Moving to keneohebay from NYC , need advice (Honolulu: appointed, apartment)
OahuIncludes Honolulu
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I have to see if I can give you rep points for this one, maybe I can't, lol. EDIT: nope, already gave you too many.
Your post brings back so many memories of my engineer dad, and also my early computer career (started working at 15 with forged working papers, fond memories of Hollerith cards). I remember my dad taking me to the drugstore to check out our TV's tubes. Isn't it cool to have been alive during a period of time with SO many technological changes? I remember dial telephones; now, my cell phone has more computing power than the computer that I first worked with at age 15 whose building took up an entire city block. And I'm even 19 years younger than you, you sure have had a kewl life watching these things evolve!
Thanks Debby.
I think I still have a rotary dial phone in the basement.
When I started at OCLC they had a Xerox Sigma 5 for the mainframe, and 4 Digital Computer Corporation minicomputers driving the modems. We worked in a building leased from The Ohio State University until the new building was built in Dublin, Ohio. Interesting times to say the least. We had to be up and running online 24/7/365 since we were used by college (and other) libraries throughout the world.
I think I still have a rotary dial phone in the basement.
When I started at OCLC they had a Xerox Sigma 5 for the mainframe, and 4 Digital Computer Corporation minicomputers driving the modems. We worked in a building leased from The Ohio State University until the new building was built in Dublin, Ohio. Interesting times to say the least. We had to be up and running online 24/7/365 since we were used by college (and other) libraries throughout the world.
Mickey
Indeed you did have to be up like that!!!! I remember.
(Memories) my first online search job started in 1988, at a major daily newspaper, doing searches on Vu/Text and Nexis-Lexis and Dialog. (Spellings of these services could be off.) I used to be totally fluent in Boolean. I can still imitate the sound of a coupled modem.
Not to mention, I joined the Ohio National Guard 37th Infantry Division Signal Company hoping to learn about radio operational procedures. Since this was just after the Korean conflict, they were short on personnel and since I had a amateur license, I ended up teaching radio operational procedures.
Well, you did ask didn't you? Betcha won't do that again!
Mickey
If you have military benefits and social security that really helps with day to day expenses. I'm to young for the vacuum tube days or punch cards - high school was TRS-80's with 16K memory and we had 1 deluxe model with 64K memory - college was a VAX 11-780 but we could key in our programs. First job out of college was coding in assembly language a COBOL compiler for PC's but the days of coding are way behind me.
So - at what point do you grow up???? So far, according to Debby - it is any age - come to Hawaii go for it?
According to Danni: For me, I think being in your young 20s means you have plenty of time to explore and mess up and learn about yourself, so in short: life is long, don't fear the unknown and go ahead and take the path less traveled.
At what point do you say -wow, I better get my act together - do you wait until you are homeless. What is plenty of time in your 20s to mess up - is that a year or two - 5 years - 10 years - never? If she comes to Hawaii and starts becoming a baby making machine was that a good choice when everyone else in Hawaii has to support the entire family. Who is going to pay for her health care?
My take is a little different - when you are in your early 20s - all you've done thus far is essentially nothing in life - you went to grade school - high school (hopefully) - if you opted to skip college whether that be by choice or aptitude - maybe you worked at the Olive Garden for a few years or something.
Are all of the early 20s people that stressed out in life? Poor things. Boo hoo.
Beg to disagree but I earned my engineering degree by age 21 and at least for me that's not nothing (as I'm sure most people who went through electromagnetics theory would agree as well ).
I also took the unconventional route of doing my exploring and messing while in my early 20s - instead of buckling up and joining the corporate world straight from university - not because I was stressed out but because it was the best period in life to do it(time, energy, and invincibility-wise). For the next 7+ years, I mixed travel, study grants, digging ditches in Japan to supplement research allowance, coding for allowance and free lodging in Europe, sampling the delicacies of south-east asia, india, and china, etc. I wouldnt even call myself unique in that perspective. A former colleague and good friend that I met working in Hong Kong during that period, was a young brit who just finished 6 months back-packing everywhere and needed to replenish the kitty before he moved off to get dive master certified and more traveling.
