Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Thanks everyone for all of the help!!! @mooretrees: I don't have a school bus so window sizes are likely different. It's for sure not school bus windows. I measured the window I've got, it's roughly 28 inches tall by 24 inches wide. A little bit bigger than that in both dimensions it appears. I'll p...

@AH: There are ice chest AC units. Supposedly the ice helps cut down on power usage?

Here's the first hit on google: https://www.icybreeze.com/

@jacob, thanks for weighing in. I'm a bit concerned about a window unit making the bus easier to break into. Not sure how much I care about this. Windows are also a weird size... I think a small window unit would maybe fit though? I'd have to see. I'd also need to fill in a bit of open space... I'm ...

@Slevin: I have no idea what I'm doing, so, probably not for now. I'd also be open to expanding the solar setup, particularly to run an A/C off of. I'm into the shade structure out of solar panels idea, but not for this year as I lack the skills. I also need to check with my friends before putting a...

Thanks y'all! Slight clarification: The bus came with a ready to rock solar system (previous owners who did the convert had lived in the bus for several years) and the solar panels are already roof mounted. When I asked about shade structure vs solar panels, I meant how do I address the tradeoff bet...

I'm living in a converted Ford E450 Bus. I need to get an A/C for the upcoming summer. Does anyone have any recommendations or alternative ideas? The bus gets full sun (solar panels... would be cool to run the A/C off of them, but not counting on it/ have access to grid power) and temps are between ...

The constraints, dear reader, are not in our wallets, but in ourselves.

Heh ya, I think if you are earning money in a way you don't want to, i.e. very into freedom-from, or really want to do something for awhile that is unlikely to earn money, this can be an important revelation. Maybe you eventually want to be able to afford XYZ, but you don't need to secure the money ...

I have a slot in a Spotify family plan. This allows you to download music onto our phone (and possibly laptop?). It's possible to download from wifi and not cellular data. My fav way to find new music is to meet sub-35 year old women who are attractive and look like they would listen to music that I...

I think this is a very important revelation, particularly past WL5. WL6 is initially more expensive for most (or maybe just me, but I think it's most) as WL5ers solve problems with money. Getting new skills often requires expanding capital which is likely to require some money for a WL5er. Likely ev...

$50/ month is boring. Is a dedicated space the most interesting and fun way to solve this problem? Is a network of garages? Is it a club or an entire way of life? What is the problem?

I think people would be willing to pay for an ERE HQ. I think the house/ hub idea could work too though. Pluses and minuses for both. Since it's going to take a very dedicated individual to pull this off, I don't think arguing ideals matters that much. It's going to be 1-5 visionaries pulling of the...

I am anti-Lancaster. I grew up in the neighboring county. The irony of all of my favorite people collectively moving to my least favorite place.

Confessions of an ERE Hoarder: Storage, Maintenance and Organization I think, as a society, we are bad at storing, maintaining and organizing. We bias the new. I know I do. As I make my way through WL6, I'm realizing I have a poor concept of maintenance and storage. I was taught to buy everything, ...

Also if this is not clear, I will basically hang out with anyone if you visit New Orleans. Just make sure I'm free and here. If I have met you or if you have a bunch of forum posts, I will try to host you, but I live a precarious life, so def message me about it. I can also hook up people who want t...

@sodatrain: There is no buy in to the community. He's trying to get like minded people to buy property on the street as it goes up for sale. I'm thinking of making him an offer for part of one of his properties, but that is bc he is a close friend and I already lived there and I can move my bus-hous...

Damn, I wish I liked boats.

My friend used to live on his boat. He was really good at shredding violin solos and ruining women's lives. He was also my first friend to die. Not 100% sure what became of his boat.

I told DW about these conversations and she started looking up pet sits in New Orleans. You might get a chance to sell us. Cool, lmk if you guys are coming. Check that I'm around and available if you want me to be around and available. I am definitely not available the last week of April and the fi...

Interdependent Temporary Autonomous Zones Thanks to @theanimal for this article: Money As Addiction and  @AH for this book: Temporary Autonomous Zone The blog post and book gave me some new ideas about pathological culture aka the culture of separation. "Money as Addiction" points out tha...

It seems like you guys are learning small town and also leaning homestead. I don't think there is a lot of representation on here, but southern* cities are good for urban homesteading, I think. Older southern cities have a lot of single family homes with small yards, but are also highly walkable and...