Follow your dreams?
We’re energised and inspired this week to try to follow our dreams about changing our lives. What it comes down to is that we would love to leave the ‘rat race’ and live a simpler life, but what would that look like, what are the consequences and could our personalities even cope with such a life.
For me, I think it would be hard. I often think of changing my career from what I do (implementing information systems and business change programmes) to working in a coffee shop as a barista or something. But then I remember that I did things like that when I was younger, and even then I would look at how things could be done differently, to make it better, and I would end up with my head above the parapet and automatically move into that position which I’m trying to get away from. Whenever I start a new job, I tell myself I won’t do that again, but I can’t stop myself. So would it really be possible to work without pressures or do I actually thrive on them?
Growing up, my family had our own green-grocers business. I grew up watching my parents work so, so hard to provide my brother and me with the opportunities to have the lives we have now. I know how much hard work it is to be your own boss. I always used to say I would never have my own business. But now I’m tempted anyway. But it would not be a simpler life, or getting away from the rat race. It would just be different pressures and a different rat race. The grass is not always greener!
I mentioned our materialistic habits before. We like things. We both do. It would be a hard habit to break. I have known frugal life in the past (it was never poverty, but certainly counting every penny to make ends meet), and I know how to make the best of little and be happy with cheaper options of expensive things. One of Hubster’s favourite sayings is ‘Buy cheap, buy twice’… Well, that certainly wouldn’t fly anymore. It’d be more like; ‘buy cheap, be careful and make it last’.
Finally, in our home, I like open, bright spaces. It comes from growing up in Holland, where houses laid out slightly differently to the many rows of small terraced houses we have here. And certainly a cottage would be the complete opposite.
Still, despite all these things, we’ve been researching Devon towns to look at, we’ve been looking at the property market and I’m seriously considering contacting the bank about our options.
We’re also looking at all the different ways in which we could make a living if we did make the move, and I’ve been looking at what jobs are out there, just to get us started. I’ll write about our money-making ideas soon.