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Quitting the rat race

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Re: Quitting the rat race

#61

Post by bradly »

lettergram wrote: post #47
dvt wrote: post #11

I might be a bit harsh, but this is a typical western le bon sauvage misunderstanding about what goes on in the wilderness. I also grew up in the mountains (of Eastern Europe), and I equally despise the eye-rolling fakery and the hustle and bustle of modern day Los Angeles. I love camping, and I surf, and kayak, scuba dive, offroad, and explore. But I don't make the category mistake of thinking the former is somehow…

As someone who has a farm an hour from anywhere, I can attest it’s … interesting and dangerous. Imagine breaking a leg on a massive property, no roads to where you are, no cell service. What do you do? If you want to live, you crawl. If you’re strong enough, have enough will, and are lucky — you make it. Else, the coyotes eat you. Hell they might eat you anyway. Addendum: just last week I was surrounded by the local…

I live part-time on an island with no doctor and no way to the mainland besides an unreliable ferry. Most people on the island have a helicopter insurance plan for emergencies.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#62

Post by mrmincent »

Watching the linked video made me realise how out of step I feel with the rat race now that I work from home 100%. No more stressful commutes, no more suit and ties. I might step into a giant shopping centre once every 3 months, if that. I don’t see adverts anywhere except on my phone when I’m scrolling.

I think I’m lucky because I get to live in a very walkable suburb in Melbourne AU. Feels less like a race, and more like a stroll. Instead of quitting and moving to the mountains, maybe just move to a place that’s a bit more liveable and work a job that’s a bit more flexible.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#63

Post by greggman3 »

gauravphoenix wrote: post #25
greggman3 wrote: post #5

Hey, if being in nature makes you happy good for you but your outlook on the rest is kind of crap. Me, best time in my life, commuting in Tokyo to my jobs working on a project I loved with people I loved. All the ads on the trains were eye candy to me. I didn't buy anything that I remember but I did find out about museums, concerts, and other events around town as well as various obscure services which I never used b…

>Hey, if being in nature makes you happy good for you but your outlook on the rest is kind of crap. It reads like you are stating a fact, but really, it is a matter of opinion. Perhaps, you can just say what you like without invalidating what others prefer.

They have opinions. One is nature rules. The other is the city sucks.

I think their opinion of that the city sucks is wrong, full stop, and that a change in attitude would see all the great things a city provides that nature does not so that then you can appreciate both.

To me, enjoying the good parts of both the city and nature is a better POV than shitting one one of them.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#64

Post by Ralo »

dvt wrote: post #11

I might be a bit harsh, but this is a typical western le bon sauvage misunderstanding about what goes on in the wilderness. I also grew up in the mountains (of Eastern Europe), and I equally despise the eye-rolling fakery and the hustle and bustle of modern day Los Angeles. I love camping, and I surf, and kayak, scuba dive, offroad, and explore. But I don't make the category mistake of thinking the former is somehow…

You're absolutely correct in what you enjoy on a camping adventure is a different world than if you lived as full time mountain man. That being said, just because you move into the mountains doesn't make technology disappear. You don't need to live like the pioneers. Solar panels, windmills, generators, satellite internet, SOS beacons, filtration systems, pumps, heat exchangers, motor vehicles (pressing home made veggie oil and running diesel motors off that is not impossible) are all technologies to make it fairly comparable to city life.

With an investment into some technologies, you could live fairly nice. Dropping everything with no investment and just living off the land is a fairytale dream.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#65

Post by nxm »

jyu wrote: post #38
dinobones wrote: post #12

I am in my mid 20s. I have about $200k saved and I think about quitting everyday, even though it would probably be disastrous for my career. I look up and I see colleagues in their 40s-50s. 20-30 years of experience in the industry, with the performance of their RSUs they probably easily have $2m+ net worth. I really don't understand why they don't quit. Just a naive example: Buy a cheap house ($250k) and live off of…

Inflation is a bitch, and the current status quo cost of living will be exponentially more in the future. What I thought was an unfathomable amount of money in the 90's ($100k / yr, and $1m net worth) is not good now in 2020's. Healthcare in the 90's was $500 / yr and is $1.5k / mo with $5k deductible. Property taxes, utilities, continue to increase. Basic child daycare is $2k / mo after tax. $300k / yr is the new $1…

Yet tons of families make it work in the mid-west where the costs are not what you state them them to be.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#66

Post by nine_k »

metadat wrote: post #41
nine_k wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it the classics of downshifting? Move to a cheap place, do some remote work, maybe time to time. Plan not to need much health care %)

How do you plan to not need healthcare. "Just don't get sick?" ???

