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Anonymous
Anyone ever thinks of leaving the West's habits and going some place where people live way more simplistically? (aka no car, computer, TV, etc.)

Some people live very well like that and really don't have much to work for at all. They just chill and enjoy life.

(in before third world countries, I'm referring to places where there are good living conditions)
>> Anonymous
What DO they do then?

I thought farming was like, fucking hard work.
>> Anonymous
Become a sheep herder in New Zealand.
>> Anonymous
OP here. I was thinking of places far away from civilization.
>> Anonymous
>>13607
The moon?
>> Anonymous
>>13582

I think about it all the time.

I don't know if I have the balls to do it right off the bat, though, if we're talking about self-sufficiency-build-your-own-fucking-house-with-the-rest-of-your-village stuff. I'll probably just move somewhere more rural and spacious with a slower pace of life and less bullshit for a while.
>> Anonymous
>>13582
>going some place where people live way more simplistically? (aka no car, computer, TV, etc.)

Why would anyone want this?
>> Anonymous
>>13610
because they realize they don't really need all this extra baggage?
>> Anonymous
>>13615
But very comfortable baggage.
>> Anonymous
>>13615
Then why are they posting about it on the internet?
>> Anonymous
>>13629
To talk about it. A mere realization doesn't always lead to instantaneous action, if to any action.
>> Anonymous
An attitude like that is counterproductive to the progress of society. You're supposed to utilize man's inventions because that's what the centuries of technological progress were for.
>> Anonymous
YEAH ITS VERY FUCKING NICE TO TALK ABOUT.

Try doing it. Then we'll see how much you like it.
>> Anonymous
>>13646
So true. Taling about human development, there are >6 billion people on this small planet, and we're still producing more of us. It'd be completely impossible for us to continue at this rate if we'd fall back to a so called "self-suffiecient" lifestyle.
>> Anonymous
I have no car, no TV, keep consumerism to a minimum, cook all my own meals from simple and organic food.

But then again, I live in the middle of New York City.
>> Anonymous
If I had to cook my own meals, I'd be dead by now. Its also a huge waste of time if you have no fun doing it.
>> Anonymous
>>13582
a good place for living cheaply is someplace that is pretty warm year round, so you don't have to pay for heating and you can build a cheap house with no insulation. You might also want to live in a country with a single payer universal healthcare system, so if you have your own business or don't work fulltime you don't need to worry about healthcare. If you don't mind not travelling ever or spending much on entertainment, you could probably get by on $6,000 US a year. So even if you have a minimum wage job you would only need to work about half time. If you can find a job with flexible hours that would pay you 40k a year full time, you could work 2 hours a day and make more than enough to live. you also got to take into account if you want kids, retirement savings, if you want a wife, etc. I'm not sure if i could do it. I would probably get bored.
>> Anonymous
>>13665
Yes, but standing naked in a broken phone booth requires a six-figure income in New York City.
>> Anonymous
>>13665

Just not feasible to a lot of people, I think. In my hometown, for instance, you just about HAVE to have a car to get everywhere; everything is sprawling, suburban, or rural in nature. It would take about two hours to walk to and from the nearest place selling food ingredients of any sort (a gas station) from here, and far longer to walk to the neareast restaurant. Of course, one might bring up bikes, but considering how the roads and all are laid out, that would be very risky.

Furthermore, it's hard to find much organic food in the semi-boondocks, and you'll want a TV because....well, there's not much to do around here.

Though, honestly, I wish I could afford to live in New York or some other larger city one of these days. Most of Alabama = fail.
>> Anonymous
>>13646
That's a very shitty argument to support consumerism. If I don't want/need something I'm not gonna buy it just for the sake of whoever invented it, or because it's "counterproductive to the progress of society".

