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Meta employee buys 12-year lease on cruise ship to see the world while working
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- rnk 4y agoI saw this ad/article multiple times the last few days, good ad placement. About $300k for a 12 year lease on a ~250 sf apartment with a bathroom, small bed. This is at storylines.com. Travels to cool cities all over the world, stays at each for a few days. Has an option to prepay for food, has coffee places, bars, "5 star" restaurants, entertainment. Includes booze but not the absolute top shelf stuff. They have internet and wifi. I thought I saw somewhere the annual everything (laundry, cleaning, food, etc) fee was 3-4k/month, laundry, gym but I can't find it today. The cheaper rooms have a murphy (fold down) bed. I'm sure there will be fees. Suppose you spend 400k total for 12 years, that's only 30k / year. Add in another 40k and you are spending 70k/year for a kind of peramanet vacation. If you are "working" like this teaser article says at a high paying software job it could actually work for a while. You'd be constantly shifting timezones though. Would be fun if you had a low stress job without a lot of meetings. It's appealing to me as I sit here after xmas, but but but cruise ships are pretty destructive to the environment.
- MuffinFlavored 4y ago> About $300k for a 12 year lease 12 years? Why can't you do a smaller commitment like... 6-12 months? There's only so many destinations, right?
- callamdelaney 4y agoYou can, it's called a cruise.
- rnk 4y agoThe website also talked about "shared" rooms. I'm sure they don't want you to sell your space like an air bnb though. You don't own it. Maybe if you bought an expensive one you could share it with your kids.
- jmclnx 4y agoThat works out to 2083 per month. That is about the same (or less then) rent in many major Cities. I wonder: 1. If the Cruse Ship is retired, will he get a berth on another ship ? 2. What if the Curse Line goes bankrupt ? He looses the balance ? 3. Taxes, will be liable for taxes, and what about working while in another Country ? In many places that is illegal. 4. Medical ? That could be an issue too. So many questions :)
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago> 4. Medical ? That could be an issue too. It very much is, but young folks tend to ignore it. I had a friend who was a Chaplain on a cruise ship, and had a heart attack, while they were at sea. He didn't get proper medical care for about a month, and, by that time, considerable damage had been done. He had to resign that commission, and was never the same again. He ended up dying before reaching 70.
- epolanski 4y agoTo me the idea of living on a cruise ship is pure madness, I find it even madder that people think it can be a viable lifestyle. How can you have or start a family like that? Have meaningful normal relationships? How can you explore different aspects of life? Access advanced medical centers in case you need. Nothing about this sounds sane, to me it feels like the worst of tax evasion meeting pointless planet pollution, meeting void and "luxurious" lifestyle.
- rabuse 4y agoSome of us out here absolutely do not want to have children, so it's not a problem for us.
- nativespecies 4y ago[flagged]
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- nix23 4y ago>Some of us out here absolutely do not want to have children, so it's not a problem for us. And some of us (not me) want children's in every harbor, and i think that's his plan.
- kyriakos 4y agoFamily is optional but having human relations is not unless there is a mental disorder involved.
- dagmx 4y agoDifferent people have different lives. It’s okay for you to not agree , but it can be viable for someone else. Starting a family? Who says this person wants that. Many people don’t. Having meaningful normal relationships? Again, who says that’s important? For all we know this person may be polyamarous or content with just hookups. Or they’re asexual. Additionally, does his lease not allow reselling or subletting? He could get out of it early if he wanted or just share it with friends and family instead.
- splonk 4y ago> I'm sure there will be fees. Those fees are going to be in the neighborhood of $40k/year. I couldn't find any good documentation, which I suspect requires going through more of the sales process. However, this page [1] has children's rates as $15-20k/year, and another article suggested around $25k/year for adults. That's assuming double occupancy though - single occupancy gets an 18% discount off the rates for double occupancy. [1]: https://knowledgebase.storylines.com/assessment-for-single-residents/ https://knowledgebase.storylines.com/assessment-for-single-r...
- ghaff 4y agoSo in other words, for what this costs, you can get an apartment pretty much any place you want and/or AirBnB or VRBO etc. around the world for what to me at least would be a far more interesting experience.
- pleb_nz 4y agoWhile a cool idea. Aren't most cruise ships and their parents companies behind the ball when it comes to environmental impact and they're responsibilities to be good to the planet? I hope they choose a company/liner that is not one of these companies otherwise I think this is a terrible decision. Once these companies sort out their behavior, I'm all aboard
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- ornornor 4y agoThe thing is it’s not really possible to remain a cost effective cruise company while not destroying the environment and exploiting the people working on the ship. Absolutely not condoning their business model; I think buying cruises is immoral because of that.
