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

metro.co.uk

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

#41

Post by alt227 »

01acheru wrote: post #38
avianlyric wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is this any different to someone choosing to go backpacking for a year? Or do also consider that to be incredibly stupid? It’s pretty clear from the article he’s not doing this to save money, he’s doing because he loves travelling on trains and sees it as an opportunity for exploration and adventure. There’s nothing stupid about being curious, and brave enough to indulge that curiosity.

C'mon there is nothing brave or adventurous about it, it is just first world fancy. I'm happy he enjoys it but end of story let's not make this something special, it is not.

>let's not make this something special, it is not.

In your opinion. I think its pretty cool and would have loved to do this when I was 17.

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

#42

Post by _joel »

01acheru wrote: post #7

All fine and good, I hope he likes it but €10k is a lot of money to live more or less like a beggar. With €10k/y you can afford a house+food+bills in most of Europe and in many places it is way cheaper than that. So... yeah, I find it incredibly stupid.

£800 a month in the UK wouldn't clear the vast majority of peoples' rent, let alone bills and food on top of that.

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

#43

Post by [deleted] »

01acheru wrote: post #31
alt227 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

10k Euro per year is what, 800 Euro per month? Im in the UK so I work in pounds. 800 Euro = £684.29 I guarantee you that you cannot get house, bills, and food for this amount per month. I actually think its a pretty smart and cheap way to live if you are young and can handle the requirements.

I said most of Europe, not all of Europe and the UK is known for being one of the most expensive countries in Europe. Same for Scandinavia, Belgium, Netherlands and Denmark. But there are like 20 other countries in Europe where it is totally possible. Don't judge everything based only on you backyard.

[deleted]

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

#44

Post by rob74 »

Ekaros wrote: post #18

Not lifestyle for me, but it is likely not actually that different from possible rents in any bigger cities. So it might work for year or two. And after that, just get a real place.

You probably have to add to that the cost of eating only at restaurants (either on board or at or around train stations) > 90% of the time. And I wonder how he gets his clothes washed (and dried). Laundromat? Stop by his parents' place? Maybe I should read the blog...

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

#45

Post by Shrezzing »

01acheru wrote: post #25
SuperNinKenDo wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

10k covers all that in "most of Europe"? I'm more than a little skeptical of that claim without some expansion, and also a little curious if what you're saying is true.

It absolutely is in all of southern Europe except the center of some large cities, same for eastern Europe, rural France and Germany, etc.

The net after-tax salary in France is €2,450, and in Germany it's €2,750, compared to the €850/mo this kid spends.

I can't see how you could survive long-term on around 1/3 of a nation's average salary, even in the most rural of villages with hardly any amenities, rent alone is going to take up the majority of your budget.

You could probably get by reasonably well in Greece, and could live very well in the Balkans.

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

#46

Post by walteweiss »

Sounds really cool! But I have just one question, why not stay for a couple of days in a new place to explore? Maybe he is, but from the article I’ve got an impression he’s on the move every single day. Doesn’t make too much sense, as when you arrive somewhere you have just one day. For me, it’s always not enough. I’m the opposite of that and prefer to live months in a new place, before moving to the next one.

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

#47

Post by corobo »

I love trains as much as the next nerd but that's a heck of a commitment haha

I think if I wanted to do the digital nomad thing I'd have to cheat on the nomad bit a little and have an anchor flat somewhere.. where else would I keep the NAS?!

As it stands my lil studio flat is 300/yr cheaper with all bills inc and has a coffee machine built into the (admittedly communal, but massive) kitchen. Plenty of caffeine, plenty of legroom!

If nothing else I'm sure we'd agree on remote working being amazing for finding the exact environment that suits you :)

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

#48

Post by RLN »

Ekaros wrote: post #18

Not lifestyle for me, but it is likely not actually that different from possible rents in any bigger cities. So it might work for year or two. And after that, just get a real place.

This is less than half of my rent in London. That's not including gas and electric bills, as well as council tax! I do enjoy having a kitchen though.

"technically has no fixed abode" I think here probably actually means he's registered at his parents house. This would likely be a lot more difficult if you were truly homeless.

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

#49

Post by Ekaros »

Shrezzing wrote: post #45
01acheru wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It absolutely is in all of southern Europe except the center of some large cities, same for eastern Europe, rural France and Germany, etc.

The net after-tax salary in France is €2,450, and in Germany it's €2,750, compared to the €850/mo this kid spends. I can't see how you could survive long-term on around 1/3 of a nation's average salary, even in the most rural of villages with hardly any amenities, rent alone is going to take up the majority of your budget. You could probably get by reasonably well in Greece, and could live very well in the Balkans.

Certainly survive, but not exactly thrive.

10k/12 is 833. Now let's say half or less of that to rent+etc. possible in certain not so desirable areas. Leaves you around 10€ a day for food and then 100€ for other stuff like used clothing and so on.

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

#50

Post by ben_w »

ffgjgf1 wrote: post #21
01acheru wrote: post #7

All fine and good, I hope he likes it but €10k is a lot of money to live more or less like a beggar. With €10k/y you can afford a house+food+bills in most of Europe and in many places it is way cheaper than that. So... yeah, I find it incredibly stupid.

> €10k/y you can afford a house+food+bills in most of Europe I don’t see how that can be true if you want to live alone. Maybe in some of the poorer countries outside the EU.

Bulgaria's GDP per capita is €13,305/year (€1108.75/month), and the average net salary is €10,440/year (€870/month), so it's definitely possible if you're the kind of person who is willing to be arbitrarily ridiculous[0] with this kind of thing.

[0] For one thing, сигурно ще трябва да научиш български, which doesn't sound like a great use of time.

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