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Posted: 1/10/2019 5:54:47 PM EDT
[#1]
I did it. Had a trade and left a good job, left Canada, left all my shit and moved to the states and bought a trailer on a drop zone and started working as a professional skydiver. That was 20 years ago and I'm still here.
I have to admit, even this can be a bit of a grind sometimes but the freedom I have here is awesome. I'd hate to go back to the real world. |
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Posted: 1/10/2019 5:57:37 PM EDT
[#2]
Guy I went to school with, good friends thru graduation in '82, then drifted apart because of jobs, life and whatever. He just disappeared, haven't seen or heard of him since. I've asked some of his cousins and so on what ever happened to him and they didn't know either. Last year I ran across his brother on book of faces and we caught up on a lot of ground since the 80's except his brother.
Seems he had a few words with some family members after his parents both died and he claimed he was headed to Oklahoma to work at a ranch and hasn't been seen since. The brother got work at some kind of federal agency and the subject came up of his brother missing and a superior checked his background and claims his social security number hasn't been used since like 1989. The brother told me it would be nice to have some kind of closure even if it was an "I'm alive now screw off", he fears that his brother is dead somewhere between Ohio and Oklahoma. |
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Posted: 1/10/2019 6:07:20 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Gee, why would anyone want to leave a life where you're stuck in a 9-to-5 routine pattern working for an asshole for the rest of your life? 
https://i.imgur.com/VdW0b.gif Sounds like your cousin has "gone walkabout" |
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Posted: 1/10/2019 6:24:36 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
...what did they have to lose by just putting the key in the ignition and go wherever the winds took them... A steady stream of income to keep the car running sits pretty high on my list. |
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Posted: 1/10/2019 8:24:27 PM EDT
[#5]
I think about this all the time.
I hate being a slave to the grind. I want to escape it so bad. It is harder with a wife and kid. |
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Posted: 1/10/2019 8:45:13 PM EDT
[#6]
When I worked in Alaska, everybody was from somewhere else. Either running from the Law, a Woman, or ourselves.
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Posted: 1/10/2019 8:58:01 PM EDT
[#7]
Everyday
Wished I would have figured this out 20 years ago before wife, kids, house, car, job. Just wander away across the country. |
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Posted: 1/10/2019 8:59:50 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Kinda doing it myself right now. I just left my cushy Real Estate job in CA to move to Texas and get my Class A CDL and become an OTR trucker for at least a year. I can't explain it but it's something I've always wanted to do. I'm 48, divorced and the kid went off to college so I figured I better do it now if I'm ever going to do it. So far, it's been a blast. I feel like I'm 18 again. Well, my knees don't but you get the idea. |
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Posted: 1/10/2019 9:07:21 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryWhat a story!
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Posted: 1/10/2019 9:07:35 PM EDT
[#10]
I've felt like doing it for a while now. I'm not leaving my five-year-old, though. I'm tired of pretty much every other aspect of my life. Living to work and working to live in a relatively unhappy marriage.
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Posted: 1/10/2019 9:14:25 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I came damn close to pulling a Jeremiah Johnson once... 
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Posted: 1/10/2019 9:35:18 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I know of a guy that packed his stuff and drove off to Florida to live in his car. He didn’t even quit his job, just decided to disappear. From what I understand, several hours into the drive, he changed his mind and turned around. 
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Posted: 1/10/2019 10:29:52 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Chris McCandless wasn't wrong and he was just a college student. If you haven't read Into the Wild, do it now. Or at least watch the movie. I get that a lot of people hate their jobs, marriages or life in general. A lot of people feel trapped. I am fortunate to work for a great company with owners who are awesome! I honestly cannot complain with what I do but I also have full control over my tasks and schedule as I work for the owners. I always tell people to do your best at whatever you do and make your own path. Most people I know don’t know how to do that and a lot of people settle. I know a lot of people who feel stuck with no hope for advancement in life. We all want to feel valued, useful and have a purpose in the spinning cog wheel. When people don’t feel valued, they get irritated and jaded. We all know what happens when people get jaded. As far as the movie into the wild. I don’t have a desire to say fuck it all and live like he did. I do have a desire to own 50 acres on county land, a cabin in the woods with a wood heating stove atleast a 30 minute drive away from the suburbs. This will happen someday but it’s probably going to be atleast 3-6 years before it becomes a reality. I like a slightly more rugged life but still with some modern amenities. The only problem with living away from the suburbs and inner cities is internet speeds. Outside of that, I feel everything about it is perfect. I enjoy going to a relatives cabin in the woods who has absolutely no cell signal. It’s nice to just unplug. People are too plugged in these days and they just don’t have time to relax anymore. So between people not feeling valued at work, shitty marriages, constant social media, being plugged in 24/7 and the overall feeling of being trapped.....I completely understand why people get burnt out and just want to run away. |
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Posted: 1/10/2019 10:47:32 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I've felt like doing it for a while now. I'm not leaving my five-year-old, though. I'm tired of pretty much every other aspect of my life. Living to work and working to live in a relatively unhappy marriage. What you explained how you feel is how a lot of people feel. |
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Posted: 1/10/2019 10:48:33 PM EDT
[#15]
I knew someone that did that. He had a rough divorce and just said "fuck it". He sold everything except his Harley and just cruises around the country for 2 years.
