Thinking about a life change

timwinters

timwinters

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My birthday last November was a <cough, cough> milestone and it has provided me with the reason to pause, reflect, take stock of life and what is most important to me. An old saying I love: I don't have a lot of control over length of my life but I certainly do have control over the breadth and depth of it.

My main revelation: In many ways, I have become the type of person I so despised when I was in my 30s and 40s. That, in and of itself, probably bothers me more about me than anything else that I've concluded.

I have pondered it long, hard and often over the last two months...the holidays definitely aided the "taking stock" portion of my internal debate and evaluation.

The bottom line (and I haven't completely landed yet) but the direction I'm strongly leaning towards...

I am going to divest myself of nearly all my worldly possessions, minimize material "junk" and maybe even move somewhere outside of the states.

So, if you need a nice 2,200' grass airstrip (soon to be charted), or a ZTR to mow it with, or one of the finest examples of a straight-tail 182 that exists, or a dump truck, a backhoe, a skidsteer, a tractor, a side x side, a beautifully pristine 2002 Tahoe, a 2016 4x4 Silverado, a 2002 4x4 Silverado ("the beater farm truck"), or a 44'x12' Wilson, aluminum bi-fold hangar door, 4 or 5 chain saws, two generators, 3 air compressors, countless sets of hand tools and power tools, etc...

...then stay tuned.

This may just be your lucky year.
 
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Tim, I've had the same temptation myself. I miss the days when everything I owned, including my motorcycle, fit in the back of a pickup truck. Were I not married I would do that same, and move to the third world, where it's nice and cheap. Quite a bit of fun as well.
 
Wow, um, my 1st reaction was it's still 70 days to April 1, but my second reaction was to reflect. I sometimes have a very strong urge to sell off everything, buy an ocean going sailboat, and start touring the world. But, complications...
 
In an ideal world, I'm with you,Tim...
OTOH, I'd love to have my own strip, and the means to maintain it... And, the plane to go with it.

With that said, and alone in the world, I'd sell it all, and be a snow bird... With a plane.

I'd fly from hither to yon... Take a tent cot... And mebbe a dog. Sleep in a hotel from time to time.

I've got a decent pension, SS. Bank assets once all sold... Enough to do it on a limited budget. Even banking mx costs etc... I've pushed an imaginary pencil on it and it's do-able.

Heck, I'm 65 or so... I could do it til I had to quit, and it might even be fun...
 
It's all tradeoffs and only you can decide how to weigh them. Whatever you do, I hope you are satisfied with the choice.

Stuff is both blessing and curse.
 
Man, think long and hard about that one. It'll be even harder to build what you have now than it was the first time.
 
Watcha drinkin Tim?
I want some.
I've been having similar thoughts too, but my wife doesn't. So I might have to add her to the inventory list.
 
My grandfather from the old country used to say we buy our problems. Of course you may decide freedom is a romantic notion once looking back from the other side.
 
Tim, big life changes like that are good for the soul. Adventure is important in life and it's easy to get burdened down by "stuff" which you think you own, but can quickly own you. I know this first hand.

Laurie and I were close to doing similar to what you're talking about around the time we got married - get a sailboat and sail around the world on her off time. Of course then she got pregnant and that screwed up any hopes of doing anything we want to do for 20 years. :)

So, good on you. Seems like a good thing for you.

As far as the equipment goes, I'm definitely interested in some amount of it... the backhoe, skid steer, and hangar door come to mind the most but perhaps others as well. So if you decide to go forward with your plan, let me know.
 
Good for you Tim. Whatever you decide on...

Of course a fly-in would be a good idea this year too. :)
 
Good luck in your endeavors,hope all works out for you.
 
Huh, I thought this restless mode was a thing for city types only.

We did it in 2016. Can't recommend it enough. The cost of "what if..." is just too dang high.

The rest is just "stuff". It's amazing how quickly you can adios stuff once you realize it has zero value in your life. Our Los Angeles goodwill has probably been remodeled in velvet and ermine thanks to our "week of purge", but we didn't stick around to see it. :D

Family troubles dragged us back to the US, so we are plotting and scheming chapter two while letting those things resolve themselves.
 
cgrab said:
Jack Reacher with a plane is my goal
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Perzackly!

Well, 'cept for the "save the world" stuff...

Just travel around, buy decent used clothes at Goodwill (Jack buys new, but I'd hafta hit a laundromat 'fore I could wear stuff, the sizing in the cloth drives me nuts!).

Showers are a big consideration... I don't wanna feel like the great unwashed!
 
Great timing! This year I've decided to become considerably more materialistic. We should talk.:D

I'm glad you seem to have found a new calling and lifestyle to go with it. Good luck with your venture/adventure!

Ted DuPuis said:
Tim, big life changes like that are good for the soul. Adventure is important in life and it's easy to get burdened down by "stuff" which you think you own, but can quickly own you. I know this first hand.
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So true. Gonna keep the toys limited to the airplane and maybe a project car or two. A man can all too easily become a slave to his possessions.
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
So true. Gonna keep the toys limited to the airplane and maybe a project car or two. A man can all too easily become a slave to his possessions.
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The correct quantity of toys and possessions varies depending on each person. But the more toys you have and the bigger they are, the more you become a slave to them. Much of it has to do with your means both in terms of time/desire and space as much as money. Back in college I had amassed a significant number of Jaguar V12 parts. Great until I had to move, at which point I was very much a slave to those things. Similarly in Pennsylvania I got to the point of having too many cars (I want to say 6) and owning them was a burden.

