If you don't live in a standard "normal" way, how do you live?

[curiositykilledthecatsplat]

Curious to know how people live if you don't live in "standard" way, how do you live? ie you live in a commune, you travel the world with your family etc etc

@Svag

Some pictures taken when working.

Stunning views

I used to live alone on an otherwise uninhabited island. And I spent a year as a postulant in an enclosed order of nuns.

@Svag wow! Do you speak Norwegian and why does the government need vets-is it monitoring farm animals/that kind of thing?

@PigGondola
Wow that is very unusual
Would love to hear your nun stories

Haven't worked for 12 years, live on the coast, no children. Dh worked until fairly but has now taken early retirement . We get up when we choose and do what we want , when we want , no money troubles, but choose to live a fairly simple life i.e both have cars but don't feel the need to have latest, and see no reason but have a wardrobe full of designer clothes.

We live in a multi generation family household if that counts?

My life isn't crazy unusual but not hugely standard. Currently husband doesn't work as he is a student and I'm working part time self employed. We are very cash poor. We survive. It's not the best but it's nice that we are both available for our small children.

@Svag

I moved last year to the far north of Norway, up inside the Arctic Circle. I work as a government vet here and sometimes spend my days driving through spectacular scenery, still amazed that someone is paying me for the privilege!

Wow Svag that must be a pretty spectacular place to live. Do you speak Norwegian? If so, how long did it take you to learn?

@ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba

we have 7 kids - does that count as not standard?😁

looking forward to unconventional living stories!

Are you the Von Trapp family?

I've just got back to the UK after 22 years living overseas, including on a houseboat in Amsterdam (and Italy, Germany, Thailand, US, Scandinavia amongst others).

When DD was 9 months old I got offered work in Italy, booked a nanny and jetted off with her and didn't really return.

In terms of languages from a PP, I'm passable in Thai, German, French and Dutch and had lessons in all of them.

I've been living in Asia for the past 15 years so can't wait to get travelling in the Northern Hemisphere, and like @DesertRoze I'm more than happy to go inter-railing on my own in my 50s as soon as the world opens up again.

Not me, but a few friends.

1. A family with two teenagers that lives part-time in the UK and part-time on the continent. She can work anywhere, his job is in Europe, the kids went full time remote learning during the pandemic.

2. A lady, mid-forties got a job as a very highly paid IT consultant twenty-odd years ago, does the odd contract for a few months and then travels for a few months. No kids or partner, no desire to settle down.

3. An actor friend (mid forties) lives in a commune in massive massive period city centre property that is part of a family argument - the grandfather decided to let people live there for free rather than sell to his nephew. Full of post docs and phds and musicians and actors. Drives him mad with the chaos and mess.

DH and I live on different continents, in normal times we see one another about every 4-6 weeks, me and kids go to where he is for school holidays and he visits here in between times. Sadly Covid has put a stop to our arrangements and not seen him since December. It normally works quite well for us though, our family time together is top quality and we still get to be independent and not fed up with each other after 20 yrs of marriage. Business and schooling has shaped our unconventional set up

I was also home educated myself which is probably more interesting.

Great topic - looking forward to reading this later

My DD is best friends with a young member of the Saudi royal family. They were in international school together and are very close. We’ve been flown on private jets to private islands and luxury hotels for weekends and holidays so they can spend time together all expenses paid.

DD is in Uni now so old enough to jet off by herself to meet her friend we are now surplus but we still get invited to parties at their house where we live.

Don’t know if that counts

Not exactly lifestyle but possibly on the unique side these days but I have worked in the same place for 29 years (and still love it).

[quote TooInvested]@Svag wow! Do you speak Norwegian and why does the government need vets-is it monitoring farm animals/that kind of thing?[/quote]
It’s similar to the FSA in the UK. Norway has very strict rules governing animal health and welfare and because I’m in the far north and everything is very spread out, we cover a huge area. I do all kinds of things.

Part of my job involves going out on welfare visits, a bit like RSPCA inspectors in the UK. There’s a monitoring program for farm animals where we do random testing for notifiable diseases and also for foreign substances (antibacterials, heavy metals, radioactivity etc) in milk or other products. I also work in an abattoir part of the time, so it’s not all sunshine and mountains, but even there the welfare standards are very high.

I do speak Norwegian fairly fluently, though that remains the most challenging part of the job for me. I have to understand and apply the animal welfare laws.

I spend a lot of time climbing in and out of protective clothing as we are not allowed inside farm buildings without it. Should there be an outbreak of bird flu in our area, it would be our job to go out and tackle it. I’m hoping that doesn’t happen!

Some more photos attached.

What’s unique about being a builder Logmein

We have six kids and homeschool them all I don’t know how unusual that is! Other than that we are fairly standard. DH has a very boring normal office job.

I home ed 3dc through choice.

Every now and then, instead of a holiday I go and live somewhere for a month. So I rent a flat or something, see the world differently; last time I did it I rented a flat in, literally in, Markthal.

Some of these are really not unusual!

Others sound really interesting.

I live in a witches cottage in woodland, with a full size labyrinth and a working well.

Used to travel around the world a lot with my grandparents who’s work would place them in some lovely places, even got to go to Disneyworld and swim with dolphins more than once🙈🤣 now have 5 children of my own and live in a beautiful holiday spot in north Wales so every day feels like a holiday, chips at the beach etc it’s lovely x

I'm sadly the boring, responsible one. I'm surrounded by the weird and wonderful but love my normal home life.

I have several family members who believe they can communicate with animals/through their minds/with the dead/with God. There are lots of meetings with like minded folk to showcase everyone's talents. It's all a bit cultish.

I was involved in a commune when younger but the lack of sanitation and proper medication made me reconsider. And they were very against having a television.

I started being involved with recycling years ago but it's now mainstream.