Super duper bullshit.
>> Anonymous
>>13706
If it's considered helpful enough in everyday life to become a massive worldwide trend (Television, automobile, etc.) then you should buy it so you progress like everyone else. That doesn't mean to buy every shitty niche invention someone releases, but it doesn't mean to go dick around naked in the woods and fuck over all that advancement.
>> Anonymous
>>13720
A gramme is better than a damn and ending is better than mending...
>> Anonymous
Self-sufficiency is greed. In modern society our lives are careful webs of interconnections. You don't get to opt out!
>> Anonymous
>>13720
>then you should buy it so you progress like everyone else.
Okay, then (even though I really don't want to) I'll buy a TV and dedicate 2 hours a day to watching it, just so that I'm like everyone else. (Because OH NOES, I don't want my neighbors to think of me as a caveman!)

>to go dick around naked in the woods and fuck over all that advancement
>fuck over all that advancement
Useful inventions will always be used enough so that it's not 'fucked over'. I don't see how myself not buying a TV would change a damn thing to it.
>> Anonymous
>>13698

That just doesn't seem very sustainable for me. I worry about everyone who lives in semi-rural areas. What happens when gas becomes too expensive to support driving to everything you need to survive? I suppose we'll ALL be fucked by that point anyway, since even New York City depends on gas to deliver food to their corner grocery stores.
>> Anonymous
>>13646

so much fallacy i can't even begin to dismantle
>> Anonymous
>consumerism
If I remember correctly, sociology calls this an empty significant, cause it can mean everything you want it to.
>> Anonymous
>>13780
Who gives a damn, everybody smart enough knows what it refers to in this particular case.
>> gizmogal !MmLOyiCYJs
We stayed at a floating lodge on the Amazon.
So laid back, no people for miles, and if any, only accessible by long boat rides.

Beautiful.
>> Anonymous
I have two examples of this idea in action. They are as follows:

My cousin lives with her husband in a house they built on a plot of land out in the middle of (beautiful) nowhere. They farm 90% of their own food, use minimal electric (solar). They tried various ways to accomplish the lifestyle for probably 10 years before they settled into this one. Seems to be working out great, they are both outdoors people who love farming.

Example 2 is one of my previous highschool teachers. I caught up with him recently, he was working as a check out clerk in my very small hometown. It seems he works a few hours a week to save up for eventual repairs to his homestead, which is located a bit out of town (90 min bike ride about). Later I visited his (and his girlfriend) house, it seemed to be constructed of of a plaster like material. Actually quite nice, though very simple. He paints and reads a lot, has dial up net. There was a small garden/farm out back. They had chickens too.

Anyway, those two people seem to have done what the OP is talking about.
As for myself, I think it could be a really good life for those who fit it (not me, at this point in my life). Others would be like it much less. Even with relatively small land, if there is water, one can do this type of thing quite efficiently...
>> Anonymous
is it possible to grow vegetables on a house/canal boat?
>> Anonymous
>>13885
Probably. You could have a little patch of ground, not too deep. You'd have to spread the plants and water them regularly, not with salt water of course. As long as you take care of them and replant every year or two they can flourish well. Also depends on what kind of vegetables and your climate, etc.
>> Anonymous
crazyguyonabike.com

a good non-permanent option
>> Anonymous
>>13879
Very interesting
>> Anonymous
Live without the internet? Are you fucking nuts?
>> Anonymous
>>13887
cheers, i guess you would need like a deep trough of soil
>> Anonymous
>>13822
No, not really.
>> Anonymous
What most everyone here is talking about is a self sustained lifestyle.
>>13879
has mentioned the best example of this, probably. However, this is NOT what the OP asked for. "not have to work much at all" "just chill and enjoy life"..
Look I hate to say it, but the OP is looking for Shangri-la. There are places where "less" money is needed to survive, there are places where more vacation time is given per job, but in the end there are no places where people just chill all day.
Why?
Because no matter is you're in alaska or viet nam, farming is HARD WORK. It takes an enormous amount of time to tend the land, plan out the plantings, harvest and preserve the yeilds, plan for crop failure... A single human eats three times a day, 365 days a year. Making those meals appear out of the ground can be done anywhere, but it is very hard work.
(If you want vacation time, become a school teacher-- 4 months vacation + 2 weeks paid sick per year. Alternatively, one could "retire" to a thrid world country with comparatively less money...)
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
We need to build robotors for this, so we can.. oh wait.