Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

All the different ways of solving the shelter problem. To be static or mobile? Roots, legs, or wheels?
enigmaT120
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by enigmaT120 »

I've been at my place since 1991. I don't expect to move. I live in the woods with 32 acres, have a good shop for working on stuff during the winter, and am impatiently waiting to no longer have a commute.

I'm not a country music star, but that scenario came closest. I just have a stupidly long commute.

We moved all the time when I was a kid. I went to 12 different grade schools by the end of the 6th grade. Maybe I got it out of my system.

Did
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by Did »

I have a theory that a change in physical environment can assist in the transition from prestigious (salt included) wage earner to ERE type. It helps the ego cope.

Other than that. Yep. I get bored and need a change.

SimpleLife
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by SimpleLife »

Did wrote:I have a theory that a change in physical environment can assist in the transition from prestigious (salt included) wage earner to ERE type. It helps the ego cope.

Other than that. Yep. I get bored and need a change.
Like what, going from Beverly Hills to the ghettos of Chicago kind of change of physical environment?

In any case, the point of the thread was I've noticed that most people get restless at the two places they spend the most time at: work and home. It seems as if the daily grind and the same old problems just wear you down and you start to experience wanderlust. It seems to fade as you get older and realize things suck pretty much everywhere. But man, it sure is an argument for renting.

BRUTE
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by BRUTE »

brute likes to move frequently. brute has moved house on a motorcycle, carrying all his belongings with him in a backpack. he has lived on 4 continents.

for brute, changing geographical location helps prevent settling and getting stuck in mental/social patterns.

of course there are some costs to moving, but there's also costs to staying.

brute thinks the idea that he's "running away from something" is fair, but he doesn't necessarily think this is bad. why would one stay in a place when there's nothing to keep one there? brute has lived in many great places, but none of them seemed like they were the end of the journey. there's so many more places out there to live.

maybe brute will change with age.

Did
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by Did »

SimpleLife wrote:
Did wrote:I have a theory that a change in physical environment can assist in the transition from prestigious (salt included) wage earner to ERE type. It helps the ego cope.
Like what, going from Beverly Hills to the ghettos of Chicago kind of change of physical environment?
Well no, not for me. Everyone is different, of course, and someone coming from a university dorm to some form of ERE living may not notice a difference. But if you are well paid professional going from say 500k per year to 25k per year, and elect to sell your house and live in a car (my situation was not far off this), then living in your car under the bridge near your old house (ego shattering) will be a different ego proposition to say living in a car as you travel around the country (awesome). Similarly living in a tent next to your workmate's bus stop will be different to living in a tent on the plains of africa as you volunteer to look after baby hippos.

In my case I went through a massive change and threw away an enormous salary from a swinging big dick position, really before I was as wealthy as many reading this, and for me a physical change helped me cope. I traveled the country for 8 months, visited thailand for a month, and now vagabond around Ireland and do up our cottage.

It's just an option for people who cannot comprehend their ego coping with the scale of change that may be necessary to get out.

steveo73
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by steveo73 »

I have no problems living in the same place for years on end assuming that my environment (dwelling and area where we live) suits my situation.

We lived in a 2 bedroom unit with 2 kids but it wasn't very good past a certain point. Cars would often park outside of our garage and it was difficult to park in the garage. The place was too small for the 2 kids and the wife and myself past a certain age as well. Now I like where I live but its a small 4 bedroom house in an area with bike tracks everywhere and lots of outdoor parks including an outdoor gym. I wonder when the kids move out though if the place will be too big and then we will move or try something different out - i.e. rent and or/travel.

Basically though I don't move without a pretty good reason. Maybe this is one reason why I prefer owning a house to renting.

BRUTE
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by BRUTE »

Did wrote:But if you are well paid professional going from say 500k per year to 25k per year, and elect to sell your house and live in a car (my situation was not far off this), then living in your car under the bridge near your old house (ego shattering) will be a different ego proposition to say living in a car as you travel around the country (awesome). Similarly living in a tent next to your workmate's bus stop will be different to living in a tent on the plains of africa as you volunteer to look after baby hippos.
brute thinks the important part is to realize that this is all in your head. its not objectively worse or morally inferior to live in a car under a bridge. if what you really want to do is travel the country, it doesn't matter if you are living in a car under a bridge or in a house next to the bridge.

Did
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by Did »

at brute - Indeed, everything is all in your head. But we all have egos. It helps to know your limits, and also use techniques like this to work around them.

BRUTE
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by BRUTE »

yes. just because everything is in brutes head does not mean brute can change it on a whim. synapses are physical structures that change with repeated exposure over time.

enigmaT120
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by enigmaT120 »

Maybe it helps that I'm in Western Oregon. Do I want to go to the coast? An hour away, driving. A hard day's bike ride up and over the coast range crest from my house. I"ve ridden most of the way there before. I already live in the woods which is where I generally want to be. Desert/high prairie is only 3 hours away. I watch travel shows on OPB and while I generally like a lot of the scenery, even in places like New Zealand, I always think it reminds me of somewhere in Oregon. We don't have anything like the Alps, though maybe parts of Northern WA are similar. I never got a chance to make it up there when I was working in WA.

BRUTE
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by BRUTE »

brute doesn't think that's it. every place so far has gotten boring, and it isn't really about the place. it is about brute.

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Ego
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by Ego »

BRUTE wrote:every place so far has gotten boring, and it isn't really about the place. it is about brute.
Yesterday I had a Fight Club moment. The basement flooded and I was knee deep in rainwater fiddling with a fuse box from 1912. While shimming in the crawl space searching for the crack in the cast iron drain spout, I paused for a moment and realized I was happier than a pig in shit. Learning new things is fun.

