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

Last night I watched a bear pull a bird feeder out of my tree and then dump it and wander off when it found the feeder to be empty. Does that count?

I guess my lifestyle is currently somewhat unconventional these days. But more by accident than design.
My base is in a crazy house share by the sea. But I'm often away house sitting among other things. I lived in a caravan for a few weeks last year when I worked on an organic fruit farm.
I don't have a career, but cobble a vague living together this way and that. In any given year, I could be doing a multitude of things. A patchwork work life! The rest of the time I commune with nature, write poetry, draw etc.
I live cheaply. I only earned about £10,000 last year, and saved about £2000 of it.
In any given year I could (for a living) be fruit picking, dog walking, vegan cake making, proof reading, working as a film extra etc.
Funnily enough, I'm starting a new temp job on a fruit farm today. One of many.
I also lived under a tree for a while (long story!)

[quote habibihabibi]@DesertRoze
I think I have met you or someone very similar in real life.[/quote]
I'm absolutely certain I recognize @DesertRoze from a now almost extinct forum for middle eastern expat women, back in the day when she was still married. I probably know you from there by another name, @habibihabibi (I can't remember what I went by then, but it won't have been this name.)

@Sometimesfraught82

Single parent here

With very very wealthy ex

So afford me and children a quality of life that would not even be close to possible otherwise

Generally goes down like a sack of spuds on mumsnet re this kind of thing!

It only goes down like a sack of spuds if people rub it in how much disposible income they have to tinker with when there are people struggling to feed their family on NMW. ie not reading the room or being tone-deaf.

Otherwise I'm sure everyone's delighted for someone with millions sloshing around their Coutts account.

@Jaichangecentfoisdenom

EW?

I used to work as a fashion stylist but as I approached my 30s I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere (financially) so went to uni at age 30, not the most exciting thing to do but I’m the only one of my friends who had a creative job or even changed career in their adult life. I’m now studying psychology and plan to be an academic. Hoping to keep away from traditional 9-5 jobs if possible.

Not me but my best friend. Lived all over the world working in refugee camps orphanages and the like. Married and came to the UK. Her DH is significantly older than her and very wealthy and retired decades ago. She has just retired aged 43 as they want to focus wholly on their disabled son and give him as many enriching experiences as possible such as travel etc.

She;s the most modest unassuming empathetic person, always going through life with a smile and a kind word and kinder heart. I'm delighted that she and her DH can just scale everything back and focus on their son and what is best for him. She's also been the object of much jealousy and envy from people but always just says she knows how lucky she is and never throws it in anyones face. I feel honoured that she is my closest friend, and sometimes try and channel her kindess when I am feeling particularly unkind. (about colleagues mostly!)

I guess I’m unconventional ish, I have worked as an artist in my 20’s as well as nannying on the side. I also have volunteered as a youth mentor for two years and now volunteer as a counsellor. I’m a student now I’m my 30s but crave more adventure

[quote HrhMargie]@PigGondola we also used to get bread from a local bakery 😁 Some of my squat friends used to go 'shopping' in the supermarket bins, but i was too timid to go along with that. Plus I worked in a normal job and didn't have to.
My neighbours and friends we mainly punks, musicians, other immigrants like me and drug dealers. We lived in our building though with the councils knowledge and I suppose with some kind of permission and used to hold meetings with them to discuss matters. Fun times..[/quote]
I love the idea that London bakeries were regularly giving handouts to local squatters.

Love these threads

IME most people simultaneously believe that their lives are entirely, 100% normal whilst also fearing that people will discover how weird they are. I would guess that people who think they are offbeat and unconventional might be surprised at how normal they are!

I grew up in the States, UK and southern Africa. Student in Calorie ia then drove trucks across Africa and Asia for a gew years, becamr an aid worker foe another few years, then got a 'normal' job in the UK. Had DS and moved to France when he was tiny. Had DD there and moved back to UK, now single- raised the DCs alone mostly. Took DCs out of school before they left primary school, bought a camper van, drove round No Morocco and Europe for 5 months. I wanted to get a job in Venice and stay there but DS was upset and wanted to come back to school so back we came. Have been living a conventional life for 6 years now, but another 3 years and school's done and I'll be free. Planning long distance hikes and hopefully buy a boat and go sailing. I'll have to cash in a pension to do it but that's the plan. It might change :) I don't like planning roo much.

California. Bloody autocorrect.

For people who live off grid, like in Norway and and on tropical islands, what the hell are you doing on mumsnet ? Genuinely curious.

