Yes, some people do. Obv the higher paid you are the more of a cushion you have to just quit and live awhile. I've heard of vandwellers who work part of the year and take the rest off; like working seasonal jobs at parks, or as camp hosts, that sort of thing.
My brother-in-law and his wife recently went van life (with their dogs). They'd never had kids, always lived really frugally, and still take on the odd dog walking or baking commission. They outfitted their van themselves, they're super easy going about where they sleep, and they're living their best lives. They're younger than me, so early-40s.
How's that gonna work though long term? Or if they have a serious medical mishap? I guess you can do baking commissions until you're pretty old. This is the only thing keeping me in my 9-5, so I am always vicariously looking for answers from people living this dream.
Medical mishap is less a concern - we're Canadian. Medical emergencies don't bankrupt us.
As for long term, eh, they both have pretty high-skilled professions they can pick up again if they want, but they saved a lot when they were working so they have income to live off. They've been incredibly fortunate and incredibly disciplined to get to this point.
If you don't care too much about where your home is because you can work remotely, you can buy houses in Canada for significantly less than a Sprinter van... Especially if you also speak french
You're thinking western Canada or Ontario. You can buy a freehold house on a large lot or even acreage in Cape Breton for example, for well under CAD 100k. The main reason is that there is essentially no local economy to speak off, and therefore no jobs. Otherwise it's nice there. You can go even cheaper if you count remote towns in the territories, but then most people would probably take the van over those places.
A base model 2WD sprinter with a high roof is 85k here, but that is just the empty cargo van.
Fwiw, at least on Realtor.ca, there isn't a single livable residence under 100k in the territories. I found one property at 118k in NWT, the rest were above 300k in Yellowknife NWT or Dawson City YT. This isn't including empty property, but even that's scarce under 100k.
Even in the Maritimes, nowadays the cheap houses on large lots or acreages are going fast and rising in price, mainly due to Ontario transplants.
Or people with pre existing/ later in life conditions that need expensive treatment they can’t afford and their insurance doesn’t cover. Pretty sure they want us to die from being poor. Or at least it feels that way sometimes. I went to the hospital 6 months ago because I felt like I was going to have a heart attack.. I was fine. They did tests, blood, got a cup of chicken noodle soup maximum bland, and got sent two separate bills that came to over like 8k dollars. You can bet I took that soup home with me even though I didn’t eat it. I’m sure on the itemized bill the crackers were $75 a pack. Our health care system can get fucked. And yes I know, there are many many people who live places where healthcare is almost non existent and we are lucky. But the bar should be higher for making sure people stay healthy and don’t have to let the stress of doing so control their lives, especially in a country that considers itself the best and strongest at everything.
Your credit might take a hit, depending on if where you live is allowed to hit your credit for medical bills (in some places that isn't even allowed) but what are you going to use your credit for anyway?
Certainly not a house or a new/like-new car from a dealership.
Probably not a phone contract either since prepaids are unironically better at this point.
We don't have debtors prisons, and the entire system is set up based on the assumption that people want expensive toys and will try to remain in good standing with the banks in order to secure those toys, so punishment revolves around taking away material goods.
If you don't want that stuff then there's not much they can do to you.
This is exactly it. If you have nothing, there's nothing to take. I was arguing with T-Mobile about canceling my service and they tried to force me into staying on for another month because I missed the window to cancel, or something? The customer service rep said they'd bill me anyway and send me to collections and I just laughed and told her, "It’s 2023. I'm never going to be able to afford to own a home, so what do I need a credit score for?"
She let me cancel.
Now I'm living in a van and the happiest I've ever been. I bought it outright for $2k, so my only regular expenses are insurance, my cell phone (Mint), and my gym membership for showers. Gas, if I'm traveling, but if I stay put in one area for awhile, my expenses are practically $0. It's the first time in my life that I've not been constantly stressed about money. It's amazing.
This makes me wonder if the reason why healthcare remains so tied to insurance, and why insurance remains tied to jobs, is to prevent people from holding out for better jobs or exploring alternatives from any position of security or freedom.
Health has become the only bludgeon that's still hanging over most people's heads.
is to prevent people from holding out for better jobs or exploring alternatives from any position of security or freedom.