I suspect that whatever it is that allows me enjoy the flood the first time is the same thing that makes me need to move on after I understand the intricacies. I see how others react to the same situation and notice that those who are overwhelmed by the first flood also tend to stay in one place for a long time. Chicken or egg?

SimpleLife
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by SimpleLife »

Did wrote:
SimpleLife wrote:
Did wrote:I have a theory that a change in physical environment can assist in the transition from prestigious (salt included) wage earner to ERE type. It helps the ego cope.
Like what, going from Beverly Hills to the ghettos of Chicago kind of change of physical environment?
Well no, not for me. Everyone is different, of course, and someone coming from a university dorm to some form of ERE living may not notice a difference. But if you are well paid professional going from say 500k per year to 25k per year, and elect to sell your house and live in a car (my situation was not far off this), then living in your car under the bridge near your old house (ego shattering) will be a different ego proposition to say living in a car as you travel around the country (awesome). Similarly living in a tent next to your workmate's bus stop will be different to living in a tent on the plains of africa as you volunteer to look after baby hippos.

In my case I went through a massive change and threw away an enormous salary from a swinging big dick position, really before I was as wealthy as many reading this, and for me a physical change helped me cope. I traveled the country for 8 months, visited thailand for a month, and now vagabond around Ireland and do up our cottage.

It's just an option for people who cannot comprehend their ego coping with the scale of change that may be necessary to get out.
I'd argue that living like that (like you live now) is probably more fun that most working people have. With my next investment I will be in a really good spot in that I will have so much passive income per month that it's tempting to go travel for a year or so and let old wounds heal, etc. Alas, while the money is good and readily available, I intend to keep working to add even more investments and buffer. But if something happens along the way, well, I will have a roof over my head and food to eat, and then some, all paid for by my investments.

When I picture it, traveling in my car or an RV doesn't seem like hardship. It seems like an adventure.

Did
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by Did »

@simplife it absolutely is an adventure. Our time around oz was the most magical of our lives, hands down. And long term vagabonding around Europe? A fairytale.

J_
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by J_ »

The longest period I lived in the same (own) house was about 16 years, during the years my daughter grew up and left home when she was in her early twenties. I do not remember that period as boring, more as a stable period for her to grow up, and for me and DW to have an fixed base to have three salaried jobs each. And to settle a in a village.In the last 3 years of living in that house I began my own company.

I started to live away from my parent home in a rented apartment for 2 years, thereafter I emigrated to Germany for 2,5 years also in a rented apartment. And then I returned and bought my first house in Holland where I lived about 7 years. Sofar my housing history until I was about 47.

Thereafter I was free to live where I wanted, because I was my own boss, and from that time I used my new chosen houses as investments also.
After that 16 year period I developed my own house in Holland, lived thereafter in Uk for five years in two (owned) houses, and a pied a terre in Holland. Now I live in three places. For 10 years I live in a (own) house part-time in Holland.
Last year for example I lived 7 months in my house in Holland, 3 months in my apartment in Austria, I sailed ( for free) in the Mediterranean for one month, I travelled through holland in my own boat for three weeks, and stayed in Portugal for 10 days.

Looking back I see that my way of living have become more and more flexible, and that first job related circumstances and later family related circumstances have influenced the period of living in the same place.

The Ere component in this story is that from the age I found Your Money or your life the guide for me ( when I was 48), all those houses as investments have earned a big deal of my FI money or made that I lived for free, as they still do.
The last development is that my DW and I have chosen (after one and a halve year of emotional struggles and quarrels) to go to live separate, as try out to find out new balances and more private freedom in our lives.
We therefore have searched and bought a very well situated apartment, close to where I live. DW will go to live there and together we will refurbish it so that it suites her, and that it will increase in value. ( we will add a " whow factor" and change it from a too big two room in a comfortable three room apartment).

To conclude: I find it a challenge to use housing to cope with changes in my life.

unno2002
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by unno2002 »

Around a year ago, we moved to our intended retirement home, purchased nearly 20 years earlier. We could not be in a better location. Prior to here, we lived in Yuma, AZ, for nearly 18 years, a good mix of cost/expense, but not good for long-term on a fixed income.

Farm_or
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by Farm_or »

The original list of unalienable rights was: life, liberty and the pursuit of property.

I've thought about the 2-5 year change accusation. From my perspective, it was the duration of opportunity knocks more than my biological clock.

Been at my current residence for 12 years. Closest neighbors are about one mile. #1 reason for wanting to move? Neighbor. It's complicated...

James_0011
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by James_0011 »

Depends on the place in question, the small town my parents are in sucks. But, I could live in a big city probably indefinitely - plenty of jobs, romantic partners, houses for investment opportunities, free cultural events, etc...

steveo73
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by steveo73 »

I find this an interesting thread. I live in a house and an area that I really like. At the same time I do feel like I would like to move elsewhere but I don't want to rush into that.

I have 3 kids with the youngest being 6 and my wife loves stability so I think we will remain here for at least 10-15 years barring requiring to sell the house for monetary reasons.

I think that there is a trade off. I'd like to move to different locations or slow travel for a couple of months at a time and then come back. I love the beach but the beach is a fair drive from my house. I'd love to live closer to the beach.

Kriegsspiel
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Re: Do you find it challenging to live in the same place for years on end?

Post by Kriegsspiel »

I haven't lived in the same place more than a couple years since I was a child. I get antsy.

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