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How does one live in a 45m^2 self built house when all the jobs are in places with insane building codes requiring 1200 sq ft minimum house complete with sewage

How does one live in a 45m^2 self built house when all the jobs are in places with insane building codes requiring 1200 sq ft minimum house complete with sewage/septic permit? You may be able to get away with that if you don't have a family but if you do sooner or later other kids will find out, your kid will be ratted out to social services for living in an "illegal shelter" which the social worker will deem inadequate and demand they be moved or taken away. The city will bulldoze the house and fine the everliving shit out of you. Meanwhile you still have to pay property taxes, and for at least some of your food, which means you need a job. And because you have a job you need childcare. So minimally you need to pay for the property taxes food and childcare, occasional medical bills, the upkeep of the truck (emissions testing needed to legally drive to get groceries etc, so even a check engine light means costly repair). Oh and don't forget, when I was looking for a truck "older than me" during covid I found the market was absolutely insane and they were practically the price of a new truck. All in that's a full working-class salary right there, and that's with spending on nothing but essentials. As an extremely frugal person the only way I've ever been able to live the way you live was when I was single and basically squatting in the national forest. And even then I had LEO up my ass threatening to cite me for illegally existing in nature. Hopefully any American planning this life has the money to emigrate or the will and craftiness to do it illegally.

madaxe_again 4y ago
No job, no need, and the house is entirely legal, including the septic system and other infrastructure I’ve built, and I have a kid. Also good fucking luck to anyone wanting to get a bulldozer there - it’s on a 45 degree hill slope with no road access. The truck was €4,000, and it’s a hilux. I could set it on fire and it would be fine. The property taxes are €40 a year for the house, the mill, the ruined medieval village, and the 15ha of land. My passive income is seven figures, because rather than fritter away on crap, I invested in a diverse range of stuff, from equities to real estate to small businesses/startups. I’m noodling about with a few new ventures of my own as I have time on my hands. And yes, emigration is useful. I draw an income from expensive economies and moved to a cheap country where quality of life is king. To be clear, this is the current state - I worked my arse off for 15 years and lived a pretty monkish existence, and now reap the rewards.
- pcdoodle 4y ago
  I like your story a lot. Did you always live in Portugal or move there when you had enough resources?
  - notch898a 4y ago
    Portugal shut down the most likely path to his story recently (actually just today), as they decided it created "lack of affordable housing" for their own population. This is another one of those cases of "just be born before the ladders are pulled away and you can do like me."
    - pcdoodle 4y ago
      A good example of seizing the opportunity none the less. In such a dynamic world, I'm sure there's ways to do the same.
    - madaxe_again 4y ago
      No, I didn’t do a golden visa - rather, a retirement visa - residency is easy if you have even only a moderate income of €1,200 a month or so or assets. It also handily comes with a ten year exemption on overseas income, which I don’t feel too bad about as I avail myself of no state services beyond those which I do pay for through other taxes, and I’ve made some substantial investments in local businesses. The golden visa was a much abused scheme largely for absentee landlords who want EU residency, and it has indeed jacked up property prices in the major population centres to an unsustainable degree - many properties have been priced to the visa threshold, and then sit vacant, unrented, often dilapidating. I’m glad to see the back of it, as it gives estrangeiros a bad rap.
- notch898a 4y ago
  You mind if I ask what country? That's a hell of a tax rate for 15ha + residence. Unfortunately my dumbass country banned the hilux. Always wanted one.
  - madaxe_again 4y ago
serf 4y ago
> You may be able to get away with that if you don't have a family I find it unsurprising that the care and attention of family requires different circumstances. I don't really understand why whenever an alternative lifestyle is brought up there is always someone that says "Huh, yeah, well try doing that with a family, buddy!". Some people live without family, and they shouldn't really feel the need to fit into a cookie-cutter existence that presupposes the future existence of a family unit -- they make it work. >when I was looking for a truck "older than me" during covid I found the market was absolutely insane and they were practically the price of a new truck. you were looking for a used vehicle during one of the very worst times in the used vehicle market for buyers ever (at least in the US; I didn't follow elsewhere).
- notch898a 4y ago
  >>It’s also eminently achievable for anyone on a halfway decent income, May want to read again what I replied to ", buddy!"

madaxe_again 4y ago

No job, no need, and the house is entirely legal, including the septic system and other infrastructure I’ve built, and I have a kid. Also good fucking luck to anyone wanting to get a bulldozer there - it’s on a 45 degree hill slope with no road access. The truck was €4,000, and it’s a hilux. I could set it on fire and it would be fine. The property taxes are €40 a year for the house, the mill, the ruined medieval village, and the 15ha of land. My passive income is seven figures, because rather than fritter away on crap, I invested in a diverse range of stuff, from equities to real estate to small businesses/startups. I’m noodling about with a few new ventures of my own as I have time on my hands. And yes, emigration is useful. I draw an income from expensive economies and moved to a cheap country where quality of life is king. To be clear, this is the current state - I worked my arse off for 15 years and lived a pretty monkish existence, and now reap the rewards.

pcdoodle 4y ago
I like your story a lot. Did you always live in Portugal or move there when you had enough resources?
- notch898a 4y ago
  Portugal shut down the most likely path to his story recently (actually just today), as they decided it created "lack of affordable housing" for their own population. This is another one of those cases of "just be born before the ladders are pulled away and you can do like me."
  - pcdoodle 4y ago
    A good example of seizing the opportunity none the less. In such a dynamic world, I'm sure there's ways to do the same.
  - madaxe_again 4y ago
    No, I didn’t do a golden visa - rather, a retirement visa - residency is easy if you have even only a moderate income of €1,200 a month or so or assets. It also handily comes with a ten year exemption on overseas income, which I don’t feel too bad about as I avail myself of no state services beyond those which I do pay for through other taxes, and I’ve made some substantial investments in local businesses. The golden visa was a much abused scheme largely for absentee landlords who want EU residency, and it has indeed jacked up property prices in the major population centres to an unsustainable degree - many properties have been priced to the visa threshold, and then sit vacant, unrented, often dilapidating. I’m glad to see the back of it, as it gives estrangeiros a bad rap.
notch898a 4y ago
You mind if I ask what country? That's a hell of a tax rate for 15ha + residence. Unfortunately my dumbass country banned the hilux. Always wanted one.
- madaxe_again 4y ago

serf 4y ago

> You may be able to get away with that if you don't have a family I find it unsurprising that the care and attention of family requires different circumstances. I don't really understand why whenever an alternative lifestyle is brought up there is always someone that says "Huh, yeah, well try doing that with a family, buddy!". Some people live without family, and they shouldn't really feel the need to fit into a cookie-cutter existence that presupposes the future existence of a family unit -- they make it work. >when I was looking for a truck "older than me" during covid I found the market was absolutely insane and they were practically the price of a new truck. you were looking for a used vehicle during one of the very worst times in the used vehicle market for buyers ever (at least in the US; I didn't follow elsewhere).

notch898a 4y ago
>>It’s also eminently achievable for anyone on a halfway decent income, May want to read again what I replied to ", buddy!"