I spent 3 years hitching and cycling around the world on my own. I stayed in dollar a night hotels, strangers' houses and camped out. I've seen living gods and met fire worshippers, been held up at gunpoint, hiked up volcanoes and removed scorpions from my bed. I had to come back for family reasons. I wonder how much more of my life I will waste stuck in a pokey house with an unambitious husband and a wanker of a boss, and whether I'll ever be able to feel really alive again.

I was brought up in an oil-rich country in the Middle East (my father worked for the oil company) from when i was just six weeks old up to the age of 18. This was in the 50s and 60s.
We lived in the company town, full of British expats and some Americans, in a company house, a 4-bed bungalow with servants' quarters, shopped in the company supermarket, went to the company school and spent our free time at the company Club.
This had just about everything , it was huge with a large swimming pool, bars, tennis and squash courts, a library, snooker, regular dinner dances, tombola evenings and outdoor cinema. Highlight of the week was the curry lunch at the Club.
We had servants -- an ayah when we were small, a cook and a houseboy.

It eas a strange, quasi-colonial and hierarchical existence with quite a rigid 'officers and other ranks' mentality. But quite idyllic for children and teenagers. We lived on the edge of town, right by the desert
We could hire the crewed company launch for a day to take out into the Gulf and picnic on a tiny deserted island. We would dive off the boat and swim to the island. (And get very sunburnt.).
My father worked on the rigs with quite a few Texans -- they really knew how to party. At least, until the country went 'dry' in the 60s. After that, people brewed, and even distilled, their own booze. Quite illegal. Dreadful stuff but it didn't stop us getting plastered on it as teenagers,

We're fairly normal afaik... but probably unconventional for mn in we wont retire by 50/have a second home/earn over 60k/etc 😁

@EggysMom

I don't have an Instagram nor a WhatsApp account - that seems pretty unusual these days!

I don’t think most people over 40 have Instagram?…. Not the ones I know! WhatsApp is great though

@DesertRoze

I’ve namechanged for this.

I arrived in the Middle East as the 18 year old bride of a gulf National many many moons ago and though my marriage ended after almost 40 years I’m still here. Not that we’re divorced but we are separated and I’m the one still living here in my husbands home country whilst he has gone on to pastures new.

It’s been so interesting and included stints living in the desert as well as on an island where I was the only European women for long periods of time.

My children also lived in out of the way places with us before we made their education a priority and settled down in the city.

I laugh when I see influencers on the likes of Instagram posting their pictures of places they think they’ve discovered and I can recall being there 40 odd years ago when it really was something to write about.

My youngest adult son is severely autistic and I live with him in a custom built house that caters for all of his needs as well as mine as a mum who is too old to look after him on her own nowadays and needs the help of a 2-1 round the clock team of carers. All of my children live very close by, minutes away, and we see a lot of each other. My husband almost killed us such was the pain of our family breakdown but we got back on our feet and we are doing absolutely grand.

I’ve recently been asked to write a book about my experiences but right now I can’t honestly be bothered. I’ve had a very serious health scare this year and I like getting up in the morning and pleasing myself apart from days I look after some of my grandchildren so their parents can work.

I also travel quite a bit and my next adventure is to inter rail through Europe alone as soon as it’s ok to do so. I didn’t have a gap year so I’m going to do at 64 what I could have done at 18 if circumstances had been different. Im not buying a back pack though, I’ll stick to a suitcase, but I will stay in hostels when available.

I’ve had the most interesting of lives and I’ve absolutely no regrets.

I find this fascinating. So you sat you and your son live in a purpose built house,m that caters for all is needs etc which is great. My question would be, did you have to find that yourself or is there government help?

I often think as a westerner, that the healthcare/social are wouldn’t be great but that’s perhaps a misconception?

fund

I work for myself from home, doing a job that most people think is just for pocket money. There's not really any "work" involved. I actually earn more now than I did as a Bank Manager.

* A patchwork work life! The rest of the time I commune with nature, write poetry, draw etc.*

And post on mumsnet

@daisychain01

As I said, goes down like a sack of spuds with some mumsnetters

@MaxNormal haha - that show is scripted. Guests can be much worse...

I am an expat. I left my home country 20 years ago and have lived in 4 different countries since then. 6 years in England. Spent 12 years in 2 different countries in South East Asia and I'm in the Middle East now. I work as a teacher in International schools. Great life. Nannies, rent/flights/private healthcare/free schooling etc included in the packages. I've started feeling like we could go home recently. My DH keeps laughing at me and saying I would miss the nanny/maid too much. He's probably right.