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santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
......As for an address, you could always open a P.O. box at the nearest post office, assumming they still exist......

That's the best solution for receiveing mail. Not sure if it will be good enough for things like a drivers' license or voter registration though (I know they won't except a PO box over here)
 

shortymcsteve

Forager
Jan 8, 2011
152
0
Hamilton, Scotland
Thanks for the thoughts guys.The only thing stopping me is the idea of future security but for me this isn't a massive concern I have options in the event I end up hating what im doing but given past experience I know I'll be fine. I've been gradually heading back to it, when im onshore I only really head to my flat to drop of stuff then I head back out so as I say it is just a convenient storage area.I find it useful to look 40 years into the future when I'll be old and I may seriously regret not doing it, im 21 in a few weeks and there are already things I wish I did but didn't and that sucks.Ps. Samon mate 3.70 for a pint? I would cry if it was anywhere near that lol

I'm also going to be 21 in a few weeks i can't imagine myself going off and living in the woods like this. In fact im pretty jealous that you are able to have your own place and have a good job offshore, too bad things aren't working out for you. I myself am currently unemployed and staying at home with my dad desperate to leave.
I wish you the best of luck! I hope you stay safe and please give us updates as much as you can. This winter already looks like it's going to be a cold one!
Regarding staying in contact with the outside world, you can buy devices that send your location updates to someone to make sure you are okay. You can also send pre-written messages i'm sure, so if your not having such a good time you could let them know by pressing a button.
Do you have a stove sorted out for inside the tent you are building? That would help a great deal for keeping you warm.
 

pastymuncher

Nomad
Apr 21, 2010
331
0
The U.K Desert
Good luck, you are doing what you want and I really hope you enjoy it.
For some the security of a property is needed, but some just see it as a burden.
Personally I really dislike living in a house (currently anchored in one), happiest I've ever been was living on our boat, completely off grid, generated our own power transport water etc. looking to get back on the water again as soon as possible.

P.O.Box is a very good idea but you need an address to set it up initially, they need to post the paperwork to you.

You may want to think about putting your money into a property though, purely for investment purposes, you wont need much money to live in the woods and the banks offer a very poor return.
 

gabrielsdad

Need to contact Admin...
Feb 6, 2012
441
0
north staffs
If your dad can wangle you a job, surely he will let you get some mail sent to his? Or some other trustworthy friend/family?
Theres only one way of life, and thats your own mate. Best of wishes to you.

I read a thread posted here this week about a guy everyone called mr tuesday. He lived in a wood for years with just a bit of tarp apparrently. It was unfortunatley ab orbituary. But he wasnt young.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
My father lived 'wild' on Rannoch moor during the thirties, but he always had a home to come back to. I have friends who have, (and many who still do) lived in peace camps, woodland protest sites, in communes, in tepees with no modern facilities, in benders, in vans, and so on, but as they get older they realise that though the spirit might still lean towards willing, the flesh seems to find every Winter harder.....and they have no real choice of where they finally settle, even if it's only for a couple of years in one place or other. They are dependant on social housing, or cheap rents from private landlords.
Many of them have fallen through the social net, and find themselves unable to gain employment (can look dodgy with no permanent address) no dentist, no confidence in being able to see the same doctor, no easy way of organising hospital appointments, damned hard work keeping clean enough to be 'acceptable' for employers, no simple way to register to vote, claim benefits, etc., renewing passports is a nightmare, and driving licences can be an issue too.
The internet makes a huge difference in some very positive ways though, but some form of address is a vital part of being in a modern society. Ours has been used as the address for several friends over the years even though they have never lived here.

We live simply and comfortably in a modest home with no debt, no rent, no mortgage, no high bills or expenses, but in a very peaceful and beautiful bit of the country.
A little forethought and planning can mean that choice isn't a burden, and HWMBLT retired at 53, so 'having' to continue working to pay for property is a fallacy.

Had either of my sons been in Thenihilist's situation then I firmly suspect that to be in control of their own future would have played a large part in their determination not to be so vulnerable to the vagaries of circumstances ever again.
In the area where he lives he is fortunate that good housing need not be expensive, I know that many don't have that choice.

All that said though, boats are good :) if you're handy and capable, in the long term :)

To know oneself capable of living pretty much on fresh air, your wits and goodwill is one thing; to 'have' to because you have no options is not a good scenario.

If he has tanned four cowskins in the last week, I'm both astonished and impressed. In our damp climate though, leather tents aren't really a good idea if you have any other option. Right enough, Fife is the driest bit of the country, so it might not be the worst choice......but a week ? that can really only be braintanned, (smoked too ? ) because cowhide properly tannin tanned takes weeks/ months and the working of the leather to suppleness is damned hard work; but wet leather isn't fun.

Ah, best of luck to him, it's -7degC here just now, and it's perishing cold, but the rain'll be back on soon enough, and it's Winter time, barely eight hours of daylight......I've said it before, it's a long time dark.

cheers,
Toddy
 

Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
12,781
1,517
51
Wiltshire
Very good advice Toddy.

I think you should buy a property, and bask in the security it brings.

