Canada? Is it for me?
- Thread starter mdd0127
- Start date
marty
10 MW
When someone hires me to do construction work, the subject of when / how often would you like to be paid usually comes up. I look at the customer with a serious look in my eye and say - "I charge $$ (fill in number) per hour and I need to be paid every hour." I don't really ask for money every hour but my point is that I expect to be paid for every hour that I work. When I hire people to work for me, if they ask for money today for tomorrow I usually fire them because that is a sign of a drug habit.mdd0127 said:Brentis said:I think the solution to your issues is to find like minded people in the US & start a commune.
There has to be many people with your beliefs that you can start to form a community around.
Escaping to Canada or any western country is not going to solve the corruption of this world.
Standing up, speaking out, and gathering like minded people, to fight the greed of corporations is the only way to get the great democratic country called The United States of America back.
Corporations are not people. That has to change if you want your country back.
The population needs purpose & meaning not more gadgets, not more TV, not another Hollywood Blockbuster.
Everyone needs to start shouting aloud,
"I am tired of the lies & Im not going to take it any longer."
If I had the farm I dream of, you would have a plot to park.
Hope you find your peace.
I've been looking for a commune or intentional community to join for many years. They always have rules that will exclude me from participation though. Things like no vehicles allowed...my vehicle is my home. No dogs.....I love my dogs. Certain amount of hours worked per week...... Sometimes I have to sit in the dark with a wet towel over my head for a week because my head hurts so bad. And then, there the weird sexual ones that don't allow monogamous relationships and want to mate swap all of the time.....
It's really sad but I just haven't been able to find a place where I fit in.
I'd like to start a totally new type of commune. A rolling one! It would be really cool to find people with similar values and lifestyles and move around when necessary as a group. The only rules would be that each member has to be totally self sufficient and self contained, that we leave no trace when we move camp, and that anyone causing negativity, drama, or stress would agree to leave promptly and peacefully. Having the ability to be self sufficient lets people keep their individuality and freedom but being part of a group would give us some stability and give us the opportunities to help each other out when we could. I might put some effort into attempting to organize this.
Any of you guys have an RV and want out of the system?
I would love to join your rolling commune. Too busy working right now.
deVries
100 kW
I think you need to find a trade you could do. Electrical or plumber or AC or a combo. Then you could travel around to areas where work is needed for certain "job sites" or "boom areas". Get sub-contract work for certain jobs, so you're not on "their clock" but your own. (In case you have some bad headaches, etc.)
I know that dog walking & training & house sitting is a big thing in larger cities. Those kinds of services have exploded in my city in the last 10yrs.
Otherwise, you should consider helping an elderly person remain in their home. You could get room & board plus an income, and a garage area to do shop work. If the person is wealthy, then you could get a good income too. Especially, if you helped someone remain on their small farm or ranch, etc. Seriously, there are lots of old people that want to remain at home but can't, because there is no family to care for them. There are plenty of nice retirement communities, so I'm sure this type of work is "out there", really, in any community.
Heck, I was looking on Craig's List for eBike related stuff, and saw an ad from a family that needed help with their elderly parent. They were offering an RV & an income. Look through Craig's List to get some ideas too.
jkbrigman
10 kW
dnmun said:
WTF. I call BS.
Regardless, NC, and the southeast in general, is happy to give you your freedom but couldn't care less about your medical problems. I say that not to convict you or the southeast - I think that's true most anywhere. Medical care is always a challenge without money no matter where you go.
EDIT: I'd asked about a build thread - that info was provided in a later post, AWESOME build!
StudEbiker
100 kW
mdd0127 said:
Have any links?? :lol:
SamTexas
1 MW
A bitter, suspicious, "victimized" person will never be happy regardless of where he/she lives. Life is mixed bag of goods and bads. No government is perfect. No country is ideal. If you can only see the negatives then it's your problem. If you can't fix your problem don't expect a new location to be better for you.
