient old man in a shack?

#40

Post by billc »

SageRaven wrote: post #35
mman wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So is $100k and whatever you already own the minimum you would say this it's possible to do this with?

The minimum for me . I want in-home internet access for the rest of my days, and of course cover taxes and some other minor luxuries like coffee and ammo. Again, it all depends on what you require and how you want to live. Even if I started out with nothing, with $100k I could probably buy a place outright (a truly run-down shack, mind you) and still have enough to bootstrap myself into life-long self-sufficiency(exc…

ammo?
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