I'm brand new to this website and forum. I found @AxelHeyst's website somehow a while ago, and then his podcast...and here I am.
I'm a 40's something father of two teenage boys who, about 8 years ago, had a snap realization that I was living the life that was expected of me, not the life I wanted to live. And that was particularly hard for me as I felt, and was repeatedly told, that I was very independent and 'marched to the bet of my own drum'. So it was an identity sort of shaking moment. Since then... divorced, lots of new friends, spent some time out of the rat race (and loved it) and and now mostly feel in control of my life. Like the matrix and I took the red pill. I own a small house in Central America that I love. I got back to the US mostly as I chose. Family, work. I was just there for 4 months. I'm back in Central America and I don't miss the culture of the US one bit. Life here is slower, simpler, less consumerism driven (at least in the rural village where I am). Well, I guess I miss the food. But also, fsck the food! There is so much that is unhealthy about the food culture in the US. But also lots of amazing restaurants.
I feel like there have been several decisions (the first was getting divorced) I've made along the way to help free myself from the nonsense and to help me focus on living more of a life that I want. Balancing my responsibilities as a father has been the hardest part for sure.
I wish I remembered how I stumbled on his website. Surely it was as part of digging thru and exploring subjects like climate change, American Foreign Policy/Imperialisim, Regenerative Agriculture, DIY, Travel etc. I really like a lot of what @AH has to say in his podcast. Like it makes a ton of sense. I first read about FIRE maybe 7 years ago. I've run many scenarios thru FireCalc to see how much do I need to retire... is my limited retirement savings enough. It's never been enough, even based on some made up low ball numbers for CoL in Central America.
I was laid off from a high paying technical sales job at the start of the pandemic. I spent a good chunk of 2020 in rural Colorado learning about a variety of topics related to Homesteading from a former Chef and current Anarchist. It was a wild and wonderful experience. Despite feeling like I wanted to leave the US for a long time, I felt like I may have found my groove out there. A bit of heartbreak and no longer did it feel like home.
I'm back working for the man by choice - after some self employment /consulting last year. Again, a Matrix moment. I spent all summer feeling like I was dialed in to the simulation and I had my phone booth to bail when I needed. It's a mostly remote job. Pays handsomely. Affords a lot of flexibility. I want to work less. A lot less. I want to build skills and really shrink my world to focus on the massive levels of awesomeness here. I can grow things, build things, cook things, etc etc. I have some great new friends here. Central America is much more affordable than the US. My house here is paid for. I could exist on a *very* low budget. I worry about health care. My boys. My parents.
I'm sort of at a place of acceptance with Climate Change, the extreme political situations around the world etc. Kind of a smoke em if you've got em and let's see what we can reasonably do to not fsck the world up more for future generations, whatever that may look like.
I really appreciate the remote indigenous village I am in. It's complex to think thru. On many level life is so much simpler here. Much much poorer than suburban USA. But the kids seem happy. People generally do. I think people have a healthier relationship with the idea of death and dying. (I think it's pretty twisted in the US). I am very fortunate to have the simple but beautiful 2 BR home in a garden/yard with at least 12 different fruits growing.
So... Here I am. Sort of feeling like @AH's content has set me up for the next phase of reducing my consumption, reducing my spending, improving my base of skills, improving my enjoyment of each passing day. The overall simplification. I read the "hello new readers" post on the website. I've explored the forum a little. I'm not exactly sure of where to go next, so I thought I'd start here. Getting a handle on and reducing my spending is a 'big rock'. Pretty significant tax bill to the IRS after a couple years of pandemic, unemployment, a little crypto win, and various other things. So maybe it's ride out the corp gig for a while to rebuild and take advantage of the flexibility to upskill etc. Not too much longer till the youngest is 18. Maybe that is a significant date for a few reasons.
This got longer than expected! I'm excited to poke around and see what I see and learn some things.
