I already have at least some hobo experience. I'm really glad I did that right out of high school because I know that door is always open if I decide it's time to hit the road again. And adventures aren't just for the young - I've met older people that still hitchhike and go for treks through the mountains.
For the time being I'm going to stay put. COVID is still around, and there's been some real cool developments in my local community stuff. I do want to learn more skills as well. I found a carpenter's apprenticeship that pays you while you're in school - maybe I should have done that back in January, oh well. It's four years though - maybe I could work a year, save like crazy, then have a year for fun projects.
As a side note - during my previous vagabond adventures I ran into people that started hobo adventures as a move towards personal freedom, but became trapped in that lifestyle and couldn't reintegrate into a more stable lifestyle when they wanted to. Though I am sure I'll be drawn to more weird adventures in the future, I don't want to be trapped sleeping in a hammock in a public park when I'm 60 years old.
For me this is where ERE, the importance of skill, financial independence etc come in.
@RoamingFrancis – sounds like you're working positively towards finding your direction. I don't think one's starting off point is all that important with hindsight. All the kids I was at school with, who I thought were really average have done well enough and apparently done well enough financially.
I think it's more fun doing an undergraduate degree in something that interests you. I was an all-rounder at school and followed advice to study engineering at university (better job prospects in a shortage subject). I wasn't a superstar with the maths and with hindsight I would have fared better studying a subject with more emphasis on essay writing. I would have had more free time at uni as well. The thing is, while my first two jobs were in engineering, my third was in banking and after that I worked in consultancy (where good writing skills are an asset). What I have found invaluable is having been programmed to think problems through systematically/scientifically.
I wouldn't discount learning a trade. Here in the UK, plumbers and electricians can be high earners, also plasterers (but that may be different in the US where construction methods are different). From what I have seen, trades people with people skills and some intelligence are able to monetise their ability fairly effectively by growing their business or diversifying into profitable niche. A clear goal, motivation and persistence can surmount most obstacles.
That's what I've found super useful in my math and chem classes this year - developing creative problem solving. I have fairly strong writing skills, so more English classes seem redundant.
This is subject to change, but here's a preliminary plan for the next 3-6 months:
Work at the hardware store. Try to wiggle myself into a position where I can learn new skills, test my ability to wield leverage in the workplace. Save as much money as possible and try to turn it into an educational experience.
Sign up for a fun horticulture class. That'll let me stay in school, get a bit closer to an associate's degree, maintain access to financial aid and scholarship money, and give me a basic foundation if I choose to homestead later. Even if I don't finish college at this point, I don't want to prematurely shut the door.
I also emailed my chem professor from last semester seeing if he would be willing to do an independent study with me. He was a fantastic teacher and I think this could be a good way to continue developing good critical thinking skills and intellectual rigor.
The carpentry apprenticeship looks great, but I emailed the school and they said they're not accepting new apprentices due to COVID. Not really sure to do about this except wait and contact some other places.
but became trapped in that lifestyle and couldn't reintegrate into a more stable lifestyle when they wanted to.... I don't want to be trapped sleeping in a hammock in a public park when I'm 60 years old.
Yeah, so there's always the possibility. I mean, I think most people in this situation generally suffer from mental illness or substance abuse. That's not to say it can't happen if you don't have those issues, but I tend to think the odds of a worst case scenerio situation playing out for someone who posts on this forum to be very, very, low.
For me this is where ERE, the importance of skill, financial independence etc come in.
Right, and it doesn't even need to be FI, just some measure of FU, in any form of capital. Think of it as an exit strategy, or transitional costs. Just don't go off all halve-cocked without an exit strategy and the transitional costs needed to execute it. Then all should be OK.
Yep, those sorts of folks generally have substance or mental health issues. Though particularly in the vanlife scene I had a friend, who generally had his shit together, who seemed stuck in a lifestyle he had outgrown.
I've been doing a bunch of side hustles while I look for a job. Mostly my language teaching and helping people with their homework and shit, plus an opportunity to learn how to paint and put up drywall with a friend. It is good to know that I'm capable of making good cash without a real "job."
I have learned that I make a really good teacher, so at this point I'm basically debating between getting some bullshit bachelor's in education and trying to get into a carpentry apprenticeship. It's a bit hard to make a solid decision right now; one of the local unions is not accepting new apprentices due to COVID, and all of the college courses would be over Zoom, which I deeply despise.
