4 ms·

I find these stories about people like this exhilarating. I think we all yearn to do this, and yet few of us do.

prawn 9y ago
Doing it as a full life change would scare most people off, but even getting yourself to a very remote place for a shorter period of time can be liberating. US national parks have pretty incredible backcountry options and you don't have to stray far from the popular trails to end up largely on your own.
smallgovt 9y ago
I'm just one data point but I have absolutely zero desire to do something like this.
- morganvachon 9y ago
  And there's nothing wrong with that. I'm an outdoorsy type, raised in the countryside where houses were miles apart. Still, as an adult I prefer the convenience of close society even though I'm not a "people person" by nature. Everyone has their own comfort zone.
rhapsodic 9y ago
> I find these stories about people like this exhilarating. I think we all yearn to do this, and yet few of us do. I disagree. I think humans are social animals, and people like this -- who choose to live in isolation for an extended period of time -- are an aberration.
- subpixel 9y ago
  Many people are attracted by the idea of living in isolation, but few people stick it out. I think this guy on an island that is not very far from civilization (including grocery delivery and the occasional cruising sailboat) strikes a balance more of us could grow accustomed to. Personally, I'm pretty sure my wife and I would sign up to take his spot tomorrow.
  - hyperpallium 9y ago
    It's simply that many people feel they need a little more solitude than they currently have, an unmet need (like when you're hungry, you could "eat a horse"). Certainly, many people live at a far greater density than that at which humans evolved (or even of a generation ago).
  - rhapsodic 9y ago
    > Personally, I'm pretty sure my wife and I would sign up to take his spot tomorrow. If you're living with a spouse -- presumably someone with whom you have a good rapport and a sexual relationship -- then you're hardly living in isolation.
synicalx 9y ago
I'm not sure everyone yearns to live alone 100% of the time, but I think everyone at some stage would like to have a place where they can spend time alone, and in peace. After months on end of my neighbors slamming their car doors at all hours of the night, I'd quite like to spend a few weeks/months somewhere quiet, and preferably without cars (and their doors).
icantdrive55 9y ago
Watch the episode of The Andy Griffith Show where the Howard Sprague decides to take the road less traveled. (In all honestly, living on an remote island is better than being homeless on Market Street--I guess? It's too bad, I need to compare everything, to being homeless, in the great country of America?)

Doing it as a full life change would scare most people off, but even getting yourself to a very remote place for a shorter period of time can be liberating. US national parks have pretty incredible backcountry options and you don't have to stray far from the popular trails to end up largely on your own.

smallgovt 9y ago

I'm just one data point but I have absolutely zero desire to do something like this.

morganvachon 9y ago
And there's nothing wrong with that. I'm an outdoorsy type, raised in the countryside where houses were miles apart. Still, as an adult I prefer the convenience of close society even though I'm not a "people person" by nature. Everyone has their own comfort zone.

rhapsodic 9y ago

> I find these stories about people like this exhilarating. I think we all yearn to do this, and yet few of us do. I disagree. I think humans are social animals, and people like this -- who choose to live in isolation for an extended period of time -- are an aberration.

subpixel 9y ago
Many people are attracted by the idea of living in isolation, but few people stick it out. I think this guy on an island that is not very far from civilization (including grocery delivery and the occasional cruising sailboat) strikes a balance more of us could grow accustomed to. Personally, I'm pretty sure my wife and I would sign up to take his spot tomorrow.
- hyperpallium 9y ago
  It's simply that many people feel they need a little more solitude than they currently have, an unmet need (like when you're hungry, you could "eat a horse"). Certainly, many people live at a far greater density than that at which humans evolved (or even of a generation ago).
- rhapsodic 9y ago
  > Personally, I'm pretty sure my wife and I would sign up to take his spot tomorrow. If you're living with a spouse -- presumably someone with whom you have a good rapport and a sexual relationship -- then you're hardly living in isolation.

synicalx 9y ago

I'm not sure everyone yearns to live alone 100% of the time, but I think everyone at some stage would like to have a place where they can spend time alone, and in peace. After months on end of my neighbors slamming their car doors at all hours of the night, I'd quite like to spend a few weeks/months somewhere quiet, and preferably without cars (and their doors).

icantdrive55 9y ago

Watch the episode of The Andy Griffith Show where the Howard Sprague decides to take the road less traveled. (In all honestly, living on an remote island is better than being homeless on Market Street--I guess? It's too bad, I need to compare everything, to being homeless, in the great country of America?)