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Old 07-04-2016, 01:03 PM   #41
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We had the advantage of a certain naïveté back then. Not sure it would be so much fun second time 'round.
Maybe it would. Maybe low overhead and social connections are better than material purchases like a big house in the suburbs with a big mortgage:

"When it comes to happiness, teaching our kids to value and foster proximity and connection is a much better bet than a house with a long gravel driveway."

Happiness is being socially connected | Greater Good

I'm probably not the roommate type myself other than my immediate family, and I didn't read every post by the Reddit FI guy other than link earlier in this thread, but I do think from what I did read he has some good ideas.
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Old 07-04-2016, 02:07 PM   #42
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i lived in communal housing till I was about 25, and it was fun. Some of the guys had women living with them, and one was married. I think she resented not having more complete control over her husband.

I also had at least 2 friends (not in my housing group group) who lived communally after marriage who came home and found their wives getting a little more communal then they had counted on.

There is a fairly popular polyamory community in Seattle. Supposedly it often works but it is hard for me to to think that the old green-head jealousy wouldn't crash the party pretty often.

Ha
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Old 07-04-2016, 02:14 PM   #43
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i lived in communal housing till I was about 25, and it was fun. Some of the guys had women living with them, and one was married. I think she resented not having more complete control over her husband.

I also had at least 2 friends (not in my housing group group) who lived communally after marriage who came home and found their wives getting a little more communal then they had counted on.

There is a fairly popular polyamory community in Seattle. Supposedly it often works but it is hard for me to to think that the old green-head jealousy wouldn't crash the party pretty often.

Ha
I am not sure if you were referring to my post or not, but if so I wasn't referring to polyamory at all. Just the idea maybe having roommates to share the bills or even pay the mortgage might be a really good fit for some people like the Reddit poster.

Living like a college kid is even getting trendy in some areas:

WeLive - Dorms for Adults
http://www.wired.com/2016/04/inside-...urban-housing/
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Old 07-04-2016, 03:46 PM   #44
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I am not sure if you were referring to my post or not, but if so I wasn't referring to polyamory at all. Just the idea maybe having roommates to share the bills or even pay the mortgage might be a really good fit for some people like the Reddit poster.

Living like a college kid is even getting trendy in some areas:

WeLive - Dorms for Adults
Inside WeLive, WeWork’s Dorm-Style Take on Urban Housing | WIRED
I was replying to your post, but I did not think you were referring to polyamory. It is a fairly radical solution to modern difficulties, and one which I think will likely become more common over time. But not for an old dog like me.

If a bunch of younger people are living together, some of them will start sleeping together too. Don't need polyamory for that. Don't even need doors that will close. I think I have never seen a group home where some people were not sharing beds. So what, they sometimes even share food and beer.

Ha
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Old 07-04-2016, 06:38 PM   #45
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Having tried to live faithfully by the "one house and one spouse" dictum of building financial security, not to mention sanity, I can't get my head around polyamory in an adult dorm setting. Call me old fashioned, I guess. :-)
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Old 07-05-2016, 10:59 AM   #46
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I wonder sometimes what goes though someone's head that thinks $2K a month is enough to live on forever. Even if it has a COLA, it's a small enough amount you have to think about every dollar spent and not spent.

I would rather have enough cushion to be able to spend another $20 if I have to.
This.

My parent have some dear friends, and though I dont know it for a fact, I suspect that the vast majority of their retirement income comes from SS (and I dont think it is that large). My folks know better than to invite them for a "spur of the moment" dinner and/or drinks out, as the friends have to watch things that closely.

There is nothing wrong with living frugally. In fact, it is a good trait. However, like Senator said, it is nice to have that cushion so you can go for that spur of the moment dinner, drinks, weekend getaway, concert, etc etc etc without having to worry if you will have enough to eat at the end of the month.
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Old 07-05-2016, 11:16 AM   #47
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Well, since we're off to educational bragging: finished high-school at 16, had my masters at 20 and PhD at 25
Never would have guessed it!!!
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Old 07-05-2016, 11:20 AM   #48
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I stopped reading at "...we live in the basement..."

Sure, anyone can RE if they're willing to live in their car and eat at the homeless shelter. If that were my option, I'd rather work

Loser.
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Old 07-05-2016, 11:36 AM   #49
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I stopped reading at "...we live in the basement..."

Sure, anyone can RE if they're willing to live in their car and eat at the homeless shelter. If that were my option, I'd rather work

Loser.
This is the most bizarre comment I've seen in a while. You just quoted him as saying he lives in a basement. It's not a car. He's not homeless. He doesn't dine at the homeless shelter.

