3 ms·

Honestly, yes. It does enough to sweep away my romanticised image and replace it with one containing a realistic share of insects and boredom.

by hugh4 11y ago

grecy 11y ago
After living in the Yukon for 4 years (see my post above), I have truly come to respect and believe the saying "only boring people get bored". I have never lived anywhere in my life with so many varied and exciting things to do on any day. I often feel anxious trying to decide between all the amazing options available to me in the Yukon&Alaska. It's such a common thing people up here call it "FoMo" (Fear of Missing out). Depending on the season, I could be hiking, camping, boating, mountain biking, hunting, fishing, paddling around iceburgs, watching bears, watching whales, hiking on glaciers, hiking up mountains, backcountry snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snow mobiling hundreds of miles into the wilderness chasing bison at -40, etc. Of course I might just decide to read a book by the fire too. In every one of those activities, it's exceedingly rare to see other people. If we're out more than a couple of days, we don't even see signs of people - i.e. no fire rings, no roads, no nothing. Move to the North, give it 12 months - if you love it, you'll never leave. If you decide to leave, you won't have lost anything, and you'll have a head full of unique memories.
- pbowyer 11y ago
  > Depending on the season, I could be hiking, camping, boating, mountain biking, hunting, fishing, paddling around iceburgs, watching bears, watching whales, hiking on glaciers, hiking up mountains, backcountry snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snow mobiling hundreds of miles into the wilderness chasing bison at -40, etc. Of course I might just decide to read a book by the fire too. Where does earning enough money to survive come into it?
  - p1esk 11y ago
    I think you missed the point. Money would be the last thing you needed to survive there.
    - Avshalom 11y ago
      Snowboards, kayaks, boats, snowmobiles, guns, snowshoes... none of those are cheap. Here's what actually happens if you move north for 12 months: you go to work at a job.
      - douche 11y ago
        Although you could set yourself up pretty well with second-hand stuff for a month's rent in San Francisco.
      - grecy 11y ago
        > Snowboards, kayaks, boats, snowmobiles, guns, snowshoes... none of those are cheap. I bought everything used, and I rent/borrow the snowmobiles and quads because my $400 Subaru won't pull them, and they're too expensive for me. Also keep in mind you only need one of each of those things, drop the plural, we're not interested in consuming for the sake of it. I would guess I spent around $5000 on gear for my "Northern Life", and I actually just sold all of it for basically the same prices I paid. > Here's what actually happens if you move north for 12 months: you go to work at a job. If you want to keep consuming and living your "Southern" life, then yes, you're right. Or, you live the Northern way, as follows: Borrow a chainsaw and trailer off a friend for a case of beer, and put in a few hard weekends getting your own firewood. Cost of heating for the year = $0. Borrow, or buy ONE used rifle, spend a week hunting and get yourself 500lbs+ of local, organic meat. Cost of bought meat per year = $0. For a few hundred bucks throw a couple of solar panels on your roof connected to some old car batteries. Get rid of your TV, and pay almost nothing for electricity for the year. Get some fishing gear for $75 and hit Alaksa whenever the salmon are running to put away tens of pounds of salmon. Grow a bunch of vegetables yourself. etc. etc. You can rent a nice cabin up here for ~$500/mo, and (for example) registering a car is $35/year, and my insurance is $325/year, so you save a ton of money there. Drive something with good mileage, distances are big up here. As you can see, pretty quickly your expenses are very, very low, meaning it's quite possible to hardly go to work at all.
  - grecy 11y ago
    I've been going to work 5 days a week since living in the Yukon, but only because I wanted to save enough money to build my Jeep and drive around Africa for 2-3 years. Many people up here work 3/4 time or 1/2 time. Lots just work for something like 6 months, then take 6-12months off. >Where does earning enough money to survive come into it? Given that I hunt my own food and grow vegetables, I can easily earn enough to "survive" by working a couple of months a year, not more.