Afterwards, with 14+ years working for billion-dollar tech companies, I think I can safely say those early years didnt hurt my chances in the corporate world at all(nor reduced my earning years by my calculations on how much starting engineers make vs how much it would cost to pay for all those travel and study) not to mention having a really good time even up to now (what can be more fun than getting paid good money to work on the latest hi-tech novelty on weekdays and going island-hopping on long weekends?). I even count the cultural diversity life lessons on the positive side in landing some of those positions. Plus, the habit of living from a suitcase and not accumulating non-essential material stuff while still enjoying life to the fullest, I believe is also a good financial strategy as I keep telling my wife.
I would say that later in life, when family/kids are involved, would be the time to be more deliberate in making life changes - ex. we are now moving back to the U.S. from Asia and seriously explored moving to HI but decided to postpone HI since the going rates in the mainland are really good right now, the added savings are just too tempting to ignore.
Beg to disagree but I earned my engineering degree by age 21 and at least for me that's not nothing (as I'm sure most people who went through electromagnetics theory would agree as well ).
Yes, that is something if you have an engineering degree by 21 - the op has no skills and wants to move to Hawaii with no money or education. Bad idea.
Yes, that is something if you have an engineering degree by 21 - the op has no skills and wants to move to Hawaii with no money or education. Bad idea.
That may be, but it doesn't take an engineering background to dig ditches in Tokyo for much needed extra money on weekends while going to research labs and enjoying the cultural exchanges on weekdays. (it even saves on gym membership as they very expensive there )
My points were:
1. it is possible to do things in our early 20s as opposed to your statement: "when you are in your early 20s - all you've done thus far is essentially nothing in life"
2. taking the unconventional route to explore and have fun first while in our 20s can be a viable, productive, affordable, and very rewarding option. I lived on shoestring budgets with no regular employment arrangements when I first stayed in the most expensive cities in the world(ex. Tokyo, Zurich, Milan, Hong Kong, Singapore). I still managed to thoroughly enjoy my experiences with new places and cultures plus improved my educational and professional credentials along the way. It doesn't have to be because of: "Are all of the early 20s people that stressed out in life?"
I also took the unconventional route of doing my exploring and messing while in my early 20s - instead of buckling up and joining the corporate world straight from university - not because I was stressed out but because it was the best period in life to do it(time, energy, and invincibility-wise).
Yay, another person whose life was enriched early on! I knew there would be a few more. I don't know where the "stressed out" came from, viper added that into the conversation yesterday, it didn't apply to me either.
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Afterwards, with 14+ years working for billion-dollar tech companies, I think I can safely say those early years didnt hurt my chances in the corporate world at all(nor reduced my earning years by my calculations on how much starting engineers make vs how much it would cost to pay for all those travel and study) not to mention having a really good time even up to now (what can be more fun than getting paid good money to work on the latest hi-tech novelty on weekdays and going island-hopping on long weekends?). I even count the cultural diversity life lessons on the positive side in landing some of those positions. Plus, the habit of living from a suitcase and not accumulating non-essential material stuff while still enjoying life to the fullest, I believe is also a good financial strategy as I keep telling my wife.
Awesome!!! I got paid to run dive trips to exotic places, can't beat that with a stick!
Quote:
I would say that later in life, when family/kids are involved, would be the time to be more deliberate in making life changes - ex. we are now moving back to the U.S. from Asia and seriously explored moving to HI but decided to postpone HI since the going rates in the mainland are really good right now, the added savings are just too tempting to ignore.
As you say, later in life is the time to be more deliberate in making such choices as mistakes are hard to wriggle out of.
