Has anyone here ever given up a 'good' job to live a simpler life?

[Union Thug]

And if you did, how did you adjust?

I'm at a point where I need to make some hard choices and would like to hear from others that have been in similar situations.

Thx!

[PassingFair]

1. I met a guy 2 weeks ago....

who gave up a thriving real estate practice 4 years ago and opened a yoga studio.

He is healthy and beautiful and relaxed. His dog hangs out on his couch while
he works. He smells faintly of incense and he works all day with beautiful women.

I'd say he made a good choice.

I'd say he thinks so too.

[Union Thug]

10. Damn...hanging with the dog, incense and beautiful women...

sounds like a good move to me, too!

[ScreamingMeemie]

17. Yeah, sure, great.... says the frazzled real estate appraiser.

:hi:

[pitohui]

2. i know several people who did

it did not end happily

there is no "simple" life, there is only making less money and making less money doesn't simplify life, it complicates it

fortunately one of the women was able to reclaim her six figure a year job as a partner in a law firm

the others weren't so lucky and, basically, are screwed

take a paid leave of absence, take a sabbatical, but don't give up a good job for the "simple" life, if you can't make it on a good income, you don't have what it takes to make it on a shitty income

[Union Thug]

6. sobering input. Thanks for offering the perspective. n/t

[Ptah]

3. The adjustment is mostly decompression.

Do it too fast and you'll get the bends.

Pace yourself and you'll be OK.


Start a simple collection:



:shrug:

[Union Thug]

7. That's kind of what I was thinking...

But I haven't quite figured out how to break it down.

[Floogeldy]

4. Need more facts.

What are you talking about?

[Union Thug]

5. Here's the reader's digest version:

Preface: Every day I am thankful for what I have and how lucky I've been over the past few years to have what would be unanimously described as a great opportunity.

With that said, I never really wanted to get into management. I took the job because I thought it would give me the experience I need to become more marketable. But the reality is not what I expected. I'm surrounded by Type A, backstabbing, opportunists; overzealous ladder climbers; micromanagers who interrupt your vacation to extract the last remnants of the soul you were trying to reconstruct after a year of constant hammering. We've got a general manager who walks into offices screaming, a potpourri of assorted middle managers who don't understand how to inspire their staff (who instead do nothing but criticize - I absolutely DREAD my weekly meetings with my mgr.), and unmitigated arrogance from the engineers. In short, it's corporate hell. I enjoyed my years as an individual contributor and wish like hell that I never would have taken my current job. But it's all too late now. There's no going back.

It may be a great job for some, but I'm finding that I'm just not cut out for it. I'd really like to go back to instructional design/flash developer, but the headcount is filled and it doesn't look like the space will open up again (for the foreseeable future).

[CTyankee]

29. It sounds a lot like what I went through

and the stress damn near killed me. My blood pressure was off the charts, I was doing stress eating and gaining weight.

Luckily, I was old enough to take my Social Security and my spouse had health insurance for me through his job. I "retired" and got a nice part time job paying a decent hourly wage, working with nice people. 4 months later my mother passed away and I inherited her entire estate. While I am not wealthy, I have 3 income streams and not a lot of work. I can work out in the gym every morning. Fridays I don't work at all. I am traveling to Europe each year and taking other smaller vacations. I can't imagine my life before. My former coworkers are jealous. I don't need lots of clothes. My 1999 Altima has been paid for since 2001. I have a budget which is realistic and doesn't depress me. I don't carry credit card debt (if I can't pay for something w/o paying interest, I don't buy it.

Living well is the best revenge!

[Aristus]

8. I quit a fairly good job in a bank to become a Medical Assistant.

Big pay cut, but I'm loving my job and my life a lot more. I don't dread going to work anymore, either.

[Union Thug]

9. It's that 'dread' that is driving this for me...

I feel guilty about this because there are so many others that would love to have my job. But the fact is, it was a bad move. I'm a cog-builder, not a manager. For the 7 previous years where I was doing instructional design and building flash sims, I loved my job and was considered one of the top producers in my dept. This job has left me questioning my competence and doubting everything that I do. Blah!

[amitten]

13. What are you best at? That should be your job.

It just hit me the other day like a ton of bricks:

Why do most people subvert their #1 talent in order to settle into a "desk" job?