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Posted: 1/10/2019 10:49:41 PM EDT
[#16]
Not being tied down anywhere would be a good feeling
It would also be lonely most likely |
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Posted: 1/10/2019 10:53:29 PM EDT
[#17]
I dream of hitting the road with a nice 4wd pickup, long bed with a cap and a kayak on top. A few fly rods, lever action 30-30 and travel from Key West to Alaska wherever the weather is perfect for the time of the year.
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Posted: 1/10/2019 11:03:24 PM EDT
[#18]
Took off and went to school
Took off and joined the Army I grew up poor and worked enough shit jobs as a young man.  Now I have my dream job, a wonderful wife, and a nice little house. Something catastrophic would have to happen for me to want to give it up. Sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee next to the wife and my dog is fucking heaven. |
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Posted: 1/10/2019 11:10:42 PM EDT
[#19]
Met a guy like like that up in northern MN a few summers ago. Army vet who went to Cody WY with nothing lined up, got hired as a rafting guide then over to the Great Lakes to work on a boat. Dude had a great story, shitty teeth, and appeared to be the happiest man on earth.
Said he was on his way up to Alaska next. |
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Posted: 1/10/2019 11:17:50 PM EDT
[#20]
Friends of mine, their 15 year old daughter just left. They didn't hear from her for over 5 years they searched contacted police and private detectives with no results. Then one day she just showed up at their house as though she never left.
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Posted: 1/10/2019 11:31:55 PM EDT
[#21]
I did.
Sold the majority of my belongings, took 2 suitcases to the train and started a new life. Worked for me. |
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Posted: 1/10/2019 11:54:20 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I've felt like doing it for a while now. I'm not leaving my five-year-old, though. I'm tired of pretty much every other aspect of my life. Living to work and working to live in a relatively unhappy marriage. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 12:02:49 AM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Maybe he figured out the American Dream is a trap? |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 12:17:34 AM EDT
[#24]
My former boss's brother.
He was a successful engineer working in Cleveland for a very well known company. He just up and quit according to my boss. The guy moved out to Oregon and then to Alaska and was a hunting guide for a while. Moved back to Oregon and started his own business. Now he just sort of works when he wants and lives off the land most of the time. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 12:29:41 AM EDT
[#25]
I guess I'm the only one who doesn't want to.
Got a good wife, three great kids, nice house in suburbs, dog, friends, family, a job I actually enjoy with a for real old-fashioned pension at the end of it, some savings, decent 403B as well... I'm about a fortunate an SOB as you could find. And don't take anything for granted... I'm boring by most peoples standards of excitement and I don't mind one bit... |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 9:57:42 AM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I think we are the same person. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 10:13:39 AM EDT
[#27]
If I didn't have children, this would be me.
I would explain, but with the crazy ass red flag laws coming, anything I would say, no matter how minimal, could be used against me in the future. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 10:19:24 AM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Friends of mine, their 15 year old daughter just left. They didn't hear from her for over 5 years they searched contacted police and private detectives with no results. Then one day she just showed up at their house as though she never left. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 4:18:28 PM EDT
[#29]
Ten years from now some guy is going to say; "there was this thread on a gun website and I just FO'd".
Might be me. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 4:26:57 PM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Hit the road in my twenties and bought an island in northern Canada. Built a house, lived there for some years. One summer I packed a canoe and paddled through the Yukon, into the Northwest Territories, and down to the Mackenzie Delta. Poled and lined the canoe up through the Richardson Mountains and paddled into Alaska. Now I live on some nice land in the Bridger Teton in Wyoming. Built the house. You can do this stuff if you have a mind to. Lots of work, but worth it. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 4:32:06 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yes. his name is Kwi-Chang-Kane. He lives down the road from me now. Sometimes he stops by for a glass of cool spring water. Hoping I never run out.  So if you’re quitting the life, what’ll you do? JULES That’s what I’ve been sitting here contemplating. First, I’m gonna deliver this case to Marsellus. Then, basically, I’m gonna walk the earth. VINCENT What do you mean, walk the earth? JULES You know, like Caine in “KUNG FU.” Just walk from town to town, meet people, get in adventures. VINCENT How long do you intend to walk the earth? JULES Until God puts me where he want me to be. VINCENT What if he never does? JULES If it takes forever, I’ll wait forever. VINCENT So you decided to be a bum? JULES I’ll just be Jules, Vincent – no more, no less. VINCENT No Jules, you’re gonna be like those pieces of shit out there who beg for change. They walk around like a bunch of fuckin’ zombies, they sleep in garbage bins, they eat what I throw away, and dogs piss on ’em. They got a word for ’em, they’re called bums. And without a job, residence, or legal tender, that’s what you’re gonna be – a fuckin’ bum! JULES Look my friend, this is just where me and you differ – VINCENT – what happened was peculiar – no doubt about it – but it wasn’t water into wine. JULES All shapes and sizes, Vince. VINCENT Stop fuckin’ talkin’ like that! JULES If you find my answers frightening, Vincent, you should cease askin’ scary questions. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 4:35:22 PM EDT
[#32]
With McCandless the movie covers a whole lot more than him starving in a bus in alaska. His car gets ruined, he leaves it. He learns that he is not alone and he sees some of the bad about having no roots in an area.