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Originally Posted by ChickenChaser
My points were:
1. it is possible to do things in our early 20s as opposed to your statement: "when you are in your early 20s - all you've done thus far is essentially nothing in life"
2. taking the unconventional route to explore and have fun first while in our 20s can be a viable, productive, affordable, and very rewarding option. I lived on shoestring budgets with no regular employment arrangements when I first stayed in the most expensive cities in the world(ex. Tokyo, Zurich, Milan, Hong Kong, Singapore). I still managed to thoroughly enjoy my experiences with new places and cultures plus improved my educational and professional credentials along the way. It doesn't have to be because of: "Are all of the early 20s people that stressed out in life?"
I have a feeling that at least three of us in this thread did more in our teens and early 20s than most people do in a lifetime. (May not apply to OP though). Not surprisingly, where I currently live, most of the people my age also took the unconventional route. It made them confident, able people very capable of handling whatever life throws at them. Were any of them stressed in their younger years, beats me, but that was not likely the reason they chose to sail, to explore, to attend the University of Life. Back on the mainland, I worked with lots of timid people who did the traditional hs-->college-->career thing, nose to the grindstone, following society's and family's orders, and when stress comes their way, they fall to pieces.
Realize too that this is in general, no two people are alike, but all I can do is report on my own and my spouse's life experience and what I've seen with friends and associates.
My dad was born in the Portsmouth, Ohio area in 1907. He quit school in the 6th grade to help out the family by working when his father passed away. He worked on farms and worked in a shoe factory there. When that company closed during the depression, he came to Columbus, picked up scrap metal and sold it to scrap yards, dug rich bottom soil along river banks and sold it as top soil, drove a taxi, went to work at Curtis Wright aircraft factory as a shear operator and won several awards at the company for devising new ways to cut sheet aluminum parts that saved material and money. He retired from Curtis Wright/North American Aviation/Rockwell International (as the company changed hands a couple of times).
Along the way he got married and had 3 kids. He always had a large garden which helped feed us. Mom canned the vegetables for use throughout the year. We also had a couple of cows for milk.
Dad was a pretty good mechanic, and did most of the work on his cars/trucks. He was a pretty good carpenter, too. Built additions to our house, built a garage and other outbuildings.
I picked up a lot from the old man, and my grandfather who was a carpenter.
Skills can be picked up along the way, formal education isn't always necessary.
And one of my favorite sayings: "Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional!".
Awesome!!! I got paid to run dive trips to exotic places, can't beat that with a stick!
Very cool! I'll never forget the underwater shots from Sipadan a friend brought back so many years ago from one trip that I missed. One of these days I hope to put in the time to advance beyond my own open water cert. (as I keep telling myself )
Quote:
Originally Posted by DebbyDiver
I have a feeling that at least three of us in this thread did more in our teens and early 20s than most people do in a lifetime. (May not apply to OP though). Not surprisingly, where I currently live, most of the people my age also took the unconventional route. It made them confident, able people very capable of handling whatever life throws at them. Were any of them stressed in their younger years, beats me, but that was not likely the reason they chose to sail, to explore, to attend the University of Life.
I'm witness to similar cases too. There's something about making friends abroad and swapping amazing stories(a friend claimed he spent a few months trekking in some desert on a camel) with former and soon to be again grubby backpackers/wanderers who were doing odd jobs(highly-skilled or otherwise) in-between to replenish diving, sailing or just plain exploring funds and realize they are proof-positive of surviving in new locales with limited resources for long periods then hearing back in their later years how they settled into stable lives back home or in their best loved locations(meeting future spouse during dive expeditions, getting married in the great barrier reef, and settling in australia?). Another thing is actually experiencing how some people actually live on less than $5/day in certain parts of the world. Same skills can translate even in our own consumer-oriented economies.
I was actually somewhat embarassed that my own adventures(despite the ditch-digging and similar sidelines) done usually with preparation and with referrals or within the framework of study/exchange programs were pretty tame(less spontaneous?) in comparison.
I am not in any shape or form suggesting this as a good choice for everyone. I'm also just pointing out my own and first hand knowledge of people's experiences that made similar, early life choices.
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