Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

metro.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

341–350 of 526 posts

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#341

Post by eythian »

Neil44 wrote: post #170

>Even the unsurprisingly much more efficient German rail system. I hate this fetishization of anything European as if it's the land of milk and honey. If you live in Haiti OK, but I'm guessing the authour doesn't.

In this case it's specifically a - very out of date and no longer accurate - fetishisation of the German rail system (you can tell because those are the words used, the article author being in Europe, and the fact that internationally there is this perception that DB does a good job from people who haven't had to use it recently.)

This said, DB is probably still better than what I've heard about the UK train system, but it's long ago lost its lustre and in my experience when taking IC(E)s through it, delays and cancellations are common occurrences. While I've never got stuck there overnight, I've had several hours added to 6-ish hour journeys regularly.

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#342

Post by tetris11 »

nicolas_t wrote: post #321

> You know how it is with trains. Even the unsurprisingly much more efficient German rail system. Efficient and German Rail systems are not words that go together. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-november-train-punctuality-wor...

I'm surprised this is coming from the Metro. Trains in England are bad, but trains in Germany are the worst.

The only thing that works in Germany are the busses, and even then, some of them you have to call an hour before first...

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#343

Post by martindbp »

safety1st wrote: post #114
JonChesterfield wrote: post #84

Sounds alright really. Less dystopian than living in Google's car park. Doesn't work with dog or family and I'm not sure about being stuck near train stations at destinations, folding bicycle would improve things. Not remotely surprised that he's a programmer. This is essentially living subsidised by the train company who didn't expect someone to take an unlimited train ticket quite that literally. One guy doing this…

This kid is 17. What a chad! As long as he doesn't let less interesting people beat the creative spirit out of him, he's going to go places in life. I mean he's already doing so, about 800 miles worth of places per day

Great thing to do when you're young, why not. I slept on a mattress in a closet for a year. Standards increase as you age, not just because you can but because you get increasingly tired. I held out as long as I could, sleeping in cheap hostels when traveling, but after one night of drunk people coming into the dorm causing days of fatigue I realized it's time to up the standards. Or just not travel.

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#344

Post by dfxm12 »

flohofwoe wrote: post #255
JonChesterfield wrote: post #84

Sounds alright really. Less dystopian than living in Google's car park. Doesn't work with dog or family and I'm not sure about being stuck near train stations at destinations, folding bicycle would improve things. Not remotely surprised that he's a programmer. This is essentially living subsidised by the train company who didn't expect someone to take an unlimited train ticket quite that literally. One guy doing this…

> Drawing attention to himself like this may mark the end of this experience. Unlikely, the FAQ on the ordering page explicitly states that the Bahncard 100 can be used for "any number of trips": https://www.bahn.de/angebot/bahncard/bahncard100-1-klasse . Also, 7714 Euros is expensive (it's more than I pay for a year's rent in a small appartment in Berlin for instance). I guess he's eating the additional cost for a 1…

Also, 7714 Euros is expensive (it's more than I pay for a year's rent in a small appartment in Berlin for instance)

I've heard Berlin is very expensive. I guess it's overblown like some other places I've lived that have a reputation for being "very expensive": if you're really looking, you can find affordable options, but the reporting data is being mostly skewed by outrageously expensive outliers.

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#345

Post by walteweiss »

koevet wrote: post #144

I wonder how does he actually work as a digital nomad. Internet on DB trains is massively unreliable, there are entire patches of country that are not covered by mobile signal.

The boy is 17. At that age you’re not that overwhelmed with people distracting you for no real reason. (Apart from parents, but that’s not work-related usually.)

So you can basically be offline most of the time. I envy that bliss, it’s so difficult to do when you’re much older, with kids, pets, and the family.

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#346

Post by Chris2048 »

me_me_me wrote: post #259
flohofwoe wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Drawing attention to himself like this may mark the end of this experience. Unlikely, the FAQ on the ordering page explicitly states that the Bahncard 100 can be used for "any number of trips": https://www.bahn.de/angebot/bahncard/bahncard100-1-klasse . Also, 7714 Euros is expensive (it's more than I pay for a year's rent in a small appartment in Berlin for instance). I guess he's eating the additional cost for a 1…

7714 per year is 600 per month €600/month In Dublin would get you a 1m2 closet and shit bucket

But you're cherry picking a city with a housing crisis (and a shit, corrupt government with no planning skills).

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#347

Post by locallost »

Mistletoe wrote: post #339
xutopia wrote: post #332

This is horrible and I hope it doesn't encourage anyone to do this. No friendships beyond the very shallow relationships you can develop with the workers onboard the train or the people passing through. This feels inhumane to me. I can't imagine someone being happy doing this for any length of time.

This is kind of what I want to do for several years with my girlfriend. Hide out from the real world on the trains of Europe and explore. Can someone tell me if this pass is Germany only or is something like this available for a lot of Europe?

It's Germany only, but Germany is pretty big. As a foreigner not sure if you'd be able to stay that long without applying for a visa, and you won't get that without a permanent address. If you know someone there you can maybe register at their address.

edit: but for the whole of Europe you do have Interrail but not sure how much it costs. I doubt you can do that every day but could be wrong.

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#348

Post by flohofwoe »

immibis wrote: post #265

Isn't this a completely illegal way to live due to the registration requirement that requires every person living in Germany to have a fixed address?

He's probably registered at his parent's address. But really, nobody will give a fig about where he's registered vs where he actually lives.

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#349

Post by lakpan »

sandworm101 wrote: post #317

I do not believe. Does this guy have a passport? Then he has a mailing address. He claims to work. Then he pays taxes. In which country? he has a mailing address. At 17, I'd bet good money that his mailing address is also his parent's mailing address. This is a gap student having fun bouncing around Europe, about as nomadic as any other backpacker.

I’m in my 30s and resident at my parents house, on a continent I spend 30 days/year on average. My company is registered there even. Most people have a “home” (or mailing address) even if they don’t live there.

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#350

Post by MenhirMike »

moooo99 wrote: post #320
rockyj wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To put this in context - The kid is 17. My daughter is 17 and she goes to school (11th grade) in Germany. I am an immigrant here so not sure how common this is in Germany but I assumed that kids at this age usually are in school. Kinda feels strange that someone so young is fending for himself and living in trains. Not saying it is bad, but just very uncommon. Also this is probably a "try it for a while" thing rather…

> I am an immigrant here so not sure how common this is in Germany but I assumed that kids at this age usually are in school. It’s very common actually. As you probably know, Germany has a three tiered school system where kids move to after finishing elementary school at circa 10 years old. Going to school is mandatory for 9 years here, regardless of graduation or not. You’ll leave Mittelschule after grade 9, so at 1…

It's also the perfect age to do something like that. No lifestyle inflation or real responsibility yet, so go and do something crazy while you're young and carefree.

I would recommend to any kid - if they can afford it/have the proper support system - to take off a year after finishing school and just explore. And if you need money, do try some freelancing and see if it suits you. And if you're done, you can always enter the 9-to-5 grind by entering the workforce proper.

Post reply on HN