Farewell to Meh (Clickbait)
29I’m not going anywhere; I just don’t see how I can buy anything.
I now live exclusively on cruise ships and in AirBnBs, roughly equally. I have no address that I have consistent access to. I may be in a particular AirBnB long enough for Amazon to catch me, but Meh’s shipping is too unpredictable. A forwarding service would screw up the economics.
So for now I am a button clicker, a forum participant, and a survey taker, but not a buyer nor, unfortunately, a gift exchanger.
- 14 comments, 30 replies
- Comment
Sounds like a fun job! (or, retirement if that’s the case).
Not a bad tradeoff either way.
@PHRoG Semi-retirement, but more retirement than semi.
I considered going the cruise ship retirement route before deciding that I wanted to own a home. I still go back and forth on which would have been the better choice, but I’ve got a long way to go on my mortgage before I can change my mind. I’ll just admire your bold choice from mostly stable comfort.
Do you have storage spot for “stuff” or did you sell all your possessions? No storage spot “home” with a PO box?
There again if you’re living always traveling, you probably don’t want to buy much.
@OnionSoup I put my stuff into storage when I started all this, but it’s in Wichita, Kansas. Eventually I will establish storage near a port I find myself using often, probably Miami. You’re right I don’t buy much and I travel light, but I need to be able to store a wider range of clothing, especially for cruises from Alaska and other cold places.
Currently my mail goes to a friend in Oklahoma but I may eventually set up a forwarding service.
@OnionSoup @ThunderChicken Sounds like you need storage somewhere convenient, and with a secure mailbox.
@kevinrs That’s what I was trying to say about storage, above. A forwarding service would hold my mail until I stood still long enough that I could have to hem forward it to me. It could be a different place every time.
Do you have a cell phone or do you just use wi-fi connections? I recently re-listened to a true crime story about a couple that bought a yacht and lived on it for a year or so and they had hired someone to pay their bills and keep track of their accounts while they were on the water (like cell phone and bank accounts).
If you’re interested in the story look up Thomas and Jackie Hawks
@mbersiam I’ve done all my banking and investing for years, so that has not changed. There is Wi-Fi on the ships and at the AirBnBs. I have a cell phone which I avoid using on ships but has come in handy a few times in foreign ports.
General delivery might help if you know what city you will be in or near. Then again how much stuff do you need when you are on the go. Tad jealous here. I met some people that lived on the ship last time I sailed and it sounded fantastic.
@speediedelivery Meh is too unreliable. My boyfriend jokes that I have no idea what I’ve ordered, but I say It’s just Meh. It takes them so long to get stuff to me, I forgot that I’ve ordered it.
@speediedelivery @Fuzzalini The issue with Meh shipping, while true, was really an excuse to post something I am excited to share with all of you.
@Fuzzalini @speediedelivery That’s the excuse I use too, whenever SWMBO starts the “ordering so much stuff you forgot what you ordered” rant.
But she may have a point- although she also seems to be the primary beneficiary of it [especially the power banks].
That said, I do have work gifts covered for the next few or so- that and the dearth of really good deals are why I dropped my original VMP status a few moths ago- and I haven’t really missed it TBH.
@PhysAssist “…a few moths ago…” Are those the ones that occasionally escape from your wallet?
@ircon96 Whateva
It sounds like you have this semi-retirement thing figured out for you.
We have vacillated between:
and
Unfortunately, as we learned shortly after buying our house- we also live on the Linden faultline, so that may not be a permanent option- depending on your definition of permanent and ability to accept a nebulous risk.
Clarendon-Linden Fault System
Major faults are not characteristic of the bedrock geology of this area. The CLF is a north-south trending fault system that displays both strike-slip and dip-slip motion, and is expressed as an offset on the Onondaga Escarpment. It extends from Lake Ontario to Allegheny County and is still active to vertical displacements, periodically causing minor earthquakes in the area. This fault does not pose a strong threat to this area. Researchers have identified many potential fault lines to the east and west of the Clarendon-Linden Fault. The most recent event was on May 25, 1995.
From: https://www.co.genesee.ny.us/departments/soilandwater/features7.php
@PhysAssist Very interesting. I knew nothing of the fault.
You have some interesting plans. All I can say about one’s dream is to identity it, plan it, seize it, and execute it! I am sure you will find a way to realize one of them.
Growing up we called the Syracuse area Central New York to avoid confusion by anyone other than those so NYC-focused as to think it is somewhere between the two most central NYC Burroughs, whichever they are, which shows just how NYC focused I am not.
@ThunderChicken Thank you for your kind comments.
As you may have guessed, I share similar NYC sentiments, which sometimes boggles the minds of people from other regions, especially when they learn that I have never been to the rotten apple and have no plans nor interest in ever doing so.
I grew up in a Rochester [NY] suburb, with parents who were born and raised in the Buffalo area. We left Erie county when I was about 5 y/o due to employment reasons- my dad started work at Kodak.
We always identified Buffalo as western NY, Albany as the capitol district, Syracuse as central NY- [as you said], Binghamton was in southern NY, Plattsburgh and Watertown were northern NY, and Rochester and the Finger Lakes region as the upstate region.
NYC was not mentioned much because it was so far removed from everything we were interested in.
Thanks again, stay well and safe, live long and well!
@ThunderChicken We didn’t know of the fault either, until a patient of mine- who also happened to have been my high school cross country coach, heard that we had bought a house here, and kindly brought in a newspaper article about it.
