150 days of living and coding in a van • Hacker News Board

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#51

Post by pdimitar » Tue, Oct 10, 2017, 9:00 AM UTC

earlybike wrote: post #9

Slightly OT: Living in a capital/big city is tough: - High rents, even in Berlin nowadays - There are more options but also much more competition for finding the right accommodation, job and spouse - In particular, finding your long-term partner can be a huge struggle in a big city in times of Tinder where nobody is committed anymore For some the solution is just to escape, avoid the challenge and call it nomad life…

> competition for ... spouse

> In particular, finding your long-term partner can be a huge struggle in a big city in times of Tinder where nobody is committed anymore

You're projecting here -- the article never mentioned anything related to a partner. Also, wait what? COMPETITION for a spouse? If you look at your desired gender that way, I think it might actually do you good to live as a nomad for a while.

"Nobody is committed anymore" -- change your social circles. Go attend local events related to your work and hobby. Go hold a lecture somewhere and have drinks with a few of the studens.

You can do a heckload of things to change your environment even without moving away from the city. You sound bitter, you need to work on some change in your life.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#52

Post by madeofpalk » Tue, Oct 10, 2017, 9:00 AM UTC

j7ake wrote: post #3

Not all spouses would agree to the van life how do you deal with this ?

Talk to them?

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#53

Post by mcjiggerlog » Tue, Oct 10, 2017, 9:00 AM UTC

hycaria wrote: post #25

phillc73 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> However, once they have kids, they have to settle and are back to square one. I don't necessarily think it's back to square one. One doesn't have to settle in a big city. I moved out of London when my first child was due. We moved to a mid-sized (250k population) European city. I was able to find work, in an unrelated field to my previous experience but still using similar technical and management skills. The remun…

Don't you worry about the objectively lower education for your children there ? As much as I dislike cities, I can't imagine raising children somewhere else. Education, culture and network potential (through friends) is just not the same.

As someone from the UK, this is surprising. In the UK the worst schools are generally in cities, and much better in smaller towns.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#54

Post by classisch » Tue, Oct 10, 2017, 9:01 AM UTC

Hey everyone! I'm the author of that article. I just started the blog and still have a ton of things to write about. I like all the (critical) feedback. That inspires me for further blog posts. Thanks for reading!

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#55

Post by leoedin » Tue, Oct 10, 2017, 9:01 AM UTC

This is written in October. He's been living in the van since the middle of May. Basically late spring, summer and early autumn.

How is he going to feel after another 150 days? Camping in winter can be fun, but it's not warm. At all. Trying to work in a van when it's below freezing outside will be pretty hard work. I can't even type when the room drops below 15 degrees. Vans like the one he has are basically uninsulated steel boxes - they get cold pretty fast.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#56

Post by phillc73 » Tue, Oct 10, 2017, 9:01 AM UTC

hycaria wrote: post #25

phillc73 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> However, once they have kids, they have to settle and are back to square one. I don't necessarily think it's back to square one. One doesn't have to settle in a big city. I moved out of London when my first child was due. We moved to a mid-sized (250k population) European city. I was able to find work, in an unrelated field to my previous experience but still using similar technical and management skills. The remun…

Don't you worry about the objectively lower education for your children there ? As much as I dislike cities, I can't imagine raising children somewhere else. Education, culture and network potential (through friends) is just not the same.

No, it's not something I worry about at all. I'd be interested to know why you think the education would be objectively lower.

I'm still living in a city, just a small one. Having checked Wikipedia, it tells me the population is officially 320k. There are six Universities and the city is UNESCO listed as a Cultural Heritage site. I just don't see this location disadvantaging my child. In fact, I think it's a location with a pretty good mix of culture and nature.

Nothing is perfect of course, but I think we're in a better position than if we'd stayed in London.

If we were to move back to the UK, I'd be looking at somewhere like Cambridge or Edinburgh perhaps.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#57

Post by weavie » Tue, Oct 10, 2017, 9:02 AM UTC

leoedin wrote: post #55

This is written in October. He's been living in the van since the middle of May. Basically late spring, summer and early autumn. How is he going to feel after another 150 days? Camping in winter can be fun, but it's not warm. At all. Trying to work in a van when it's below freezing outside will be pretty hard work. I can't even type when the room drops below 15 degrees. Vans like the one he has are basically uninsula…

He is in a van. I guess he can just drive south.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#58

Post by submeta » Tue, Oct 10, 2017, 9:04 AM UTC

yoavm wrote: post #26

I'm doing the same in Israel for almost two years now! The photos-haiku-blog is in Hebrew, but well photos are universal. http://bus.house/

Holy cow. What happened to your social life, if I may ask? Friends, family. How do you maintain your relationships?

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#59

Post by mastazi » Tue, Oct 10, 2017, 9:05 AM UTC

hycaria wrote: post #25

phillc73 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> However, once they have kids, they have to settle and are back to square one. I don't necessarily think it's back to square one. One doesn't have to settle in a big city. I moved out of London when my first child was due. We moved to a mid-sized (250k population) European city. I was able to find work, in an unrelated field to my previous experience but still using similar technical and management skills. The remun…

Don't you worry about the objectively lower education for your children there ? As much as I dislike cities, I can't imagine raising children somewhere else. Education, culture and network potential (through friends) is just not the same.

Not sure where are you from but in Europe many cities smaller than the one parent settled in have their own universities and significant cultural scene... Basel, Perugia, Lille, Salzburg are some examples of cities with less than 250k residents where you would have all of the above.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#60

Post by classisch » Tue, Oct 10, 2017, 9:06 AM UTC

leoedin wrote: post #55

This is written in October. He's been living in the van since the middle of May. Basically late spring, summer and early autumn. How is he going to feel after another 150 days? Camping in winter can be fun, but it's not warm. At all. Trying to work in a van when it's below freezing outside will be pretty hard work. I can't even type when the room drops below 15 degrees. Vans like the one he has are basically uninsula…

I'll probably spend the winter down in southern Portugal/Spain where temperatures are around 15 degrees in average during the winter. I've also installed an old heating that works with Diesel and electricity. But yes, summer life is easy and I'm looking forward to experience my first winter in the van.

BTW: I bought the van in February and already worked and slept in the van while it was freezing cold: https://ruby-on-wheels.github.io/blog/the-first-ride/ it was ok.