Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Where are you and where are you going?
TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by TopHatFox »

@Jean, yeah agreed, it's 10x worse being unemployed or doing minimum wage jobs. Even part-time jobs are meh in pay and still don't allow the flexibility to travel long-term. The only real solution is ERE, self-employment, or working remotely.

@Crazylemon, yeah you're probably right. I've known ppl in offices that drink after work to cope, or smoke a lot during lunch, or honestly, drink like 3-4 cups of coffee per day. I'm convinced these kinda habits are destructive af, not to mention sitting for 50 hours/week. But again, the alternative is unemployment and living off others, so the only real solution is a standing desk, green tea, and good organization in the first place to keep stress ranges low. And maybe a counselor. But then, I suppose it proves our point, wealth allows us to keep stress ranges at a lower level, which means the coping negative (or positive) coping mechanisms don't need to be started.

@Gilberto, yeah but you know what also doesn't seem right? Sitting at home with 0 women for a year. I've been re-considering age recently. Like, I am whatever age I look like at the time. I'd say the inflation of normal people by social media requires us to optimize for a literal meat market. Is what it is. Not like I use my real name, e-mail, or phone number. ( ; And, these people get the best -- kindness, care -- but I keep my job and identity safe. Ta da.

Check out the Complete Guide to Privacy and Security.

prognastat
Posts: 991
Joined: Fri May 04, 2018 8:30 pm
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by prognastat »

When you say you filtered your photos are you talking filtering as pruning or filtering as instagram?

TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by TopHatFox »

Prunes definitely prunes. Gotta get only the best prune juice.

Just the filters available on the iPhone, nothing fancy.

prognastat
Posts: 991
Joined: Fri May 04, 2018 8:30 pm
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by prognastat »

I don't know about women, but myself if I see a woman that's heavily filtering their photos it's kind of a turn off(not just about possibly getting into a relationship, but even just wanting to hang out as friends)

TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by TopHatFox »

Haha fair enough, we're talking just making the picture look more warm and evening out the hues, not placing bunny ears over my face.

prognastat
Posts: 991
Joined: Fri May 04, 2018 8:30 pm
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by prognastat »

Ah, I was more thinking the filters that are intended to alter your appearance. Things like smoothing skin seems common, some even alter facial structure such as making eyes larger.

User avatar
giskard
Posts: 323
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2016 12:07 pm

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by giskard »

TopHatFox wrote:
Thu Feb 28, 2019 10:09 pm

In other news, fuck you guys, do you ever get that feeling of throwing everything up in the air and living on a sailboat? Like, many days everything's fine and you’re there planning 3 years of accumulation and progressive credentialism like it’s no no big deal on your spreadsheet, then the next you’re thinking about chucking the keyboard at the nearest “hey, have you done this yet” office worker.

seriously though, working over years is hard as fuck. Not so much day to day, but the fluctuations of stress takes a toll. I have no idea how people do this shit and come out sane after 40 years.
Yes, yes and yes. But slowly I think you can design your lifestyle to not feel like this even while working. When I switched to working remotely recently it was like night and day. Now I feel so much less stifled and I feel like I could work much longer since I can do it so much more on my own terms. Obviously not an option for everyone, but it mattered a lot of me as it turns out. I am no longer looking forward to the end of the current job / situation.

TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by TopHatFox »

theanimal wrote:
Sat Feb 23, 2019 2:39 pm
ETA: THF- You have more assets than almost anyone your age and most people of all ages. Most people are not masters educated. You are smart, creative and adaptable. Do NOT create artificial barriers preventing your own success. There are plenty of opportunities out there. Go WEST!
I willllll. But I actually don't think I have much. I hear that most people are broke as shit and can't put a few hundred dollars together, but I can't, for example:

1. Purchase a house in most places
2. Spend $200 on a renaissance fair willy nilly
3. Own a car if I want to without sacrificing 1/4 of my annual saving
4. Live off my current portfolio at $2400/yr at 3% SWR without having someone in my room or getting free food
5. Get a job easily anywhere