Honestly, yes. It does enough to sweep away my romanticised image and replace it with one containing a realistic share of insects and boredom.

by hugh4 11y ago

Honestly, yes. It does enough to sweep away my romanticised image and replace it with one containing a realistic share of insects and boredom.

grecy 11y ago

After living in the Yukon for 4 years (see my post above), I have truly come to respect and believe the saying "only boring people get bored". I have never lived anywhere in my life with so many varied and exciting things to do on any day. I often feel anxious trying to decide between all the amazing options available to me in the Yukon&Alaska. It's such a common thing people up here call it "FoMo" (Fear of Missing out). Depending on the season, I could be hiking, camping, boating, mountain biking, hunting, fishing, paddling around iceburgs, watching bears, watching whales, hiking on glaciers, hiking up mountains, backcountry snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snow mobiling hundreds of miles into the wilderness chasing bison at -40, etc. Of course I might just decide to read a book by the fire too. In every one of those activities, it's exceedingly rare to see other people. If we're out more than a couple of days, we don't even see signs of people - i.e. no fire rings, no roads, no nothing. Move to the North, give it 12 months - if you love it, you'll never leave. If you decide to leave, you won't have lost anything, and you'll have a head full of unique memories.

pbowyer 11y ago
> Depending on the season, I could be hiking, camping, boating, mountain biking, hunting, fishing, paddling around iceburgs, watching bears, watching whales, hiking on glaciers, hiking up mountains, backcountry snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snow mobiling hundreds of miles into the wilderness chasing bison at -40, etc. Of course I might just decide to read a book by the fire too. Where does earning enough money to survive come into it?
- p1esk 11y ago
  I think you missed the point. Money would be the last thing you needed to survive there.
  - Avshalom 11y ago
    Snowboards, kayaks, boats, snowmobiles, guns, snowshoes... none of those are cheap. Here's what actually happens if you move north for 12 months: you go to work at a job.
    - douche 11y ago
      Although you could set yourself up pretty well with second-hand stuff for a month's rent in San Francisco.
    - grecy 11y ago
      > Snowboards, kayaks, boats, snowmobiles, guns, snowshoes... none of those are cheap. I bought everything used, and I rent/borrow the snowmobiles and quads because my $400 Subaru won't pull them, and they're too expensive for me. Also keep in mind you only need one of each of those things, drop the plural, we're not interested in consuming for the sake of it. I would guess I spent around $5000 on gear for my "Northern Life", and I actually just sold all of it for basically the same prices I paid. > Here's what actually happens if you move north for 12 months: you go to work at a job. If you want to keep consuming and living your "Southern" life, then yes, you're right. Or, you live the Northern way, as follows: Borrow a chainsaw and trailer off a friend for a case of beer, and put in a few hard weekends getting your own firewood. Cost of heating for the year = $0. Borrow, or buy ONE used rifle, spend a week hunting and get yourself 500lbs+ of local, organic meat. Cost of bought meat per year = $0. For a few hundred bucks throw a couple of solar panels on your roof connected to some old car batteries. Get rid of your TV, and pay almost nothing for electricity for the year. Get some fishing gear for $75 and hit Alaksa whenever the salmon are running to put away tens of pounds of salmon. Grow a bunch of vegetables yourself. etc. etc. You can rent a nice cabin up here for ~$500/mo, and (for example) registering a car is $35/year, and my insurance is $325/year, so you save a ton of money there. Drive something with good mileage, distances are big up here. As you can see, pretty quickly your expenses are very, very low, meaning it's quite possible to hardly go to work at all.
- grecy 11y ago
  I've been going to work 5 days a week since living in the Yukon, but only because I wanted to save enough money to build my Jeep and drive around Africa for 2-3 years. Many people up here work 3/4 time or 1/2 time. Lots just work for something like 6 months, then take 6-12months off. >Where does earning enough money to survive come into it? Given that I hunt my own food and grow vegetables, I can easily earn enough to "survive" by working a couple of months a year, not more.