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We quit our jobs to build a cabin

outsideonline.com

151–160 of 402 posts

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#151
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

YouTube's recommendations may be more a reflection of your watch history than a shift in content or a change in the algorithm. I have not seen any van life, off-grid, or tiny home videos on YouTube.

This is probably true.

yes, but now it is finding much better content especially those from up and coming channels relevant to you

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#152
post #67

I usually just roll my eyes at stuff like this, despite being dangerously close to the stereotype (however, most of my family is working class, so I actually worked with my hands before becoming a developer), but this line made me angry: > Sometimes, during those months of toil, our anger burned so intensely that we thought the boards we threw into the woods might never land. To paraphrase Gandalf, next time throw yo…

you sound fun...

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#153
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spent a few years doing under the table construction and also picked up the skills to work on mechanical things around the same time. Then I went to college, got a career and spent some money picking up the skills required to work in metal. Electrical and plumbing (not just for water) are things you kind of have to pick up along the way. I'm no means a professional at any of these skills because I don't get 40hr of…

I agree with throwaway0a5e: I became a homeowner as a never-interested DIY with EE/CS degrees. We had an unfinished basement that we paid the builder to finish only the electrical, plumbing, and framing. I'd always heard drywall'ing was easy so I left that for me to do. At the time I knew nothing about lighting, fixtures, eletrical work, etc. Ended up agreeing to J-boxes for basement lights rather than cans, and a fe…

A couple of jobs a contractor I used for a long time (before he, sadly, retired) involved some drywall. He got drywall specialists to do it. He said they were far faster and cheaper than him doing it himself.

I do have a guest bedroom in my house where I once had some time during a holiday shutdown when my job situation was a bit perilous. I had some crumbling plaster so I put some drywall up. It's... functional.

Painting is one thing I do myself. I do it enough I got reasonably good at it and--for touchup--I can reasonably take shortcuts that someone I was paying couldn't.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#154

> The first thing he did was host a long-weekend work party to fix it up. I flew up from my home in Oakland, California. With a group of friends, we tore out exposed nails, cladded interior walls, built a deck and an outhouse, and hung shingles. At night, covered in sawdust and grime, we drank too much and huddled around a propane stove to keep warm, eventually falling asleep and breathing in noxious fumes all night…

600Km / day on a motorbike through Africa is definitely Type II fun. Love the expression!

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#155

> The first thing he did was host a long-weekend work party to fix it up. I flew up from my home in Oakland, California. With a group of friends, we tore out exposed nails, cladded interior walls, built a deck and an outhouse, and hung shingles. At night, covered in sawdust and grime, we drank too much and huddled around a propane stove to keep warm, eventually falling asleep and breathing in noxious fumes all night…

Type II fun is just fine, as long as it doesn't veer into type III fun.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#156

My wife and I were just joking the other day, actually we were probably not joking, but we both wished we had gone into construction. Someone with a general contractors license is super valuable these days. I feel like the entire world is about to embark on a transition that we can't define yet.

You can start anytime. However, manual labor isn’t a joke.

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#157

I purchased land in the North Cascades area (Methow Valley, about 3 hours Northeast of Index where these guys built) in 2007 with the intention of building a weekend home myself. I prepped the property myself and ran the main power. It was a junk show and I quickly learned that the best approach was to continue writing software and pay pros to do the job. That was one of the best decisions I have ever made. My wife a…

In 2007 how did you go about Finding land to buy? Today, would you know of options that are better than just seeing what is available on Zillow and the like? Maybe there are drastic differences in the various online services and some are much better to use than others

I wonder what I'm not finding because it isn't listed on Zillow

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#158
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He achieved nothing and also hasn't killed enough people. That's pretty much the difference. He's not a revolutionary, just a murderer.

So as long as you achieved something, your trail of blood can be as long as you like?

It's likely a paraphrase of the Jean Rostand quote: "Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a God."

It's in the same category as the ancient "history is written by the victors."

So either cynical or realistic (depending on your perspective).

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#159
post #38
post #29

This reminds me of a similar article I once read: "I opened a charming neighborhood coffee shop. Then it destroyed my life." https://slate.com/human-interest/2005/12/my-coffeehouse-nigh...

Those stories always get me. Anyone who has worked in food service in any way knows that it's brutal. Liking a thing, coffee, coffee shops, or anything ... very much does not mean you'd like making it / running something making that thing. Personally I like video games ... I code web boring apps... for reasons.

> I code web boring apps.

Form validation though, after 20 years ... urgh

Re: We quit our jobs to build a cabin

#160

I purchased land in the North Cascades area (Methow Valley, about 3 hours Northeast of Index where these guys built) in 2007 with the intention of building a weekend home myself. I prepped the property myself and ran the main power. It was a junk show and I quickly learned that the best approach was to continue writing software and pay pros to do the job. That was one of the best decisions I have ever made. My wife a…

In 2007 how did you go about Finding land to buy? Today, would you know of options that are better than just seeing what is available on Zillow and the like? Maybe there are drastic differences in the various online services and some are much better to use than others I wonder what I'm not finding because it isn't listed on Zillow

I knew the general area I wanted to buy in and worked with a local real estate agent.
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