Call me blunt, I don't care.
Call me blunt, I don't care.
StudEbiker
100 kW
To mdd0127:
Have you considered making some sort of item you can sell on Ebay?
For instance, I saw on a website a long time ago about making a simple little bracket to add a rear tail light to Bike Es. I made one myself and it worked great. It was so simple to make, I never thought a second about it.
Now I see where there's a guy on ebay selling these things for like 15 bux a pop and it looks like people are actually buying them.
You seem to be very skilled. I was just looking on another thread where Justin was talking about the need for a certain type of PAS that isn't being made right now. He asserts with no hesitation that if someone was making them they would sell very well. Unfortunately, it's not in my particular skill set, but maybe you could do some thinking about it.
To SamTexas:
Sometimes a countries gov't gets to the point where the best option is to leave. There are good and bad in all gov'ts, but if you are trying to say that all gov'ts are equally tolerable as long as you have your own mind right, then I think that is very foolish. People rightfully flee oppressive govts around the world everyday. In fact people are fleeing the USA as we speak because they feel it has become too oppressive. Depending on the outcome of this next election, I will have some serious soul searching to do myself about whether or not I want to remain in this country.
I don't think Canada will be very high on my list of possible destinations though. I prefer some place warmer, and with beaches.
Have you considered making some sort of item you can sell on Ebay?
For instance, I saw on a website a long time ago about making a simple little bracket to add a rear tail light to Bike Es. I made one myself and it worked great. It was so simple to make, I never thought a second about it.
Now I see where there's a guy on ebay selling these things for like 15 bux a pop and it looks like people are actually buying them.
You seem to be very skilled. I was just looking on another thread where Justin was talking about the need for a certain type of PAS that isn't being made right now. He asserts with no hesitation that if someone was making them they would sell very well. Unfortunately, it's not in my particular skill set, but maybe you could do some thinking about it.
To SamTexas:
Sometimes a countries gov't gets to the point where the best option is to leave. There are good and bad in all gov'ts, but if you are trying to say that all gov'ts are equally tolerable as long as you have your own mind right, then I think that is very foolish. People rightfully flee oppressive govts around the world everyday. In fact people are fleeing the USA as we speak because they feel it has become too oppressive. Depending on the outcome of this next election, I will have some serious soul searching to do myself about whether or not I want to remain in this country.
I don't think Canada will be very high on my list of possible destinations though. I prefer some place warmer, and with beaches.
mud2005
10 kW
StudEbiker said:
my buddy makes glass art and sells it via ebay and has been making a living off it for over 10 years now. I used to do it myself, but quit long ago. it's cheap to get started, and with some practice you can make many sellable items like jewellery, beads, marbles, figurines, and pipes/bongs if thats your thing. all you need is a torch and a fan and you can work anywhere.
Lessss
1 MW
Correction largest since the soviet union broke up.
deVries
100 kW
Be careful that you don't end-up somewhere that you can't easily drive away from. There are real live banditos & police predators even in the Baja Mexico or elsewhere down yonder. I think Gringos are welcome with money, but I'm not so sure about guys w/o money or skills to work on a regular basis. You would really end-up dependent on the people owning the property, so you have that same trust & work related problems going against you.mdd0127 said:
Hey, got another idea for you... you could work at weekend Farmer's Markets & Flea Markets either for the Farmers & Sellers and/or make things or offer things for sale yourself. There are many wealthy communities that support these markets. Yeah, you would fit right in with that. Could play your music. Chill-out in your camper with a headache, etc.
8) 
Lebowski
10 MW
Mdd, have you thought about not picking a specific country but to make a trip all over north, middle
and south america ? Who knows what you might encounter, maybe you'll end up at a banana plantation
in Costa Rica, maybe in Chili, Argentina or Paraguay. I always love to read books about people that just
let the road guide them, I wish i had the courage to live like that (be bored though cause I need room and
equipment for my hobbies).