Whatever route I choose, I think it's important that I finish whatever I do. I tend to be very enthusiastic about starting new projects, and lose enthusiasm when I have to finish them. This is a tendency of mine that I'll have to learn to work with more skillfully.
The vague plan for the next 6 months is just to make as much money as I can and see what opportunities open up to me.
Whatever route I choose, I think it's important that I finish whatever I do. I tend to be very enthusiastic about starting new projects, and lose enthusiasm when I have to finish them. This is a tendency of mine that I'll have to learn to work with more skillfully.
I don't think you're alone here. This is a tendency I've noticed more and more in people. I'm not sure if it's me noticing it more, or if it's become much more prevalent over the last decade.
In another thread I was discussing the blessing and curse of human Chronesthesia. It seems to me people have a tendency to create this fictitious imagined future end point and then make decisions based solely on it. Now, the thing is, you hate to break a dream. Sometimes it's entirely possible this imagined future will be great, so I think leaving that alone (the dream) is OK. I think the more logical approach is to focus more on the steps required to reach that dream. Will you enjoy those? Stop and think about that, what the day-to-day will entail? If the answer to is "yes", I'll enjoy the reality of the day-to-day process, then great, go fot it! The worst case is that the end result is less than you had hoped for, but that really doesn't matter if you also enjoyed the process. Because you enjoyed it, you stuck it out.
If the process sounds horrible, then it's time to reexamine the dream. Is it a real thing, is it something worth sacrificing for, ect? Here again, if the dream really is worth the sacrifice, you are more likely to stick it out. Because you know the reality of the dream.
Interesting insight, I wonder if it's a generational thing. I definitely notice people my age have had their attention spans fractured by slot machine technology and social media. I use meditation and some form of digital minimalism to keep my focusing power intact, but it seems to make me an oddity among my peers.
Also good advice; I will focus on the process. I've said before that I would rather FIRE late in life and have a lot of fun along the way than FIRE early and be miserable.
I'll be starting to work more soon, so I'll have some more income coming in.
It's hard to make a decision about my next step when so much is up in the air due to COVID. Especially if I decide to keep going with university, I'd have to transfer soon but would probably just end up sitting at home on Zoom anyways. Kinda fuckin sucks.
I have a carpenter friend I've been talking to about getting into union work. With his help I could probably get into the union and land an apprenticeship, but I would have to be ready to be 100% committed to it and be ready to keep my head down and suck it up for a couple years. There are a lot of benefits associated with it too, but I am not at the 100% commitment level that would be necessary.
The other main possibility I'm considering is to just work for the rest of the year and take that horticulture class in the fall. Then, around New Year's assess how much money I have and see if the borders start opening back up. I could slowtravel 6 months in South America to learn an endangered indigenous language, 6 months in India to learn Hindi and do some intensive meditation retreats, do volunteer stuff, and figure out college/career bullshit afterwards. This option is becoming increasingly attractive.
I had an insight the other day that I'm a pretty smart person, but I'm smart in a way that makes it really hard for me to fit into an institution or a predefined role. This is sometimes awesome, and sometimes sucks. It's also my main motivation for pursuing ERE.
Sidenote: I have realized that my main planned source of income over the next couple months has the potential to be soul-crushing; I have to figure out some more creative ways of making money.
Paraphrased, Jin+Guice told me that once a FT job becomes not soul-crushing, then you've been doing it too long.
He may be right, it's pretty amazing what humans can adapt to. Particularly if we are doing it with a long term vision in mind. I'm not sure how bad your current gig is, but without much experience working FT, it's probably pretty hard for you to tell if it's better or worse than most. I think you gotta give something, at a minimum, three months to see if you are going to dislike it longer term.
I'm not telling you what you should do, just say'en that if you have to do some FT work to reach your goals, then it's only fair to give the things you do decide to try enough time to see if you end up being OK with it.
I'll be moving carts around in the parking lot of a hardware store. I think it's good to keep in mind that this will help me to reach my longer-term goals.
I maintain an awareness of my own mortality. As such, it's generally hard for me to trade my hours on the planet for money. The core YMOYL insight is very poignant.
I'll be moving carts around in the parking lot of a hardware store. I think it's good to keep in mind that this will help me to reach my longer-term goals.
I maintain an awareness of my own mortality. As such, it's generally hard for me to trade my hours on the planet for money. The core YMOYL insight is very poignant.