Do not embark on such a project if you have some chronic conditions. Start in a good shape. Generally keep a healthy lifestyle: no heavy drinking, no junk food dinners, enough motion, etc. Stay away from high-risk pastimes like snowboarding, motorcycle racing, etc. Wash your hands and do other trivial things to keep infections reasonably away, especially when far from thickets of civilization.

Things like that. Do what you can not to get badly sick or injured, because medical bills can quickly burn through your savings.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#67

Post by BaseballPhysics »

BizarreByte wrote: post #8

It’s a short piece, but it resonates with me, specifically this part: > I’m earning the most money I’ve ever made and yet I’m the least fulfilled I’ve ever been. I’m making the most I’ve ever made and I’ve never been less happy and more depressed. I despise being a cog in a huge corporate machine, it’s like the job was designed to be as unappealing as possible. At the same time I can’t get over the fact that I have i…

Bluntly, every person I know who's expressed these kinds of sentiments is guilty of the same mistake: externalizing their happiness.

They inevitably move, only to find the new place they're in sucks, just in different ways.

Or they find another job, but just discover more things they hate there.

Or they find a new partner, only to discover a new set of annoyances.

The same psychology leads people to think they'll be happy if they finally get that new car, or that new house, or that new TV.

All of it comes from the same place: assuming that happiness is something you can find by simply changing your circumstances.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are absolutely good reasons to want to change those circumstances! But it's critical to understand that oftentimes there is no one change of circumstances, one decision, one thing that will result in happiness.

I know it's a cliche, but I think I'm old enough now to confidently say that, yes: Happiness really does start from within.

Re: Quitting the rat race

#68

Post by greggman3 »

throwaway_au_1 wrote: post #21
greggman3 wrote: post #5

Hey, if being in nature makes you happy good for you but your outlook on the rest is kind of crap. Me, best time in my life, commuting in Tokyo to my jobs working on a project I loved with people I loved. All the ads on the trains were eye candy to me. I didn't buy anything that I remember but I did find out about museums, concerts, and other events around town as well as various obscure services which I never used b…

Different strokes for different folks. At least the author of the OP had the humility not to call anyone else's perspective 'crap'.

He did call it crap or did you miss it?

In so many words he said cities suck, nature rocks.

Vs me, who said both nature and cities rock, and that the attitude that one sucks is a poor attitude

Re: Quitting the rat race

#69

Post by mr_tristan »

So, it's great the author has recognized they are unhappy, but "heading to the mountains because I had good experiences there" seems like terrible decision making.

The "happiness trifecta" still seems to be a sense of purpose, autonomy, and expertise. Money just helps remove stressors.

I'd like to see more stories of people working to open a path in a system where it didn't exist before. Like, "how I carved out a new position at this huge company that gave be a better sense of why I do what I do". Everyone tends to think they need to go to a small place to have a big impact, but I think you can bend the world wherever you are a bit if you know how to define the targets, and get there slowly, one day at a time.

Big career changes are sometimes worth it, though I wouldn't follow this guy's lead. I found this experience from a woodworker who left architecture much more interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQoqGPnRLbU

Re: Quitting the rat race

#70

Post by fierro »

dvt wrote: post #11

I might be a bit harsh, but this is a typical western le bon sauvage misunderstanding about what goes on in the wilderness. I also grew up in the mountains (of Eastern Europe), and I equally despise the eye-rolling fakery and the hustle and bustle of modern day Los Angeles. I love camping, and I surf, and kayak, scuba dive, offroad, and explore. But I don't make the category mistake of thinking the former is somehow…

imo a good balance is having the ability to float in between those two worlds. Frequent trips into nature and time amongst modern comforts to recharge and rest.
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