It doesn't matter if you're a gardener, a fix-it type, a teacher, a singer, a techno-whiz, a fantastic freaking jump-roper or WHATEVER. Whatever you do best, and therefore enjoy most, should be your job. And you will make money with it one way or another. And if you think you won't, then you've already defeated yourself, wrongly.

If for instance I'm great at something (say, sewing) why would I skip on down the list to one of my lesser skills, (say, typing) and center my whole life around THAT? Just because it's more "normal"? It's just illogical. Of course I should do all I can to find a job using my sewing skills. The money would follow, if it's truly my talent. I should use what I have the most of--obviously!

Do what you love and the money always follows. Unless you suck at what you love. Which I bet you don't.

[Union Thug]

18. Thanks for this! In fact, that's what I'm hoping to do...

Working as an ID, I had the opportunity to begin working in video production, and that is the direction I am trying to go in.

[pitohui]

36. this is such terrible life destroying advice

i've seen so many lives ruined by "do what you love and the money will follow"

it doesn't, and then you learn to hate what you once loved and what your gift is, so now you have neither money nor do you any longer want to do your talent

ever stop and think that some of the most miserable people on earth are the women who have sex for a living, something that most of us love to do as long as money doesn't get its filthy hands on it?

but you can spoil a love of art, farming, raising animals, growing herbs, dance, books, anything, really, just by deciding to make it into a source of (about 90 percent of the time) a hopelessly inadequate income compared to a real job

those "follow your bliss" people have a lot to answer for, as far as i'm concerned

(edited the title, i don't want the poster to think i'm calling her cruel, i'm calling the people who sell this propaganda so that they can sell even more motivational crapola cruel, people don't need to be motivated to drop out and screw up their lives, and it's an insult to people of modest incomes to pretend that our lives are simpler than those of people with the power jobs)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

41. It didn't destroy mine.

Everybody has to assess carefully the positive and negative aspects of such a change, but it's not fair to say this is bad advice for everyone. It's a risk, and it might not work out for everyone, but for some it does. Not having a lot of money isn't the worst thing in the world; but being miserable at what you spend most of your time doing every day can be soul-destroying. A "simpler" life doesn't necessarily mean a poorer life. It might mean just that you decide to give up some material things you don't really need in exchange for not working 80 hours a week at something you don't like.

[amitten]

42. Well, I have completely proven you wrong.

I've followed my dream since I was a child, don't work a crappy desk job, and make a shitload of money.

Because 1) I'm damn good at what I do and 2) I believed 100% that I could do it.

Sorry about your friends.

PS- (follow the dream)

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

11. I tried and failed badly,

After working in government and legal environments I was basically burned out by the completely unproductive nature of the work I was doing for the federal government and was completely sick of working in law where I was treated no better than a receptionist. Even though I was paid more than alot of the lawyers. In law you were either a lawyer - or not a lawyer in which case you might as well be the coffee girl.

I found it was time for a change, I was still in my 20's but felt like I was pushing my 40's and I began looking for work that interested me. I wanted a job that I left at the office. No evenings, No weekends.

My first stop was working at a computer store. I had known the manager since I was in high school and it seemed a good place to start. It was a horrible experience, all my working life I had been the "consigliere" if you like, the trusted advisor. All of the sudden being in a place where I had to figure out how to sell as much as possible just didn't work for me. I couldn't get out of my role as the advisor and telling someone that the least expensive iMac would be more than adaquate and that you could get the $40 cable for $5 at Walmart didn't help my sales. In that endevour I made less than $400 a week.

My next effort was working for a museum, it was work I really did enjoy - I was much more interested in researching exhibits and working with artifacts than I was in researching the extreme fringes of natural resource law but in that role the resources were so scare that it was really difficult to get things done.
Our printers didn't have toner, our bathrooms didn't have paper towels, my computer was a Dell Pentium 75.
Ultimately my boss was laidoff and I was left completely adrift.

Over time I began to look for more regular jobs but in areas that interested me. And comming from making the high 70's to applying for jobs in the mid-30's HR people assumed I had some sort of meltdown, or I was an alcoholic or on drugs and wouldn't be at their door if I had any other option.

