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If you needn't to work, what would you do?

4 points by orff ↗ HN
Assuming you needn't to stay in your daily job but could keep some basic living standard, what would you do?

Founding a company? Teaching? Playing with kids? Joining politics? Consultancy? Nothing?

8 comments

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elmerfud
I guess it depends on the basic living standard. If you say, I can not work and keep the same standard of living I have now then I'd probably travel more.

Take a motorcycle trip around the world or something like that. Canoe down the nile. Sail to Antarctica. Stuff like that.

orff
legit question. I am thinking about rather frugal life. Flat in the city, no junk food, older car.
psyc
I have a small flat in the city, a little junk food, and no car. I'll be totally honest - from time to time I feel a little twinge of regret, since I could afford a McMansion and an expensive car if I worked all the time. But I quickly remember that I probably like the idea of those things much, much more than I would like actually having them. Especially at the expense of having to work all the time.
CodeGlitch
I would still program computers, probably around AI and cyber security, network security. Sleep lots because I love it. Spend a few hours a week doing something new.

Sounds amazing, where do I sign up?

[dead] draw_down
Volunteering, gardening, fixing up old cars. I'm sure I would pick up some old former hobbies and/or some new ones; for instance I'd like to learn to play drums. I don't think I would do much with computers, at least in the way of programming. I've done plenty of that and there is a lot more to life. With volunteering as well, I wouldn't want any of it to be computer-related.

I have been thinking about this quite a bit because I hope to exit the workforce soon. I'm very tired of working in tech, and corporate America generally.

the_only_law
Tangential, I've wondered recently if it's possible to work only when you want. A lot of people talk about working just enough to pay for necessities, but I'd rather work a little bit to cover those necessities, then have most of my time where I can either live or choose to work on demand, i.e. to support hobbies that can get expensive.
orff
yeah.. I was recently reminded of the consequences of possible gap in my CV. Such a bullshit - it's like a slavery with an extra step.
psyc
Sure, it's possible. That's what I've been doing for the past 10 years. Keep my overhead as low as humanly possible (I have simple needs - basically a small Steam budget and a Netflix subscription), and do short contracts when money gets low-ish. And really, it doesn't usually even get that low.

I know everybody worries a lot about resume gaps. I don't know. YMMV. All I can say is it hasn't yet disqualified me from a job I wanted. If all you do is contracts, and all they want is a contractor... I mean... ? If I've been working on personal projects, which I often am, I put it on my resume and talk about it.

That's it. I've enjoyed living this way.