I've been in the workforce for thirty mumble years and feeling somwhat tired, but I have moved around too much to have any longservice leave up. So...........I approached my employer about 3 months off, one paid annual leave and the rest unpaid..................and they agreed!
S either next Autumn (almost 12 months away here, remember) or the following spring I am going to have a go at being an urban peasant. Working on my projects, writing and generally living on as little cash as possible by doing it myself.
I know that Stoney and others are doing it already on smallholdings but remember only have 500m2 not including house and garage. I want to see how sustainable one can be on a small block in subsurbia, but also using some free local resources.
So at the moment I am buying in some stuff and at the same time trying to save and pay off debts, so I am pretty busy. But I have something to work towards!
pleasantly potty is how I'd describe it! - go for it, it's the things that you DON'T do that you later regret........and the very best of luck!
http://solarwind.org.uk - a small company in Sussex sourcing, supplying, and fitting alternative energy products.
Amateurs encouraged - very keen prices and friendly helpful service!
Go for it Nev! if you've got the opportunity to try you've got to do it....you don't want any 'if onlys' niggling away at you. Keep a diary as you never know it may be published-the run up and organising the 'time-out' might be of interest to others (me included). Good luck mate
albert onglebod wrote: '6 months without spending a dollar'.
As long as you don't try to go for 3 months without spending a penny...
(And I hope you all know what spending a penny means in the UK! )
Anyway, sounds like every SSisher's dream. I'd have no trouble doing that myself. I know lots of people would find it too boring without work - but I wouldn't have a problem with that!
Ina
I'm a size 10, really; I wear a 20 for comfort. (Gina Yashere)
I haven't worked for 5months now, which would be great except that it's been forced on me by illness. Doesn't pay too well either? I don't miss work at all, just wish I was well enough to do everything I want to during this time.
No doubt that you'll be untroubled by boredom Nev, enjoy it.
My concept of peasantry changed when I read John Seymour's Fat Of The Land. In there he explains that a peasant is not the same as someone in poverty. He has all he needs to provide for himself and his family in the form of suitable land, tools, and knowledge - and all these things can be passed down to his children (of course this is a bit idealised - a prolonged drought, or war, or infirmity, etc. can be disastrous). And of course peasantry as we know of it, historically in this country, or currently around the world, arguably depends upon the existence of oppression and feudalism. But in some respects, I really believe that peasant culture - not having a dependence upon money - is something to aspire to (maybe only someone from a comfortable, secure, middle-class background could have the gall to suggest this).
The only crazy thing about this, Nev, is that 3 months is not nearly long enough to get to grips with being a peasant. Can't you swing a sabbatical year?
The funny thing about the economic system that requires you to work, is that once you start to pay bills, you can't stop. I'm sure I can remember a time when I lived on pennies a day. It's true that I didn't have a car, or central heating, or the internet, or even a phone in those days, and I lived in a caravan with a leaking roof in the middle of a field with a landlord who often forgot to collect the rent. But for the past couple of years I've been keeping a record of everything I spend. It's frightening to see just how that pans out over the course of a year.
On the other hand, I sometimes wonder if it is really just a case of jumping into the dark. I reckon that most of us are just plain terrified of becoming self-reliant - we cling to the security of a job (well, the regular income, anyway), even though it often seems such a daft way to spend so much of our precious time.
Good luck, Nev. I'm secretly hoping that you like it so much that you never go back to work.
Muddypause wrote:
Good luck, Nev. I'm secretly hoping that you like it so much that you never go back to work.
That's what I am scared of
Thanks Stew, for your thoughts.
I am pushing it to get 3 months and still have a job to go back to! Part of the reason though is to "try on" the lifestyle and see how well it fits. I still need some cash for further set ups and there will be another trip on the cards in the future to come over ans see you lot again, hopefully with some more time!
I am hoping by 55 to be consulting a couple of days a week and the rest as a full time peasant. I'll keep you posted on how the adventure proceeds.
Go for it!!! 
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