I am now more or less back where I was to start with, I am working for a law firm and still looking for something I am really interested in.

[Heidi]

12. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[IChing]

14. Yes, but my Children are taken care of for they don't live here

in the States, though they love this country too.
Their education is not something I have to worry about because of the country they live in.
I was able 7 years ago to help them buy a condo which they share in ownership
when it was much cheaper, I couldn't do that now.


I like collective living but I want my own space.
I wish though, I shared land, food, and dreams with others to make it even simpler.
My Condo community is pretty good, but is not collective, they look out for me and I give
back what I can.

But alas, the human equation, makes it complex.

Ten minds can pool much more thought, food, love and shelter than
one ever could do alone.

[trof]

15. I guess in a way I did.

I was an airline pilot. Mandatory retirement was at age 60.
I left at 58.

The main reason was that I was just so damn tired of the monthly commute from Pensacola to New York. The stress levels of getting to work on time far outweighed those in the actual job itself.
When you quit working completely it sure simplifies your life.
:-)

[cobalt1999]

16. I'm thinking about it.

Very good job, lots of money. I've played with the idea of quitting, buying a 45' sailboat and cruising the world with my wife and daughters. It's the daughters that are a concern though. On one hand, they would travel and see the world; on the other hand, no school, permanent friends, etc.

Their college funds are paid up, I can afford to buy the insurance for the family, but not sure if dropping out for a cruising life is a good idea or not.

[MountainLaurel]

19. In the process of it as I type

My husband and I are moving from Washington, D.C., to Maine, looking for a higher quality of life beyond professional achievement. Not that I was ever that career focused (I come from an area where work what you do for 8 or 10 hours a day, not the focal point of your life), but Mr. Laurel for a long time had dreams of being a policy guru or the head of the UN High Commission on Refugees. He will be working in a job with much lower "status" than some he's had, but at the same time no one will be expecting him to put in an 80-hour workweek for $30K or to flirt with a federal manager at a conference so that he can get some questions to answers about new procedures. Meanwhile, today is my last day of work at a place where I have been given many opportunities for professional development beyond my day-to-day duties. I'm facing either unemployment or time in a part-time position that should be full time, without health insurance or other benefits. There's a full-time job I've applied for, but hiring is on hold due to budget cuts.

I think one of the first things that will happen for us, in terms of adjusting, is taking advantage of opportunities to enrich our life outside of work: hobbies, sports activities, educational opportunities that aren't work related, our pets, etc. I'm looking forward to reading and knitting more, and once we buy a house by husband plans to create a woodshop (carpentry and a one-bedroom condo do not go well together).

I'll keep you posted as the process goes on.

Good luck!

[Arugula Latte]

34. When I was in Maine I was told many people had more than one skill

because they had to, for example, work as a mechanic AND as a carpenter to make ends meet. The population base is small, so it's tricky to find enough income unless you diversity.

[Momgonepostal]

20. Not on purpose nt

[Katina]

21. yep, getting ready to start a new career

and I'm looking forward to it. Leaving my last job was the best thing I've done in a long time...then I gave myself time to decompress and think about what I wanted to do next. My kids are grown so I don't have to worry about it and I did get a package from my company and health care coverage for 18 months, so that also made it worthwhile. I reached a point where I wanted to work because I liked it, not because of the paycheck. So far, I haven't regretted my decision.

[BluePatriot]

22. Suggestion

We had an associate of a manager here put in a resume for a simple grunt job...and they were like "omg she will be way too expensive and bored" and did not consider her. Maybe she just wanted to do what you are considering but now she won't get a job here. If you are really serious about this, I'd come up with a good "story" for the hiring people so they will actually offer you positions.

[Union Thug]

44. Good point. thx! n/t

[Haole Girl]

23. I gave up a "good job" (high paying) to work in an...

...occupation not exactly known for high pay (I'm being gentle here). I took a 50% cut in pay, in fact. Sometimes I really regret it. Other times, I wouldn't trade my job for the world.

How did I adjust? It wasn't easy...especially when I was single. I finally had to admit my situation, and "just say no" to many invitations.

Here are just some things I virtually eliminated from my life, except for special occasions: Eating out, buying new clothes, expensive hair cuts, and entertainment of any kind (you've got it--no new movies, plays, or concerts). I've made a lot of other sacrifices, but I realize it's my choice. This is the life I wanted, and, if given the chance, I'd probably do it all again!

