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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?

#391

Post by Aachen »

high_5 wrote: post #300
Aachen wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The topic of how he got or paid for the land actually doesn't come up in the video. I found the whole thing pretty fascinating though, also in terms of what he believes about us here in Europe (we're not free anymore) or that USA government is moving towards making the Bible illegal, yet also having a lot of beliefs and knowledge that I consider exceptionally good, like not eating meat or animal products. I don't man…

> The topic of how he got or paid for the land actually doesn't come up in the video. It does get mentioned. He loaned the money from his father and he's repaying it back slowly.

Oh! I missed that. Weird because I did watch the whole thing actually, didn't expect to when starting

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

#392

Post by unyttigfjelltol »

brnaftr361 wrote: post #274
JohnFen wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wonder what the motivation is here, I've heard this sentiment expressed many times. I think it's the fantasy of having complete autonomy, of being completely free in the sense of never having to do anything that you don't want to do[1]. At least, that's that's the aspect of it that resonates with me. But it's only that -- a fantasy. Much like other things that we fantasize about, it's impossible as conceived beca…

I think it's more nuanced than that. As it's currently ordered society is a forced participation regime. I don't get the option to say "no." to a great many things. This is due to a loss of security, I don't get to refuse work at a job or in general, and in the case that I do it becomes a compromise, and this compromise is largely arbitrary because there are really very few actual social distinctions in the world cur…

> I don't get to refuse work at a job or in general...

Living is work no matter where. The monestary, for example, is no different than having a job to generate tradeable value to live. The article might really be interested in places where you can live entirely self-sufficiently, without relying on inputs that society voluntarily grants.

For example, the Into the Wild guy in Alaska. He "lived" for "free", for a short time, but he still relied on an old vehicle for shelter (from society) and had a bunch of clothes and provisions. So, that fits the mold only if you include becoming a thief or outlaw and just taking things from society without trade or agreement, Not done successfully, anywhere, for any length of time.

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

#393

Post by t0bia_s »

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…

Why "not pay taxes" means "away from others"?

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

#394

Post by OfSanguineFire »

supertofu wrote: post #272
dimal wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The loners, the hermits, the "self-sufficient" seem to be outliers, doomed for a hard, brief life In the Pali Canon, the Buddha is often referred to as “the recluse Gautama”. Seems like he found a way to have a pretty good life though. Your generalization doesn’t account for the other path in history where hermits got away from the maddening crowd and found peace of mind and knowledge. You’d prefer to live in socie…

India at the time of the Buddha was favorable to wandering ascetics. People were culturally conditioned to donate alms. And, indeed, alms-seeking is required by the vinaya for monks, so they can't live in complete seclusion from society. Society today is very hostile to wandering folks. Many western monastics independent of monasteries (especially female monastics) have a hard time getting alms without a lot of organ…

India is still very favorable to wandering ascetics. A European friend of mine walked across India barefoot for a year with nothing but robe, staff, and begging bowl, as a spiritual exercise. He found this quite easy to do (indeed, he was well aware before setting off that it would be easy to do) because there is a vast infrastructure in place to support the local ascetics who do this.

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

#395

Post by OfSanguineFire »

supertofu wrote: post #329
Fricken wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went on a bike tour this summer and for a week was living the life of a wandering folk. I experienced no hostility. People were all very friendly and helpful the whole way. Like, super friendly and super helpful, offering me meals and places to sleep. I had a tire blowout which stranded me at a small town gas station for a few hours, and about a dozen dudes came up over that time and offering me use of their tools…

I'm very glad that you experienced generosity! But I don't think your experience is the norm. One week of wandering is not exactly a lifetime. I also can't help but assume from your plucky, overconfident dissent that is based on a very short duration of experience that you are a white man.

Having spent half of every year for the last decade traveling the world by bike, I can confirm what the OP says: one meets helpful people, is often invited to meals or to stay in locals’ homes, etc. And instead of "white", perhaps a better distinction for trouble-free travel is “not black”. There’s a decent amount of South Korean, Japanese, and South American cyclists doing round-the-world or Alaska–Ushuaia journeys, and they have the same positive experiences as any person Americans consider “white”.

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

#396

Post by em-bee »

t0bia_s wrote: post #393
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…

Why "not pay taxes" means "away from others"?

because living in a community requires financing of community facilities, which depends on contributions from every member of the community, aka taxes.

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

#397

Post by leoqa »

BurningFrog wrote: post #342
PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If we do have division of labor and pay each other for the work, we've reinvented capitalism Nope. Capitalism, at least 21st century western capitalism, consists of 3 things: 1. relatively free markets, in the sense that what can be bought/sold and for how much is only loosely regulated 2. an entrepeneurial culture that supports the idea of "starting a business" 3. the idea that the rewards of any given human ventu…

You're arguing about the definition of a word. I don't find that interesting.

I agree

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

#398

Post by paulryanrogers »

listenallyall wrote: post #379
ryandrake wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea I think we all know That Guy like you describe: I have an acquaintance who is pretty far down this same rabbit hole. Anti-government, anti-taxes, he has actually gone and spoke at some kind of Public Comments thinggy at the county to complain that he should get an itemized tax bill that shows who each dollar is going to, so he can pick and choose and not let a single dollar of "his money" go to someone he thinks…

Fed up with crazy government spending = "not a big believer in society or community"? Have you actually thought this through? Government spending, especially without oversight, is an extremely inefficient method for "building community". The vast majority of taxes go to enormous, bureaucratic departments or programs with virtually no connection to individual people within one's local sphere. Donating to, and actively…

Churches by and large are institutionalized mental illness. Do not recommend.

And while local institutions can be more responsive and flexible, they also cannot exist without a larger entity helping maintain their sovereignty. (Otherwise larger and stronger forces would overthrow them.) Local only can also be a hassle for things like commerce or civil rights. Imagine every city having their own currency or rules about what "kind of people" are welcome or unwelcome.

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

#399

Post by adnjoo »

In the future when robots and AI perform all human tasks that are performed in today's economy, it might be possible to 'live for free'.

In the current time, maybe a commune like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=351TKxYg7M4&pp=ygUSY29tbXVuZ...

although you have to contribute labor in this example.

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

#400

Post by grecy »

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?

Firstly it's advantageous to live in a country with healthcare for all.

Secondly you just live more "rough" - you don't go to a doctor or dentist until it's really required. Life is harder, without a doubt.

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