Even though my cylinder index is pretty high now, none of those cause my anxiety, rather they're a therapeutic distraction at the end of the day... at least most of the time. But that's me. I could absolutely see doing the sort of thing Tim is talking about when the kids move out of the house.
 
When you get asked, “What do you want for Christmas?”, and you honestly answer, “Nothing”, you might be ready for that move. You have just switched from wanting stuff to wanting...happiness?...fulfillment?... but definitely something other than stuff.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Laurie and I were close to doing similar to what you're talking about around the time we got married - get a sailboat and sail around the world on her off time. Of course then she got pregnant and that screwed up any hopes of doing anything we want to do for 20 years. :)
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Uhhhh... You realize that you had a part in that, too, right? :D :D :D
 
CJones said:
Uhhhh... You realize that you had a part in that, too, right? :D :D :D
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I didn't say that it was her fault, I'm just saying that it changed our ability to do what we want to do for 20 years. ;)
 
Salty said:
Man, think long and hard about that one. It'll be even harder to build what you have now than it was the first time.
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Yep, all that built up stuff will eventually be in an estate sale (think about it).

If your goal is to die with the most stuff, then that's the way to go.
 
I used to live in a tent. It wasn't bad. I occasionally dream of simpler times. But there's no going back.
 
Going off the grid for few days is a healthy idea, but I’m not so sure I’ve ever gotten a wild hair up my ass to totally cut loose of all of my possessions though, but that day could come at some point (give me 30 years :)).

Best of luck to you Tim!
 
Doc Holliday said:
Yep, all that built up stuff will eventually be in an estate sale (think about it).

If your goal is to die with the most stuff, then that's the way to go.
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He’s built himself what many would consider a dream situation. Not something to throw away lightly.
 
Unless you can’t afford the toys, you don’t have the health to enjoy them, or you’re wrapped up in cutting your carbon footprint, I don’t see the need to divest of them. If you revolve around them that’s one thing but they shouldn’t keep you from enjoying other aspects of life.

As far as living in another country, well I’ve lived all over and no other country has everything in one package like the US does. Anything you can get in a foreign country, you can get here and then some. There is somewhat of a freshness, the newness of it all in living overseas but that goes away. You’ll get to the point of missing the familiar.

I’ll be keeping my toys as long as I’m able to physically and financially. If life has gotten to the point of no longer enjoying what aviation provides, then that will truly be a sad day.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Laurie and I were close to doing similar to what you're talking about around the time we got married - get a sailboat and sail around the world on her off time. Of course then she got pregnant and that screwed up any hopes of doing anything we want to do for 20 years. :)
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I can tell you that that is never a bad idea. A decent percentage of people doing it are sailing with kids.

Our son is autistic, we struggle educating him. I seem to be able to reach him with things like, driving, 4 wheeling, working on stuff, or he's just a natural at all that stuff. I can't seem to teach him things like English, math and even potty training. I can tell you, as soon as we get a handle on this communication barrier, I'll buy a boat we will be gone. I do not want him to continue much longer in the public school system.

He can't tell you what he wants to eat, but he can ride the wheels off this thing and dock a boat better than many fully functional adults.IMG_20200101_142303.jpg
 
Doc Holliday said:
People change. You can have everything that others consider a "dream", but if you're not happy, it's not worth it.
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It totally depends on WHY you are not happy. That’s why I say think long and hard. Selling all your stuff and moving to another country can potentially make you even more unhappy, and it’ll be tough if not impossible to reverse.

more often than not you can be happy in any situation. It’s rarely the situation that’s making you unhappy, it’s often your reaction to the situation.

it may require a huge change, but IMO you’d be foolish not to really look at your feelings closely before doing something drastic.
 
Salty said:
It totally depends on WHY you are not happy. That’s why I say think long and hard. Selling all your stuff and moving to another country can potentially make you even more unhappy, and it’ll be tough if not impossible to reverse.

more often than not you can be happy in any situation. It’s rarely the situation that’s making you unhappy, it’s often your reaction to the situation.

it may require a huge change, but IMO you’d be foolish not to really look at your feelings closely before doing something drastic.
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One standard does not fit all. Some people are happy with having lots of possessions. Some are happy with the minimal.

Like I said, people change.
 
Assessing always happens when other big life changes happen.

Do the changes in stages during your mid-life crisis @timwinters ... :) Gettin’ all wild is sometimes regretted later.

Sell some stuff, pause... sell some more, pause. You’ll find a happy spot. :)
 
Doc Holliday said:
One standard does not fit all. Some people are happy with having lots of possessions. Some are happy with the minimal.

Like I said, people change.
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It’s almost like you aren’t even trying to understand what I’m saying. Lol
 
Salty said:
It’s almost like you aren’t even trying to understand what I’m saying. Lol
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You're just attempting to impose your standards on others. I fully understand where the OP is coming from, and what he means. You, obviously, don't.
 
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Sorry gang. I like my stuff - I wish I had more of it! I want a bigger plane and a super hanger all tricked out. A home in Italy for the winter and plenty of time to zip around with my friends and family in my plane. But alas...I dream.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Doc Holliday said:
You're just attempting to impose your standards on others. I fully understand where the OP is coming from, and what he means. You, obviously, don't.
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Yes, suggesting someone think carefully about a life change is just showing a total lack of understanding. Good lord. You really aren’t trying even a little bit to see any other perspective.

unless you are really suggesting someone not think carefully about a life change, then I have no idea why you keep arguing against my simple position.
 
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