I’m tired of the poverty..." & "Brooks is getting some air in Thailand..."
Not sure what type of poverty he's talking about, but I certainly cant afford to fly off to Thailand at the moment...
Not sure what type of poverty he's talking about, but I certainly cant afford to fly off to Thailand at the moment...
How does that work? Do those people have giant savings accounts, and am I just dumb with my money? Or do they do freelance work on the side?
I have decent savings etc., but having followed the path of college -> grad school (where I worked as a research assistant) -> startup, I have never been to Asia/South America because I either have the time but not the money, or the money but not the time. My getaway has been driving to Santa Cruz for the Sunday once every few weeks.
I feel like I'm missing out on something here- and I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a bit jealous of those people and that I wish I could do the same. Coding on a Thailand beach between a scuba diving session and an afternoon of surfing sounds pretty nice.
They won't, however, understand that they could have had exactly the same life if they had chosen to delay the 'fun' just a few years. Guess how I know ;)
Different strokes for different folks. Time is also a limited resource; be careful not to waste your youth on just work.
I worked hard for the first 20 years, now I work part time, and as I said already, I hope to have it be optional soon. I also feel far more appreciative of life in general now, whereas I took much for granted while younger. Hopefully, that will continue to increase...
But now having typed this, I realize that we are all different, and the path we took is the path we had to take to be who we are...
Hmmm... Never mind?
And that is the real wisdom that age provides :)
I could criticize the family guy for working hard, living in suburbia, and forgoing exciting travel/work opportunities to have a quite acceptable but normal life. But, hey, it works for him, and he has many things that I don't (and vice versa).
All it takes is for you not to buy this one car today at age 30 and the money will compound into a life of exotic beach vacations for all your grandchildren and beyond.
Edit: And for the people who don't have a trust fund, like me, you can always take a job with remote teams, which is what I just did.
Also depending on when you fly, and with some little research, you can get fairly cheap tickets.
If you know you will be in a precarious or idle situation for X weeks, you can balance the cost of staying here (US/Canada) for those X weeks (food, accommodation and some activities) vs flying there and saving a ton on food/accommodation/activities.
It seems odd but it's completely true.
It also helps that I don't have a mortgage to pay.
I've even met some of the guys coding on beaches in Thailand or Bali, they are quite laid back and zen. I'm not sure I could do it though, I'm still very much an American (meaning, puritan/work ethic roots), and would feel uncomfortable being out of the office for too long.
But even if you're poor, you can always find ways to make just enough to scrape by. I met guys while I was traveling that didn't have a dime but yet still managed to get around and even have fun.
However, author's statement that they made a decision to spend their money travel, rather than housing and goods, doesn't suggest that that is what they are doing.
Poor is not being able to scrape up enough money for a plane ticket and hostel accomodations, not 'choosing to take a break from this pesky job search business'.
Why? Even a poor person in the US should be able to scrape up enough for at least that, if nothing more. I took a two month trip to Colombia on $15 a day, about $1500 after the plane ticket. One can easily save up that kind of money in two months with even a crappy job, if you're serious about it.
I don't think it's really possible to be "seriously" poor in the US. The amount of ambient wealth floating around here is tremendous compared to other countries. I'd much rather be destitute here than in, say, Rwanda.
You have no idea the misery that surrounds you. Pray that you are never living paycheck to paycheck.
I know exactly how awful things can be in the States. I've been all over and met all sorts. I'd take any lifestyle here over destitution anywhere else. Trust me, there are far worse places to be than the Jungle.