---------------------------

Honestly, I still feel like I don't have much at all! I'm just at the beginning. I think the stages are something like this:

1. -40000: survival mode, fuck me
2. 0: At least I'm not in the red
3. 10,000: I can stop worrying about rent and food for a while
4. 100,000: I can move and start a new life anywhere
5. 200,000: I can consider living off my portfolio as a student, thru hiker, or van dweller
6. 300,000: I can consider living off my portfolio as a student, thru hiker, or van dweller with more luxuries
7. 400,000: I can live off my portfolio in a small house somewhere out west
8. 500,000: I can live in an optimized household in most places
9. 1M: I can live a standard middle-class lifestyle in most places
10. 2-3M: I can do whatever the fuck I want, within reason.

I think there's also a progression timeline for education

1. HS: screwed, plug into the VR escape maxhine
2. BA: If STEM, repetitive work; if humanities, office work if you're lucky, 40K
3. MA: If Stem, you can really get paid a lot; if humanities, 60K
4. Phd: If Stem, more $; if humanities, I don't know 80K

And finally one for experience:

1. 0 experience: I can't work most places
2. Internships: I can try to convince someone to hire me
3. 1 year: At least I can say I stayed for a year
4. 2 years: Good, but not that great
5. 3 years: Perfect time to jump
6. 5 years: All around expert in the field

---------------------

So, I'm between 3 and 4 in the money category, between 2 and 3 in the education, and between 2 and 3 in the experience category. That solidly puts me at: good, but still not very strong.

I guess MMM is right to some degree, life really does start at 30 at the earliest. Maybe that's melodramatic, but it's true: everything before then is just gaining the money, education, and experience to be able to build your own life at 30 at the earliest. If you're smart, you're able to integrate work and play, but man, that is a lot harder to put into practice than one would think.

prognastat
Posts: 991
Joined: Fri May 04, 2018 8:30 pm
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by prognastat »

Well most people don't have 10k-100k saved up. That puts you well ahead in the game of life and pretty early in life.

Generally for FI you can either work longer at something enjoyable, shorter at something less enjoyable. Or you can do the semi-FIRE where you work fewer hours per week, but for more years.

It's pretty rare to be able to do something you continue to enjoy long term and makes you buckets of money to get to FI quickly.

I've decided for the focus on more income to shorten the accumulation phase over finding something more enjoyable, but this all depends on your disposition.

Stahlmann
Posts: 1121
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2016 6:05 pm

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by Stahlmann »

...
Last edited by Stahlmann on Sun Nov 24, 2019 2:42 am, edited 2 times in total.

TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by TopHatFox »

@Stalhman, that's always good context yeah.

I wonder if I can use my MPA with an international focus to get an American median salary in SE Asia or something. I don't really have many college friends left at this point that I talk to regularly (maybe 2 max), and I've never been one to miss parents, so it might be a good way to stretch out each dollar and increase access to women.

-----

Also, people earn 60K in Iceland and 75K on average in Norway. That's interesting.

cmonkey
Posts: 1814
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:56 am

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by cmonkey »

The first 100K is a bitch. After that it goes a lot quicker.

Yea I have times when I'm content plodding along on my path for weeks on end and then a few days will show up where I am about ready to just call it quits. It's best not to let a few bad days throw off a well thought out plan, however. Just try to remember the bigger picture in that you actually don't have to do this stuff for 40+ years.

TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by TopHatFox »

cmonkey wrote:
Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:15 pm
The first 100K is a bitch. After that it goes a lot quicker.

Yea I have times when I'm content plodding along on my path for weeks on end and then a few days will show up where I am about ready to just call it quits. It's best not to let a few bad days throw off a well thought out plan, however. Just try to remember the bigger picture in that you actually don't have to do this stuff for 40+ years.
Cool, glad to see it's not just me. It's true man, it's a few days that make the whole full-time work path feel insurmountable. I feel like living within walking distance to work would help, at least you can create a tighter bubble of comfort around the discomfort of working on difficult projects at work. It does seem like the first 100K is a PITA. Significant, yet not enough to live off of.

