I can't work in an office for the next 50 years...

[CREATIVE!11]

Life is too short OP,

I quit my job, moved 250 miles away, started my own business, got grey hairs.

But you know what? I watch all my friends slowly waste away in meaningless jobs and relationships with girls. Everyone is addicted to comfort and settles down thinking its the "done thing" and gets a "real job" because that is what mom told them to do and that is not where living is found.

The amount of **** I got for doing my own thing was unreal, I just took it as people who were too scared themselves to do it being envious which tbh is kind of true. Just Google terminology crabs in a bucket people don't always do it in a bad way but I think people fear change and I was always "that quiet guy", people love to categorize things and keep them there. I've changed in such immeasurable ways doing what I've done. Funniest thing is I go back home and I feel like i've progressed so much in life and all my old friends are all doing the same stuff and have not improved at all. Ever Xmas i've gone back I've realised how much progress i've made each year and sort of use it as a barometer to measure how i've been doing.

Don't be that guy OP, if you are feeling this now act on it do something crazy and go live dude, there is an abundance of opportunity in the world now! more than ever.

Edit: yes bit of a rant I realise but I felt like you op and everyone just tells you not do something, and I asked myself why not. Thank god I didn't listen to anyone, I dread to think where i'd be now. I was really heading down
that lame route. Also do not be afraid of failure op I sware to god if I could remove one thing for you it'd be the fear but I can't, but TRUST TRUST TRUST ME! fear is so temporary when you push through it you will ALWAYS thank yourself afterwards.

Good luck.

I think of giving up everything every single day and moving to somewhere new or doing something crazy. It will happen soon.

I'm 23 and have mates the same age who have settled down in jobs, married with kids, and continuously tell me I should be doing the same and what on earth am I playing at... Yeah, **** that. I will never, ever settle for anything I am not truly happy with.

Don't do this...that is what they call midlife crisis waiting to happen. Settle down at 23? LOL..... you are still a boy ffs, you need to live! I won't settle down until i'm 35 at least... maybe even later. I keep myself in good health eat great diet and execise so hopefully my energy will last me a lot longer.

 

[A2Z]

My friend is close to doing this - or so he says.

He's lucky in the fact he's a designer (logos, flyers etc) and pretty good at it so he can do it from home, or any location really. He's been to Thailand a couple of times and loves it out there, so is looking to solidify his client base here and then move out there and just 'work' while sitting on the beach or in a bar!

Can't say I don't envy him slightly, would love to have a skill like that I can do from any location, would be moving out of this country in a shot! At the mo working 35 hrs per week standard job...yawn...

 

[malachi]

Basically echoing what CREATIVE!11 said. Life is too short, if you want to go out and travel then go. Dont be that guy who talks about doing it and never do. You will end up hitting 40 plus with loads of regrets, which can lead into a midlife crisis.

I have a 9 to 5ish job doing 3rd line IT support while working on my own business on the side. And you know what, I love it! Because I'm not stuck behind a desk all day, I get to travel around the UK so everyday is different. I can work from home if I need to, I can start anytime between 8am and 11am.

I spent 10 years, trying to get a good IT job because I hated being behind a desk all day in a office. Now, I could have been a Lemming and do what a lot of my friends did in their mid 20's, settle down and have kids (if you want to call it that as most are now separated) but that never interested me. I wanted to build a career and have a better life experience. Nearly came close to dropping everything and moving away or aboard as I hated my job at the time. But I wanted to do things a little different.

So I got my arse into gear, found a better job, did some serious saving for a deposit towards a house (while still having a good social life but didnt go aboard) and brought my house about 3 years ago. Then last year I booked a month off work and traveled to Japan, Hong Kong, Dubai and Thailand by myself. Loved it that much, I am currently away again from work for a month traveling around Europe. Now posting from Rome, I have already been to 3 different countries over the past 2 weeks. I'm heading to Prague on Saturday then off to Amsterdam, Berlin and Brussels, which will take me till 1st June and I return to work on the Monday 2nd June.

I be going into work with a big smile on my face. Why? Because Ive traveled and seen the world. Ive basically traveled to 12 different counties over 2 months. I be coming back to a job which I enjoy, my own house (not a rented house or parents house but my own) New garden furniture so I can starting having BBQ parties, oh and Mario Kart 8 Not silly amount of debt or thinking about the future worries.

Apart from a mortgage which didnt stop me traveling this year and last. I have no commitments, kids or partner. So I can happily go traveling again next year for a month if I like, maybe longer.

As Johnny20270 said, dont worry about timing. I only started traveling last year and I am now 30. Last year was the first time I had been aboard since 2002!