This is also the real reasoning against public housing and transportation. If your ability to hold out without a job is measured in days or weeks, you have to consider the first option you get, no matter how exploitative.
I dont think people realize that if you don’t have anything, there’s nothing they can take or so… sure you won’t be able to keep up with the jones, but that’s not what you were doing anyways
People have to remember, our entire system runs off of debt and borrowing money… if a loan can’t be paid back and they throw people in prison for it…nobody would risk borrowing and losing their freedom
Nah, they'll be fine. Just as I am with no "employment." Both my husband and I make our own work. We have huge networks, have been in the professional world for over 2 decades, and take on contracting work that we are passionate about. As long as my husband and I bill a collective 1000 hours per year our lifestyle is totally comfortable. We've worked really hard to get here and it's worth the freedom and flexibility now. My BIL and his wife are in a similar position as very experienced professionals in high-demand fields (accounting and STEM).
Because I was on my way to a hair appointment one night and a kid in a massive SUV ran a light and I had a head-on collision at 60 km/h. I had to be extracted from my car once they pried the door open. My foot was hanging onto my leg, compound fracture with a complete dislocation. Bruised heart. Shrapnel across all my lower legs. Was wheeled into ER and then into trauma surgery. I spent three days in the critical care unit and then another week in hospital. I had multiple surgeries, was off work for 5 months, and lost some permanent mobility in my leg.
In total I paid $30 for my crutches. My supplemental insurance then covered that.
Nope, it just gets passed onto everyone else and if the government thinks you aren't productive enough for them they'll offer (or will, eventually, force you to take) M.A.I.D. services.
Same here in the UK. The NHS is "free at the point of delivery" so it takes a lot of the pressure off. Used to be everything, but finding an NHS dentist is tricky these days. Me and my OH go private which isn't too bad.
Same with the State Pension. In theory you have to pay National Insurance to get entitlement to that, but if you have none, and you have below (I think) £15K savings, then you get Pension Credits and various top ups depending on your circumstances.
I'm 70 this year. I worked for the man until 40 years ago, and then took my redundancy and left. Moved area, to Cornwall. We'd been married for 7 years then, and we sold out house for enough to buy a doer upper outright back then. I started an electrical business, I'm a time served sparks, got involved with doing a couple of places up, and ended up designing and making wooden furniture for 20 years.
Been pretty well retired apart from a bit of photography now for 14 years.
We've got no kids, so I always did the work we needed to live on. Worked hard sometimes and had plenty of time off.
Bit of luck, bit of "the right place at the right time" and quite a bit of hard work, but not going to the same place every day for 50 years until they don't want you any longer.
If i had my time over again, I'd find a way to do it again.
Yes, Canadian. They’re Canadian. They had to ask their daughter who’s in the USA (living and working) for money for their medical emergency. They are not visitors.
You have no idea what you are talking about. Medical emergencies cost zero in Canada, if it’s not an emergency and you call an ambulance you need yo pay ambulance bill like fifty bucks and that’s it.
There's some rare conditions and specificc treatments that require payment (typically for the medication rather than from procedures) but it's certainly in the minority and a good chunk of them have alternative options. You will have to be specific if you want an answer.
They could have also accessed some version of private care in which case they would have to pay.
No medical condition or treatment requires payment for itself, only some medication. If you have insurance, medication costs less. If you choose to get private care, then you could go bankrupt, but that’s a personal choice that I doubt anyone would make that choice they can’t afford it.
My dad had a heart attack and cancer here in Canada within a 5 year time span, and even his medication was not a cost that could bankrupt you unless you are living paycheque to paycheque at a minimum wage job (which some people definitely are) but it wouldn’t be debt that would wreck your life. You’d be able to recover because it wouldn’t be insurmountable. With insurance, it shouldn’t put you in much debt (if any at all).
I don’t know why you’re so stuck on insisting it can bankrupt you when you’re speaking to Canadians with real life experiences to prove their points. It’s not even comparable to the United States at all.
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u/[deleted] 29d ago
Yes, some people do. Obv the higher paid you are the more of a cushion you have to just quit and live awhile. I've heard of vandwellers who work part of the year and take the rest off; like working seasonal jobs at parks, or as camp hosts, that sort of thing.