I imagine he eats just fine on $1500-1800 per month, especially given the presumably low housing costs he enjoys living in a basement.
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Old 07-05-2016, 11:47 AM   #50
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The cricket powder was an interesting note. I read an article sometime back in National Geographic that there are those that feel insects will be the next frontier for food products. I think in the US at least, it would take a long time for people to want to give it a try. :O)
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Old 07-05-2016, 11:58 AM   #51
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I guess it depends on the basement. Growing up in the Midwest many families I knew had finished basements with nice rec rooms and extra bedrooms. It was pretty common.
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Old 07-05-2016, 11:58 AM   #52
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The cricket powder was an interesting note. I read an article sometime back in National Geographic that there are those that feel insects will be the next frontier for food products. I think in the US at least, it would take a long time for people to want to give it a try. :O)
They taste pretty good but gross me out a little. Next time you're in Oaxaca Mexico give them a taste. I've never had more than one or two at a time, but the locals eat handfuls of them in tacos and it's just another protein source. Not a lot different than eating shrimp (all those legs and antennae).
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Old 07-05-2016, 12:01 PM   #53
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I guess it depends on the basement. Growing up in the Midwest many families I knew had finished basements with nice rec rooms and extra bedrooms. It was pretty common.
+1 My uncle in the foothills of NC has a beautifully finished basement that, due to terrain sloping downward from the front of the property, opens out onto rolling green fields with a view of the blue ridge mountains. Not quite a million dollar view, but I wouldn't mind living in that basement.
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Old 07-05-2016, 12:13 PM   #54
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+1 My uncle in the foothills of NC has a beautifully finished basement that, due to terrain sloping downward from the front of the property, opens out onto rolling green fields with a view of the blue ridge mountains. Not quite a million dollar view, but I wouldn't mind living in that basement.
I have a 1600 sq ft finished basement with a full bath. Same deal - hillside lot - the basement actually has a downtown view.
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Old 07-05-2016, 12:17 PM   #55
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I guess it depends on the basement. Growing up in the Midwest many families I knew had finished basements with nice rec rooms and extra bedrooms. It was pretty common.

And then there were the post-war "basement houses". I remember quite a few from growing up in the Midwest. There was one just up the block from us and I remember being in there many times since a friend/classmate lived there. The parents always intended to build the remainder of the house but a couple of decades later they still hadn't gotten around to it. Guessing either they thought they couldn't afford it or they'd become comfortable down below.

I suppose if you can handle it with a family you can certainly handle it once the kids are on their own. I do recall it was a nice cool place to hang out in the summer what with the bare concrete floors at the time. Still, not quite for me these days.
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Old 07-05-2016, 12:23 PM   #56
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There's college kids we know in high rent places like Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo who lived in rented out garages, so for them a basement room would be a step up.
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Old 07-05-2016, 02:49 PM   #57
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This is the most bizarre comment I've seen in a while. You just quoted him as saying he lives in a basement. It's not a car. He's not homeless. He doesn't dine at the homeless shelter.

I imagine he eats just fine on $1500-1800 per month, especially given the presumably low housing costs he enjoys living in a basement.
Gee.

Sounds like I was a bit too subtle for you, but I was never good at literary transition devices.

Let me try this: I like this forum because it lets me learn about how others got to RE.

What I do not want to spend my precious time with are 25 year olds who live in a basement with $250K in cash and then brag about it by slapping a 'retired' label on it.

As Exflyboy5 noted, this particular guy seems to be just making stuff up on the fly anyway; like this post, too many things don't add up in earlier posts.

Yes, I understand that he doesn't live in a car and the comment wasn't directed at him; but there are some people who would option to live under less than optimal circumstances rather than get a job of any kind.

If that's their idea of living and they want to label it 'early retirement' that's fine with me. I don't care. I just personally don't see it as such and I'm not overly interested in them wasting my time reading the braggadocio.

A high school classmate from a very wealthy family was cut off by his daddy and couldn't bear the thought of getting a job. 40 years later he lives in an abandoned boat and goes a few days a week without eating claiming "the shorts" while waiting for his trust fund money (which will never arrive).

Not my idea of a good time.

Making bizarre comments are not new to me; been doing it most of my life, many professional grade, so no worries!

Hope this helps.
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Old 07-05-2016, 03:34 PM   #58
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I guess it depends on the basement. Growing up in the Midwest many families I knew had finished basements with nice rec rooms and extra bedrooms. It was pretty common.
Yep, some basements can be pretty nice! Some friends have a twenty-something living in their basement. It's somewhat self contained. Has fridge, microwave, flat screen TV, nice bed, and a couple of couches. It's almost half the size of my house. He has to share a bathroom upstairs, but then at least he can be confident mom will clean if things get too scary...

The kid has a car too. Most of this is paid by mom and dad...

Yes, you got me, I'm jealous

Maybe you can argue that he has Retired Early, although certainly not Financially Independent...
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Old 07-05-2016, 03:56 PM   #59
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Maybe you can argue that he has Retired Early, although certainly not Financially Independent...
Worst case though for him if he has a shortfall is simply to pick up some contract work. I don't see a huge downside to what he is doing if he wants to live like that. He has a lot of years of human capital left, no wife or kids to support and a high demand skill set.
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Old 07-05-2016, 06:06 PM   #60
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Let me try this: I like this forum because it lets me learn about how others got to RE.

What I do not want to spend my precious time with are 25 year olds who live in a basement with $250K in cash and then brag about it by slapping a 'retired' label on it.
I find these 25-30 year olds living in a basement/van with $750k-$1 million in NW more interesting (whether you call it "retirement", "not working for a long time", or "being a wealthy bum") than those retiring at 57 with a pension, pulling 1.5% SWR from a $5 million portfolio, and wondering whether the ski chalet and 5000 sf house in the suburbs is enough or whether they should get a 3rd house for summertime vacations.

Of course it's because I'm closer to that 30 year old bum with a million bucks than the 57 year old with multimillions.
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