[Union Thug]

45. I'll probably end up taking a 50% cut, too... but I lived on that before..

so, while it will be a punch in the face at first, I will be able to get by. thanks!

[Midlodemocrat]

24. I have a friend who quit practicing law to teach high school.

Money isn't a big deal to him. He doesn't have a lot of wants and his needs are easily met with his teaching salary.

He's very happy. In fact, he spends a great deal of time with the Amish in the summers. He enjoys the simplicity of their lifestyle.

I couldn't do it, but for him it works and works well.

[politicat]

25. I gave up being a practicing shrink to write.

I worked for the state, (and later some private practice) so the benefits were good, but the workload was horrific and kept getting worse as the budgets kept getting smaller and the case load kept growing. The pay wasn't great -- really, most shrinks do not pull in 6 figures, and I was in the lower half of the five range -- and I liked the time I had where I was actually helping people who needed to be helped, but so much of my time was given to paperwork, and I could never do the real thing that I thought necessary -- poverty mitigation. Because it's really hard to teach a fourteen year old with anger management issues to be sanguine about his lot in life when he's a week from homelessness and has never owned a pair of shoes that didn't come from charity.

So my income dropped to the high four figures and I make it up by being indispensable to my partner. I'm a lot healthier and happier now, and I like what I do, and for me the adjustment was natural and easy. We still live well below our means and will continue to do so as long as we possible.

[Der Blaue Engel]

32. I have long dreamed of leaving my corporate job to write

(I write anyway, but it doesn't pay.) People always say "do what you love and the money will come," but I have to eat and take care of my kid. I don't have the luxury of just hoping for the best or eventual success, and my partner can't support me (can't support himself at the moment, having recently been laid off).

I envy you and congratulate you on being able to make the leap. :)

[politicat]

33. If my husband ever leaves me for a 19 year old blonde with ...

huge... tracts of land, I'm an instant homeless person, though. High four figures isn't much to live on, believe me. Even taking temp writing work, I am barely going to break 10K this year.

I don't mind being a partner and taking care of our domestic corporation, though, and I know that my productivity increases his, so I figure I'm pulling my own weight.

And I had to give up the dream of practicing my art -- I don't write a lot of fiction, and what fiction I do write is very heavily focused on getting it to market and getting it out in the world, fast. I can't afford to be literary, and I end up doing a lot of research work and non-fiction private work. Fiction doesn't pay, much to my dismay, and writing about safety standards and how to best use your time in Outer Diskitonia on a budget DOES.

[Mz Pip]

26. I quit a job

that was stressful and depressing. It paid well but I wasn't very happy. I might have made a different choice if I were the sole support of my family, but I was fortunate.

I didn't regret leaving, though I did miss some of the people I worked with.

I found another job that was part time and that worked well for me.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Union Thug]

46. That's the hard part for me, I'm the sole income earner right now...

But hopefully this will change in the spring!

[puerco-bellies]

27. I'm in the process right now

The markets have been so volatile I've "burned my book" several times in the last 8 months or so. I am tired of getting my clients, and by proxy my own ass kicked. My GF the lovely Ali has been suggesting that I change careers for some time now. She see's the stress that I go through, and thinks that commodities and stock brokers are little more then well heeled pirates.

So after another massacre a few weeks ago she offered a deal to me. I am rebuilding her shower, and she said that I should just take my time don't worry about anything but work on her house in Manhattan Beach, surf and think of what I want to do with my life. I gave up my apartment and moved in with her, while I sort things out. She wants me to disregard income potential, and just focus on what I want to do.. I am clueless as to what that is but I'm enjoying working with my hands, and loving surfing almost every day. I've just finished copper-piping her house and demoed the shower. I used to do construction as a youngster so it's not too challenging.

It is interesting that now that I am afforded the opportunity to do what I want, I suddenly don't have a clue. I really enjoyed the markets. I traded with integrity, with only with my clients interest in mind. Even though commodities are by nature brutal markets, and the stress can be unbearable at times, I thought that was what I would do with the rest of my working life. Now questions arise that since I don't know what to do with my life, who then am I? Strange to be 48 and suddenly clueless about so many basic questions. I don't have any answers for you, I'm just enjoying the process.
Good luck,
p-b

Edited because I don't proof read.