I mean, so you chose Canada, then what ? You want to stay in a fixed spot for an X amount of year ?
I guess not 'cause why would you want an RV then ? If you imagine moving around, go south, there's a
whole world to discover.
In Europe I imagine Sweden and Norway would fit the bill in summer, I'd move south to Spain / Portugal
in winter. Sweden has a law where you're basically free to go and camp wherever you want, even on privately
owned land (as long as you don't bother anyone and clean up after yourself).
My GF is from Russia, she's told me lots of stories on how, back in the day, they went with a whole group
of friend with kayaks to Siberia. Siberia as I understand has amazingly beautiful and warm summers. They
would kayak for weeks on end without meeting anyone, living of the land, hunting and fishing.
My GF by the way was raised on Cuba (talking 60-ies early 70-ies here), her parents are nuclear scientists
Her dad visited the US as an inspector when the US and USSR where decomissioning the nuclear rockets...
and south america ? Who knows what you might encounter, maybe you'll end up at a banana plantation
in Costa Rica, maybe in Chili, Argentina or Paraguay. I always love to read books about people that just
let the road guide them, I wish i had the courage to live like that (be bored though cause I need room and
equipment for my hobbies).
I mean, so you chose Canada, then what ? You want to stay in a fixed spot for an X amount of year ?
I guess not 'cause why would you want an RV then ? If you imagine moving around, go south, there's a
whole world to discover.
In Europe I imagine Sweden and Norway would fit the bill in summer, I'd move south to Spain / Portugal
in winter. Sweden has a law where you're basically free to go and camp wherever you want, even on privately
owned land (as long as you don't bother anyone and clean up after yourself).
My GF is from Russia, she's told me lots of stories on how, back in the day, they went with a whole group
of friend with kayaks to Siberia. Siberia as I understand has amazingly beautiful and warm summers. They
would kayak for weeks on end without meeting anyone, living of the land, hunting and fishing.
My GF by the way was raised on Cuba (talking 60-ies early 70-ies here), her parents are nuclear scientists
Her dad visited the US as an inspector when the US and USSR where decomissioning the nuclear rockets...
deVries
100 kW
You could do this one of two ways, imo...Lebowski said:Mdd, have you thought about not picking a specific country but to make a trip all over north, middle
and south america ? Who knows what you might encounter, maybe you'll end up at a banana plantation
in Costa Rica, maybe in Chili, Argentina or Paraguay. I always love to read books about people that just
let the road guide them, I wish i had the courage to live like that (be bored though cause I need room and
equipment for my hobbies).
I mean, so you chose Canada, then what ? You want to stay in a fixed spot for an X amount of year ?
I guess not 'cause why would you want an RV then ? If you imagine moving around, go south, there's a
whole world to discover.
In Europe I imagine Sweden and Norway would fit the bill in summer, I'd move south to Spain / Portugal
in winter. Sweden has a law where you're basically free to go and camp wherever you want, even on privately
owned land (as long as you don't bother anyone and clean up after yourself).
My GF is from Russia, she's told me lots of stories on how, back in the day, they went with a whole group
of friend with kayaks to Siberia. Siberia as I understand has amazingly beautiful and warm summers. They
would kayak for weeks on end without meeting anyone, living of the land, hunting and fishing.
My GF by the way was raised on Cuba (talking 60-ies early 70-ies here), her parents are nuclear scientists
Her dad visited the US as an inspector when the US and USSR where decomissioning the nuclear rockets...
1st whether you like it or not try to solve your headache issue, including finding a doctor that will try to help you long-term, so you could rejoin the workforce full-time when you wanted too. If you don't get your high-blood pressure under control, by meds and/or diet, exercise, weight, then you're fracked. Seriously!
