Live data from Hacker News

I secretly lived in my office for 500 days

salon.com

91–97 of 97 posts

Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days

#91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't get this attitude. It's not for everyone, but it's a great way to save money. Do this for awhile and you can save up to purchase a home outright or at least have a sizable down payment. I interviewed for a job in Chicago with a company where one of the employees lived in the office. Unlike the Salon article, this employee openly asked if he could live in the office to save himself the cost of rent. The…

I think it boils down to "work now, play later" vs. "work now, play now" philosophies. On the one hand you have the people who give 100% of their day to work, with the goal of building up F-U money and never working again. On the other hand you have the people who make less & save less and plan on working longer, but take more of their day for themselves. I don't think I can say either philosophy is wrong, but they d…

I guess it is an variant of the age old "live to work vs work to live".

Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wasting money on rent is the bigger tragedy.

Yep, every time I sign a check for Bay Area rent, I consider how I'm in the wrong industry, since the land owners have to do very little to continue to extract rent from their one-time-purchase of land (I know, tax is a thing too, but pales in comparison to the returns they must be getting on the land). I'm not super interested in buying a house here, since >half a million for a tiny spot of land in the suburbs with…

The Victorian era had the concept of "retire with competence". basically means building up a portfolio that one could live of the interest/rent/dividends from.

Problem is that it could barely work as long as the nation was a globe spanning empire.

Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days

#93
post #66

Must have been pioneer in this area. A bit over ten years ago I once had a good job in Santa Monica, but was tired of paying ridiculous rent for a shoebox that I was never at. So I packed up, slept in the underground parking garage, and went to the gym every day. Was in the best shape of my life and saved 40k that year, which I later turned into a 2-year trip around the world. Was definitely worth it.

Doesn't this affect your health? An year is a pretty long time to spend sleeping in a car seat, that is definitely less comfortable than an actual bed. Plus there is to consider that in an underground garage humidity levels should be pretty high, which can cause headaches (to say the least) and make the entire thing of sleeping in a car seat even worst for the back. How did it work out for you? (geniune question)

I was able to stretch out between the front and rear seats folded down and a sleeping bag. The first night or two is uncomfortable but then you quickly get used to it. The other issues didn't occur, SoCal is very dry.

Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days

#94

Must have been pioneer in this area. A bit over ten years ago I once had a good job in Santa Monica, but was tired of paying ridiculous rent for a shoebox that I was never at. So I packed up, slept in the underground parking garage, and went to the gym every day. Was in the best shape of my life and saved 40k that year, which I later turned into a 2-year trip around the world. Was definitely worth it.

How did that work for your sex life? Bringing ladies home to a van is my main reason for not wanting to do this.

I think I was single the first half. I did meet a nice girl the second, but i strung it a long for a while, and even then she had low self esteem an so she didnt give me a hard time about it.

Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days

#95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did that work for your sex life? Bringing ladies home to a van is my main reason for not wanting to do this.

I think I was single the first half. I did meet a nice girl the second, but i strung it a long for a while, and even then she had low self esteem an so she didnt give me a hard time about it.

What an unsavory answer.

I guess I can kind of answer my own question, though. An adult woman who shares my values wouldn't care if I lived in a van.

Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days

#96
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... Time spent happy does accumulate. That means he wants to have spent a life being happy as much as possible.

No, memories accumulate. And in my very normal and apparently common experience, rose colored glasses and "I earned my success by struggling" make up for any past lack of happiness I've experienced. Those memories are white-washed unless you've had some severe trauma. So the only thing that really matters is if you currently happy, or if you are about to become happy. Nothing accumulates.

if memories accumulate, something accumulates.

If you're the kind of person that likes to go up the ladder, every step up provides you with happiness so I don't think your story is a counter example.

Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days

#97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I was single the first half. I did meet a nice girl the second, but i strung it a long for a while, and even then she had low self esteem an so she didnt give me a hard time about it.

What an unsavory answer. I guess I can kind of answer my own question, though. An adult woman who shares my values wouldn't care if I lived in a van.

Would you prefer a less-truthful one?
Post reply on HN