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If anyone else finds themself in this position, I highly recommend you sell what you can, pack the rest up into a storage unit, and travel, 4 or 6 months in eac
by declan_roberts 2y ago
If anyone else finds themself in this position, I highly recommend you sell what you can, pack the rest up into a storage unit, and travel, 4 or 6 months in each location.
$80k can easily last you 4+ years of very comfortable living in much of the world. Enjoy the food, really try and learn some of the local language, and enjoy yourself.
You can do it, and there won't be another window.
- skwee357 2y agoNot only you suddenly will get the entire week for yourself, to do whatever you want, and you will be able to travel, but the other benefit is reviewing your relationship with material possessions. I did that (sold everything, and went traveling), and now I own very little stuff. Apart from the mandatory laptop I need for work, and clothes, I couldn’t care less about everything else. Before selling everything, I had a sick setup of dual monitors, and external DAC, speakers, headphones, keyboards, etc. Today, I need only laptop. I was considering getting one monitor, but can’t seem to justify the need. It really teaches you how little material crap you need.
- deadbabe 2y agoYou listed a bunch of crap most people wouldn’t buy anyways. The bulk of what people own are things like furniture, artworks, plants, appliances, cookware… etc. Not particularly sexy, but essential for making a cozy place to live in the world.
- skwee357 2y agoWhat I failed to mention is not only about the stuff you own, but in general your relationship with material possessions. Before selling everything, I’d constantly worry about whether I should get a third monitor, maybe try a curved one, get a new keyboard, upgrade the TV, get a new kitchen appliance, replace the sofa, etc. There’s always “newer and better” for everything. Nowadays, I don’t care anymore. I bought a TV because we like watching movies, but I don’t care about the technology or the next shiny thing. Same with my computer, I work on a 14” laptop for the past two years, and I no longer feel like I should chase a better or newer setup.
- deadbabe 2y agoThe point is that even though you’re not chasing material possessions, you’re still probably chasing something.
- skwee357 2y agoTrue, I do chase freedom (always did), mainly time freedom and financial freedom. I bet being able to spend time with the people I love the most is way more important that having the latest and greatest TV or fridge.
- lobsterthief 2y agoI spend time with the people I love and only buy a new TV or fridge when the old one breaks. I didn’t need to sell all my possessions to do that. But to each their own.
- handzhiev 2y agoYou may be surprised but the majority of people who own stuff do not worry whether they should get a third monitor or a new kitchen appliance. We just use some items and don't care much about them. If the TV breaks I'd look for a new one, but otherwise I don't care.
- lobsterthief 2y agoSame. The exception for me is tools, because I really enjoy building things and I own a house. I feel they’re inherently useful and I do research to ensure I get those that will last [nearly] a lifetime. I never buy a new tool because it’s new, only because the old one has become worn or broken.
- grogenaut 2y agoI wouldn't call dual monitors sick, barely entry level, but... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NSW5F8V https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NSW5F8V they make good cheap external portable monitors that are laptop thin or thinner.
- culopatin 2y agolol the person is happy with the minimal life and here we are trying to fix it for them pushing Amazon links.
- Aeolun 2y agoI always think laptop only is fine, and then I suddenly have a screen and realize how much happier my neck is every day.
- imbusy111 2y agoWould not recommend, if being alone is a risk factor to mental health.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- insane_dreamer 2y agoMy brother and his wife did this; quit their jobs and spent a year in Europe "slow living" (still did a bit of consulting work, maybe 10 hours/week), but with careful planning were able to keep their expenses waaay down (not sure of exact figure but much less than if living in the US). Month-long AirBNBs in non-tourist areas are inexpensive, so they'd spend 1 month in each place. A lot of walking, hiking, trains, just living. Not Paris, London or Zurich of course, but places like Albania, Montenegro, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, France of course. (Part of the reason for going to those countries is you can only spend so long in the Schengen Zone.) So you don't have to go as far as Vietnam or Ecuador to do this. Obviously the OP has no children (and my brothers' kids are grown up) - if you have kids this changes the equation completely (though if they're very young then it can still work).
