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Comment by grecy | Hacker News Reader

I am seeing a lot of depressing posts here (and mostly in humor, I think)

Lots of talk about sleeping in, procrastinating, pretending to work, etc. etc.

I used to be a Software Engineer and I can relate extremely well. Now I am attempting to be a travel writer and photographer, driving around Africa. I spring out of bed in the morning, and have some of the best days of my life, day after day. It's hard, but I love it much more than my previous live. The money is not so good, but what do I need money for anyway? Gas in the tank and food for dinner and I am happy camper (literally)

My advice: We each only have one life, make sure you live the one you want to. Save some money, quit for a while and try your dream. If it doesn't work out you can always go back (I did, twice already, just to earn fast cash then hit the road again. I am hoping this time there is no going back - it's going OK so far)

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Thanks for this. I'm a web developer, recent college grad. I freelance and travel a lot. It's cool, but I hate the work for the most part. I do lots of tiny UI tweaks and stuff every day. It's slowly killing me inside I think.

The upside is I work from 'hpme' and can sleep in and have lots of freedom and stuff, but when it comes to work... It's destroying me.

I have been living in Costa Rica for the past year and I'm incredibly jealous of some of the locals here. Some of the locals running surf shops or tour companies or ______ are living their dream. Less stress than me, 10x happier. It's incredible.

The grass is always greener. You're (theoretically) making more money than them and most likely have a more flexible schedule. They're also tied to location. You can get bored of Costa Rica and move tomorrow if you want.

There's nothing to be jealous of. You can start a surf shop if you think they have it better than you.

That doesn't seem quite right to me. You might be making more money in USD, but their cost of living is likely far lower. The cost of real estate and rent in major American metro areas is insane these days, and that's where all those high-paying software jobs are located. Even in many of the not-so-major areas, the rents have gotten really high. So sure, you might be making a lot, but it's all going to some landlord, or getting tied up in a house that could very well lose much of its value if the market crashes again like it did in 2008.

For sure! I totally agree with that.

I love my current position in life because of that flexibility and freedom, just the work is so-so :)

> Some of the locals are living their dream. Less stress than me, 10x happier. It's incredible.

I see this every day in West Africa. People spend huge time with their families, people build their own houses, and grow their own food. Sure, it can be hard manual labor, but certainly virtually everyone has money for a bottle of beer (or 10) every day.

We have a lot to learn from the "undeveloped world"

Seriously, been reading your blog this afternoon and love it man. Maybe I'll stop by in Africa next year! Hah.

I 100% agree.

Maybe I just wasn't built for the tech field, but something about sitting on the computer all day feels wrong.

this is EXACTLY my goal here ....pushing myself into getting started... we CAN live comfortably without the gut wrenching feeling everyday ...for me it started with the garbage warrior... a house that provides all your energy, food, water, waste treatment... combine some of these excellent ideas with automation and ...your house takes care of you - only problem is - everyone doesn't have their own little chunk of dirt to build on...

Wow, never seen/heard of that movie. Really cool!!

Just open a surf shop or a tour company since you like it. Automate shit out of it and hire locals, you are your own engineer.

I don’t see why not. Diversifying is always a good idea. Web-dev is a good source of income to fund these endeavors. You have all the cards up your sleeve IMO.

That's what I've been considering for sure. I'll (hopefully) always have web dev as a fallback to make some extra cash on the side if something falls through.

Thanks.

  The fascination of what's difficult 
  Has dried the sap out of my veins, and rent 
  Spontaneous joy and natural content 
  Out of my heart. There's something ails our colt 
  That must, as if it had not holy blood 
  Nor on Olympus leaped from cloud to cloud, 
  Shiver under the lash, strain, sweat and jolt 
  As though it dragged road metal. My curse on plays 
  That have to be set up in fifty ways, 
  On the day's war with every knave and dolt, 
  Theatre business, management of men. 
  I swear before the dawn comes round again 
  I'll find the stable and pull out the bolt.

-- W.B. Yeats

Can you comment on how easy it is to "go back"? I've always heard it's difficult to find employment as a developer once you have a gap in your resume.

I found it immensely easy. We developers are in short supply, so it's an employees market.

Don't hide it on your resume, be proud of it "I learned Spanish, I learned self-reliance, I had this and that side project, etc. etc."

I always say one of my greatest skills is my ability to self-educate (proven by learning Spanish, and now French) so you say to them "Sure, I'm a little rusty on x,y,z. Less than 2 weeks I guarantee I'll be up to speed."

So I don't have the salary of someone that stayed through (i.e. a buddy from university is now a Senior VP, and I was still low-level developer) but who cares - I made this choice because I prioritize life, not money/work. My buddy also works WAAAY longer hours than I did, and had a boat-load of stress to boot. As a lowly developer, I get good money, and walk out free and clear at 5:30. I didn't even have to be on call, because I was "junior". Perfect!

How did you start the process of switching and becoming a travel writer? The idea of such a big leap seems impossible to me.

I blogged my first adventure (Alaska to Argentina) [1] and about half way through starting pitching to magazines, websites, newspapers, etc.

Pitch, pitch, pitch and make great content - you will get there

[1] http://theroadchoseme.com/expedition-overview

I just finished reading the book "Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel", which basically promotes this exact train of thought. You may enjoy reading it if you are not already familiar.

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. - Mae West

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