2nd save-up money to do trips like this, because fuel is too damn expensive & you'll need a reserve for "emergencies". Which, 'this' brings us right back to #1 above. :lol: Probably can't get to #2 here w/o #1 above. :wink:
From what you told me before I think you gave-up on your medical quest too soon. Have you got your weight down to being on the low side near skinny & eat a crap-load of veggies & fruits & nuts & omega fish. Eat very healthy & control weight near skinny & get mild exercise for a couple of years at least doing a "perfect" diet/exercise meditative stress relief. Meanwhile, continuously work the medical system if you're not getting results from your personal health care attempts. The severity of your headaches & blood pressure I think really have you more on a medical adventure than a traveling adventure as your 1st priority. Travel wherever you need to go to find a doctor that will try to help you. There are still plenty of doctors that really do care. Your issue experiencing such "insane pain" means you really have to resolve this 1st. You really have a work & health disability. It might take 5-10 years to find a cure, but I think you had better be on this quest as your 1st priority. Sincerely, man, sincerely! 8)
Have either of your parents or close family had any of these same related health problems?
jkbrigman
10 kW
mdd0127 said:
It's.....beautiful....I recognized recumpence' drive system in your videos......That's one freakin-sweet ride, not a damn thing wrong with it. Your ebike work looks awesome.
It's just that this isn't a good forum to sell a high-dollar ebike in. I (and I think many here) do our first builds for $700 or less. The rest of us are broke dude, just like you are. It's why we are refugees to E-S.
Surely the Trapper John "Gonzo in the RV" deal works against you. Making a living doing boutique products with your ultra-skills needs word of mouth and reputation. You seem to be able to run with the Stevil/LFP/Recumpence crowd, but they all have their sphere of existence, are easy to reach and publicize their accomplishments. Your nomadic life seems to work against that, unless you can establish solid web presence that you can consistently access (you seem to have done that - you're responding quickly and timely to the thread).
It's a damn shame you didn't run that bike at Grange (whether you on the seat or someone else, woudn't matter). Would anything be different for you if you had?
MikeFairbanks
100 kW
It took me a while to get through all that. I'll give my honest opinion and advice:
1. You're too worried about the government. Yes, it's run by corporations, but even they know that an apocalyptic America would ruin them as much as anyone else. When Hitler let the corporations pay for his rise, it eventu ally came back to bite them as he took them over. It was a mess and the entire country fell. Fascism sucks, but so does communism. We have to have middle ground and try to keep a smart, careful capitalist society. Not everyone will work hard. Not everyone is generous. We have to recognize each other and try to understand each other.
But our nation is extremely stable politically. It might not seem like it if you turn on the TV, listen to AM radio, or go to BBs with politics, but our nation is very stable (and economically we're not as bad as people make it out to be).
2. California. That's where I grew up. California has two mountain ranges: the Coastal Range and the Sierra Nevada. West of the Coastal range is San Fran, LA, San Diego, etc. That's the California everyone knows. But east of the Coastal range is a completely different California. It's one of the freest (most free?) areas in the country. There are a ton of people out in the desert, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and in Northern California (Eureka) who live just like you do, respect independence, and are having a great life.
Places like Lone Pine, Salton Sea, Humbolt County, ....shoot, all over the state (east of the Coastal Range).
Have you heard of Slab City? It was featured in film "Into the Wild." It's a place where people live together, each in their own space. They pay nothing, but life can be very challenging for them, and sometimes they get stuck out there. But it's about as free as it gets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slab_City
Then there's Burning Man. It's an annual event that highlights art and alternative living. It's also in the California desert. It's only for a week, and some people don't like the younger element, but the whole event is focused on bartering (no money is allowed, except at the general store for water, first aid gear, etc.). You can learn about the lifestyle from similar-minded people and get connections.
The California desert, along with the forests of Northern California, are about the freest places in the nation. I spent most of my life exploring it all, from the border of Mexico up to the border of Oregon, and out to the eastern edges near Arizona, Nevada, and all the way up.