- unsupp0rted 2y agoWhereas in late-2024, go to Turkey if you’d like to blow through your savings faster than in Western Europe.
- switch007 2y agoRight. Beautiful country and amazing people but even when I was there in 2022 people were really angry about inflation and now it seems even more dire looking at the exchange rate
- insane_dreamer 2y agothey did it in 2023 but obviously yeah, it'll depend on the situation at the time and also where you go in a country Same with the Adriatic. If you decide to stay in Dubrovnik or Split, for example, it'll be quite expensive, but there are other places to stay in Croatia that are non-touristy and inexpensive.
- Loughla 2y agoI have a cousin and his wife who did this with kids. They sold everything, bought an RV, and traveled north and Central America. They were homeschooling during that time. Their kids were 5 and 7. It was not good. I cannot stress enough how bad of an idea this is unless your children are under 3. Children need structure and permanency. They need friends, not just acquaintances. My cousin did everything else right, but his kids still have issues with relationships because 5 of their very formative years were spent without actual friends. It's really sad to think about. For him, it was a wildly selfish move that negatively impacted his children. Don't be that guy.
- whtsthmttrmn 2y agoAs someone that hasn't been able to travel, this sounds wonderful
- postepowanieadm 2y ago$80k will give you one year of very comfortable life in Central Europe. If you want to live in an international city in a decent flat 4 years is not realistic, more like 2.
- declan_roberts 2y agoThe world is a big place, and central Europe is a small part of it.
- Aditya_Garg 2y agoIn Thailand, you can live very very comfortably for 25k.
- csomar 2y agoIf you are willing to forgo a car, expensive food and be fine with a small studio, you can easily do 4 years on $80k in central Europe. You can do 10 years in many parts of the worlds and it'll require some adjustments but some places (ie: Vietnam) can be really okay and offer a night life unmatched by the US.
- postepowanieadm 2y agoI'm afraid you underestimate rent costs. In smaller cities you may still find something nice for ~900 usd per month, in more popular places like Krakow, Prague ~1500 usd is more realistic but still optimistic.
- alternatex 2y ago1500 usd for Prague with bills included. Rent in Prague in a very good location is about 1000 eur. The bills can be about 400. For 1500 usd as rent you're looking at some very fancy places.
- postepowanieadm 2y agoOk, so in 4 years you will spend 67200 usd for flat and bills alone. That leaves 267 usd monthly for other things.
- pj_mukh 2y agoStories like this make me the most mad at the Landlords/NIMBY's (sometimes the same people). An $80,000 "investment" into a one person startup should take you much much much farther than this, but it is completely gobbled up by literal rent-seekers. BAcK iN mY dAy a room in a house would cost $400-$500/mo in most places in the Montreal-Waterloo corridor. Now runways have basically been halved (0.3x'd?) as an extra allowance to the landed gentry.
- FactKnower69 2y agoImpossible to estimate the amount of damage the runaway real estate market has done to competitiveness, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the interest of funnelling more free money to entitled landlords sitting on their asses cashing rent checks
- TeMPOraL 2y agoOh they're not sitting on their asses doing nothing. They're reinvesting the rent into buying, renting and/or flipping more property faster, screwing up things further for everyone.
- Schiendelman 2y agoIf you do one thing to help, never call it the market. It's the restrictions on the market.
- svnt 2y agoIs this a shot at zoning? This particular problem would be and has been solved by known better regulation. The macro housing market demonstrates that most people don’t want to live in an imaginary Randian empire.
- Aeolun 2y agoI’m sure prices would go down if it weren’t for all this regulation.
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- 123yawaworht456 2y ago[flagged]
- TeaBrain 2y ago>when you can watch a youtube video for every dish in existence Do you watch a youtube video when you get hungry?
- grogenaut 2y agoOften. I watch them while I'm cooking in the background. Max Miller is pretty fun.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- j7ake 2y agoThe new generation in America has lost ability to cook.
- raddan 2y agoPeople have been saying this forever.