- verdenti 4y agoReally not all that bad as long as he’s allowed to bring food/alcohol from ports onboard. Does it have a kitchen? Or does he have to always buy overpriced cruise ship food. That seems like it would be the dealbreaker for me.
- MiddleEndian 4y agoPersonally, I have no interest in cruise ships. I get seasick pretty easily and they seem somewhat unsanitary. But $300,000 for 144 months works out to ≈$2,083/month. If you consider cruise ships to be a luxury, and that cruise ship has good enough internet for work, that's really not a bad deal.
- phkahler 4y ago>> If you consider cruise ships to be a luxury, and that cruise ship has good enough internet for work, that's really not a bad deal. Rent is rarely a good deal. Since he can work remote, he could buy a home any number of places and be able to sell to get money back.
- saberience 4y agoNot everything in life is about buying a house and investing money. Life is for living and enjoying it while you still can. You never know what’s going to happen in the future, I think this guy is doing something amazing.
- ghaff 4y agoPeople can obviously do what they want but... You can live in one place you enjoy (don't need to buy a house) and both enjoy what the local area has to offer and travel to other places that interest you. He mentions maybe doing this for 3 years; there are few guarantees he'll be able to unload the rest of his $300K lease. Living in a 237 sq. ft. room and being able to make presumably brief stops at cruise ship destinations hardly sounds amazing. And, as someone else mentioned, it's something like a $40K/year fee on top of the lease. So about $5K/month for room, board, and utilities. Which is in the range that upper middle-class people may pay anyway but certainly isn't a bargain and opens up many other options.
- layer8 4y agoThe unique selling point is that he can see a lot of places without having to move, and without having to travel away from his home, and without having to do much (or any) travel planning. I can see the attraction.
- oars 4y agoThe Meta employee is currently 28 years old and works in Reality Labs. What a fantastic way to spend your life until you hit your 40s and are ready to settle down and start a family. I would love to read more coverage or updates about his life in the coming years.
- vineyardmike 4y ago> What a fantastic way to spend your life until you hit your 40s and are ready to settle down and start a family. I’ve thought about doing this for years, and when Covid made WFH a thing it piqued my interest even more. My partner can’t work on a boat, and we have a dog… and we love to cook… and we have too much stuff. In another life they’d write an article about me While a 28yo with a great job may feel empowered now, I’d be worried about life changes that really impact the plans. What if you lose your job and you can’t find the right one to keep up this very atypical lifestyle? What if your family gets sick? What if you fall in love with a land-lover? What if you want/already had a pet?
- spiderice 4y agoAre people generally waiting until their 40s to start a family? I know people are having kids later nowadays, but I didn't think it was that late. I wouldn't want to still be raising my kids when I'm over 60.
- saberience 4y agoLess and less people these days care about having kids. I know so many people in their 30s now choosing to be child free and this lets them do things like the guy in the article. For me personally, I’m also child-free and I’ve lived in 7 different countries now working in tech, saving lots of money, living in various tax free locales etc.
- nativespecies 4y agoIt's hard for some people with kids to wrap their minds around those of us who reject the lifestyle. I've overheard a few parent co-workers of mine in the past label being child-free as "selfish." I can't think of one compelling reason to have a child. All the reasons parent friends list off are so unappealing or selfish in their own way, I have to try and not laugh at the irony and lack of self-awareness.
- guestbest 4y agoCouldn’t he just buy his own boat at that price?
- blacksmith_tb 4y agoWell, he could buy a small boat, sure. But isn't that like comparing commuting by train to buying a car and sitting in traffic? There are pluses and minuses to sharing the ride, but at least he doesn't have to drive (or know how to sail, in this case). Personally I think it'd get old after a year or two, but maybe the right person could last 12 years.
- r0m4n0 4y agoNot one with a captain, gym, coworking space, restaurant, bar, and gas to get you to cool places for 12 years!
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- hcks 4y agoThis is so sad. Cruises ships are literally the opposite of seeing the world. You’re stuck in a floating mall, in a place probably populated at 90% by wealthy boomers on holidays. What a way to waste your prime years.
- cmckn 4y agoTo each their own but being on a cruise ship for more than a week sounds like a prison sentence to me.
- labrador 4y agoI spent long periods at sea in the Navy and used to joke that going to sea was my time to go to jail. There's a big difference though that Austin may have figured out: There's a lot of women looking to have casual sex on a cruise ship, which wasn't the case in the Navy.
- epolanski 4y ago[flagged]
- labrador 4y agoThere's plenty of times I take the opportunity to not press the submit button, but I deemed my comment not only factually accurate but also slightly funny. I never miss the opportunity to get away with a joke on HN because it's not encouraged on the site.
- 0cf8612b2e1e 4y agoFrom acquaintances who have taken a cruise, the selection of non-retirees is pretty limited. Which does not necessarily change the odds, but does cater to a specific audience.
