Well, even though I haven’t worked out the details, I’ve come to a few conclusions:
• I will never work in a major city again – ever.
• I want to avoid working for someone else, if at all possible.
• I want to start more than one stream of income – preferably a business of my own.
• I want my business to be entirely internet based and not be location dependant.
There is a certain relief from having come to these conclusions. Although I still need to think of specific ways to reach my goals, I now have direction. I know what I want; I just don’t have the details worked out yet.
Again, I simply want to earn enough to free myself from the need to hold down a job.
Number one on my to-do list is to move out of the city. My lease is up at the end of December, and I have already given my 60 days notice to vacate the premises. I don’t want to move in the middle of winter, but hey, nothing is perfect. As it stands, I’m paying a premium to be in a location that I don’t need.
Moving up north to a remote town has always been a dream of mine. However, now that it’s about to become a reality, I need to do some soul-searching and make the right decision. Do I really want to move that far away? Will I be able to manage without a car? I’ll be leaving all my friends and family behind to start a new life. Will I miss the social interaction? Can I meet new people and make new friends? Is it really what I want?
Hmm…
The community I’m thinking about is roughly 6 hours north of Toronto. It’s population is under a thousand and probably hasn’t changed much in 20 years. It is classified as a remote area. That sounds pretty isolated. Perhaps I don’t need to go that far in order to set up my minimalist lifestyle.
Besides, there’s a point where you get so far away that the disadvantages start to outweigh the advantages. One major disadvantage is the access to medical care in a remote area. Another is the price of consumer goods, including food. It costs more to truck things that far. So am I really going to save? Moving that far away might be too much of a good thing. The more sensible option would be to locate further south - like about two hours north of where I used to live.
I can’t wait to tell this city to kiss my ass. Once I’m out of here, I never want to see it again. There are so many bad memories, and I’m reminded of them every morning as I watch the stressed-out commuters rushing to their cubicles - many in a panic because it’s 2 minutes after the hour and they’re late for work.
I want to scream out, “Can’t you people see what’s happening here?”
But then again, if they can’t see it, then that’s not my problem.
It’s a horrible atmosphere (even though I don’t have to join the hoards in the ritual march to the office towers).
I’m sure I’ll start feeling better once I vacate the premises