- raddan 2y agoFor me, it’s less about the food (but to be clear, still about the food) and more about the cultural experience. Going someplace different, seeing how other people live, and eating with them can be a real joy. Your mileage may vary, of course. But people often find ways to connect over our shared need to eat. I think fondly about a meal I shared in rural China. I was the only American in the group. Despite our many differences, we all learned a lot from each other. I have similar strong memories about having breakfast at Shaw’s hiker hostel in Maine (the one featured in Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods). And many others. I hope to have many more experiences like that in my life.
- senkora 2y agoThe food in different places is truly different, in surprising ways. It really is worth it to travel for food. I’m not sure what factors make it that way, but my experience tells me that it is true.
- Terr_ 2y ago> into a storage unit I've heard some terrible things about how vulnerable those are to theft / squatters.
- bane 2y agoMy wife and I always say that the most dangerous show on television is "House Hunters International". "I need a 3 bedroom apartment with a full kitchen in the village center, with at least parking for one car, I have a budget of $300/mo". "Here's at least three options" It also bring up a kind of discomfort between us, as tech workers, and regular people. The quantity of money we can earn, even at the lower end in the U.S., is unfathomable. It makes us want to go places and spend somewhat frivolously to support local businesses. We were recently in Portugal. There's a ton of trendy food spots with prices near what we'd pay in HCOL U.S., but there's a ton of really local, mom 'n pop places, with absolutely incredibly prices, and they're incredibly appreciative of your business. One place we frequented was maybe a 30 second walk from a very trendy tourist district, but served local food at very local prices. Ubers were lined up to drop people to go overpay for mediocre food in the district, literally on the street next to where we were eating. If they would have just taken a moment, they could have come and had a great relaxed meal and support some locals for almost next to nothing.
- consf 2y ago[dead]
- szundi 2y agoI second this, I had a seabass with potatoes for 5.5 eurs some years ago... not the nicest environment but it was clean and the food was delicious.
- Simon_ORourke 2y ago> We were recently in Portugal. There's a ton of trendy food spots with prices near what we'd pay in HCOL U.S., but there's a ton of really local, mom 'n pop places, with absolutely incredibly prices, and they're incredibly appreciative of your business. I hear that - last time I was in Lisbon I got breakfast in one of those kind of places and had to ask the cashier if they made a mistake with the change and had given me back too much. Like literally, they could have charged double I would have accepted it as a fair price for a nice meal.
- eps 2y ago> One place we frequented Got a name?
- mock-possum 2y agoSorry, but then what - money will just be magically waiting for you when you’re ready to come home? Having spent every penny to your name? God it must be nice to be in a position where you can afford to just be like “ok my partner and I are just going to travel for four years, and after that, idk, things will work out somehow.”
- StressedDev 2y agoSome people don't mind living paycheck to paycheck. It has a downside but if it works for someone, I don't think judging it really helps.
- thfuran 2y agoI suspect there's very little overlap between that group and people who have $80k sitting around.
- fragmede 2y agoif someone is making poor life choices, they're going to be judged poorly for it. if those "poor" decisions aren't actually bad and are just outdated social attitudes, like judging gay people poorly because of the gender of who they love, then it's entirely right to question it. being gay isn't a choice so judging someone for that isn't right because they're consenting adults. However, living beyond your means and buying luxuries you can't actually afford, and living a lavish lifestyle is entirely a personal decision. the problem with living paycheck to paycheck is that life happens. you get into an accident. there's a fire. your dog gets hurt. you get laid off, through no fault of your own. the company just decided to downsize. and now, because you don't have any savings, you can't absorb that loss, and then you're out on the street. homeless. hopefully not literally, there's a grace period before you're kicked out. but food and shelter aren't as solid as they were before. your life could become very difficult. all that hardship was an avoidable problem with an emergency fund because you weren't able to not doordash dinner.
- ornornor 2y agoSame as it would be nice to win the lottery. Not everyone is so lucky and others will be jealous they can’t do it too.
- vunderba 2y agoThink long and hard before cramming your crap into a storage unit. Outside of possessions with some sentimental value, it's likely the money spent on a year or two of paying for a storage unit (particularly one that is climate controlled) exceeds the value of the things you're storing there.
- aprilthird2021 2y agoBut almost everyone has some possessions with sentimental value. Where should those be kept?
- withinboredom 2y agoFriends or family, otherwise, you don’t really need it.
