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

Indefinite Backpack Travel

jeremymaluf.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

391–400 of 429 posts

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#391

Post by driverdan »

DennisP wrote: post #243
driverdan wrote: post #239

I did this for a bit. The approach is very useful to learn. Traveling light is so, so much better. I never check bags unless there's a very good reason. It does have some downsides. You're constantly making and throwing away relationships. I found this the hardest part. Your lifestyle is subsidized by society. You depend on other people and services to make it work. You either have to eat out all the time or make man…

One way or another, I think most of us have lifestyles subsidized by society. OP could also have bought stocks in 2015, and perhaps done even better than buying a house. Since the beginning of that year, the S&P500 has more than tripled, while housing has gone up about 50% (though of course leverage helps). For all we know, OP does hold stocks, which wouldn't cramp his lifestyle at all. Plus he claims to spend less w…

Interest, leverage, and volatility are far better for a primary dwelling than equities which is why they would have been such a good investment.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#393

Post by themadturk »

mr_toad wrote: post #353
themadturk wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting he has an iPad in the picture of his gear, but doesn't mention it in the article. I, too, waffle on which is best for minimalism, but if I had to choose I'd still go with my MacBook Air. An iPad is nice, but it's not a substitute for a laptop. I'd want an ereader as well, but when push comes to shove, I can read on my phone just fine. My Kobo Clara BW is small and light enough to be almost unnoticeab…

E reader batteries last a lot longer than a phone. If I read on my phone I’d have to charge it constantly.

You're not wrong. Fortunately it's not a choice I have to make.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#394

Post by jamesgeck0 »

I'm a little surprised the author is able to fit all this stuff in a 9L pack. My 30L pack is just about full with my typical carry-on loadout of a laptop, Nintendo Switch, lightweight windbreaker, pajamas, shorts, and two shirt/socks/underwear rolls (plus small misc essentials filling out pockets).

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#395

Post by 93po »

themadturk wrote: post #199
plastic3169 wrote: post #107

I am surprised one bag crowd seem to pack so many computing devices with them. Some have phone, laptop, ipad and kindle and pride themselves on being minimalists.

It's interesting he has an iPad in the picture of his gear, but doesn't mention it in the article. I, too, waffle on which is best for minimalism, but if I had to choose I'd still go with my MacBook Air. An iPad is nice, but it's not a substitute for a laptop. I'd want an ereader as well, but when push comes to shove, I can read on my phone just fine. My Kobo Clara BW is small and light enough to be almost unnoticeab…

i noticed this too and it didnt make much sense to me. my guess is that their work involves using a stylus to draw, or that the ipad works as a second monitor, or that it's simply something they really, really like and its a luxury item

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#396

Post by 93po »

sequoia wrote: post #368

How does he fit all his camping stuff in his one bag? This was not explained. He "tosses it in his bag" for outdoor trips but tossed from where? I thought everything he owned was already in his bag. How does he "not buy stuff frequently" if he discards & buys new swim suits (and presumably other stuff) as needed? Sounds like this guy has a pretty cool & minimal lifestyle but I suspect there's some exaggeration and el…

my guess is he has a separate bag at wherever his "home base" along with his camping stuff

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#397

Post by doix »

porphyra wrote: post #382
doix wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yeah, this lifestyle basically only works as a single young adult. Once you have a significant other, it's very, very hard. I've been doing it with my significant other for 5ish years now. I would say it's _much_ harder to do it solo and I would've settled down long ago if it wasn't for her.

> I would've settled down long ago if it wasn't for her. Maybe it's much harder for her then, since you're the one who wants to settle down but she has to drag you around with only a backpack!

No, we're both happy. I just mean if I was solo, the throwing away relationships part would get exhausting. When you travel with a partner, you at least have one person that's constant through out the whole thing.

She feels the same way.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#398

Post by ip26 »

beaker52 wrote: post #50
delichon wrote: post #10

I lived out of a backpack for two months on a Pacific Crest Trail hike. I got comfortable with it and told myself that I had overcome my materialism, and could henceforth live happily without a lot of stuff and conveniences. Not so much. Now a couple of decades later, I've got a house and garage crammed with stuff. Yesterday I had a plumber here working on a leak, and this morning I have no running water, and here I…

> I got comfortable with it and told myself that I had overcome my materialism, and could henceforth live happily without a lot of stuff and conveniences. Same. Exactly the same. I have often reflected that I have never been as happy as when I had the least stuff, either. I often wonder if it’s a) correlation or causation and b) whether the stuff is caused by dissatisfaction or the dissatisfaction is caused by the st…

Away from home, I quickly find myself lamenting all the time I spend washing all my dishes, cookware, and laundry. Nothing is ever completely dry, and if you are tent camping you spend 30 minutes striking and 30 minutes pitching every day.

I enjoy the outdoors but it’s also a great reminder of how much I love my dishwashing machine. Repairing it might take a few hours every few years, but it saves far more time on net.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#399

Post by tomhow »

Atlas667 wrote: post #282

[flagged]

Can you please stop commenting like this on HN? Snarky swipes like this are clearly against the guidelines, as is using HN for ideological battle.

Looking at your comment history, almost half your comments contain the word "capitalism" or variants of it. HN exists for having curious conversations about interesting topics. It's not the place for repetitively and predictably venting about the economic system or ideology we abhor, whichever one that is for each of us.

Interesting new ideas about economics and the social order are always welcome here. Same-old ones are not.

If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#400

Post by macartain »

noduerme wrote: post #315
ahoka wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Overcoming materialism by carrying as much Apple hardware as possible in a backpack. I hate these kind of "minimalism" stories.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19. He was talking about backing up to the cloud ;)

Great thought. Hereafter-based hosting. Why shouldn't you be in control of your data after the Rapture? That's going to be a big dollar...
Post reply on HN