Is this a turning point in your life?

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sky
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Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:20 am

Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by sky »

Is the self-isolation time a turning point in your life?

If so, what changes will you make to your own lifestyle?

George the original one
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Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
Location: Wettest corner of Orygun

Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by George the original one »

Due to being retired and living rural, it's pretty much just like my regular life. Lost one social/entertainment outlet (autocross), presumably temporarily, and go grocery shopping less often. Not visiting relatives at the moment, but also expect that to be temporary.

Dream of Freedom
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Location: Nebraska, US

Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by Dream of Freedom »

We don't know who will pass yet. So that is a possible turning point for anyone.

I am introverted and single. My social life hasn't change too much during this crisis. I guess so far it's only small stuff like being more aware of just how many things people touch.

2Birds1Stone
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Location: Earth

Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by 2Birds1Stone »

Life as usual, for the most part.

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TheWanderingScholar
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by TheWanderingScholar »

Not really.

Most of my family is safe for now and still waiting on a job response, which will take one to two more weeks.

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Alphaville
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Location: Quarantined

Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by Alphaville »

In practical terms the main change so far has been that my wife and I are spending 24/7 together in a studio apartment.

So far it looks like we’re ready for the 4-year trip to Mars.

HalfCent
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by HalfCent »

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Last edited by HalfCent on Wed Apr 22, 2020 12:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ertyu
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by ertyu »

it is for me. i have mentioned elsewhere in the forum, but i quit my job in a foreign country and am now staying with my parents as an adult until this is over, with 25x yearly spend. I don't know if I will go back to work, or what I will do. Now, I am just waiting for this to be over and hoping I will not lose too much money. It is not safe to try to change anything at my parents' place and attract their attention to it. They will poke their noses. They will comment. They will decide that now that I've started to do something, I'm clearly doing the wrong thing, and should be told repeatedly that I should do what they want me to do instead. Yes, I have had conversations with them along the lines of, can you guys pretend I am an actual adult whom you like and who you believe has right to make choices about his own life, but no. So, the relationship with my parents has been strained. I caught myself fantasizing on a couple of occasions what it would be like if they had passed already and I was alone in the apartment. I don't wish them dead, not really. I wish myself free from constant bullshit and interference.

I don't know why I let it get to me, but it gets to me, even when I don't physically live with them - which I will do as soon as the pandemic dies down. I am undecided whether I will just rent an apartment in my home town or if I will look for another job abroad.

Another effect of the virus was that I have been made aware that my general state of health impacts my chances of continued survival. Not that it didn't before - now I am just aware of this in a much more immediate way. It doesn't motivate me to exercise - I feel failry low and numb, which I assume is the same old - same old depression I've been dragging for a while peppered with an extra dash of joy de vivre caused by being cooped up with my parents. I just hope I survive, I guess. Beyond that, we will see.

7Wannabe5
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Since this crisis coincidentally occurred at the same time I tried and hated working a full-time professional job again for the first time in many years, it has totally flipped me into dissolve all financial contracts mode. Because, for instance, what good is health insurance when your medical system is overwhelmed with a communicable disease? It’s like positive contracts are just propping up negative contracts in a giant house of cards and meanwhile the only truly important boundary is the one formed by your skin sac.

CS
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by CS »

Yes, my semi-ere (old) job is gone. I'm not going to work in hospitals, probably ever again. Also, I just learned that as an asthmatic, I'll not even be considered for a ventilator in my state, so any motivation for taking a risk is gone.

I'm completely committed to a new life as author. Living at ~3% of stash, even with the downturn. I'm down ~7%, even with the business closing costs, which is noise. I can afford to go down 23% before worry sets in. This means I can afford to retire overseas in Italy or France, or maybe teach English overseas, but I'm getting a bit old for that. All of those latter plans depend on this pandemic getting resolved either through starving out the virus, or getting a vaccine. So in the meanwhile, the concentration is on writing.

Which brings me to the real cost of this pandemic in my day to day life: loss of time and concentration. I'm trying to get it back so I can produce something during this time instead of reading the phone 18 hours a day. For a while, I was cross-sharing info with all my worlds but I'm deliberately stopping that. I'm not responsible for everyone. Self care needs a boost.

Edit: Knock on wood, really hoping to not lose a loved one as mentioned up thread. Hopefully the gods will be satisfied by my family's victims from the 1918 pandemic.

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

I'm having trouble concentrating and working too. There are constantly new problems coming up to worry and think about, plus I am slightly addicted to information right now.

For me the pandemic has confirmed that I am doing a few things right for a scenario like this. No debt but the house, house payments are low, lots of cash on hand, what appears to be a stable job.

It sounds terrible but I have been thinking about whether or not there is any way to take advantage of the situation if this becomes a recession. Many people were wiped out in 2008 but some made their fortunes, typically by buying cheap rental houses. If they paid those houses off quickly it was a good bet. If they have a lot of debt and their renters are not paying now they might be about to get crushed.

sky
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by sky »

I don't see the virus as causing a turning point in my life. My income is relatively stable, my house is paid for and my expenses are low. However, there may be unexpected outcomes from the virus that cause changes that I will have to react to.

The biggest change at this time is the weather is getting warmer, and this year I don't have any expensive, time consuming house maintenance items to take care of, so I have free time. I have been considering getting a job but don't see many jobs that are attractive to me.

take2
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by take2 »

My life has ironically improved. Without a commute and pressure in the office to work lots of hours I now have time to exercise everyday, cook delicious meals, and work on interesting personal projects. As of now there doesn’t look like any risk of losing my job, although bonuses will likely be affected. I have enough cash on hand to ride out 5+ years of expenses so not really concerned with that in any event.

