What would you do if you were rich/brave/free?

[IdentifyasTired]

New Year is a funny old time for me. It throws up a mixture of gratitude for the life I have and regrets about the life I could've had.
I have a normal and lovely life in lots of ways but if I were brave/rich/disciplined enough I would:

1. Homeschool my children
2. Travel for much of the year
3. Sell our house and all our stuff. 4. Buy a motor home/ RV.
4. Go totally vegan, plastic free, zero waste and live a life in line with my values rather than societal norms.

As in every January, I'm sat in my comfortable chair in my comfortable sitting room in my comfortable house watching my children play and watch tv in their pyjamas, pondering what could have been and if I will ever get closer to the life I really want.

What life would you lead if only you could?

I also have eco ambitions. I'd love to build a passiv house. I'd need loads of money for the house (which I sadly don't have).

Ooh, I need to find out about these passiv houses. That's new to me!

Go totally vegan, plastic free, zero waste and live a life in line with my values rather than societal norms.

This is partly possible without much money.

now..if I were rich I would...

sit in my comfortable chair in my comfortable sitting room in my comfortable house watching my children play and watch tv in their pyjamas...

instead of rushing around doing stuff, I'd pay others to do it and take time to relax and smell the roses...

It is Marie and I do a lot of it already. But the children still have plastic toys (Lego etc), we wear clothes made with acrylic etc etc.
It is difficult to opt out of all of it!

Sounds good Beyond 👍

I would give up work and travel. I have been fortunate to see a fair amount of the world already, but the moreI travel the more I realise how much more is out there, if only I had enough free time. The necessity to earn a living is a bloody nuisance which interferes with the rest of my life.

Move to Paris
Exist on coffee, green beans and a fag
Float about the Tuileries looking chic

But LEGO isn’t single-use plastic. We have had some of ours for 40 years.

Clothes made from bamboo are a good option. Also buying less clothes.

I'd try living in new countries and immerse myself in different languages/cultures for indefinite amounts of time. I'd start by learning a bit of the language before I went and look to do some kind of work or get involved in local activities. When I was younger I was always too focussed on exams/career etc to do this and now it would be much more complicated to do with children/husband/mortgage etc.

I'd go to a bootcamp for three months until I was at optimal fitness and then hike forever. I'd love to walk right across the world.

Currently on the sofa, working from home on my laptop, two stone overweight and pretty creaky. But in my dreams I'm Cheryl Strayed.

I would take the DC out of school, homeschool and travel.

Loving all these replies. Some common themes appearing.

Fuck off back to the aid sector in the field (short-term contracts so not a great move for someone my age who doesn't own a home to come back to in the down time)

I can (and do!) dream

And if I was younger too, I'd take two years to really get to know interesting places I'm never going to work in - Uzbekistan, Laos, maybe India... Nice dreams!

Marie yes you're right and I do agree with you.
In my idealised life I would however say no to much that abounds. Christmas jumper day? No.
The kids eating chocolate made from palm oil? No.
Endless party bags filled with plastic junk? Nope, it's not coming with us.
As it is I say yes to a lot that I disagree with or dislike.

I'd shag the guy from work.

Jack my job in and write that damn book.

I could actually afford to do it, at a pinch.

But

I might fail. So I don’t.

Homeschool the dc and travel with them.

Fair enough Morris, fair enough

Stop letting work take over my life.
Move back home
Breed golden retrievers
Homeschool too possibly!
Eat a much greener raw macrobiotic diet and get children to do the same.
Stop fretting about my health.
Find a way for someone else to help me carry the load of my family finances.

Did the sums yesterday. If I work 2 more years and save hard then I will be able to sell up and go travelling ( brexit rules allowing)

Suddenly becomes real, and suddenly really really scary

In an example of rank hypocrisy, I would also love to have more children to go with my new ultra eco life (yes IABU)

I'd move back to my home country, take the dc with me, and live where there are four sharply delineated seasons. Enjoy the outdoors again, live a slower life. Volunteer.

I would love a big private plot of land and to totally design my own house from start to finish.

I would like lots of rescue animals horses cows goats rabbits! Just a few of each to enjoy nothing id be over whelmed with but to take up a good chunk of my day!

I'd love my kids to be at home all the time

Pink and Almost
Do it do it do it.