I found it amusing to change states over a decade ago. Some people read into it an awful lot, some shrugged and wondered why I did not move states more often. Working most of the year for a week or two off does suck. People pick on teachers and government workers, but look at the time off they get. And that has been changing some as well, for the worse in some opinions and for the better in some opinions. I think some people are reading a whole lot into the folks who wonder about selling everything and buying a camper and living out of it. For many these days maintaining employment is more about the health care than having a monster savings account. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 4:37:31 PM EDT
[#33]
Takes all kinds. Thankfully
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Posted: 1/11/2019 4:38:21 PM EDT
[#34]
My buddy was a big marketing exec that ran the original Nintendo Gaming System ad campaign back in the 80s. Made his first million by 28.
Quit his job, tough the best camera he could find and travelled the world working odd jobs to barter for travel on trains, wagons and ships. Completed his world tour a couple years later, bought a B&B and still runs that today. During his trip he took thousands of pictures which he sold for some nice dollars when he returned. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 4:39:48 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What a great post, enjoyed reading it. Pretty sure he was heterosexual but, I assume you call many men fags that make you feel inadequate. Try and keep in mind that this thread isn't about you, it's about escaping the chains that shackle us living under the man's thumb and searching for freedom that most of us will never see in our lifetime. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 4:44:07 PM EDT
[#36]
Both my brothers. One was a fugitive for years managing to make a living until he finally came home and was arrested during a Terry Stop. After serving his sentence he went to New York and is somewhat successful.
My younger brother is a raging liberal who disowned my family and moved to Portland with the clothes on his back. Haven't spoke to him in a bit but I hear he's struggling with money and depression. Only calls my mom when he needs money. Won't call her on mother's day or her birthday. But calls right before Christmas to make sure he can get some money. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 4:49:37 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
When I worked in Alaska, everybody was from somewhere else. Either running from the Law, a Woman, or ourselves. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 4:55:53 PM EDT
[#38]
I sold everything that wouldn't fit into my truck in the spring of '92 and moved to Alaska. Didn't come back for 5 years. But I didn't just vanish.
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Posted: 1/11/2019 5:20:55 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Freedom |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 5:24:39 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I think about this all the time. I hate being a slave to the grind. I want to escape it so bad. It is harder with a wife and kid. I've been researching sail boats... that or some property in the middle of nowhere. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 5:35:20 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I've met a lot of people who came up here trying to escape a problem, without a doubt their troubles always follow them. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
When I worked in Alaska, everybody was from somewhere else. Either running from the Law, a Woman, or ourselves. FWIW I found it. During the time I lived there I discovered a certain sense of freedom I have never had before or since. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 5:39:01 PM EDT
[#42]
Every on of our great great grandfathers that wasn’t native.
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Posted: 1/11/2019 5:41:44 PM EDT
[#43]
Sometimes I have wanted to do that, but I like having things.
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Posted: 1/11/2019 5:48:54 PM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Didn't a Arfcom member travel the country visiting other members with little with him? He may have stayed a day or two or maybe a few hours? I thought i read that here. 
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Posted: 1/11/2019 5:57:32 PM EDT
[#45]
Does joining the French Foreign Legion count?
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Posted: 1/11/2019 6:01:46 PM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted: WHen I lived in Kodiak about 75% of the people there were either running from something or looking for something. Myself included. FWIW I found it. During the time I lived there I discovered a certain sense of freedom I have never had before or since. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 6:07:22 PM EDT
[#47]
 James McMurtry "Forgotten Coast" (Official Music Video) |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 6:10:11 PM EDT
[#48]
 Jeremiah Johnson - sung by Tim McIntire |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 6:16:47 PM EDT
[#49]
After 2 wives that loved eating, bitching and cunting.
Several jobs with cock sucker bosses and co-workers, it seems pretty easy. |
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Posted: 1/11/2019 6:22:36 PM EDT
[#50]
I grew up shitting in a hole in the ground. I like my civilization. Central fucking heat and a steak on the grill.
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