That sounds like an excellent first gig. You get to be outside and you will have the freedom to go wherever you want on-site, setting up your own systems for how you take charge of your parking lot. You can make it fun by setting yourself goals and challenges. You have the opportunity to make peoples' days by being courteous, helpful and friendly. There may be the opportunity to meet and network with carpenters and other trades, plus you can probably learn from colleagues inside the store about the products and what customers say about them. And there's almost certainly going to be times during your shift when it's quiet and you'll have nothing to do.
I am still waiting to start working full time. Apparently the HR guy is on vacation. I'm getting a bit antsy to start.
Yeah, being outside and having autonomy to set up efficient cart-sorting systems could be fun.
I am feeling more and more drawn to the "Save up money for the rest of the year and go to South America and India" plan. I had the idea of starting a podcast to document conversations with interesting people I meet on the road and possibly get some side income.
I recently spent some time with my family out in a rural area. I was able to get some good thinking and writing done, and once again began to fantasize about buying some land with a couple friends.
In the meantime, though, I need to think about my more immediate life trajectory and goals. Since burning out from my nursing classes, I have begun to consider my other options. It occurred to me that I am not a fan of salaryman thinking or forcing myself through school and unfulfilling work just so I can FI at the end. I also want to do more intensive meditation retreats and international slowtravel, all of which are incompatible with the standard FI path of working for x years and then retiring.
I have been considering an alternative path for myself, namely to achieve some degree of semi-ERE early in life, perhaps at age 20 or 21, and use my extra time for developing other modules of my ERE system, learning Renaissance skills, meditation retreats, slowtravel, etc. I can take the "scenic route" instead of the "sledgehammer route." The benefits of this approach are numerous. For starters, it sounds more fun and I can see myself sticking with it for a longer period of time. Secondly, it will give me the time and energy to develop various nodes of my ERE system from a young age, rather than hyper-focusing on a "career module" which would consume most of my time and energy.
Semi-ERE seems to largely hinge on one's ability to generate income on-demand rather than on safe withdrawal rate. It seems that ideally, work best suited for semi-ERE is flexible and not hyperspecialized. It also seems that in a semi-ERE context, one can take advantages of serendipitous opportunities for income generation that one would not have in FT specialized employment. Can any veteran semi-ERErs comment on generalized advice for this approach?
Logically, if my semi-ERE plan will mostly depend on my ability to efficiently generate income, then my most immediate task is to find and take advantage of any income opportunities I have now, and particularly focus on non-dead end opportunities. Currently, I have the hardware store gig, which I plan to quit as soon as I can find something better. I might be able to get a gig at a non-profit (depending on how grant stuff rolls out), and if I put some more work into it I can leverage my language skills to find some better paid work.
I've mentioned elsewhere that I've been a foreign language nerd since I was a kid. My best languages are English, Spanish, and German. In the past couple months I have been able to make $20/hr doing private tutoring in Spanish, and I've traded German lessons for guitar lessons at another point too. Since I already have a high degree of skill in these areas, I believe that with some work I can leverage this for more efficient and flexible income.
The first way to leverage this is by expanding my classes. I make $20/hr for Spanish but I don't get many hours. Usually 1-2 classes a week. If I refine my curriculum and get more demand, I can increase my hourly wage, get more students, and start offering private tutoring as well as tutoring for small groups. This way I could charge more per hour for private lessons, but still get business from people who aren't willing to pay as much but are willing to sit in a small group. I have two main leads to explore with this - a friend of mine who does private language tutoring professionally, and iTalki. I'll check in with the friend and see if we can work something out to get me more work, and create an iTalki profile to be able to teach people without a common geographical connection.
The second way to leverage my skills is through freelance translation. Most freelance translation is highly technical and specialized, which would require me to learn field-specific jargon in my foreign languages (as well as English!) but I think working myself into a profitable niche in this field would be a useful way to enable my future semi-ERE plans. If all goes well, it would allow me to translate documents as necessary, working one document at a time.
I need to do more research, but based on what I have read on the Internet, the best way to get your foot in the door is to start translating a couple documents for next-to-nothing, until your translations are proofread and you have some credibility. Afterwards I should be able to boost my prices. Proz and Translatorscafe are Internet forums/hubs for translators; it may be worth it to purchase premium access to one of these communities. Again, I need to do more research. Internet reading recommends specializing in translating one specific sort of thing (medical documents, legal documents, etc.) and for my goals I think this is good advice. Though I didn't get very far into nursing school, I might be able to build on what I know in order to translate medical documents.
