I question things which people take for granted. I would have been that kid who said the emperor was naked. In real life that kid would probably have been lynched, but I'll take my chances...
I believe truth inherently valuable, no matter how well intentioned the ideology it dispels may be.
I also write about random interesting things from my personal life.
A video I did for an environmental blog (faircompanies.com) was posted on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJc8973GURk
It is almost up to a quarter million views!
I
have been getting people all over the country tracking me down on
Facebook and asking to be friends and asking questions after the see it.
Since
there are probably plenty of people with the same questions who don't
go to the trouble to track me down, I'm reposting my answers to some of
those questions here:
I got a free copy of the Utne
Reader at the SF Green festival.
First one I had ever read, although I recognized the name as something Aileen
had recommended years ago.
It was chock full of interesting articles on a wide variety of important
issues, many of which are relevant to me. I think I'll subscribe.
Three articles inspired letters to the editor, (two of which are available to
read on their website).
Category
18; in which you can live cheap, no matter your income
Buy an RV.
Move into a mobile home park with an empty space.
You get: a legal place to stay, as well as water, sewer, garbage, mailbox, (all
paid for)
electricity, phone, cable, (you pay for - but electric bills in RV can be very
small - $20 a month - because it is built to be efficient enough to run off of
a battery for a week)
More space and privacy than a room - some larger ones have more space than a
studio. No sharing a bathroom or kitchen
with roommates, or even walls with a neighbor.
$400 - $500 a month in the most expensive housing markets in the world! No income
guidelines, no rent control, that is just market value for an RV space. 20 minutes
from SF, and 20 minutes from Manhattan NY
– where a one bedroom apartment can cost $1500 a month. RV space rent is less than you would pay for
just a single room in someone else’s home.
If you live somewhere cheaper, you can find spaces with hook ups for $200 a month.
You don't have to share walls, you're safe in an earthquake (built in shock
absorbers), if you ever have to evacuate you can take your whole house with
you! It is really easy to move if you want to, you help the environment with
super efficient lighting / fridge / etc, it comes fully furnished, you can take
it on vacation...
And, you actually pay less than a homeowner - never mind the down payment,
closing costs, brokers fees, and the interest on the mortgage (anywhere from
50% to 200% of the purchase price!!!!!!) - you forgo homeowners insurance (full
timers insurance is cheap), water / sewer / garbage bills, property taxes, any HOA fees, most home maintenance bills, large utility bills...
but you still have a place that is all your own.
[I compared what I pay now in rent with what it would cost me to buy a
foreclosed fixer-upper in a not-especially-nice area (ok – a downright scary
area), and I would most likely NEVER even break even, not even once the house
was paid off and I sold it with.
People always say you should buy if you can, to avoid “throwing away” money on
rent that doesn’t pay equity. It may be
true more often than not that buying saves money compared to renting in the
long run, but it ‘aint necessarily so.
Take a look at the calculator here:
Plug in some variables and see the effect of adding in all
the calculations that most people forget to include when determining if they
really come out ahead with a home purchase - even if they sold before the
housing market bubble popped. If
everyone had used this before, all that craziness would probably never have
happened in the first place.]
Quarter million dollar 42ft ultra luxury coaches not-with-standing,
there is another side to RVing which is the polar opposite of the one you
illustrate.
Using an RV primarily as a vehicle is of course very inefficient, using it
primarily as a home (which, as you illustrate, can be much more comfortable
than most would assume) is actually far more efficient than most regular
homes. The appliances in an RV are designed to be able to run off
batteries and stored water for weeks, and therefor use a fraction of the
electricity, water, and gas of a typical stationary house. As an example,
my electric bills are 1/5th the average for my area.
In addition, while the average rent for a 1bedroom apartment in the SF area is
around $1000 to $1500 a month, an RV space goes for $500 or less. It is
the most affordable (non-subsidized)housing available.
