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Comment by byoung2 | Hacker News Reader

One of the hardest parts of just hopping on a plane to some exotic destination is figuring out what to do with your "stuff" back home. People think that with a million dollars they'll pay off the house, car, quit their jobs and travel the world. Instead, they should consider selling the car and house (or renting it out) and living abroad instead of traveling. I have stayed in the Philippines for months at a time for far less money than a weekend in New York or Vegas. If you don't have to pay $1000 a month for a car (loan, insurance, gas, maintenance), and $2000 for housing in the US (including gas, electricity, phone, Internet, etc.) traveling becomes much cheaper. Even better if you can do some freelancing remotely or have a small business that generates a few hundred bucks a month.

I bet that 9 times out of 10, "I need more money" should really be rephrased as "I need less stuff"

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I agree that a lot of people need less stuff. But the lifestyle you describe is minimalism for one. Minimalism for two is exponentially different, and minimalism for four is exponentially different to that. I need to keep my kids in one place for nine months out of the year, supply transport to conflicting events, and eventually secure them a decent post-secondary education. A million dollars would come in awfully handy.

I personally don't have much stuff because I think hoarding is a disease. But we're moving into an era where the fulfillment we used to get from stuff is being provided virtually. I don't claim this is bad, but it requires monthly contractual obligations (for internet access and cellphone data plans). We value these experiences so highly that we are still willing to shell out a lot of cash, even though we no longer get anything physical in return, and it would all disappear in an instant if we stopped paying our bills. I don't think the appeal of a sudden windfall of a million dollars is going to disappear anytime soon.

I was about to post something similar but with less kindness. I really hate this self-righteous posts from people that have no kids and essentially no real responsibility except themselves. It's the height of arrogance to preach to other people from such a position.

I arrogantly procreated in my bid for total world domination until I was defeated by my arch nemesis, The Urologist. We're all condemned to preach from our own unique positions.

Empathy

some of us have the ability to recognize this and realize that our position is not everyones, or even most peoples, or even realize that one day we might have kids too, and all those older people that say that life is completely different post kids might be right.

I was referring specifically to people who want to just hop on a plane but talk themselves out of it because they need more money. People with families will have other reasons to not sell the house and jump on a plane.

Who knows, you could probably take the kids along and home school them from abroad. It would be interesting to learn about history and language while visiting the actual countries. World War 2 looks a lot different in Japan or the Philippines.

I am absolutely sure that you could, and many families have. I just have no experience there, so I won't comment on whether it's easy :)

Har, har. We did the homeschooling-while-abroad thing. It's a mixed blessing. Your kids probably won't thank you for making them the odd ones out when they're teens. Younger ones, sure, that works. But along about 12 to 15 depending on gender and personality, you'd better pick a spot and stay there for a few years. More years if you have overlapping kids.

In late 2007, my wife and I sold our car, quit our jobs, put our valuables and personal records in a storage space, sublet our apartment (for roughly what our rent cost), and then spent three months trekking around Asia. It's really not that hard if you don't have pets or kids.

> It's really not that hard if you don't have pets or kids.

Which is a fucking enormous if. I'd bet at least half the people reading the post do have kids. Fuck, it's having kids that makes many dream of dropping everything and running away halfway around the world in the first place!

I have no idea how doable it is or isn't with kids. I don't have kids, but I know that a lot of families have jumped off the ledge and managed to be just fine. I hope I have the courage to show my kids a life without boundaries.

My sister has done this with her kids.

The deal is they have to be a certain age. I'm thinking around 6 years old. Old enough to not require 100% upkeep, but young enough to not have much else going on.

Kids pre-teen or older would rather be hanging out with their friends than accompanying their parents on their budget travel fantasy.

Of course it depends on the kids, but don't forget that at a certain age, spending a lot of time trapped with parents is the last thing a kid wants to do, even if (especially if?) it's on a bus across Laos, or whatever.

I have a collapsible table, inflatable mattress, laptop, and 24" monitor. Everything I own can fit in my car. I need more money. Sleeping on the floor was not fun.

I have money, I'm just kind of uber frugal. It's a nice air mattress, though.

You need a chair.

I find your list sort of strange, because you didn't include the car in it. You have a, b, c, d and a _car_.

And at least one cable to connect that monitor. I hate cables... so many cables

Very true, Here's PG's thoughts: http://www.paulgraham.com/stuff.html

Right on the money...The fact that Public Storage was only founded in 1972 is a testament to the fact that we are accumulating more stuff. I have a rule that if I haven't touched it in a year, I get rid of it. It will be easier to buy a new one than find the old one buried in a storage shed or closet.

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