disowning society
I am working towards buying land in the desert and living by myself. I've been pricing out how much it would take to buy land, put in well/septic/propane, buy and install a solar power system and propane generator, and buy and put up a mobile home and garage, and it's NOT cheap. My current estimates are running around $150,000. With the banking system collapsing I don't know if I can get the loans, even if I do have my own business. I am thoroughly sick of living in a city. I loved it when I was younger, but conditions seem to be deteriorating, there's annoying music playing at all hours, really nasty people everywhere, many of which demand that you give them money even if you have none then get furious when you explain this to them, there's gang graffiti everywhere, many of the buildings are abandoned, many of the shopping centers are full of for lease signs, it just seems like society is really deteriorating and it's no longer safe to live among others. I don't want to be in a city if a Big Collapse does suddenly happen and we're suddenly plunged into a Mad Max style of living. It seems to be getting like Mad Max even without something big.
pezar -- good on you.
I think most of us started out looking for our dream but ended up with something quite different. Then whatever you end up with....that's what you turn into your dream.
So you are starting to realize you want your own land. You're motivated to do all kinds of research. Decide exactly what you want and see how much it costs. Then make adjustments. A lot of adjustments. Work at this from basically 2 directions:
1)What you want which in practical terms means-- what you will settle for
2)What's available that you can afford
Then you figure out how you can live on your property [preferably legally] even if it means you will have to endure some discomfort at first. You work gradually toward your goal. One thing at a time. And whatever discomfort you have to endure is almost always worth it. Of course it depends on what you're trying to do and how much you can spend.
You'll need to be flexible with your dream and willing to do all kinds of workarounds. The most important factor is the desire to make it happen one way or another...and be flexible about how it will be achieved.
Last edited by alba on 28 Jan 2009, 11:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
i rarely use the internet, or forums anymore. i literally sit in my apartment for weeks upon end and rot.
RoisinDubh
Deinonychus
Joined: 24 Jan 2009
Age: 55
Gender: Female
Posts: 341
Location: Somewhere else entirely
I have dreamt of becoming a total hermit since I was a child, but have never full-on done it. It may well happen yet, since for years I've taken several-week to several-month long breaks from everyone and everything (out of necessity, or so it felt to me), and of the tentative plans my boyfriend and I have discussed, one of the more frequently discussed ones involves moving to the middle of nowhere, far away from anyone, and becoming totally self-sufficient.
Nearly 18 years in NYC, the physical manifestation of overstimulation, has actually made the idea of cutting myself off from society completely even MORE appealing.
I'm kind of here with everyone else ... especially in the reclusive end of things.
I'm too tired to keep trying. Been kicked in the teeth and in the gut (figuratively speaking) too many times, and I just don't feel like trying to explain myself anymore. Useless endeavor anyway - they never understand. Anymore, I tend to speak in songs. Then they overreact and think I'm suicidal. There is a difference between feelings and taking action.
What surprises me is the random acts of kindness from strangers that I receive sometimes. That, I am grateful for, and I try to reciprocate. Humanity as a whole, however, no longer surprises me with its determination to hurt, kill, destroy, or otherwise torture itself and every living thing it encounters.
That kind, compassionate people still exist is what surprises me. But I find them ... sometimes. I try not to bother them too much, though ... I can irritate even the most patient ones. And it hurts to see them get hurt by the world.
I'm new here. I've been at my wits' end lately, backed into corners about things. Found two places that I could browse and not post - or post if I wanted to but didn't have to.
I have a family, but often wish I could live alone. Probably better that I don't - I'd be a total hermit then ... it's in my nature.
And sometimes it's only for a moment. For example, My siblings & their kids are so spread out, we only get everyone in the same place once a year. There are moments when I feel like, "Ok, I've seen them all, now I can go home." But it passes and I get involved in another good conversation.
Have you kept any kind of a diary/journal? Would that work as a book?
thyme
Veteran
Joined: 5 Aug 2007
Age: 61
Gender: Female
Posts: 825
Location: Over the Hills and Far Away
@thyme
It helps to do workarounds, be very resourceful, and try positive thinking and other creative techniques to provide solutions. In an emergency you can ask for help. Your concerns are valid.
@Tahitiii
A bunch of scribbles on calendars and disorganized rantings in a dozen notebooks where I work out strategies and such, not exactly a proper journal. A book on hermiting? hmm...maybe..
Abu_Zarqawi
Snowy Owl
Joined: 31 Jan 2009
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 138
Location: Jabal an-Nabi Shu'ayb
society often feels like a pretty sh***y place to live, but i still love it and wouldn't become a hermit for all the money in the world. just because society is full of suffering doesn't mean that suffering is all there is. there is love and friendship, there is beauty and wonder, and there are amazing experiences to be had. those things make it more than worth it to suffer the slings and arrows of a flawed society
I can see why you use the young Abu as your avatar and not his most recent pic.