I came home to find D chest deep in a mini mid life crisis with respect to his work.
He just started with a new and much better department but is still feeling restless. Not even riding 100 km+ and all the other stuff he is into has shaken the feeling off. So he searched for career opportunities out west and spoke to contacts and recruiters while I was gone. We talked about it before I left but I didn't get the impression he was that serious.
We went through the real estate exercise a year or so ago and wasn't motivated enough to go further. Who knows what this may bring. Out of curiosity, I did a cursory look for myself. Sure there are openings but finding a part time one hasn't been fruitful. So, this new opportunity of D's would need to cover at least half of what I make to make it worthwhile and within my comfort zone.
He tells me if he is happily committed to working for the next 10 years, why not be in a "better" place sooner than later?
I can't argue with that logic. Neither of us are "in love" with where we are. And we've carved out the greatest life we could based on our resources. It's true we feel like we've "maxed out" on the best of our location.
Canada is big. Why not try living in a different part of it? We already are with our ski condo, why not make another place permanent? One thing's for sure, neither of us will miss the heavy humidity our region is known for. So choices are Pacific or Atlantic, elevation or sea level. It's kinda fun to dream but I've found it gets weary fast as I factor in all the financial and other logistical details etc.
Oh to be really young again, before I worried enough about stuff to veto ideas quickly.
I was reading the challenges in your post today and I can totally identify with those concerns. It is funny how little info we needed to make a change and leap when we were young and how we need to plan for all possible outcomes now when we are older.
ReplyDeleteIt is a safety thing...we work to be safe all our lives and then we are afraid to risk that now...
So so true! We trap ourselves with the very structures we work so hard to build, thinking it will "protect us".
DeleteThanks for the thoughtful comment. I look forward to exploring your blog.
It is a lot harder to move after you accumulate things, isn't it? Don't rule out a multi-location lifestyle. Having just returned from a resort type of area, I am always surprised at how many people are there for the whole summer. I used to think that lifestyle was only for the wealthy, the drifters, and the retired. But upon discussions with quite a few of these people, it seems there are as many ways to accomplish this as there are people.
ReplyDeleteIt can be. Believe it or not, I am far more minimalist than D is.
ReplyDeleteI think we already have a mini multi-location lifestyle because he can work remote. I can't though. Perhaps I am suffering from some sort of mental block but I can't see around it. Any solution like that involves me being retired.
Feel free to share some of the solutions you've discussed. It might be just the thing to shake me out of my funk.
Every solution is different and blog comments should be relatively short. But one common theme I began to notice is that most people need to find some variant that is socially acceptable for their occupation. By that I mean that some professions don't like work gaps, some don't like part time work, some don't have work in non-urban areas, etc. The key seems to be to find some creative twist on one's occupation that makes it socially acceptable to the profession, yet still financially workable. Then it is truly sustainable.
Delete