I'm similar, lived in a nice part of sheffield, on the edge of the peak, Glasgow, edge of the Highlands, Wellington, NZ, lovely city, now Nant Peris. Where we are now is stunning but all those places have left me spoilt now. When I look for jobs I right off 90% straight away because I just couldn't live there..Originally Posted by duncs
I think your right, as long as you can afford to do the things you like then happiness awaits. Keeping life simple is probably the best way to start. Lots of home cooking, growing your own veg. spending time with family and of course.....lots of time running, walking, kayaking and breathing in lots of fresh air! I also agree that you do have to be brave and shake of the stupid expectations that life in 2010 throws at us.
My biggest fear to would be having regrets......
Does it matter what car you drove? or how many bedrooms you have?
Re: Work Life Balance?
You have to factor in the cost of not staying in B&Bs. I always used to kip in my lazer tent but it gets a bit tiresome when its raining all the time.
Kitted out campervans are ridiculous but then again you may get 20yrs use out of one.
I have probably slept in my van nearly ten times this year and I cant fault it. Having the high roof is def the way to go. You can stand up and get dressed.
Also the option of starting the engine and getting warmed up. Brilliant for BG support.
After a race I put the table up and sit in the chair with a bit of comfort.
We have one now, so good for getting ready, cuppa afterwards, but the main thing is they are just much more dog friendly, and you can leave the dogs in the van with all the windows open, curtains shut, when iyou wouldn't leave them in a car.
I'm surprised no one pointed an accusational finger in my direction yet, I certainly get enough (jealous) ribbing.
I'd worked in London, Manchester, Brighton, Staines, Leeds etc
I dropped out of my high mileage/time job just after my daughter was born, My wife had a better paid job and did shorter hours so it meant I could look after my daughter, do the shopping etc, once she started school (My Daughter) I had abit of time so started taking my outdoor quals(i'd been an outdoorsey person all my life)
I became a sailing instructor and followed that with Senior Instructor, SPA and ML, the only one I'm really missing is the canoe/Open boat Instructor but I have neither the time or inclination now to do this.
Like IainR I spend time walking the hills, rafting, climbing etc mostly with kids but trying to move more in to adult work. I enjoy emparting my knowledge of the hills etc. Work isn't constant though and School groups have dropped off slightly over the last two due to the recession. May June, July and Sept busy but winter is always quiet (I sometimes work for Snow and rock as I'm also a trained ski tech and boot fitter). Something to consider though if you do want to get in to this game is you have to go out what ever the weather or what ever the group(and there are some horrific ones)
Fortuanately we owe money to no one and my wife still has a good job.
I think thats why my performance peaks around early Dec and May as I have more time to train.
Although at present I'm casting my net for more regular work(part time you understand) any one have any offers??
Tom, I messed up some of my A levels as spent all my study time cragging. theres always time later for running, get those exams passed first. you'll be glad you did later.
It's not just about re-training in the outdoor industry. More excepting the fact that some things are more important than others and that changing careers and taking a pay cut is well worth it if it means more time outside, and havingther guts to do it!!
wow i am pretty stuck by my own fear
growing up pretty skint has made me really risk averse - so my calculations into what i need to live on include saving for a rainy day.
now i have a well paying job, but spend 2hours a day commuting (being out of the house 11/12 hours a day)
i don't have a fancy car or flat screen tv - but we have made the lifestyle choice of buying a house (unfortunately for us at the peak) - so we are probably in negative equity (maybe break even if we were lucky) - it would feel particularly hard to write off that money invested now. i chose to live in sheffield (although work is in derby) for better access to peak, proximity of friends and for number of climbing walls for winter.
so could i ask my employer about working part time? well i work in macho engineering company so its hard enough being taken seriously as a woman. also i know if i do want to have kids in the next few years that maternity pay is based on hours/money you were on when you left. i get the train to work and use a season ticket so would lose this commuting economy if working part time.
for me my job is ok and has pros and cons, the biggest con being the time it takes out of my life - i honestly don't have a dream vocation/ burnig desire to do a specific dream job - i wish i did as it looks like a route to hapiness - so for me working pays the bills (including the mortgage) and its very hard to see how to change that, even though i feel like i don't have enough time to live.
same here ratfink
But I feel like I went wrong somewhere in my 20s where I just failed to really think and identify properly what would really make me happy and go for it. Instead I settled for something that I thought would be interesting and not too stressful - publishing / journalism as it turned out. And then because my jobs have been too comfortable, failed to make a decision to change things in my 30s.
I have university mates who admittedly have worked a lot harder than me and put up with more stress (law, the City) but they are at least financially totally sorted. Part of me wishes I'd just gone down that route and gone for the dollar. If you're not going to be totally happy with your job, then you may as well be rich from it!
I wouldn't say I'm 'unhappy', but I do have doubts as to the future, like 1) I've left it too late to change things and 2) do not have the security of property or a decent pension behind me.
ZHR - Playing devils advocate there is another way to look at things that not having a house is probably something in your favour certainly if you were serious about upping sticks!
true Mike and thanks for that. But if I had bought in London the 1990s, or even 7-8 years ago, I'd be sat on enough of a profit to sell up and move almost anywhere I wanted.
Life's full of 'if's though innit - no point dwelling on them.
'One life live it', sorry if I've hijacked your thread a bit.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote