Not to be melodramatic, or naive; I don't like the world we live in and I hate that you can't just "opt out." No matter where you go, or try to do being actually "independent" is illegal. I can't just go live on a parcel of land with a few animals and my own electricity? Still expected to pay taxes to an entity that will do violence to me if I don't. Want to go live on a boat in the ocean away from shipping lanes? Not allowed. All I want is to be left alone without the potential for the government or others to do violence to me, but they've made a system where you have to be in line with rules set up by people who made it only benefit themselves. Absolutely miserable world we live in.
You can actually. There are plenty of places you can go where no government will bother you because they're too dysfunctional or basically non-existent
It'll be hard to feel safe unless you can raise an army and build a fortified castle as people used to do. But you can definitely go be 100% free elsewhere
There's Slab City if he's in the US. It looks like it would be a rough existence for most but offers the sort of freedom you describe .
It’s a simplistic view. Sooner or later you’ll get sick, or have an accident. Buying a boat takes resources. Same with the farm. You can minimize those costs. Look up homesteading. People do it all the time.
Still answerable to entities that will choose violence against you if you break arbitrary rules.
Objectively, there has never been a time when people were free of the potential of violence. If not mother nature's storms and climate, then animals or insects or bacteria or viruses. And if not those, then belligerent people from other tribes. And if not them, then your government. And if not them, then your neighbors. And if not them, then your own family.
Sounds like you want an Anarchist commune but the long term success of these is highly dependent on the individuals involved and them all contributing.
You want to be independent, but also need to cry to strangers on the internet about how hard it is to achieve? Are you sure you’re made for solitude?
You want the real answer to your problem? Participate so hard in society that you become independently wealthy, then you get to likewise do whatever you want, but instead of hiding from violence you’ll be so well poised to retaliate that it will be a deterrent to those who would cause you harm.
Short of that, just be a normal bubba like the rest of us and roll the dice on using your wits to stay one step ahead of unbearably painful servitude. If you don’t wanna live fast paced or with extreme risk, that’s the modern middle ground.
Good luck.
life is pain
Thanks, emo off South Park!
I feel you.. I hate what is going on around me, government attacking people I love, telling people who they can and can’t love, perpetuating violence against hard working people simply because of the color of their skin or their accent, taking away healthcare decisions from Drs and women and allowing them to die, telling us what we’re supposed to think, how we’re supposed to worship all while being crooked, narcissistic thieves and grifters. It’s rough on the pure of heart.. the only advice I have is.. one day at a time.
Live alone... but still want electricity....how about internet....
I use to think like that when I was 10... all I needed was a TV...
so you can go live in the wilderness in Alaska or live in international waters. no one is stopping you. but you won't. you'll just whine online or go back to mom n dad
Middle class America has made childhood so pleasant it is a shock to find out how the real world works. Perhaps your parents tried to shield you from their own servitude to society and government. The opposite isn't true, though. Showing little kids the ugly of the adult world doesn't make them more resilient. Just gives them ptsd. It is a coming of age thing we all have to go through.
"Not to be melodramatic or naive.." proceeds to do exactly that.
"Oh no, this person is bothered and morally outraged that they can't be left alone."
That's your state of mind brother. Is being a functioning member of society really so hard? You're failing your ancestors.
This isn't about "being a functional member of society" this is moral outrage that we have a catastrophically screwed system and I want no part in it. How can you not despise knowing that your money is spent on killing innocent civilians or used to force people into poverty?
Same as it ever was. Did you pay attention in history class?
Yep, and my ancestors fled the potato famine and endured the shoah. They had the option to go somewhere else. Every period of human emigration has involved an escape from tyranny and the pursuit of a better life
Land in Mexico is cheap. Very little property tax.
Mexico also has a cartel problem and a seriously corrupt government.
I own multiple properties there and I love it. Stop listening to the media
I want to live under a rock. Sure, it’ll be a nice rock. I’ll proabably do stuff to it to make it look pretty, but it’s still a rock.
Same. I have no desire to contribute to this bullshit we find ourselves in
I’m thinking I chisel the rock into a model of a house.
Why not just build a house out of rocks?
Because the rock is tiny. I live in a really nice windowless house below it. It’s just my house shaped chimney.
it's funny you mention this, i was just doing research about living off-grid on a boat TODAY. it's not cheap and has a lot of draw-backs. a decent used boat that you can actually live in is maybe about $60-75k USD after inspection. if you aren't very handy, maintenance can be hundreds a month.
I'm thinking three cargo ships and maybe finding an old oil rig.
you can't drink salt water. where is the clean water coming from?
you can't survive off of only raw fish. where is the food coming from?
Reverse osmosis desalination and rainwater collection. You go somewhere where it's warm and bring your own solar panels. Or stop by China and grab some solar panels there for relatively cheap.
Food is a little more challenging. Lots of hydroponics, greenhouses, and planning for the worst.
Glad you’re not being melodramatic or naive
Start volunteering and talking to people, hear out their stories. You don't have to agree with them, but it's going to give you much better perspective, and it can give you something to do that's actually quite interactive and meaningful. You might have the sane core ideas (look up philosophical pessimism), but you'll gain more insight into how human nature is a lot more nuanced.
There is a permanent solution to your problem but I doubt that is what you want. Doomerism is really popular in the USA right now, but how helpful is that?
How helpful is it to you for you to say you don't wish to be a member of society? Who does that benefit?
The best I’ve seen is a high schooler save every cent from his cow milking job at 5 in the morning and buy his own land the day after graduation. He then borrowed the farm cement mixer and tractor and built an earth bermed ferrocement dome to live in for the next 60+ years. Then he worked three part time jobs to save for retirement. Installing off grid solar and hydro, surveying crew, and side jobs doing electrical. He took a couple year long breaks to ride his bike all the way across China and all the way across the USA and back. When you have no debt you can do things like this. I’ve never seen anyone do what he does. He collects all his winter food during the three season growing season and also expanded into owning more land and a 50 cow beef herd. His land is worth several million now but he has no children. He was one step daughter he will leave something to. He has a strong work ethic obviously.
Big ole tough world makes you pay for your food.... Nothing's free.
There's no place on earth you can go to be 100% free from any governing body.
Closest would be Antarctica but that is a different can of worms and you'll be beholden to the rules of the territory you're in at any given time.
Everywhere else has been taken.
Next best bet is international waters
You can't do international waters either. You're subject to UNCLOS. I looked into it
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You can absolutely opt out, it's called suicide. I consider it on a daily basis.
You're a saulky individual. You sound like a libertarian with anti-social tendencies. Get a grip.
There are many places around the world without functioning governments. I doubt you'd want to live in any of them. https://www.thetravel.com/lawless-places-across-the-world/
What’s society and what’s not society
Bunch of complaining and excuses
Same. Never asked to be here. Don't like being beholden to someone else's idea of how I'm supposed to exist.
Can’t even kill yourself because God will do violence onto you if you do so.
I'm Jewish. There's a different vibe about that with us.
Because it’s a system that works.
Ah yes, the system that imprisons people for non-violent crimes "works." The system that invades other countries for resources "works." The system with allies that still have slaves elsewhere "works." A two Trillion defense budget "works."
So do you practice your life in perfection and never make a mistake or have a moment of weakness in which you produce Injustice for other people?