 

[Fuggan]

There are some good posts in here, so thanks for that, keep them coming! I feel inspired , I just need to figure out a plan of my own now. Where I want to go and what I want to do. Hmm...

 

[D.P.]

The way i look at it is that I work now so that by the time i am 50 i can move somewhere with a beach and sell tshirts and surf all day. Rather than thinking that i will be doing exactly the same thing that i am doing at the moment for next 20 years. It can be depressing when you think like that.

I used to know a guy that worked in IT and had the same problems with working in an office and ended up starting a landscaping business and spends all day out in the garden now and driving around, he said it is much better for him.

I would like to open a business in a nice sunny place and live that holiday lifestyle, loads of people do it. It just takes some balls and a bit of money and preparedness to take some risks and leave everything behind.

It also helps to move house and job every 5 years as it can change your commute. If the commute annoys you then you can always look at different options.

That is my reasoning.
I could quit my stressful, tiring, boring but well paid job now to have something more fun but at a fraction of the pay now, or I wait a bit and take early retirement. Have the mortgage paid off, decent pension, good savings and shares and then relax doing things that are more fun without financial stress.

Avoiding the 9-5 job when you are young makes financial challenges and uncertainty when older.

A friend of the family took early retirement in his early 50s and spends his tie traveling the world. While away he rents out his house which he owns without mortgage which pays for most of his lifestyle, e.g. 1 month rent on his London house pays for 1 month of cheap hotels and eating our in South America.

 

[Things change I've changed]

My advice is simple.
Turn off the TV, don't get sucked in to any adverts for stuff you MUST HAVE BECAUSE SALE ENDS TOMORROW etc etc.
Don't buy a flash car, or a flash house or any other flash gadget, you really don't need them.
What you should do is SAVE SAVE SAVE and SELL SELL SELL anything and everything you can get away with.

Then retire at thirty and go live in a shack behind that bar on a beach, even if it doesn't make any profit you'll still have a wedge to live off.
Live happy..

Best advice in the thread, I see so many foreigners doing this , they work hard for eight/ten solid years and then go home and retire, if your still young I'd honestly consider doing this, I know it may seem like a long time but it comes and goes so quickly, just save as much as you can and then live the dream.

 

[Strife212]

I love my job. Currently holidaying in a 5* resort in Italy and actually looking forward to going back to work on Monday. Hardly 9to5, more like 7 till 7 some days but I get to influence massive swings in government technology with mental budgets to spend.

Working in a bar in some warm country? I'd turn up and just feel sorry for you

So you're the one responsible for all the incompetent government technology projects?

 

[Spook187]

live to work, not work to live, imo

Really, your life outside work must suck.

 

[LateX'Dog]

I just can't. Bit of background...

Finished uni, and felt like I need to get a job fast. Felt almost pressured into it but I'm not blaming anyone, I was naive and was all OMG MUST GET REAL JOB mode. Anyway I got a job working in the city centre, pretty decent pay, work with some good lads and it keeps me ticking.

There's no real direct route for progression, and there is so much corporate ******** that it irks me. The 9to5 lifestyle is really not for me and I feel like I'm living for the weekends (well some of them, I work some too). I feel life should be so much more than this grind.

Last year when me and my pals were on holiday we joked about all moving out there and opening a bar or something, imagine the life! I've just been away again and it's made me think again, I can't waste away in this god forsaken office for the rest of my life!

Seeing some of my friends travelling pics/stories on FB makes me regret not doing something like that.

Has anyone given up a decent job and moved abroad to do something? I don't know what to do..

Halp mah GD

The 9-5 life has been indoctrinated into you since early primary school, so the appeal is understandable.

Do what you want and do it fast, life is too short to be wasted doing some ****** 9-5 job because society needs workers!

I would suggest you look into going to The Burning Man event in America.

 

[RoboCod]

What job is it you do OP?



I love my job. It's all about getting the right job and doing something you enjoy, not just what pays well.

Disagree. Whilst that is the dream, it shouldn't be the expectation because the reality will almost always result in depression/sadness. The expectation should be to develop yourself a decent career that you can live comfortably on. Building a decent career takes years of blood sweat tears (and often boredom). If a person exceeds that expectation and achieves something greater then... woot!

 

[porushinobu]

Disagree. Whilst that is the dream, it shouldn't be the expectation because the reality will almost always result in depression/sadness. The expectation should be to develop yourself a decent career that you can live comfortably on. Building a decent career takes years of blood sweat tears (and often boredom). If a person exceeds that expectation and achieves something greater then... woot!

I can agree with that i suppose, the satsfaction of earning what you get out of a job through hard work and some sacrafice provides a great feeling within itself.

and to live comfortably is a slowly approaching dream of my own. Theres no point in any job if your paid peanuts. Except as a temporary solution to provide you with some minimul income while you prepare yourself to get better paid work.

