Looking for retreats?

[J_]

One of the regular topics here is a tiny house. It sounds cute, it can be self-supporting (off grid), its requires little capital, it can be DIY, it is like Thoreau’s Walden Pond. It is a renaissance and romantic idyll. But a suitable piece of land with (building) permits is difficult to find in Europe.
I think that one of the main pulls to be at a little place is: to retreat. To retreat for some shorter or longer time from your daily chores and business. This is how I ( I am FI) have organized my retreats at the moment *:

My daily „retreat” is just a room on the first floor of our modest city-house. It is a room with views on the canal and street, where car traffic is banned for most of the day and all of the night. Here I have my books, a table, a Stokke reclining chair and lap top. Here I can sit for hours without being disturbed, dreaming or doing. I can make there tea or coffee.

The second is my sturdy, simple, little motorboat (Ft 75, 7,5 M). I use this boat to make slow (4,8 MpH, 8 km/h) but long trips over lakes, rivers and canals in the Netherlands and Belgium. I can cook (one flame) aboard, I can sleep aboard. No electronics, no refrigerator. Last year I made a long trip (2 months) on it right through the Netherlands to Belgium vv. I visited the Ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Vlissingen, Antwerp and Zeebrugge. Most of the time I do such trips solo, sometimes DW joins me for a while (she travels by train or other public transport) to the place I harbor, joins me for some part of the trip after which she travels home again.
I make/find the trips on this boat adventurous, I like to potter around in big harbors, I like big inland waters, sometimes tidal. Because I have no time schedule I can shun ( stay in a port e.g) adverse weather. On this last trip I traveled even a day along the coast on the North Sea. I like to meet people at anchor places, marinas or harbors. I take time to visit the towns and museums underway.

And for the winter months I have a small appartment in the alps at 1200 m (4000 Ft) altitude. Here I stay for about 3 months. The atraction here is to live in another culture and language, with other neighbors. A lot of winter sunshine, and here I do one of my favorite sports: freestyle cross country skiing and walking, almost daily.

As you see, retreats are important for me. How for you?

* Fixed costs for house, boat and alpine appartment is less than 1Jacob for DW and me combined. I do maintenance of the house boat and its small inboard 2cyl diesel motor.

[EdithKeeler]

My “retreat” is my at least twice a week walk at the dog park with my dogs. My opportunity to hang out with the “people” I adore, get with nature and think deep thoughts away from phones and emails. Our dog park is several hundred acres with lakes and woods soI get to see different things. Today I saw a wild turkey up close and personal. A couple weeks ago the dogs found a deer ( they thought it was just another big dog).

My other “retreat” is swimming mornings at the Y. I get there when it opens at 5 am, and it’s usually pretty quiet. I swim slowly and just enjoy it and relax. I need to get back in the groove of going—I miss it.

I usually don’t feel a strong need to get away from my house-it’s sort of my fortress and sanctuary—so for me perfect downtime is a week at home, with daily trips to the park, and puttering around with projects.

I do go on vacations, but to me that is different from a retreat. Unfortunately, until I retire I’ll have to make due with my mini retreats.

[7Wannabe5]

Your retreats sound lovely. My current retreats would be a camper parked in the wilderness near one of the great lakes, and the hyper-focus bubble I have always been able to create when I pick up a book.

I think another appealing factor of the tiny house is the minimal maintenance. During one of the most over-worked phases of my life, I developed the habit of visiting and lingering in well-appointed public Ladies Restrooms. When you are in the restroom stall, door securely fastened, you are free from anybody making demands upon you, and when you are in a well-appointed public restroom, you are in a place with facilities you are free to use, but have no responsibility to clean or maintain.

When I have traveled or stayed in a small camper, all the tasks on my daily or weekly housekeeping routine lists take just minutes to complete.

[jacob]

I think another appealing factor of the tiny house is the minimal maintenance.

OTOH Guardian types find meaning in maintenance.

[7Wannabe5]

@jacob:

Right, so while I spend several hours reading a book on natural history after spending 15 minutes tidying the camper, my ESFJ BF happily engages in manual labor maintenance of his wilderness acreage. Win-win!

[Peanut]

I think another appealing factor of the tiny house is the minimal maintenance.

OTOH Guardian types find meaning in maintenance.

Where is that term coming from? I'm intrigued to find a typology for my extended family to explain some of our differences from one another.

[jacob]

Huh? Have you been living under a rock as far as this forum goes?

http://earlyretirementextreme.com/perso ... tance.html
https://www.keirsey.com/4temps/overview ... aments.asp

[James_0011]

As an introvert drugs are the number 1 most important retreat to me