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Comment by forgotmypw17 | Hacker News Reader

I transitioned to this lifestyle gradually over the course of several years, starting with apartment-job-cat, through couch-surfing and short-term rentals, living out of a van, and then finally total freedom.

I chose to do it because I wanted to have more control over how I spend my time. I realized that I was spending most of my time on someone else's schedule, building someone else's dreams, rather than working on my own.

I also have a very high priority for sleeping. I generally sleep for as long as I want to, which sometimes means several times per day. This does not mesh well with having a job.

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I know you said it was gradual, but did you have any psychedelics experience or some spiritual experience that facilitated that change?

I had some psychedelics experiences before and after, but I was into the idea before that. Even after psychedelics, I still resisted the draw, because I was afraid for my own survival. I felt like the matrix is the only way.

It took some really harsh non-psychedlic but life-changing, harsh experiences I mentioned earlier to finally pull me away from it and realize that I was going down the wrong path for me.

As I mentioned in another comment, these experiences were a family member's illness, a couple of personal physical injuries (related to stress and rushing), and a stressful work environment.

If I had listened to the cues earlier, I could have transitioned before any of that happened, avoided a lot of the pain, and had a much easier time dealing with the unavoidable.

But life is all about lessons...

How do you sustain yourself? How do you afford food?

In the beginning, I just lived more minimally.

Now, I rarely think about food. I just don't.

Whenever it appears before me, and it's of quality, I eat enough to be full. Otherwise, I don't think about it.

It has opened more time for me to think about programming and other things I actually want to think about.

I no longer have to think about what I'll get for lunch, spend time getting there, wait in line, pay for it, etc.

I think the question still stands: how do you afford food? Also, what happened to the cat?

Food is pretty abundant in the US. I've eaten lots of fine (as in tasty and unspoiled) food from grocery trash. If you're close to civilization there's food banks, soup kitchens as well.

I found a new home for my kitty.

I do not "afford" food, because I do not pay for it.

I eat food others offer me or when I find it in discarded food.

I have participated in the "food stamps" program, but that does not last long, and it's only a small component of my diet. I also largely use them to buy food to share with others, not solely for myself.

As another poster mentioned, there is a lot of good food in dumpsters, as well.

This has always been a relatively non-serious fantasy of mine. However, whenever I fantasize about it, I wonder how I would be able to use a computer reliably / in a concentrated way without a home/electricity/internet. But you seem to be managing it. Can you talk a bit about how you're accomplishing that?

I also had this fantasy, and then it became a dream, and then it became an intention, and then it became reality.

I did not do it overnight, it is a practice I started about 7 years ago, and I am still practicing every day, though I am better at it now.

I was lucky to be exposed to the ideas at a very young age.

Like I said, had a fantasy for a long time, before my 20s, then through my 20s, then into my 30s.

Then, around the same year or two period, I got hit by a car on my bike (rushing home for lunch from work), family illness (while fending off emails from project manager), and then injured myself even more seriously and finally got to take some time off, wearing a cast.

As this was happening, I began to come to the conclusion that my fantasy/dream/intention has always been there all along, and by avoiding it I only made it a longer and more painful process...

As that stuff was happening, I started finally making moves. First, I got rid of my apartment, which was my biggest monthly expense. I started couch-surfing and also found a very cheap place to live. I slowly got into the mental habit of actually lowering my expenses.

Gradually, I stopped bying clothes, paying a cell phone bill, etc., until all that was left was transportation, shelter, food, and weed. (Since ~25, I am a regular smoker because it helps me with depression like nothing else I've tried.)

Eventually, I bought a minivan on Craigslist for $1,400, which turned out to have a "broken" transmission, and I lived out of this van for about 1-2 years. I never got the transmission repaired, I just had to drive it gently, and no faster than 25 miles per hour with the blinkers on whenever I was going uphill. But I was not nearly as often in a hurry as I am now.

Then I lived out of another van. I had a housemate in this van, and they were messy, and so I learned to keep my things organized in bags. My main backpack (smol) for things like identification and laptop, everything I don't want to part with. A bag for dance and movement things. A bag for electronics.

Then I met people living outdoors and thought, hey, I've done this before in the woods, why not in the city. So I tried it. And it stuck. I got rid of the van eventually.

Before Corona, there was so much free public space, it is was unbelievable. I could work in almost any town or city, because there was almost always a seat, a table, and a power outlet, and often wifi too.

All good things come to an end, however. I've had to make some adjustments lately. But I'm still hanging on, with some minor concessions.

While I am adjusting, I have reverted to using currency for a few things. Luckily, I was approved for foodstamps and even cash assistance, which works out to a few hundred a month. I have not applied for other benefits like the Corona Payment and Unemployment.

And now that I am more experienced, and I have a bit of a system, it is easier to just replace one thing at a time. I've also learned a lot about flow and manifestation.

If you have heard about The Secret and it seemed like bullshit, try another book: Entangled Minds. Quantum Reality is undeniable, and only a fool would ignore the possibilities.

You can literally create a better world for yourself by imagining it, focusing on it, setting good intentions, and feeling gratitude for your gifts to yourself.

how's dating life? how do your dates react when they learn about how you live? Also, how do you afford clothing and toiletries like deodorant, toothpaste and the like? How do you shower daily without reliable access to showers?

My dating life is better than ever. Although much of the improvement I would attribute to being older and more experienced, some of it is indeed thanks to my lifestyle changes.

I used to waste a lot of time on trying to date people I was not compatible with. Now it is much easier to avoid doing that, because someone who might be interested in me only for my nice clothes or social status is no longer an option. I'm spending more time talking with people I am compatible with.

The whole experience has also led me to open up and be more vocal about being poly, something I used to brush under the rug in the past.

I do not buy clothing, and wear the same clothing for days on end until I find new ones. It allows me to be more easily recognized by both humans and animals. It also helps my microbiome not get wiped out. This also saves me a lot of time picking clothes out, washing them, etc.

As I mentioned in another comment, I do not use any products like deodorant and toothpaste, except for Dr. Bronner's soap on my skin.

I do not always shower daily, sometimes going for weeks without showering if I am outside. If I am indoors with access to a shower, I only wash with water.

If I feel too smelly and have to clean up, I can wash without a shower, aka pirate bath.

I did not make all of these changes overnight. I transitioned over the course of several years, and I was already prepared by having tried other things outside of the norm, having camping experience, etc.

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