We also found out [post-purchase] that there was an EPA superfund site about 2 miles north of us on our road.
In the 60’s, someone in the highway department had brought home and stored some barrels of oil [which were to be used for spreading over the dusty gravel and dirt roads- thank heaven they never were used] which eventually leaked and were later found to have been heavily contaminated with PCB’s.
My take on the was “Well, at least it has been discovered, is now isolated, and is being well-monitored…” with no evidence of spread to the groundwater shown in the past 30 years of record.
@PhysAssist My 2 favorite new phrases are dip-slip & Onondaga Escarpment!
@ircon96
@PhysAssist I really don’t have anything against NYC; I just don’t know much about it and resent the assumption that it is where I am from.
So where in the world is ThunderChicken now? Are most ports open or are there a bunch of restrictions?
@speediedelivery Right now ThunderCicken is esconced in a beautiful AirBnB near his former home of Wichita, Kansas, to take care of some personal business and have Christmas with family. Having spent Thanksgiving at sea, I made a point of being here for Christmas. New Year’s Eve will find me aboard ship.
@speediedelivery @ThunderChicken
Any particular line you’re fond of?
@chienfou @speediedelivery I’m not saying they’re my favorite, but since starting to cruise so intensively, it’s all been on Carnival. They have been throwing such great deals my way I could hardly say no. I have one booked on Norwegian Cruise line and had some on Royal Caribbean and MSC, but for various reasons I or the line cancelled them. Will probably go on Bahamas Paradise once before their rebranding to Margaritaville at Sea, then probably so with them as well. Princess and Celebrity are on my radar.
@speediedelivery @ThunderChicken
Haven’t been on Carnival. Took our first cruise on Commodore (long since folded) and then one with Royal Caribbean and then Norwegian. Really like our RC trip. Since then we have mostly done small (sail)boats from Windjammer. We were booked on a Star Clipper cruise for the Christmas holiday, but bailed since so much is crazy in the ports of call for that sailiing right now.
My biggest fear with being on a cruise ship for an extended stay would be the abundance of food available! As it was, during our RC cruise (5 couples for my parent’s 50th anniversary) my wife and I couldn’t decide from the multiple dinner options so we got them all each night… Thankfully I was younger then and could burn those calories off more easily… now… not so much!!
@chienfou @ThunderChicken I have sailed Norwegian and Holland America. There was a learning curve but I really enjoyed both lines. I could see myself doing this down the road.
It sounds like you’re living the dream! My military retirement doesn’t go that far, but if it wasn’t for the pets you could find me in a cardboard box, living in the Keys, and drinking out of a paper bag.
@Tripod2 I feel you, and would add:
…and [at least weather-wise] also potentially San Diego- although it’s location in the People’s Republic of Ca might be regarded as too much of a downer by some.
@Tripod2 Not saying I always do this, but I can cruise all-in for as little as $50/day. Think of that as $1500 a month for rent, utilities, food, the gym, entertainment, and recreation. As I said in another post, AirBnBs are expensive for what you get, but I am only there when I am not cruising, and I have been as low as $25 a night for a bedroom, private bath, shared kitchen and laundry, and run of the house. That’s $750 a month; add $300 for grocery delivery for a single person, which is quite doable even if you are like me and eat a lot of processed and frozen junk. When I was dirt poor I was getting by on 2/3 that. So the land part can be $1050 a month. I try to be 50/50 sea and land, so that would average $1275/mo. Again, this is the budget way, but I would rather live on a tight budget and be on permanent vacation than sit at home. Put another way, I’d rather stand at the rail of a cruise ship or relax on a beach in Aruba and watch rich people go by on their yachts than sit on the porch of my home and watch rich people drive by in their exotic cars. Just how I see it. Your mileage may vary.
Are you going to post pictures of your travels to make the rest of us (even more) jealous? 🛳🗺🏖🏔🏞🏜
@Kyeh facebook.com/TheHawk56
youtube.com/channel/UCsd4LiZr-M1PT-gXFutZV0w
@ThunderChicken Cool! I’m a Facebook avoider, but I’m going to check out the YouTube videos.
Man sounds like your livin the dream life.
Do you save money that way…. And where do you put all your stuff like speaker docks?
@sohmageek If you ever take a cruise and see a speaker dock in every cabin, you’ll know why…
@sohmageek And to think my power banks are in storage. On cruises I finally have a genuine need for them. Retrieving them is a priority while I am “home.”
@sohmageek As to saving money, AirBnBs are pricey for what you get, but I am only in them when I am not cruising. On ship, I’ll be aboard continuously from December 31 through February 4, at an average cost of $72.50/day. Think of that as rent, utilities, dining out 3 meals a day (or 6 if that’s what you want), entertainment, the gym, etc. That’s $2200 a month. I don’t know where else you can do that. And oh yeah, that’s in a balcony room with an ever-changing view of the ocean!
@sohmageek @ThunderChicken
My mom took a lot of cruises pre pandemic. She met quite a few people who did what you are doing. One guy would stay with his kids in NYC in between trips. At 94 she is slowing down a bit and will probably stick to her FL condo this winter.
I thought they dropped Pitney Bowes.
/giphy raucous laughter
Nice ClickBait you got there!
Setup a bot to buy stuff every day, and ship it to a big PO box. Then you’ve got a lot of surprises when you come into port.
@blaineg More reliable than trying to score IRKs, but not as much frustra… er, fun.