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How to live on $432 a month in America

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Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#481

Post by HPsquared »

johnnyanmac wrote: post #457
bruce511 wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course you are right, not everyone has the option to move back in either their parents, and of course that option (when available) is often not rent free (nor should it be.) However I don't think that's what the parent poster meant. I think he meant "home" is the "home town" sense. There's a perception that young people (for probably 60 years now) see "getting out of this town" as a major life goal. Small towns fi…

>There's a perception that young people (for probably 60 years now) see "getting out of this town" as a major life goal. It sort of is. Opportunities in the small towns is limited compared to urban areas. As well as other social aspects like night life, entertainment, the culture of the residents, etc. The people argument of being irreplaceable works both ways; you're simply going to get more options when you're arou…

Does anyone actually like nightlife though? Same for local entertainments, sure they're a nice extra sometimes but nothing worth sacrificing for.

It's all some variation of "crowded into a dark room with hundreds of strangers with deafening music, can't see anything, can't hear anything".

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#482

Post by decimalenough »

gyomu wrote: post #367
RajT88 wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You read articles like this every so often, sure. Maybe ~13 years back I read about an indie game dev who lived in a carbon neutral home in the middle of nowhere Arizona or something. Beautiful house, hand built. Talked about how you really don't need all that much money to live - they were living on less than 20k a year from his game sales. Him and his wife were also in their 20's, and their kids I think were alread…

For anyone curious, the game dev is Jason Rohrer: https://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/jason-rohrer/simpleLife.h... Things have changed since: "In October of 2011, we moved from Las Cruces, NM to Davis, CA. Along with all the good things listed below about Las Cruces came bad things. Vicious dogs loose on the streets (one bit my wife while biking) and in parks (I came close to getting myself shot during a confrontation…

Zillow says the average house in Davis costs $890k. Looks like they've pretty much given up on the "life cheaply" thing.

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#483

Post by bruce511 »

johnnyanmac wrote: post #459
TacticalCoder wrote: post #421

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are many parents who allow their kids to live rent free. First job can then DCA the near entire salary and what you save early on compounds like crazy for life. Parents telling kids in this world to "go work 24/7 on the treadmill without being able to save" should wonder if having kids wasn't something selfish they did like having a pet. I was always welcome at my mother's home and she told me there would alway…

>Parents telling kids in this world to "go work 24/7 on the treadmill without being able to save" should wonder if having kids wasn't something selfish they did like having a pet. Like I said, it's cultural. Some parents literally need extra income just to keep the roof over their heads, and having an adult dependent at home is still an expense. . Some parents simply don't want to facilitate a full on NEET lifestyle…

I've no objection to my kids living at home, and there'll always be a place for them here.

I charge them rent though - 33% of their gross pay. Not cause I need the money but because it allows them to afford to move out one day. In other words their lifestyle has "rent" built into it.

In other words I'm happy to offer a backstop. I'm less happy for them to simply ignore "becoming self sufficient adults" just because it's cheaper to live at home.

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#484

Post by johnisgood »

npodbielski wrote: post #445
rufus_foreman wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> The missing piece here is social connections. Family and friends Silicon Valley is not populated by people who are there for family and friends. Silicon Valley is populated by people who left their family and friends to go participate in a gold rush. Silicon Valley is populated by people from other continents who came to participate in the gold rush, family and friends be damned. I really don't understand the anti…

I am not angry. I am barely cementator here even. But I find this article radicoulous. For example author mentioned raising family at the beginning. And then mentions no car. How are you suppose to transport kids to school/preschool? 'You can take the bus' - yeah, drive with the bus to one place (kindergarten), then the second (school), then the third (job). In the winter, rain, storm or heat. Yes that is doable but…

What you described is what my parents have done with me. They took me to the kindergarden, on foot. But then again, I live in Europe and it is dense enough here, the kindergarden was about 3-5 km away. You can definitely take the bus, which many people do around here.

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#485

Post by littlestymaar »

flicken wrote: post #456
cjbarber wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The network effects/moats of places! There needs to be a Kickstarter for coordinating groups of people to move to the same place all at the same time.

The Free State Project[1] had 20k libertarians pledge to move to New Hampshire, talking 15 years to reach the total number. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_Project

Only to fail to address the problem of bears because it requires the kind of public action that libertarians rejects for religious reasons.

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#486

Post by npodbielski »

gyomu wrote: post #367
RajT88 wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You read articles like this every so often, sure. Maybe ~13 years back I read about an indie game dev who lived in a carbon neutral home in the middle of nowhere Arizona or something. Beautiful house, hand built. Talked about how you really don't need all that much money to live - they were living on less than 20k a year from his game sales. Him and his wife were also in their 20's, and their kids I think were alread…

For anyone curious, the game dev is Jason Rohrer: https://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/jason-rohrer/simpleLife.h... Things have changed since: "In October of 2011, we moved from Las Cruces, NM to Davis, CA. Along with all the good things listed below about Las Cruces came bad things. Vicious dogs loose on the streets (one bit my wife while biking) and in parks (I came close to getting myself shot during a confrontation…

[flagged]

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#487

Post by Coffeewine »

This is bizarre to me - my extended family live in the towns surrounding Massena, NY, and have for about four generations now. The area certainly has its perks, it can be very pretty and there is plenty of room for hunting, fishing and other such pursuits if one is so inclined. Houses are extremely inexpensive, as is a surprising amount of land if that’s what you want. Though the set who are actually farming has declined precipitously over the generations.

The article however rather oversells the economic opportunities of the area - the two best employers are a nearby Indian casino and the prison system, both of which have their drawbacks. Otherwise there is a reason why all the local farmland is slowly being occupied by the Amish, they’re a group that doesn’t care much about the lack of opportunity.

As you can guess, this has led to a big divergence in outcomes. My relatives who have found remote work are living like kings, and the ones who haven’t are really struggling.

I dunno why I’m writing this. I guess it’s just funny to see Massena written about. And Massena is the big city compared to the surrounding towns.

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#488

Post by HPsquared »

bruce511 wrote: post #483
johnnyanmac wrote: post #459

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Parents telling kids in this world to "go work 24/7 on the treadmill without being able to save" should wonder if having kids wasn't something selfish they did like having a pet. Like I said, it's cultural. Some parents literally need extra income just to keep the roof over their heads, and having an adult dependent at home is still an expense. . Some parents simply don't want to facilitate a full on NEET lifestyle…

I've no objection to my kids living at home, and there'll always be a place for them here. I charge them rent though - 33% of their gross pay. Not cause I need the money but because it allows them to afford to move out one day. In other words their lifestyle has "rent" built into it. In other words I'm happy to offer a backstop. I'm less happy for them to simply ignore "becoming self sufficient adults" just because i…

How about the "rent" going into a savings pot which they can use for a downpayment or otherwise reclaim (maybe partially) when they move out?

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#490

Post by sgerenser »

Goronmon wrote: post #30
ruste wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been following this guy for a while on X. He does live this way. This isn't a hypothetical. He lives on his writing and has plenty of free time to chop all the wood he'd ever need.

That's not what the article says. Considering that the property has a well on-site, water is free, and as far as heat goes, well, one could either pay a little extra in electric for that — or they could have the Amish deliver their scrap wood from their sawmills to burn in a wood stove, very cheaply. Maybe "a little bit of electricity" or "very cheap scrap wood" appear to be the vague plans for how to handle heat.

Apparently electricity is 4c/KWh there, so it really is only a “little bit extra” even if you’re heating with resistance heat (at least for a 600sf house).
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