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"Kona" coffee beans are $60 per pound. At least it was when I was last there. (6 or 7 years ago.)
The BI is my favorite island. (Altho, Santa Catalina runs a close second.)
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
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The OP asked me to expand on "sea steading." Or the art of living off the land AND sea. I'm answering here in case others are interested. Not talking about sea "farming," or "micro-nations," but living off the fat of the sea, and land. You don't have to be in the tropics to do this.
As I mentioned in my first post I lived aboard sailing yachts for several years when I was young. I was a licensed "6 pack" captain and did occasional charters and deliveries up until around 2005. As a kid I worked aboard a large charter schooner. Later I crewed for rich guys on their racing yachts. I've sailed from San Francisco to Panama and to Hawaii and Tahiti and I sailed most of the East coast south of Annapolis, and the Caribbean islands. Been to Bermuda and as far south as the San Blas Islands on Panama's east coast. Throughout the adventures we did a lot of foraging, sometimes for necessity, but mainly for fun, because there's nothing like fresh lobster for breakfast with mangos right off the tree.
Anyway, I digress...
Ewell Gibbons - remember him? The edible plants guy? He got his start in Hawaii, in Honolulu to be exact. Like the OP, he was a school teacher and lived as a caretaker on a rich guy's estate, and foraged in his spare time. I had occasion to meet him a couple of times and I learned quite a bit from him in my youth. I highly recommend reading his "Beachcombers Guide." Another good book on sea steading is "Sailing the Farm."
Anyway, Ewell inspired me and I put some of the suggestions in his books into practice. When I first lived in Key West I supplemented my income as a conch diver before a moratorium shut the fishery down. I made a pretty good living selling the meat to restaurants and the shells to the "Shell Man" who operated a booth at the Southernmost Point. I had a Boston Whaler and would drive out to places I knew. All I did was tow a boogie board behind me with a milk crate strapped to it, while snorkeling in 10-25 feet of water. It was like picking money up off the bottom of the sea.
I kept a list of the locations for local wild foods (and some not so wild, but low hanging fruit in peoples yards...) I would ride my bike around the island and "harvest" my stock. We are talking mango trees growing in parkways, or hanging over someone's fence into an alley (which was fair game). We set out shrimp traps under various bridges and would collect a cooler full of shrimp overnight as they were swept through with the tides. Coconuts and bananas of course were all over.
We used to buy like 50 cents worth of chicken necks (that was a lot of chicken back in the 70's) tie them to string and catch $100 worth of blue crab off the piers. This works up and down the whole east coast (where legal). The Chesapeake and many spots on the intercostal waterway you can (or could back in the day) dredge oysters or walk along the various beaches and spoil islands and scoop up clams with a small spade. Toss 'em in a mesh bag and hang them off the boat overnight to flush the sand and gunk, then steam them in a little red wine... and wash 'em down with the rest of the bottle. Yum yum!
I guess my point is, "survival" and "prepping" or "living off the land" is more an extension of a good and well rounded life, rather than an end in itself. If you approach things right you can live well on very little. In Hawaii or the Keys or places like Puerto Rico or Belize or maybe even the San Juan Islands of Washington, I think you could still carve out a pretty nice life doing some variation of this.
I'm turning 25 in march, I've been a public school teacher 3 years and worked in a series of healthcare and retail jobs before I became a teacher.My friends and family all all long dead, except a few people I got on friendly terms with doing political activism this past year (but even then, I wouldn't call them friends-friends). At my heart, I'm a loner and I don't like working under a boss, and have finally reached I point that I just want to sell everything I own, stop working altogether, and go live off the land south of the border when this pandemic is over. Really, as an asexual aromantic man with no friends or family, why am I putting myself through the daily grind of work when I hate working? I could go live off the land some place tropical and probably be a lot happier.
The only thing stopping me is besides a few short camping trips, I know nothing about living off the land besides that I'd probably like it better than working any kind of job. Where can I learn survivalist skills so I can quit work and go live alone in nature?
