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

I am retiring from tech to live offline

openpath.quest

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

461–470 of 617 posts

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#461

Post by sillysaurusx »

fontain wrote: post #430
latkin wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> His BlueSky is professional. It's plainly not. https://bsky.app/profile/chadwhitacre.com/post/3mmvzmugfqk2g "my good friend Dana could really use some help paying for major dental work. " His latest YouTube post, from 2 weeks after the alleged go-dark date, is also all about his personal plan to walk away from tech. Needed to make sure there is a GoPro in his face while he talks about how low-tech he yearns to be.…

You initially suggested that there was something suspicious about this being posted on HN. If you want to walk that back, okay, but doesn't that poorly judged initial sentiment undermine your cynicism? Yes, of course this is "performative". Publishing is performance. Chad is, obviously, performing for his audience in sharing this, he wants to get his perspective out into the world. Given Chad's decade plus of leading…

I’ve noticed HN becoming a cynical black hole lately. Any contrarian opinion is pushed back with a lot of force and grayed out, like yours. I thought about upvoting you but I’ll just leave a comment agreeing with you. Fighting against people determined to see the worst in every situation is exhausting.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#462

Post by DamonHD »

drivebyhooting wrote: post #298
siren2026 wrote: post #237

I have been at it for 20 years now and have started to feel my time is up as well As a lot of comments here highlights, the issue is not so much the tech but the politics, constant perf reviews, re-orgs, nonsense BS that is pushed top-down. This industry is taking a toll on you. My advice for anyone reading this that is starting your career: Live simply and save a lot. When I started my career I thought I would love…

I could and did live frugally before I had kids. How can one continue living in a small apartment with lead and asbestos hazards is beyond me.

I have asbestos in this modest[0] house: it's not any sort of a problem. (Lead only in my soldering kit in significant quantities so far as I know...)

I always have been fairly frugal and am in semi-retirement now from the residues of my last two small start-ups (to which COVID was unkind, so died simultaneously!).

My extended family has/had big houses, including one in which a famous film was set it seems, but I see those as mainly expensive liabilities. Never owned a car. Etc etc.

[0] As described by a visiting Secretary of State!

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#463

Post by [deleted] »

drivebyhooting wrote: post #298
siren2026 wrote: post #237

I have been at it for 20 years now and have started to feel my time is up as well As a lot of comments here highlights, the issue is not so much the tech but the politics, constant perf reviews, re-orgs, nonsense BS that is pushed top-down. This industry is taking a toll on you. My advice for anyone reading this that is starting your career: Live simply and save a lot. When I started my career I thought I would love…

I could and did live frugally before I had kids. How can one continue living in a small apartment with lead and asbestos hazards is beyond me.

[deleted]

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#464

Post by alchemism »

claytongulick wrote: post #345
alchemism wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d probably let go of the employees who decline using agentic tools first, tbh. All things being equal.

And that's the problem. The companies that agree with you will be at an interesting place when they have piles of AI slop code and no talented developers.

I can’t say Claude Code is not a great product with solid market fit even though the code inside it is aesthetically garbage.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#465

Post by tikhonj »

siren2026 wrote: post #237

I have been at it for 20 years now and have started to feel my time is up as well As a lot of comments here highlights, the issue is not so much the tech but the politics, constant perf reviews, re-orgs, nonsense BS that is pushed top-down. This industry is taking a toll on you. My advice for anyone reading this that is starting your career: Live simply and save a lot. When I started my career I thought I would love…

I broadly agree, but expensive homes are an odd example because, like, you can just sell the house later. There might be some opportunity cost relative to investing in a broad market ETF or whatever, but that's not the sort of difference that makes or breaks your early retirement strategy.

It's a bit odd to get moralistic over saving/spending money in general, but that's especially true around expensive homes.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#466

Post by robocat »

throwfaraway4 wrote: post #373
siren2026 wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone always need twice as much as they have to retire. Most people will also never do it. Reading the FIRE subreddit I have realized that most people like the fantasy of retiring more than actually retiring. A lot of them wouldn't actually know what to do without the daily societal pressure to grind. Life is tough when you are out of the beaten path and need to figure out how to fill your days apparently.

TBH I think most people's lives are on autopilot and I can't blame them. This is what late stage capitalism has endoctrinated into our culture. I was one of them until some events made me look critically at retirement. After crunching the numbers I could have retired years ago. Sticking it out a bit longer to squash the rest of the concerns my spouse has.

