In this blog I will suggest alternative life styles that intrigue me and offer the lifestyle for open discussion. Hopefully, together, we really can discover if it is possible to escape to a better life.Sometimes the lifestyles will be hypothetical, sometimes they will be real life styles I have seen and have been able to document. In all cases, they will be lifestyles that I find in some small or large way attractive.
If you are interested in a life style change and have a blog or web log that discusses alternative lifestyles, I will be very happy to hear from you. I strongly believe that one person can identify a problem or opportunity but it takes many to find a solution. The bigger our community of people looking for alternative life styles, the more chance we have of finding one that suits us individually and collectively.
From the beginning, I will admit that I am a dreamer. Creative and artistic activities are, by far, the interests I find most attractive. I can't draw but I can write and have worked for many years as an author on the Internet.
Topics I expect to be adding to this blog in the near future include all or some of the following:
- Can a rural area really offer better livings for people working online?
- Does living in a hotter country bring a happier life?
- Is it better to live in the country than the town?
- Are some places just a lot more fun to live in?
I look forward to seeing you again and reading your comments.
By for now
Rob
(Rob Hopcott - news - fiction)
11 comments:
Hi Rob, Thanks for commenting on my blog. I'm interested in your ideas about escaping to a different or better way of life. I think I really believe that life is what you make it and you will be happy or not, as you make up your mind to be. But still, I do find myself tempted by the lure of sun, relaxation and riches at times. I am currently following the progress of a man who I only know as the 'community pilgrim'. I have posted about him on my reasons to be cheerful blog. You may be interested to read about him, if you haven't already.
Hi Sara
I've checked out the Freeconomy Community and it is certainly very interesting. I've put a blog roll link to it.
Locally, we have LETS and Freecycle, which seem to be on the same lines.
LETS is about having an unofficial currency for local people to trade amongst themselves. It seems to help local effort and resources stay local.
Freecycle uses a web site to put people in contact so they can 'hand things on' instead of throwing them away. I know it's quite busy locally.
I agree with you that life is what you make it and I suspect that, at heart, I am a rolling stone who will always think that life is a bit greener on the other side.
And, like you, I find myself tempted by the lure of the sun - long term dark and cloudy weather, to me, is just less pleasant.
Also, the programs on UK TV about buying houses in foreign countries seldom seem to talk about what people will actually do when they get there.
However, as one friend, now in New Zealand, once said to me:
"It doesn't matter where you are, peeling spuds over the sink is peeling spuds."
Perhaps it's the way people spend their lives that is important.
I would agree with your last statement (in reply to Sara) completely. Many don't have the means to live where they want but how they live is more important.
One doesn't need to join a group or community - he can make the changes to his lifestyle exactly where he is. Becoming detached from all the gizmo's and gadgets the world offers would be a good starting point.
Learning to relax, to quit watching the clock, to take time to 'smell the flowers' is another consideration. Stress is the foundation for most disease - read as dis-ease, unhappiness and lack of fulfillment.
Our attachment to people, things and emotions serves only to complicate life to the point where a mental or physical breakdown becomes a real possibility, or at the very least we become negative whiners unhappy with our place in life.
I guess what I'm really saying is that in the end it begins with ourselves; change our attitude, our ways of thinking and our desires, and we will escape to a better life.
Janice, thanks for visiting. I do so agree with you but I would like to add that other people are also really important.
This afternoon I spoke with someone who is also interested in improving and regenerating our local rural community.
He showed me a report he had written about the development of a local cultural centre and it could have been written by me.
It seems clear that I have found a very kindred spirit and, even better, he has a couple of friends who are also on the same wavelength.
It's early days but just having people around who have the same interests and objectives in life (dare one call them friends?) can make such a difference.
Any room in your case for me Rob?
Absolutely, Martin - you are more than welcome :-)
Er, any idea about where to go?
How do you fancy sun, sea, sand and sangria?
Or, perhaps, let's pop over to Brussels and give them a few pointers about making our West Country a better place.
Hey, have you heard the one about the European Parliament?
Ok, here goes!
Question: How do you make Parliament 50% more efficient?
Answer: Close it for 6 months in the year.
LoL!
Here's another one!
Question: How do you make Parliament 100% more efficient?
Answer: Dunno, ask Guy Fawkes :-)
A better life?
I think it depends on your definition of better. I love being where I am now and doing what I'm trying to do. I may still be in the honeymoon period, only time will tell.
http://www.frenchentree.com/fe-lavie/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=32687
I think it is also an attitude of mind. I'm in France mainly because I couldn't afford land in the UK (and the weather too). But there are serious downsides too. I don't get to see my children often, I will be crippled by tax, I have to learn a new language and things you take for granted aren't done that way here.
I also don't mind downshifting. I've done without heating for 4 weeks over the coldest part of winter, had the water fail for nearly 3 weeks and I've had a year with no running hot water and a wiring system that belongs in the ark. But I still love it.
Thanks dND, that's a very thoughtful response and the article you reference over at French Entree is spot on for a reality check.
For me, the people I spend time with are the most important part of my life, the musicians, the tennis players and other people involved with the arts.
Limited financially, as I will be soon when I retire, low cost living will be very important but so will be the need for contact with others sharing my interests.
Perhaps my bohemia is out there, perhaps it isn't but I would feel I had let myself down if I didn't make the search.
Perhaps someone will read this post and say to themselves
"Hey, I know just the place!"
Thanks again for your thoughtful comments and good luck with your wonderful farm which I will visit across cyberspace often :-)
Hi Rob,
these are some very good questions, and I do think it depends on the person. I have a friend that loves the cold (I call her the polar bear) and can't tolerate the heat, whereas me? I love the heat. I joke that it's because I was born near the equator!!
My dream of an alternative life style is to be a continuous cruiser on the canals of England,
I follow a blog of someone who does this and she in turn has loads of links to others. Her blog is called Retirement on No problem, I don't have a link here at work. but a quick google should find it.
Jane
English but living in San Diego CA
Silver Horde, thank you for your most interesting contribution.
Drifting along on lapping water through beautiful countryside sounds absolutely wonderful.
Also, currently it seems to be a low cost option which also makes it very attractive.
I've put a reference to the blog about continual cruising on this blog under 'Interesting sites that talk about creating a better life'.
Thanks again :-)
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