I'd recommend a few short camping trips before you throw it all down and go 'live off the land'; your decision appears to be (at least a bit) premature - particularly if you're 25 (and have had several various jobs already i.e. you aren't demonstrating much decisiveness/direction/stability). At least do some internet research as to what you're getting yourself into (since you're a teacher and a loner, I'm surprised you haven't thought of this but instead state you 'know nothing' about that which interests you). You appear to think it, too, won't involve a 'daily (and probably more tedious) grind of work'.
Btw, say what? How is 'all of your family and friends dead' except "a few you got along with'? That sounds a bit concerning - heh, particularly since you're only 25.
Quote:
Originally Posted by USMC1984
Lol, that is more work than working!
Yep - and certainly more stressful/isolating. I'm all for (and understand) adventure, but I don't think the OP is being realistic.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around someone who doesn't seem to like people going into psychology. That, and the idea that living off the land will be less work than a "daily grind" of teaching (from home?) where you get summers off.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around someone who doesn't seem to like people going into psychology. That, and the idea that living off the land will be less work than a "daily grind" of teaching (from home?) where you get summers off.
Honestly, I don't think that most psychologists like people. They seem to regard them more as test subjects.
Some are dedicated professionals yes, but there's a lot of them just doing it for the money or because they enjoy the power they have to manipulate others emotions. They like feeling superior and smug.
I don't like kids all that much so being a teacher was never a consideration, but I sure do like the idea of 3 months off and a buttload of holidays for a full years salary.
With that job you could work and still have lots of time to live off the land by growing your crops, harvesting wild edibles, and being far away from society for 25% + of the year.
Honestly, I don't think that most psychologists like people. They seem to regard them more as test subjects.
Some are dedicated professionals yes, but there's a lot of them just doing it for the money or because they enjoy the power they have to manipulate others emotions. They like feeling superior and smug.
I don't like kids all that much so being a teacher was never a consideration, but I sure do like the idea of 3 months off and a buttload of holidays for a full years salary.
With that job you could work and still have lots of time to live off the land by growing your crops, harvesting wild edibles, and being far away from society for 25% + of the year.
That's what I'm also considering. This pandemic issue and my students not taking the guidelines seriously have made this year worse than my other two years, sure, but I will say this: I don't "hate" people, so much as too much time around people exhausts me. Too much social interaction turns into "too much of a good thing" pretty quickly. By and large, I prefer to be alone, and only occassionally do I like interacting with others. That said, I've considered just enjoying my breaks off once this pandemic is over if the irresponsibility of my pupils doesn't kill me first, and then moving into "seasteading" like "jamies" suggested on this thread once I have a pension at 42. At that point, I'd probably live something closer to the life I'm thinking of, if my body still works at 42, that is. I eat a lot of junk food and it shows. I've been starting to eat better, lately, but I still eat junk food pretty often.
One of the main reasons I mentioned the tropics is the last 4 or 5 years, I've gotten really frustrated and tired and upset between late November and late February, but the few years I've gone to the equator during winter break, I've felt better while I was down there. I think Winter might mess with my mental health a lot more than it used to.
As far as AC and heating, I only really use heating if the temperature is below 30, and I really only use air conditioning if the temperature is above 85. Coastal areas don't have temperature extremes, nor do equatorial highlands.
One of the main reasons I mentioned the tropics is the last 4 or 5 years, I've gotten really frustrated and tired and upset between late November and late February, but the few years I've gone to the equator during winter break, I've felt better while I was down there. I think Winter might mess with my mental health a lot more than it used to.
Maybe you have seasonal affective disorder--the answer could be as simple as a light box and sufficient vitamin D.
Junk food can affect your mood, too. If you're gaining weight, you're probably having blood sugar swings, which puts some people's mood (and energy) all over the place.
... and the idea that living off the land will be less work than a "daily grind" of teaching (from home?) where you get summers off.
When I was in college I knew a girl who volunteered at a horse boarding farm in exchange they let her live & sleep in the tack room. Where she lived had no heat, the exterior walls had knot holes in them to the outside, the other 'room's were horse stalls [so you constantly heard any noises the horses made], the only running water was a cold water faucet that emptied into an open horse trough. I lived in a rented house across the street from the university, this girl would stop by my place every morning to use the bathroom and to have a cup of coffee before our first class. That girl was so excited to live in a horse tack room, she was in heaven.
Some people will decide to love things that the rest of us might think are unusual.
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