Getting very tired of reading judgmental posts. We are not all greedy capitalist drones caught on a hamster wheel of consumerism. I started living a minimalist lifestyle before any magazines about it and YouTube videos. I was a freak who didn’t have a tv, I read books.
In 1986 credit cards were just becoming available for regular people. When I graduated college in 1985 ( without any debt I worked full-time and went to school full- time and lived at home while attending a state school) there were no discount stores like Marshalls and I couldn’t get a credit card to buy an outfit for job interviews. I decided that buying just to buy was empty and that I’d need that money when I retired. God help me I didn’t know how bad my health would get beginning in my 30’s. I never earned much as a teacher and some summers didn’t have enough money for food but that was because I always put money into my retirement funds ( which have grown exponentially over 30 years) And no, I didn’t lose much in 2007-2008. I have a nice nest egg that I can use when I turn 59 1/2.
Feeling superior because you live in a van is obnoxious. I’ve always loved nature and camping but at my age with a bad back requiring surgery, a bad knee and only two and a half years from ovarian cancer this lifestyle is not fun nor is it my first choice. And for those who criticize people who stay in big cities with excellent healthcare and other services you have no idea each person’s situation. I have a lifelong disabled brother who can’t leave the state, he can’t even leave the city at risk of losing the benefits and housing he receives. I have to oversee him. At 57 I have dozens of people who I’ve developed relationships with even people like my mechanic and hairstylist etc etc who have been a tremendous support. I’ve had people at the bank, the stores, the dentist do favors for me and help me out after my accident/cancer/fire that destroyed my home. Last night one of my old neighbors gave me a $400. supermarket gift card ( which I am passing along to someone in worse shape than I am)
So. Yeah. No. That’s 57 years of relationships that I can’t redo if I move to Kentucky or Tennessee or Mississippi just because it’s cheap. Life is more complex than that.
I’d go back to a tiny condo in a hot minute and camp for fun. I don’t enjoy peeing in a bucket and I have IBS which is a whole other topic re: cr*****g in a bucket or trying to and with a bad back too. Fun, fun, fun.
But I don’t put other people down who do enjoy it. I don’t judge anyone for the lifestyle they choose or are forced into. I know I know nothing about how or why they are where they are and I try and show kindness and compassion.
So stop with the nasty posts please. To paraphrase someone famous we are each fighting our own battles and doing the best we can. Before you write something ugly try and remember that.
In 1986 credit cards were just becoming available for regular people. When I graduated college in 1985 ( without any debt I worked full-time and went to school full- time and lived at home while attending a state school) there were no discount stores like Marshalls and I couldn’t get a credit card to buy an outfit for job interviews. I decided that buying just to buy was empty and that I’d need that money when I retired. God help me I didn’t know how bad my health would get beginning in my 30’s. I never earned much as a teacher and some summers didn’t have enough money for food but that was because I always put money into my retirement funds ( which have grown exponentially over 30 years) And no, I didn’t lose much in 2007-2008. I have a nice nest egg that I can use when I turn 59 1/2.
Feeling superior because you live in a van is obnoxious. I’ve always loved nature and camping but at my age with a bad back requiring surgery, a bad knee and only two and a half years from ovarian cancer this lifestyle is not fun nor is it my first choice. And for those who criticize people who stay in big cities with excellent healthcare and other services you have no idea each person’s situation. I have a lifelong disabled brother who can’t leave the state, he can’t even leave the city at risk of losing the benefits and housing he receives. I have to oversee him. At 57 I have dozens of people who I’ve developed relationships with even people like my mechanic and hairstylist etc etc who have been a tremendous support. I’ve had people at the bank, the stores, the dentist do favors for me and help me out after my accident/cancer/fire that destroyed my home. Last night one of my old neighbors gave me a $400. supermarket gift card ( which I am passing along to someone in worse shape than I am)
So. Yeah. No. That’s 57 years of relationships that I can’t redo if I move to Kentucky or Tennessee or Mississippi just because it’s cheap. Life is more complex than that.
I’d go back to a tiny condo in a hot minute and camp for fun. I don’t enjoy peeing in a bucket and I have IBS which is a whole other topic re: cr*****g in a bucket or trying to and with a bad back too. Fun, fun, fun.
But I don’t put other people down who do enjoy it. I don’t judge anyone for the lifestyle they choose or are forced into. I know I know nothing about how or why they are where they are and I try and show kindness and compassion.
So stop with the nasty posts please. To paraphrase someone famous we are each fighting our own battles and doing the best we can. Before you write something ugly try and remember that.