What are some of the strategies that you use to get through the hard days?

prognastat
Posts: 991
Joined: Fri May 04, 2018 8:30 pm
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by prognastat »

It eventually gets to the point where your returns start making your contributions look insignificant in comparison.

cmonkey
Posts: 1814
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:56 am

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by cmonkey »

TopHatFox wrote:
Mon Mar 04, 2019 5:18 pm
What are some of the strategies that you use to get through the hard days?
It's gotten a lot better since switching jobs to 100% telecommute, but this is just a result of my personality type and being very introverted. I also used to dread the commute like the plague. Not having to deal with traffic and co-workers is amazing. I'll never go back to an office setting - ever.

At this point it's that I will have a few days where work just becomes an annoyance because I have other things I want to do instead. The further along I get, the less priority I feel like putting on work activities, but this clashes with the realization that I need to do the work to get paid. Like right now - it's 8:30 and.... oh yea I have this work thing I need to go do..... :roll:

I try to remember just how short this time is, and that I do have control of my time each day, even if I have to do something I wouldn't normally want to do without being paid.

TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by TopHatFox »

Been doing some reading on the pros and cons of small town/small city and big city living. IntrovertSpring has many good articles on how introverts tend to be overwhelmed and depressed in cities, and more relaxed and happy in smaller environments. That makes sense. I actually really enjoy summer-time at the uni, cause there are so few people on the sidewalks. It's relaxing, not stressful. Good to know. So the next place I move needs to be some sort of quiet, smart town surrounded by nature. I'm cool with any salary 50K+ working with some people that care about the environment, a state park, or a humanities department of a uni. I'd prioritize living within walking distance of work, and may even get some sort of cheap vehicle for trips I can't do on the bike or transit.
Last edited by TopHatFox on Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
C40
Posts: 2748
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:30 am

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by C40 »

But also, the smaller you go, the more likely you're going to be saying there aren't the kind of people you want.

TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by TopHatFox »

C40 wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:27 am
But also, the smaller you go, the more likely you're going to be saying there aren't the kind of people you want.
What's the happy medium: Not too small, not too big; a niche in semi-big; or small but with the most fitting people; or maybe even one of the last three choices near big ass city?

Kriegsspiel
Posts: 952
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 9:05 pm

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by Kriegsspiel »

C40 wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:27 am
But also, the smaller you go, the more likely you're going to be saying there aren't the kind of people you want.
+1

Bigger cities have more jobs that pay well, better chances of finding your tribe, and more young single females.

I think that bit about introverts being overwhelmed in cities is nonsense; cities have places for introverts to go unwind just like small towns do. If you are stressed out walking down the sidewalk because other people are on it, you have a problem. Even in small towns, if they're walkable, people are going to be walking around.

In any case, since you don't like living where you are now, just make a list of places that fit your criteria and spam your resume out and try to get a job in one of them and go live there.

prognastat
Posts: 991
Joined: Fri May 04, 2018 8:30 pm
Location: Texas
Contact:

Re: Fox's Journey: And Onto the Sunlight!

Post by prognastat »

@bigato
The description of the kids in school hits uncomfortably close to home. Definitely struggled with relationships in school and also can attest to the trouble with discipline/motivating yourself when growing up everything was too easy and you didn't get challenged. It's tough to take a class seriously as a child when you can correct your teachers or they don't believe you when you say you can do certain tasks in your head without having to write anything down. Still struggle to be disciplined to this day. Part of me wonders if this is innate or if I had been placed in a school environment with more challenge if I would have developed differently.

Also this is the second time I've read about 2 standard deviations(30 IQ points) difference being around the point where it becomes hard to communicate ideas simply because neither side can understand the others frame of reference.

Sorry for the diversion THF.

Post Reply