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Is there anywhere in the world someone can just live for free?

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Re: Is there anywhere in the world someone can just live for free?

#161

Post by cracrecry »

I would not say it is a good place for living free, but Cuba, Colombia, Argentina and Brazil are great places for traveling for cheap.

Remember there are adults in Cuba that have never used a sweater. Even in Brazil you do not need lots of things that you need living in Boston, Hamburg or Interlaken.

I speak Spanish natively and I love Argentina, but the last time I went travelling there every Argentinian told me I was totally nuts because Argentina is not as save to travel as it was in the past.

I just took basic common sense tactics like making my mirrorless camera and laptop completely ugly and my clothing was not new and a little worn out so people do not believe I am rich(for Argentinians' level I am super rich).

Re: Is there anywhere in the world someone can just live for free?

#162

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

hkt wrote: post #53
keiferski wrote: post #15

It's interesting how quality of life baselines have increased so much in the last century. If you wanted to have the QOL of someone that lived in the American West a hundred years ago, it could be done today for probably $100 a month all-inclusive of food, clothing, and shelter. But you'd be eating the same 5-10 things repeatedly, wearing the same clothes, have a few books for entertainment, minimal or no electronics…

Interesting that you say that about books - libraries were common (in the UK at least) even before the 1870 education act. It would be a cheap subscription and the subscribers would choose what filled the shelves, often with direction from newspaper reviews or publications from intellectuals of various stripes, eg, the Harvard classics bookshelf. Re: communes, this is a great observation. Again in the UK, there was a…

It sounds like a nice way to live, as long as it works as it should.

But communes usually failed because self-sufficiency is really, really hard. And also because there were political struggles - usually around power, status, and sex.

If you live as a couple you only have to deal with each other, and the kids, if there are any. That's often plenty for many people.

In a commune you get less stress from shared chores but more from living in a group of differing personalities. It's possible with maturity, but it only takes one Cluster B personality to make it toxic and unworkable.

Re: Is there anywhere in the world someone can just live for free?

#163

Post by halfcat »

Sebastian Junger, in his book Tribe, made the point that freedom means freedom from oppression, not freedom from obligation.

The big city and the log cabin both come with their own set of obligations, whether it be to yourself, or your community.

There is no freedom from obligation for the living.

Re: Is there anywhere in the world someone can just live for free?

#164

Post by asynchronous »

beepbooptheory wrote: post #151

There is just a deep deep existential sadness in the question itself. The proximity of a better more just world is sometimes revealed in the simplest things. There is a contradiction at the tip of everyone's tongues, hidden in our language and moral assumptions. Something has to happen. I can't imagine anyone believes there will be CocaCola and McDonalds on Mars.

For a glimpse as to what this would look like, The Outer Worlds does a decent job showcasing exactly that situation.

Re: Is there anywhere in the world someone can just live for free?

#165

Post by bombcar »

HPsquared wrote: post #19
keiferski wrote: post #15

It's interesting how quality of life baselines have increased so much in the last century. If you wanted to have the QOL of someone that lived in the American West a hundred years ago, it could be done today for probably $100 a month all-inclusive of food, clothing, and shelter. But you'd be eating the same 5-10 things repeatedly, wearing the same clothes, have a few books for entertainment, minimal or no electronics…

You could probably set up a business of "economical retreats"... Live in the old fashion for a week or so. Very low costs to the business owner, and an interesting experience for the patrons. Call it "the simple life". You'd need to arrange things for them to do as well. Edit: perhaps not possible, as most people would lack the skills to e.g. wash clothes or cook manually. Maybe it could have instructors and classes…

This is called camping.

Re: Is there anywhere in the world someone can just live for free?

#166

Post by [deleted] »

pavlov wrote: post #7

If you’re a citizen or legal resident of a Nordic country, you’ll get paid basic subsistence when you have no other income. In Finland this is around 500 euros / month. There are lots of empty houses in the remote countryside in Finland (and I presume the same is true for parts of Sweden and Norway). You can probably rent something for next to nothing, or even make a deal with the owner to stay for free in exchange f…

[deleted]

Re: Is there anywhere in the world someone can just live for free?

#167

Post by chongli »

bombcar wrote: post #154
chongli wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing everyone forgets is that the Amish people benefit from police and national defence, like everyone else. Their simple, peaceful life would not be possible if they comprised their own sovereign nation in a region surrounded by hostile actors. With no military of their own, they’d be annexed instantly. This means they aren’t truly independent. They’re dependent in a way they could never afford to pay for thems…

It's likely that the Amish wouldn't be terribly concerned if they were annexed by Canada or whomever.

The Amish originally came to North America fleeing persecution in Europe.

Re: Is there anywhere in the world someone can just live for free?

#168

Post by [deleted] »

btbuildem wrote: post #158
grecy wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hiked into the bus [1], and eventually spent 4 years living in the Yukon. I've ventured all over Yukon and Alaska, and met some very, very interesting people. There are absolutely people living in the middle of absolutely nowhere, doing as they please. Growing their own food, hunting their own meat. Summers have incredibly long days and an abundance of food, winters are cold, dark and long. Plenty of people work so…

The one question I always have in context of that "freedom" lifestyle is -- what do you do when you need healthcare? Even something as simple as a visit to the dentist?

[deleted]

Re: Is there anywhere in the world someone can just live for free?

#169

Post by beedeebeedee »

btbuildem wrote: post #157

OP's premise of "living for free" seems to mean "not pay taxes" and "use what resources are available". I wonder what the motivation is here, I've heard this sentiment expressed many times. It usually seems to imply "away from others". Looking back at the millennia of human history, we've always formed communities, always assumed more-or-less specialized roles, and always used some form of debt to manage the social f…

> Looking back at the millennia of human history, we've always formed communities, always assumed more-or-less specialized roles, and always used some form of debt to manage the social fabric and facilitate the exchange of goods and services.

I would say it is the opposite. Looking back at the millenia of human history, it is people migrating. Successive waves out of Africa and across the continents, and everywhere else, constantly moving in order to live more "free". Whether that is for more resources, or away from conflict within a family or tribe, or from without, with organized religions and governments, etc.

Only recently have we stopped because, frankly, there is no place to go. We can still move around cities and countries (and that can help if you are escaping family or tribal issues), but most of the places we can go to are largely the same. If you have a problem with this economy, the proliferation of petro chemicals and other toxins, etc, there isn't really anywhere you can go to escape.

The folks who leave or want to leave are often characterized as losers, loners, etc, and from the point of the view of the people who are happy with the situation that they are trying to escape, they are losers- but that is exactly why they are trying to escape.

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