This might not be the most fun job, but if it facilitates semi-ERE in my 20s and I already have a lot of the skills, it makes sense to go for it. If anyone else has experience with this sort of work, please let me know what you think! Also, I'd love to hear any general advice for semi-ERE!
Minimalism Update: Everything I own fits on, in, or near my dresser. I'm want to continue trimming down my excess possessions, but I need a better system for deciding what to keep. Most of my stuff is now either books or clothes, some of which I don't use often but am attached to nonetheless.
As Jacob recommended in my journal a while back, I am putting more time and effort into becoming a good cook. I would currently categorize myself as a "pretty good cook," but I would eventually like to become a "damn good cook." My main strategy has been to round up weird ingredients from around the kitchen, and use supercook.com to try to make something edible out of them. I have observed that I tend to learn best when cooking with friends who are better than I am.
During the recent family trip I read Michael Pollen's Cooked. (Disclaimer: I didn't finish the last part. I think I'll be done this evening.) It's a great book, which chronicles his story as a food journalist who decided he would learn to cook. His culinary adventures take him to North Carolina, the Basque country, and all over the Bay Area in order to become competent in the kitchen.
What's interesting about Pollen's writing is that he actually uses food as a portal to connect to all sorts of other domains of human knowledge: chemistry, biology, anthropology, and theology, just to name a few. He divides the book into fire, water, air, and earth, in order to learn barbecue, pot meals, baking bread, and fermentation, respectively. As a vegetarian and latter-day teetotaler, parts of fire and earth are irrelevant to my own culinary ambitions, but they are interesting just the same.
My main takeaway from the fire portion was to understand Maillard reactions, which occurrs between amino acids and sugars and gives browned food its distinctive taste. I don't yet fully understand its implications for my own cooking, but it seems important enough for me to write down and continue studying in the future.
Most of my cooking falls into Pollen's "water" category, which he uses to describe basically all meals cooked in a pot with hot liquid. I plan to reread this section and investigate one of the books in this section's bibliography. It discusses onions at length. I have become pretty good at cutting onions without crying (win for me!) but one of Pollen's suggestions was to use a low heat and a longer time period (around a half hour) when sauteeing them. I usually sautee vegetables with medium heat and a shorter cook time. He explained the chemistry involved, but I don't remember it. More research for me! I also learned that this whole time I have been an unwitting Cajun! I often use onion, bell pepper, and garlic together in a dish, but I had no clue this was the "Holy Trinity" of Cajun cooking. I thought it was just something I liked to do. This section is definitely worth a reread and further research. My meals often consist of me sauteeing whatever the hell's around and improvising spices that I think would do well. I'd like to learn specific variations on this general formula, and understand the principles behind making Indian, Thai, Mexican, Moroccan, and other ethnic dishes. I'd also like to branch out and learn cooking skills beyond "sautee and spice whatever's around," which leads me to my next point.
Bread! Baking bread takes up the air chapter and has all sorts of cool information about sourdough cultures. I learned that sourdough microbiology is an actual academic field, albeit a small one. The culture usually consists of yeast and bacteria in a symbiotic relationship. Pollen elaborated at length about whole grain breads and a bunch of other cool stuff, and this chapter confirmed that baking bread will be my next adventure in the kitchen.
I'm still finishing the chapter on fermentation. It sounds fun, but I don't plan to start doing it myself for a while.
The overall message of the book is a celebration of home cooking and a denouncing of corporations that have turned cooking into food processing, and have chipped away at our health as a result. Pollen's most interesting claim is that if you want to have a healthy diet, eat whatever you want. Just cook it yourself. It's a great read, and I feel inspired to become a better chef and figure out what kind of diet is really optimal for my health.
Anywho, those are my updates for the time being. Wishing you all the best, peace!
P.S. I also finally learned what the glycemic index was, after having seen the phrase thrown around here and in other health circles. If I understand correctly, it's a measure of how quickly a food is metabolized into glucose, and thus indicates the size of the insulin spike. Is this accurate? It seems that low-glycemic index foods are best to avoid diabetes, correct?
Right. Glycemic Load is probably more important though. Also, with diabetics they have to avoid sugar and simple carbohydrates in general due to pancreatic dysfunctions and overall body insulin resistance but if one is of healthy weight and active they would be insulin sensitive enough (able to uptake glucose) without problems so glycemic index is not all that important. Fruits are good for you