 

[randomshenans]

If you don't like your life, change it. One shot, be happy. Work isn't bad but some jobs can be.

Exactly. The only thing that seems to be stopping you is the fear of losing it all. Ask yourself, what's the worst that could happen? Yea, you lose it all... but what's the best that could happen? You could fulfil your dreams...

You'll bounce back if you do get knocked down, you need to. We all get knocked back several times in life, it's a part of it all.

Roll the dice. You have nothing holding you back but yourself. I'm lucky that my wife is very much willing to trust me when it comes to rolling the dice.

Several times I could have ended up with no way to support the family but it hasn't happened and if it did, we've coped on nothing before.

Don't live your life full of what ifs. You can't go back and do it again.

 

[englishpremier]

Learn some bushcraft skills. Then if the worst happens you know you'll be able to eat and get shelter. OK not some much in England as pretty much all the land is private, but in Scotland and many countries in Europe you'd be fine.

 

[Django x2]

Really, your life outside work must suck.

Clearly another example of someone who doesn't understand the saying. I love my job, therefore, I live for it. Rather than having to work to live (i.e., working in order to pay the bills and put food on the table).

But you're right. My life outside work sucks. I'm currently sat 1500m above Lake Garda at a 5* Spa with £3m worth of SLRs sat in the hotel carpark. I guess, I could be at Centre Parcs....

 

[LOAM]

Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.
What did you dream? It's alright we told you what to dream.

 

[Heliospherez]

I can see what the op is saying exactly as I worked in the same dead end office job for 10 years.

Decided on a complete change of scenery and haven't been happier.

What I did notice was that it was such a relief to not have to do presentations anymore, not have to listen to 50+ messages on my office phone anymore and not actually having to answer and chat for 3-4 minutes on the phone to people dozens of times a day. Even the thought of sitting at a computer for 10 hours a day scares me now, and I fail to see how people can actually say they enjoy it - or will be looking at the same screen for the next 15, 20 or even 25 years.

My body feels better, I no longer have back / neck problems and I don't have the regular colds/coughs etc all brought on by office environments.

To me - most people shouldn't be cooped up in a closed room with air-conditioning, just moving their mouth and right arm for 38 hours a week - it just isn't right for a healthy / happy life - unfortunately, that is what the UK seems to think is an ideal job - and it's what people here aspire too - whether it's IT, call centers, banking...... it's just madness that people aren't actually doing anything physical at work anymore apart from walking to the toilet or over to the printer.

 

[porushinobu]

I can see what the op is saying exactly as I worked in the same dead end office job for 10 years.

Decided on a complete change of scenery and haven't been happier.

What I did notice was that it was such a relief to not have to do presentations anymore, not have to listen to 50+ messages on my office phone anymore and not actually having to answer and chat for 3-4 minutes on the phone to people dozens of times a day. Even the thought of sitting at a computer for 10 hours a day scares me now, and I fail to see how people can actually say they enjoy it - or will be looking at the same screen for the next 15, 20 or even 25 years.

My body feels better, I no longer have back / neck problems and I don't have the regular colds/coughs etc all brought on by office environments.

To me - most people shouldn't be cooped up in a closed room with air-conditioning, just moving their mouth and right arm for 38 hours a week - it just isn't right for a healthy / happy life - unfortunately, that is what the UK seems to think is an ideal job - and it's what people here aspire too - whether it's IT, call centers, banking...... it's just madness that people aren't actually doing anything physical at work anymore apart from walking to the toilet or over to the printer.

What did you change to ?

 

[platypus]

live to work, not work to live, imo

One of the worst statements I've heard on here.

 

[Django x2]

One of the worst statements I've heard on here.

Oh, really, please continue? How would you rephrase it? If you work to live, it means you're poor and a sucker to the 9-5 routine, living pay day to pay day. Living to work means you enjoy / love what you do for a living. You can't just bum around serving drinks at a bar for the rest of your life. Find something you're good at, and make a living from it.

 

[LOAM]

Oh, really, please continue? How would you rephrase it? If you work to live, it means you're poor and a sucker to the 9-5 routine, living pay day to pay day. Living to work means you enjoy / love what you do for a living. You can't just bum around serving drinks at a bar for the rest of your life. Find something you're good at, and make a living from it.

Not really it simply means your work/life balance is more towards the life end of the scale. Working to live doesn't mean you're on the breadline, it simply means that you supplement your lifestyle choice by the work you do.

Living to work, I would say is more towards having to work, not by choice but because you have to and without work you would be likely worthless or dead.