[Xithras]

28. Depends on your definition of simpler.

I willingly gave up a high paying Silicon Valley tech job almost seven years ago (paid $160k a year) in favor of opening my own five man shop in the boonies and augmenting my pay by teaching at the college level. My pay was cut by more than half, but I still think it's worth it for the elimination of the three hour daily commute and the massive stress reduction that came from walking away from a modern major corporation.

Were there losses? Of course. My wife and I used to have a 50% stake in a vacation home in Tahoe, used to travel extensively, bought new cars every other year, and wasted money on all sorts of things that we really didn't need. Part of the reason for the downsizing was the realization that we were both working our asses off for "stuff" that we really didn't have any need for. We sold the vacation home, deal with older cars without any complaint, and now vacation with our family, generally to places within driving distance. There was a massive adjustment to our lifestyle, but I really don't think we lost anything of value. What we gained was more time together, and a better appreciation for the things we do have.

[Le Taz Hot]

30. Yes

I left a 6-figure position working 80-100 hours a week. Money was good, prestige was good but I had no life and was working myself to death. I worked with/for people who sacrificed their families and lives for the job and fully expected me to do the same.

I'm now working in a position making 1/3 of what I used to make so yes, no more trips to Tahiti and flying 1st class but you know what? I come in at 8:00 and leave at 5:00 and that's it. No calls at 10:00 at night. No calls from the boss on Sunday afternoon saying I need to drive to San Diego NOW to be at an 8:00 am meeting. My life is now my own. Poor though it may be, at least I own it.

[LostinVA]

31. I turned down law school to go into a field where people with Master's

make peanuts. But... 100 hour weeks? No frigging way, man... and that was more than a decade before DU!

[mdmc]

35. love your du name

I went from $59k to 25.5k when I moved from retail to politics. I don't regret it.
You just spend less...

[Union Thug]

47. I'm looking at going from 80K to 40K...

So it will be a hit, but certainly not devastating.

[mdmc]

49. take up camping

ebay and yard sales... you'll do fine. :patriot:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

37. Depends on a lot of things.

If you really hate what you're doing, making good money at it might not make up for being unhappy at work. On the other hand, you have to be able to make a living you are reasonably satisfied with. I practiced law for years and gradually grew to hate it; I got tired of all the deadlines, the long hours and the generally hostile vibe. Finally I ditched the business, went into another line of work (aviation), and now I'm a whole lot happier and less stressed out even though the money isn't exactly fabulous. I'd probably be making more money if I hadn't switched careers, but I would also probably be an exhausted, angry wreck. You have to make the decision on the basis of what's most important to you.

[Redstone]

38. Well, I'm keeping the same "job" (my business), but we're moving to

a place where the cost of living in general (and house prices specifically) are lower.

We're moving from a town in Connecticut where people will KILL to live (it is indeed a wonderful little town, but that makes its house prices high) to an equally wonderful (in our opinion) little town where nobody wants to move to because there aren't all that many jobs.

But my business is portable. We'll do OK, though Mrs R's bookkeeping business won't be able to get the hourly rates that she gets here.

But no matter. We'll be in a peaceful place where the Little Guy can run around all day, and we can walk to get anything we need.

We'll be Home.

Redstone

[Union Thug]

48. We are thinking about doing the same thing...

Selling our house, taking the equity and combining it with savings to buy a house in a less expensive area.

[momophile]

39. does joining the Peace Corps count?

toughest job you'll ever love.

[Fredda Weinberg]

40. Wouldn't want it any other way

Why should it be easy to live according to one's principles? I'll accomodate where necessary, but happy not to be part of the problem as I see it.

[NC_Nurse]

43. I left a rich guy

which most of my coworkers can't understand. I was not working raising 3 kids and being his personal valet, and underling. It got really old. He was used to ordering people around and continued the practice at home.
I left and now am married to a nice guy who is not rich guy material, at least at this point. I could care less. I went back to nursing, some days it's good, some days it sucks. At least it's a worthwhile endeavor.

I still hope to win the lottery some day. ;)