> late stage capitalism

versus

> crunching the numbers I could have retired years ago

How do you reconcile the apparent hypocrisy of your wealthiness?

The stereotype is a boomer taking their winnings and then complaining about the system.

I've got just enough money to start worrying that my savings will mostly be taken by my government. Perhaps it is time for me to join the old white man complainer's club (is HN that?).

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#467

Post by [deleted] »

wyclif wrote: post #324
0xbadcafebee wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well he does say in the letter he wants to be part of an offline-only community, and is starting a magazine centered around it combined with Orthodox Christianity... this after talking about a community in India that kills outsiders and wanting to be like the Amish. Seems cult-adjacent

Eastern Orthodoxy is the oldest branch of Christianity. Which means it's the furthest thing from "cult-adjacent." You want to know what is actually "cult-adjacent"? People who are associated with Mormonism, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Scientology, Transcendental Meditation, or your local Church of Cosmic Vibrations.

[deleted]

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#468

Post by dhosek »

throwfaraway4 wrote: post #309
saadn92 wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It comes down to perspective tbh. For someone who's worked hard labor throughout their life, the cushy tech job you get is actually worth doing forever. But for people who have never experienced that, I can see why retiring early makes sense, but honestly most of us get to work from home and do our jobs on the computer, which doesn't require much. It's still an amazing career to be in IMO

I've worked in food service, landscaping and factory jobs. You're right, the tech job does feel super cushy after gigs like that. But I'm about 25 years in on the tech industry now and I feel the same GP. At some point, you can't avoid the politics and corp BS and it wears you down. Everything is relative. Now that I have the means to say "I don't have to or want to do this anymore" I'll be checking out after this ye…

Not to mention that with AI, the pleasure is going out of it, at least for me. I enjoy the crafting of code at least as much if not more than the actual results of the code. For almost 20 years, I’ve been declaring myself ready to leave tech behind and buy a chicken farm, but now I’m pretty much there emotionally and financially. I likely won’t actually raise chickens (maybe a couple backyard chickens for eggs), but I’ll be pretty much opting out of economic productivity and just doing things for the pleasure of them instead. Unless, of course, the economy crashes and my retirement savings turn to dust and I end up having to continue being a cog in the machinery of capitalism until I die.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#469

Post by foobarchu »

tikhonj wrote: post #465
siren2026 wrote: post #237

I have been at it for 20 years now and have started to feel my time is up as well As a lot of comments here highlights, the issue is not so much the tech but the politics, constant perf reviews, re-orgs, nonsense BS that is pushed top-down. This industry is taking a toll on you. My advice for anyone reading this that is starting your career: Live simply and save a lot. When I started my career I thought I would love…

I broadly agree, but expensive homes are an odd example because, like, you can just sell the house later. There might be some opportunity cost relative to investing in a broad market ETF or whatever, but that's not the sort of difference that makes or breaks your early retirement strategy. It's a bit odd to get moralistic over saving/spending money in general, but that's especially true around expensive homes.

Yeah I'm more worried for people spending all their income on high rent apartments or quickly depreciating cars.

Re: I am retiring from tech to live offline

#470

Post by edukite »

saadn92 wrote: post #300
siren2026 wrote: post #237

I have been at it for 20 years now and have started to feel my time is up as well As a lot of comments here highlights, the issue is not so much the tech but the politics, constant perf reviews, re-orgs, nonsense BS that is pushed top-down. This industry is taking a toll on you. My advice for anyone reading this that is starting your career: Live simply and save a lot. When I started my career I thought I would love…

It comes down to perspective tbh. For someone who's worked hard labor throughout their life, the cushy tech job you get is actually worth doing forever. But for people who have never experienced that, I can see why retiring early makes sense, but honestly most of us get to work from home and do our jobs on the computer, which doesn't require much. It's still an amazing career to be in IMO

I had a taste of the other side for 2 weeks. I was building wood construction with my uncle who is doing this for 20 years.

I was digging 6 holes in full sun, 26 degree C, transporting 100 kg of dirt in 8 rounds, moved 600 kg of ceramic roof times, worked on rain and had sun burns which I treated 2 days with pain even sleeping

Everything for third of my normal salary

Post reply on HN