Like many of us I am seeking a simpler life. I have lived a fairly simple life thus far (moderately frugal and unmaterialistic) but at 46, do I really want to continue the more mainstream experience when I find it unfulfilling? The answer to that question is no of course.
I have started the process, I have informed the company I work for that I am leaving. It was an easy decision despite being there for almost 20 years. While the pay was ok, there are no benefits besides vacation time (no healthcare even) and even that is hard to take as we are understaffed and most of us have multiple roles within the company. I do some accounting, all HR and payroll, all IT and most Project Coordination now. We used to have a separate person for each role with me being IT but we have downsized obviously. I am totally burnt out.
What I seek is more life meaning in a more outdoor / artistic setting. I hesitate to also say a raw setting but the city is just so sterile and structured so raw does help describe what I am looking for. I have always been drawn to the desert and am certainly looking at Arizona and New Mexico as possible places to move to. I would love a place with a bit of elevation but still has some trees and rocks/boulders around. I currently live in a flat rockless area of the US. Its easy to just buy a house there but I also want to explore buying property in an area without many building limitations and building a small house, workshop, garden, etc; perhaps with likeminded people.
I am debt free with my current house and car paid for so will not be going into this change with a financial burden. I also do not have any college debt as I joined the Air National Guard (I was Munitions) which paid for my undergraduate degree and got a Graduate Assistantship which paid for my graduate degree which was an MBA. Once I commit and sell my house I will have some money to make this happen.
The biggest question is where and possibly with who? I like the idea of ecovillages but the ones I can find on the net are quite expensive. Finding a group of likeminded people to do this with would make this a lot less scary rather than jumping in this adventure all alone. I have about 3 weeks left of training my replacement (definitely not burning any bridges as there is a strong likelihood of me doing some consulting for them which should help pay my expenses in a new location) then I will be taking a trip to explore different areas (mostly AZ and NM) to see if they would be a good fit for me.
The big question I have is: Does anyone have any areas to suggest to me? Any established groups to visit? I few places I plan on visiting right now are Bisbee and Prescott AZ; and Silver City, Las Vegas and Taos NM. Any place I move to needs to have abundant outdoor activities as I enjoy hiking, biking and camping.
thanks
Submitted March 07, 2018 at 10:28AM by Lythandra http://ift.tt/2D8mGFI