Our wedding will likely get cancelled/postponed but I’m not really that bothered about that either. We can always hold it later, or elope. I will be pissed if it cuts into our honeymoon - meant to go to New Zealand for 4 weeks over Christmas. We’re doing that whether or not the wedding happens. Worse case we’ll just elope there :)

I have friends back in the states who have lost their jobs, or even worse, loved ones to the virus. It will definitely be a turning point for many.

bostonimproper
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by bostonimproper »

Not yet. I expect at least one close family member of mine or my husband's to die -- that'd be a big deal. Or if one of us got laid off, but I think we're a ways away from that. Our quarantine has just meant more hours working and less of a social life. We're still talking to friends via video chats and gaming together.

That said the virus is causing us to delay a turning point in our life (having kids). Overall I feel like my social, human self is muted or on pause.

enigmaT120
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by enigmaT120 »

Nope. Except that I only learned how to love again in late 2016 and now I am not supposed to be with anybody else. Texting and email help. I'm very glad to be retired and to live in the forest like I do.

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C40
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by C40 »

For me, not yet.

What I expect:
- If I invest the cash I have well, and it turns out to be a fairly standard drop and recovery, my income and net worth would go up by 20-40%
- If one of my parents get the virus, they'd be at fairly high risk of it being intense or dying. Either of my grandmas could die from it, but those two have lived out their lives and it wouldn't be tragic.
- Having observed life in Asia for a few months, I was already feeling like we're definitely on track for bad and worse things to happen... This will probably increase my resolve to focus more on 'living right' long term.

IlliniDave
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by IlliniDave »

I had this conversation yesterday with an old friend I correspond with. He's a few years older than me and we share an employer. Even though his AA was only about 30% stock going into this, and him being older than me stands to get him a much larger monthly annuity payment (even though I have a few months more company seniority than he does), he's feeling like he has to push his retirement date back to age 65, and he asked whether the pandemic and related fallout affected my outlook.

Like many here the answer is, not too much yet. If anything it makes me inclined to withdraw from the professional ranks sooner. When times are bad my desire for maximum self-determination ramps up. My whole plan was hatched in the depths of the post-financial crisis swoon.

The isolation part is pretty meaningless. If it dragged on for months and months and months that might be different. Made a note to self to keep an "in case of emergency break glass" toilet paper stash. My financial strategy hasn't changed yet.

This thread had a bit of a buzzkill though. If the pandemic proceeds down the doomiest gloomiest projected paths I'd intended to gut it out here and flee to my Northwoods hideout as soon as it's warm enough to turn on the water (early May). Learning states are announcing a priori they will not fully treat people with a history of asthma means I need to do some research and be careful where I let myself roam.

horsewoman
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by horsewoman »

It's probably too early to tell. At the moment it feels a little bit like the "Pause" button has been pressed and I have trouble imagining how it will go on afterward. Like most people on this forum we are neither greatly bothered by the isolation (since we are mostly almost-hermits all year round) nor by the probable economical ramifications. Our expenses are low, and both of our employers are state-funded (which is a pretty stable thing in Germany). Both of our jobs center around providing assistance to handicapped or abused kids/people, who will always need this care. I cannot see how large cuts would be feasible in this area. I might be wrong, but at this point, I'm not worried.

The only thing where my life might change drastically is in regards to music. Live music has been in a steady decline hereabouts for the last decade and this virus might be the final death blow. My side hustles were playing the harp at weddings and senior homes, both areas will be hit hard either by the virus or the recession. You can get married without a harpist playing background music during coffee and cake, it's one of the first things people will do to cut expenses. This does not impact me (much) financially but I'll miss performing, same with my rock band - lots of smaller venues will close and people will probably be wary of coming together in closed quarters. I've had a youtube based solo project on the back burner for a while, but I don't enjoy making music alone. Perhaps I will have to get over this if I want to share my work with other people. On the upside, a lot of artists will have time on their hands for collaborations, so maybe it will turn out all right. Still, performing on stage has always made me very happy and it hurts to think that it might happen not so often from now on.

Other than that, I HOPE that this will be a turning point for a lot of people to get their shit together and save up some money instead of blowing it on useless stuff. This virus should be a wake-up call that we cannot go on as we did since the 80s as a global society. If peak-oil and climate change are "not real enough" for the masses, maybe this virus will drive a few lessons home. I'm not happy about that this has happened, but I hope people will at least take home some insights from all this mess.

naturelover
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by naturelover »

It's helped me reevaluate nonessential expenses that were starting to rack up. Since I've been scared of the recession I've realized I have barely bought anything which is something I needed to get back to.

The isolation kinda sucks. I'm missing people and am more grateful of the time I get to spend with friends and family in person. At the same time, I've realized I packed on to many plans and responsibilities that I really didn't want to be a part of and were causing me stress. The shelter in place mandate has both made me both feel trapped physically but also free of these 'forced' activities I wanted gone anyway.

I'm also lacking the typical stress reducing activities I'm normally engaged in, so I'm getting more and more sick of my job since I don't have an outlet. I think its time to change.

Campitor
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Re: Is this a turning point in your life?

Post by Campitor »

So far this virus hasn't impacted me significantly. My family lives in the same building so this self quarantine hasn't deprived us of seeing each other. And I've always kept in touch with friends via group chats when we can't meet physically - we've been doing this before Coronavirus.

And being Latino meant a stockpile of dry goods (rice, flour, etc.) anyways; we love our rice :D . There's been no deprivation at my household or any illnesses.

And I work in tech so working remotely has always been a quick feature to enable. I'm lucky. I feel sorry for those who can't make wages because of business closings, those who are ill, and the healthcare workers on the front line.

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