- eesmith 4y agoThis is a residential cruise ship, for long-term residents. Think of it more like a condo on a keel, rather than a party hotel.
- frereubu 4y agoReminds me of that David Foster Wallace piece "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Supposedly_Fun_Thing_I%27ll_Never_Do_Again https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Supposedly_Fun_Thing_I%27ll_...
- Integer 4y agoNote that there is a separate page [1] about tax benefits on the company website: "When finances are structured accordingly, people who plan to run a business, foundation or other entity from the ship, can be considered to be on a continuous business trip. In this case, it may be possible to write off most annual fees." "The ship is flagged in the Bahamas and the related fund is based in Liechtenstein. These could be considered the domicile for a business, foundation or other entity based on board (or another jurisdiction). While some ‘offshore’ models are illegitimate, in this instance, the asset is an investment in a fund attached to the rights to use a home office based offshore; so this is a perfectly legitimate use of offshore structures in tax-advantaged jurisdictions." [1] https://www.storylines.com/tax-benefits-page-v1 https://www.storylines.com/tax-benefits-page-v1
- grecy 4y agoI have experienced something similar. I drive around the world and document my adventures with video and in print. For years at a time I drive from country to country, only ever on a tourist visa for 30 or 60 days per country. I don't set foot in my "home" country for years on end. It was perfectly legal for me to be a resident of no country for tax purposes and pay no income tax. Things have changed a bit now - in my "home" country they changed the laws so that if you even have a bank account there you're considered a resident for tax purposes and you must pay income tax there.
- sofixa 4y agoAssuming my understanding is correct - that your documentation of travels in video and print form is what brings you the revenues that would be taxed - aren't you committing visa fraud? Usually a tourist visa forbids any work or revenue generating activity (of course there are exceptions such as the UAE, but that's generally the rule).
- grecy 4y agoNo, I just a tourist in each country I pass through because I don't get paid by an employer from the country I happen to be in at the time, and I don't do any kind of freelancing in that country. I don't do anything to generate revenue in the country I'm in and I also don't get paid in that local currency, nor do I have a bank account in that country.
- Hamuko 4y agoIs he going to be known as the one employee whose Internet connection keeps dropping during meetings because he's sailing somewhere?
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- suprjami 4y agoIsn't this environmentally irresponsible? I thought cruise ships had a huge carbon footprint and many negative impacts.
- sofixa 4y agoYep, and they aren't even covered by some basic pollution standards, so they pollute a lot more than the equivalent in land or air vehicles.
- msla 4y agoIt seems like living in a hotel with extra disease risk, not to mention motion sickness.
- SilverBirch 4y agoThe ship is still being built and will set sail in 2025. What is the chances that this Reality Labs employee who plans to remote work from a boat permanently is still going to be employed by Meta at Reality Labs in 2025? Seems like a bit of a long shot to me.
- goldenchrome 4y agoReality Labs at Meta is itself a long shot so the employees there are probably used to taking risks.
- moistly 4y agoMmmm. 12 Years of Norovirus. Sounds like fun.
- Sunspark 4y agoAs this is a cruise ship, the Meta employee is also purchasing a 12-year lease on repeated covid infections.
- bigmattystyles 4y agoI've never read anything that screams bait and switch more. And if you want to complain, I'm reminded of the sunny episode where the gang buys a boat - you won't complain because you're at sea and you know, the implication...
- citizenpaul 4y agoI find this to be amazing and terrifying at the same time. I love the idea that we have finally reached a place in human existence where people can create basically a sci-fi reality to live in for nothing more than amusement.At the same time the gulf between those at the bottom and this ship's existence has never been greater. For an HN spin. This actually is proof of why Meta verse and VR will never catch on. The creators of VR themselves are not downsizing their life to use VR. They are going full real life experiences instead. Digital life is just a poor persons substituent for lacking the funds to enjoy reality. Nobody aspires to "VR" their life.
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- anm89 4y agoThis seems to be some kind of combo ad for the cruise ships plus meta. As someone who did the digital nomad thing for ~5 years I think this guy will hugely regret this, especially the 12 year obligation element. As someone else said, he's basically signing up to live in a mall where he will never be able to form long term in person relationships. I was living a much more dynamic lifestyle than this in much nicer living conditions and I was thoroughly burned out after 5 years. I'd imagine he's had his fun with this by the end of 1 year, maybe 3 max.
- sacnoradhq 4y agoThey must be an IC6 or IC7 because earnings for all was kneecapped by hyperinflation. I wouldn't do it because of legal quagmires of jurisdiction should anything happen. No delivery of mail or packages in a timely fashion. Plus, neighbors? Going to the park? Major medical? I don't think they've thought this through completely.