[–] 9 points 1 year ago (1 child)

This presumes you live around real people.

My neighbors are a mysterious Brazilian who changes the topic when asked his profession but drives many luxury cars (drugs were hinted at by others), an 85 year old MAGA anti-vacc used car salesman, an absentee company owner that uses a $1.25M house to park his logoed trucks, boats and jet skis, and a lawyer who adopts maladjusted dogs and leaves his door open for them to run around the neighborhood biting people (me last).

Brazilian throws large parties for people who drive Porsches, used car dealer complains about Democrats and leaves packages on his porch for over a year, absentee is able to hook up a boat and leave in two minutes, and lawyer neglects feral dogs and spends time with his horses. I have only ever seen the used car salesman do work. He loves running things with motors at night.

None garden but 3/4 installed insecticide systems to kill all pollinators on their property at the push of a button and hire people to put in nice ornamentals.

The same 3/4 produce more garbage in a week than my family of four does in two months and may throw out and replace clothing rather than washing, so I doubt mending is on the table. They certainly don't cook based on the food deliveries. Absentee business owner has never spent a night in that house in two years and I don't know what he wears or looks like.

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  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    It's as though getting to the core of problems and solving them to the greatest extent saves money.

    I wish the US would consider this rather than ignoring some and inventing others.

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  • [–] 17 points 1 year ago* (4 children)

    California NIMBYs are the worst in the country.

    The only problem I see is the buildings aren't tall enough. If we want to end the cost of living crisis, we need affordable housing stock and lots of it. To get that, we need to build. To build to meet demand, we need flexible zoning.

    The Bay Area should copy Tokyo, the largest metropolis on the planet which is also in an earthquake zone and has relatively affordable housing with excellent neighborhoods.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    Congrats on crossing $1M net worth. The first is the most satisfying and worthy of celebrateion, but you can't tell anyone in your real life. So from a stranger on the internet, well done and onward to the next.

    I also track my net worth monthly in Excel with a Google Sheet for my portfolio due to the free ticker formula. My portfolio returned 2.4% last month, but i'm likely a bit more conservatively invested than you as I'm worried about current valuations.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago

    Yes, FPL has done a lot to prevent rooftop solar, but calling it "almost free" is not correct. Rooftop solar still comes with significant upfront costs. The weather of Florida degrades panels quicker with non-trivial odds of hurricane damage. Finally, Southwestern states receive much more solar irradiance.

    If you are willing to be pragmatic and want solar in Florida, FPL's solar together program is your best option. Like it or not, utility grade solar is 1/3 the LCOE.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    I miss the cover design of 1Q84 and also keep some cookbooks around. The benefit was the same benefit as minimalism: less to move, less to dust and make dust, less to search for, less to put away, more space. You live in Europe so it's hard to convey how overflowing with goods the average American house is. My choices are a reaction to this and I still feel we own double what we should, but my spouse and kids feel differently influenced by the society they know (I am the only one raised abroad).

    I own a Pi 3 and used to run a NAS, home assistant, and ad blocker but found Google Home and a Synology NAS to be easier. I also have privacy concerns, but balance it with time commitments.

    One of those is commitments is cookiing Saturday mornings to save time during the week while maximizing health. Other than making a batch of whole wheat pasta, I don't cook during the week. Many of our calories come from nuts, dried and fresh fruit, and soy milk which we keep in ample supply. Is meal prep an answer to your convenience conundrum?

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    For me, it started with not buying junk food at the grocery store. I knew it was bad for me for so many reasons and decided it was time. After a few initial cravings, I didn't miss it at all.

    This led directly to a reduced salt and sugar tolerance. Fast food and frozen meals I once enjoyed were now so salty or sweet, so I started cooking more at home.

    Finally, this amplified the taste of fruits and vegetables and I gravitated away from other less healthy choices.

    Now a few years later, I've saved a tonne of money, feel less tired, my blood pressure and cholesterol levels are better, and my complexion is clearer.

    Did you make any smaller choices that led to a chain of improvements in your lives on your simple living journeys that we should consider?

     

    I'm not much of a media consumer, and when I am I find Youtube channels better exemplify the simple living lifestyle (plenty out of Japan). However, every once in a while I stumble upon characters or plots in mainstream media that resonate with my simple living values. Years ago, I truly enjoyed the film Under the Tuscan Sun (though the book was vastly different and superior). More recently, I have been enthralled with the television series Somebody Somewhere.

    What series or films do you enjoy that best encapsulate your simple living ideals?

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