- klysm 2y agoNot everybody has that
- withinboredom 2y agoMy point is, when you live on a boat or RV, or traveling around, you don't have a lot of space anyway. So, you will end up at a point where "thing goes in, thing goes out" or you won't have space. Might as well get to that point from the beginning. If you want to keep it, you'll need a friend to send stuff to anyway. So, if you (somehow) don't have any friends, you won't be able to keep much anyway, except memories.
- ornornor 2y agoIt’s not only about current value. As anyone who has had their house wiped out and an insurance payout, acquiring everything again when you settle back is a massive time sink (let alone cost, if you were insured at fair market value rather than replacement value) So yeah, the rent on the unit might be more than your crap is worth, but having it all back in a blink (essentially) when moving back someplace has some intangible value too.
- hilux 2y agoI'm sure if he had known he was not going to get a job, he would have taken your excellent advice.
- lazyasciiart 2y agoIt doesn’t sound like he was looking for a job. He was trying to start a business of some kind.
- hilux 2y agoA lot of people start a business in parallel with a job search, or once their job search has completely failed. It both feels and sounds better (to a recruiter, or a journalist) than doing nothing.
- lazyasciiart 2y agoSure. But this guy says “At the end of 2022, when I quit my job to work on my projects, I made resolutions: to make $1M in revenue in 2025.”
- hilux 2y agoFair enough. From what I know about being unemployed, I am not sure I trust his retrospective narrative, but based on the information we're presented – have my upvote!
- lazyasciiart 2y agoFortunately, he blogged the whole time :) He has a post back in Jan 2023 saying the same thing.
- pluc 2y agoI am currently doing this, AMA!
- em-bee 2y agoi did this more than 20 years ago. i was between jobs. my choice was to go back home or go travel. so i sent my stuff home to my grandparents and went to travel...
- jasonkester 2y agoI’ll second this advice, counterintuitive though it may seem. Back in the day, I had saved enough to take a nice 3 month leave of absence from work to do some travelling. Nudging my spreadsheet around, I tried replacing my rent, utilities etc. with the cost of a storage locker, and suddenly my “how long can I go for “ number shot up to over a year. It changed my whole approach to life in my 30s, and it was a good 15 years before I committed to living in a single place long term again.
- lylejantzi3rd 2y agoHow did you go about finding cheap short term rentals?
- jasonkester 2y agoTravelling accommodation was usually some form of $5/night beach bungalow in some remote corner of the world. Thus the big savings compared to living in the states. While working, I’d pick up a cheap room in a shared house for a few months. These days I’d just stay remote. Maybe upgrade by a few dollars a night for A/C, reliable power and good internet.
- dogman144 2y agoIf you’re an American and an engineer, how did you pick up work when needed internationally? I consider this, I’m a security engineer, but I haven’t had much progress considering how to pull it off, if not having an established consultancy.
- purplethinking 2y agoAt first I thought you meant you were living out of a storage locker
- keraf 2y agoAfter a last horrible work experience, I decided to quit working for a while and travel. Haven't sold a lot of things, some are still stored at my parent's place but I managed to live off my saving for almost two years. I could have gone a lot longer but unfortunately some bad investment decisions and a long dream of obtaining a pilot license shortened my runway by a lot. In the past months, my situation has gotten worse as I needed to tighten my belt due to my saving having almost completely melted. Hard but enriching times, I have now found a job after months of searching. The market in Europe isn't great these days. Back to hustling but without any regrets. 100% agree with OP, it was the experience of a lifetime for me. If I can give some additional advice, plan your finances. Even if you think a large sum will last you years and you're a bit lazy to plan it (as I was), don't be conservative with your forecast, plan large. Personally if I had to do it again, I'd try to keep half or one third aside for unexpected cases.
- nox101 2y agoWhich parts of the world? What kind of lifestyle? What kind of living situation? What kind of opportunities?
- alfiedotwtf 2y ago> and travel, 4 or 6 months in each location. At least have a plan first and make sure you understand visas. I have fiends who sold up everything and moved to Switzerland only to be turned back at the airport because they didn’t know they couldn’t just move their life there unemployed