If you dont like it you can always sell it. Ive heard there are people out there so desparate for a house they will pay literallly THOUSANDS for one.
 

Itzal

Nomad
Mar 3, 2010
280
1
N Yorks
I like your bravery, your willingness to make a bold statement, but, if your anxiety is so sever I would question wether or not its just a version of running away. More importantly you will eventually have to return to a more conventional lifestyle, and if your anxiety isn't addressed and controlled you may find it increases. Just food for thought, do what makes you happiest, but never run away hoping it will solve it, all it will do is delay and intensify the problem.
 

Elen Sentier

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
You're not a country girl are you?

You HAVE to be joking !!! Born and bred on Dartmoor and Exmoor, now live in the wilds of the Welsh Marches best part of a mile from the nearest B road. Family all woodsmen and farmers, live around farming folk now ... what more do you want ??? I hardly use a supermarket, friends hunt, shoot and fish so I get some, farmer friends all organic. Did you see the Wildwoods programme folk were on about? The man who did the Tamworth pigs, Ray Harris, is a mate of mine and lives just up the road.

You're Florida, aren't you ??? Bit different over here.
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
You HAVE to be joking !!! Born and bred on Dartmoor and Exmoor, now live in the wilds of the Welsh Marches best part of a mile from the nearest B road. Family all woodsmen and farmers, live around farming folk now ... what more do you want ??? I hardly use a supermarket, friends hunt, shoot and fish so I get some, farmer friends all organic. Did you see the Wildwoods programme folk were on about? The man who did the Tamworth pigs, Ray Harris, is a mate of mine and lives just up the road.

You're Florida, aren't you ??? Bit different over here.

Yes but you Bemoaned that at 65 you're "better off without property." Never met a country person (farmer or rancher) who wasn't deeply, emotionally tied to his property (usually for several generations to the same farm or ranch) For a country person that farm/ranch is as much a part of you as you are a part of it.
 
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Elen Sentier

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Well there's a first for you then. And I was not bemoaning not being a property owner, far from it and quite the opposite. Possibly fewer preconceptions might help ??? I'm a little difficult to pigeonhole, as are all my family. And I'm not a farmer (or rancher) but I most definitely am a country person as was all my family for generations past. Owning a farm is not a necessary requirement for being a country person. I am wledig, of the land, and have been guardian to the land in several parts of Britain for all of my life.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
I have to disagree with this. All that responsibility and for what? Having to go and work even more so you can keep on with the responsibilities so you can work even more? Believe me, at 65 yrs old, you're not better off in property! It's a myth!

I can see where Santaman2000 gained the impression though.
It does rather imply that you find it a burden; well, that's how I read the post.

Confusion's all too easy on the internet though :sigh:

I thought that it was more self sufficiency and security than being subject to the actions of others that was Thenihilist's intent.

cheers,
Toddy
 

brambles

Settler
Apr 26, 2012
771
71
Aberdeenshire
Everyone has to make their own choices and live by them but there are reasons that when we all lived nomadic agrarian existences that life expectancy was 40 tops .....
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
Everyone has to make their own choices and live by them but there are reasons that when we all lived nomadic agrarian existences that life expectancy was 40 tops .....

Ironically current thought is that when we switched from hunter/gatherer to agrarian/farmer, life spans became shorter. It seems that fighting over the land caused more (younger) deaths than the previous hardships of hunter/gatherer had. In that respect Elen might well have a point.
 

Samon

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 24, 2011
3,970
44
Britannia!
Everyone has to make their own choices and live by them but there are reasons that when we all lived nomadic agrarian existences that life expectancy was 40 tops .....

I read an article on Scottish health in 'deprived areas' a while back and it said the average male life expectancy was around 59-60, and in general Scotland still has the lowest life expectancy in all of Britain..


Have you considered a caravan? or is the land owner not cool with this option? I wouldn't feel safe survivng a full on scottish winter without a decent shelter, and the bare minimum I'd try would be a heavy duty tent with a wood burner.
 

Thenihilist

Nomad
Oct 3, 2011
301
0
Fife, Scotland
Hi guys thanks for the ideas on thoughts as I said I wasn't expecting to be leaving till Wednesday but I've decided to go ahead today and just handed my keys into the landlord. I've been unable to tan and smoke these hides but im off regardless. All my stuff fits in my 65 litre rucksack and a plce pouch plus my dogs got her food and blankets in her backpack.

I intend to check in after a week or two, if not you'll probably hear about me on the news in spring lol.

Anyway I'll leave you with a quote from my favourite author "the counciousness of life is higher than life,the knowledge of the laws of happiness is higher than happiness- that is what one must contend against"
 

Andy BB

Full Member
Apr 19, 2010
3,290
1
Hampshire
I am actually rather worried. The anxiety attacks sound quite significant, and are something that should be treated rather than used as justification for a rather extreme lifestyle change. Nihilist mate, go along to your GP and explain about the anxiety, and maybe get a referral to someone who can help you get to the root of the problem.
 

Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
12,781
1,517
51
Wiltshire
Andy, Im so glad you have brought this up. The OP is not acting at all rationaly.

Is there someone nearby who can go check on him?
 

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