Tahoe, Reno, Palm Desert, Lone Pine, Truckee, Salton Sea, Slab City, Lone Pine, Big Pine, Needles....... it's a completely different life.
Good luck.
1. You're too worried about the government. Yes, it's run by corporations, but even they know that an apocalyptic America would ruin them as much as anyone else. When Hitler let the corporations pay for his rise, it eventu ally came back to bite them as he took them over. It was a mess and the entire country fell. Fascism sucks, but so does communism. We have to have middle ground and try to keep a smart, careful capitalist society. Not everyone will work hard. Not everyone is generous. We have to recognize each other and try to understand each other.
But our nation is extremely stable politically. It might not seem like it if you turn on the TV, listen to AM radio, or go to BBs with politics, but our nation is very stable (and economically we're not as bad as people make it out to be).
2. California. That's where I grew up. California has two mountain ranges: the Coastal Range and the Sierra Nevada. West of the Coastal range is San Fran, LA, San Diego, etc. That's the California everyone knows. But east of the Coastal range is a completely different California. It's one of the freest (most free?) areas in the country. There are a ton of people out in the desert, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and in Northern California (Eureka) who live just like you do, respect independence, and are having a great life.
Places like Lone Pine, Salton Sea, Humbolt County, ....shoot, all over the state (east of the Coastal Range).
Have you heard of Slab City? It was featured in film "Into the Wild." It's a place where people live together, each in their own space. They pay nothing, but life can be very challenging for them, and sometimes they get stuck out there. But it's about as free as it gets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slab_City
Then there's Burning Man. It's an annual event that highlights art and alternative living. It's also in the California desert. It's only for a week, and some people don't like the younger element, but the whole event is focused on bartering (no money is allowed, except at the general store for water, first aid gear, etc.). You can learn about the lifestyle from similar-minded people and get connections.
The California desert, along with the forests of Northern California, are about the freest places in the nation. I spent most of my life exploring it all, from the border of Mexico up to the border of Oregon, and out to the eastern edges near Arizona, Nevada, and all the way up.
Tahoe, Reno, Palm Desert, Lone Pine, Truckee, Salton Sea, Slab City, Lone Pine, Big Pine, Needles....... it's a completely different life.
Good luck.
nicobie
100 MW
We are wasting our time with this lazy wanker.
Paypal me 20.00 and I will let you know the mystery's of our world.
Paypal me 20.00 and I will let you know the mystery's of our world.
deVries
100 kW
I wonder if some type of posture & brain muscle relearning techniques might help? Research Feldenkrais Method. There are audio tapes & books that can guide you. Research guided meditation relaxation with music/voice that you can listen to when your headache starts while resting approaching a sleep state. Steven Halpern is a pioneer in this field. This state of suggestion or hypnosis can teach you to get into altered states & literally lower your blood pressure. Yep, yoga masters can do this too, so yoga is another option. Check-out and try all three of these techniques above. Seriously! I think one or a combination above will be very helpful to control & reduce the headaches & intense pain. I shit you not!
8) You might find a way to get your mind/body to respond to one or more of these techniques to at least keep the headaches from being so painful by controlling that blood pressure too!
Oh, and obviously don't park your vehicles so it takes 3 days to dig these out! And avoid becoming a human dart.
:lol: Otherwise, I think you're right that some injuries take 5+ years to finally heal, so by not re-injuring again you have a good shot to complete your bucket list & beyond... :wink:
boppinbob
1 kW
I live in Texas, work 9 to 5 for an indecently large oil corporation for which I machine indecently expensive high tech tools on an indecently expensive CNC machine. I am so on the grid it's pathetic, but I wouldn't be able to make the money I make doing anything else, and money is what it is all about. You can say it's wrong and immoral and all that but that is the way it is in this society. The way I have it figured I'll only have to do it 3.5 more years and I finished 18 years already so I can handle the rest easy, unless I die...that would be a bummer... for me anyway.
