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About Not Owning Sh*t

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Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#101

Post by Nursie »

jrs235 wrote: post #91
spodek wrote: post #41

I applaud his lifestyle, but the post reminded me of an insightful joke. Q: How do you know when someone doesn't own a TV? A: They tell you. Again, I like his decisions. I hope I don't sound like other posters putting him down or defensive things like he must be rich to live poor, which miss the point. He just seems to be bragging about it. Why not just not have a lot of stuff and leave it at that? If you want to ins…

I tend to refrain from telling people how much TV I don't watch until they ask about a show or commercial they have seen or are following and wonder if I follow. Please don't downvote me but what's that saying again?... "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." I would place discussing TV shows / commercials, unless they spark discussion about ideas (like "that's an awesom…

There's no space in your world for small talk and chatter then?

You're missing out.

Not that you're missing out by not watching tv, that's pretty irrelevant, but your attitude there is pretty judgemental.

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#102

Post by [deleted] »

Nursie wrote: post #101
jrs235 wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tend to refrain from telling people how much TV I don't watch until they ask about a show or commercial they have seen or are following and wonder if I follow. Please don't downvote me but what's that saying again?... "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." I would place discussing TV shows / commercials, unless they spark discussion about ideas (like "that's an awesom…

There's no space in your world for small talk and chatter then? You're missing out. Not that you're missing out by not watching tv, that's pretty irrelevant, but your attitude there is pretty judgemental.

[deleted]

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#103

Post by Nursie »

[deleted] wrote: post #102
Nursie wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no space in your world for small talk and chatter then? You're missing out. Not that you're missing out by not watching tv, that's pretty irrelevant, but your attitude there is pretty judgemental.

[deleted]

Hey, it's nobody's right to make you hang out with them if you don't want to!

But small talk and chatter are part of the glue that bind friendships in my world. Perhaps our worlds are very different.

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#104

Post by joedev »

Many of these "I don't need anything" posts should be subtitled, "If I want to use something, I just mooch it off friends", "I let other people maintain and store the stuff I use" or "I don't have any hobbies".

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#105

Post by feralmoan »

Nursie wrote: post #99
thoughtcriminal wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forty.

Fair enough, you have a few years on me, and that was not what I was expecting! I don't know anybody beyond their 20s that lives with quite such an extreme ethos about this whole thing. And most of my friends are hackers in one way or another. That said they're also mostly British and not part of startup culture.

Its interesting you keyed it to startup culture, there's probably a correlation there in having a producer mindset rather then being a consumer. I'm 35 and live to build, all my belongings fit in a suitcase and can skip to new countries or opportunities with a few days notice. Minimal is a fantastic lifestyle if you have the means and skill to exploit it. The idea of owning a house and having to fill it with shit just stresses me out.

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#106

Post by neverm0re »

feralmoan wrote: post #105
Nursie wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair enough, you have a few years on me, and that was not what I was expecting! I don't know anybody beyond their 20s that lives with quite such an extreme ethos about this whole thing. And most of my friends are hackers in one way or another. That said they're also mostly British and not part of startup culture.

Its interesting you keyed it to startup culture, there's probably a correlation there in having a producer mindset rather then being a consumer. I'm 35 and live to build, all my belongings fit in a suitcase and can skip to new countries or opportunities with a few days notice. Minimal is a fantastic lifestyle if you have the means and skill to exploit it. The idea of owning a house and having to fill it with shit jus…

> The idea of owning a house and having to fill it with shit just stresses me out.

Friend of mine was twenty-three when his parents insisted he buy a home in Sunnyvale since 'he could afford to'. We got to the point of describing the place as an 'albatross' repeatedly, since it cost him many interesting opportunities had he not been nailed into place. He's now very happily in Japan and free of the burden of home ownership.

I'm in my thirties and I've lived in quite a few places. Yet to live somewhere and say 'Yep, this is it. Nothing else to see, this is the best culture has to offer.' and then stay there. Minimalism simply works best to achieve mobility and it's not like you cannot find partners whom also feel the same way.

I find a lot of the hostility and stereotyping over this lifestyle I see here fascinating. Buyers remorse most likely.

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#107

Post by jmspring »

ygra wrote: post #87
jmspring wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And decide to settle and buy a house...

Is a house actually necessary? I've been content with living in a rented flat so far. Or is that mainly an American thing where outside of larger cities space is abundant?

Depends on your situation and how long you plan on living in one place. In the US there are tax advantages to home ownership, my mortgage + property taxes are currently less than what I would pay for rent for a comparable house. Situations differ by individual and region. Some places like San Francisco are seeing rents go through the roof, while some places like Berlin are still very reasonable.

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#108

Post by Tichy »

albemuth wrote: post #37
AUmrysh wrote: post #4

I'd like to cut down on all of the junk I hold on to. What are some helpful tips to go from hoarder to not owning shit?

Also, quit having hobbies

Good point. Perhaps one way to reduce hobby related stuff is to do as much as possible in hacker spaces or similar things, so that you don't have to own equipment yourself.

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#109

Post by Nursie »

feralmoan wrote: post #105
Nursie wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair enough, you have a few years on me, and that was not what I was expecting! I don't know anybody beyond their 20s that lives with quite such an extreme ethos about this whole thing. And most of my friends are hackers in one way or another. That said they're also mostly British and not part of startup culture.

Its interesting you keyed it to startup culture, there's probably a correlation there in having a producer mindset rather then being a consumer. I'm 35 and live to build, all my belongings fit in a suitcase and can skip to new countries or opportunities with a few days notice. Minimal is a fantastic lifestyle if you have the means and skill to exploit it. The idea of owning a house and having to fill it with shit jus…

I think it's a lot presumptious to say that people who do keep posessions are not part of producer culture, and that's not what I meant.

I meant the startup world as a fashion or a fad which seems to attract people who are into all sorts of funny ideas. I don't associate startups with productivity, certainly not often useful productivity most of the time.

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#110

Post by im3w1l »

joedev wrote: post #104

Many of these "I don't need anything" posts should be subtitled, "If I want to use something, I just mooch it off friends", "I let other people maintain and store the stuff I use" or "I don't have any hobbies".

"'I let other people maintain and store the stuff I use'"

Sounds like a business model. I'd pay for it.

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