Living an unconventional lifestyle is rather exciting. Sure, at times lonely. As in, you’re the weirdo who is going against the grain. And the fear there is that if you fail everyone will tell you, I told you so.
Yes, it’s lonely doing things your own way. And you’re gonna have to figure it all out on your own. There likely won’t be any guidelines and you’re gonna fuck things up.
But, then again, are those around you who are living conventional lives as content as you’d want to be? Are they squeezing everything out of life that they want? If so, why be unconventional. There is safety in following the crowd … sometimes.
Move in With Family
Want to be a rebel? Move in with family at age 45. Who gives a shit what others think? Get along with moms? Have a good time hanging out with pops? Move in with them. So many cultures do it, why can’t you?
You’ll save money. You’ll grow with parents and appreciate aging. You’ll help them out around the house and you’ll have new friends to do something with.
And, because it’s your parents, you’ll get an advanced course on patience.
Save 90% of Your Income
People will assure you that you cannot live on $20,000 a year. But many Americans live on that amount, comfortably so.
Save and invest the difference and see what that wealth can do for you and your community in the future.
You’ll be cutting out a lot of expenses. But in a modern society like ours everything you really need is already provided for you. The majority of our spending is elective – we just have gotten used to using the word “needing it”.
Pay off Debt in 3 Years
Attack the shit out of your student loans. Send every last penny towards that debt.
When friends ask you to go out for a meal or to take trip with them, be like, sorry, have to pay off my debt, don’t have any money to spend.
Be debt free, be different. It’s an amazing feeling to know that every penny you earn is yours. It opens up options which you didn’t consider before.
Being debt free makes you less scared, more generous, and less worried.
Go Live Somewhere Else
Get up and uproot yourself and move to a new place. Forget your attachment to your house, your farm, your neighborhood, your mountain/beach view, your family nearby, the nearby yoga studio.
Move to another state or another country. Start all over and get your medical license in Spain, or Canada or Australia.
Learn a new language, make new friends, and adopt a new culture. You’ll always have your home country to get back to. Nothing lost.
Work Only 10 Hours a Week
Give your job the middle finger, walk out, and wok per diem. Work 10 hours a week. At $150/hour that’s $1,500 a week, enough to live in Los Angeles and still buy new boxers.
Or do telemedicine and earn $250/hour and now you can afford socks too.
Yes, you’ll be a dropout and a burnout but you’ll have decreased your risk of being sued and have all this extra time to live and enjoy life.
Retire at 45
You don’t have to retire at 65, you can retire from medicine whenever you want, as long as you align all the little duckies. Pay off the debt, pay off the home, save up the cash, and get yourself in top physical shape.
Or go find the kind of job from which you’ll have no desire to retire from. Open your own online telemedicine practice. Or a small Community Health Center.
Be unconventional and enjoy opportunities that others can’t afford.
Buy Your House in Cash
They say that there are no affordable homes left in the US. Perhaps not for the average household but medical professionals earn above average income and so they have above average savings potential.
Save that money and buy the house in cash. Live debt free. Maybe it won’t be the house of your dreams but it’ll be your paid-off house somewhere in the US – a damn good country to own property in.
Some pay $2,000 per month for property taxes, $1,000 for their utilities. Buy a cheaper house, a smaller house and you’ll pay 1/10th that in ongoing expenses.
Don’t Get Married
Feel the pressure to get married? You don’t have to get married. Others have done so and still enjoy fulfilling relationships.
Nothing wrong with marriage but it often is a heavy handed proposition. It comes with a lot of promises and responsibilities and all sorts of pressure.
Think you’ll be alone forever if you don’t get married? The solution to loneliness isn’t a monogamous legal contract, it’s feeling supported by close friends or a community.
Don’t Have Kids
I’ve heard it all, from being selfish to being afraid of being a father. That I’ll regret not having kids and that I won’t have someone taking care of me.
Don’t make life decisions just so you don’t have regrets – that’s the most defensive way to live life. Make bold decisions which are in line with your nature.
Wanna be a parent? Wanna be a grandparents to someone? There are tons of kids out there who don’t have all the support they need. We should all be parents to all kids around us regardless of our genetic connection to them.
2 replies on “Live an Unconventional Lifestyle”
I can’t believe no one has left a comment yet!
I’m a non-traditional medical student, and I live differently from my classmates. I enjoy their company, but sometimes I just enjoy doing my own thing and not worrying about what they think.
Of course this alienates me in a sense. When I want to hang out with them, I have to really make an effort. But at the same time, I have to be intentional about who I hang out with and what I do. I don’t just hang out with them because they’re already there and I know them.
This is a skill that will help me in the future. When I go to residency, I’m not going to know everyone. I’m going to have to make friends outside of work. Approaching medical school like it’s high school is and you just hang out with people because that’s who happens to be in your vicinity…that’s not going to take you very far!
And don’t even get me started on the pressure to get married…why bring the government and the law into my relationships! I prefer my freedom and independence, thank you.
Thank you so much for this post. When you’re out there living you’re life the way you WANT to live it, everyone is a critic. No one is a supporter.
It’s nice to finally hear a different perspective, one that upholds the value of independence, heterodoxy, and just plain embracing your own unique weirdness.
Thanks for you comment. In the beginning and on the surface you’ll have a hard time meeting others like yourself and soon you’ll be able to connect with others who are also living unconventional lifestyles. Most will be more understanding and supportive. But no matter how enlightened a person is, you might get some pushback on your ideas. I think of it as a way for a person to challenge their own beliefs. Not always with an ill intention, just for them to maybe connect better with you.
I hope someone like yourself will have a positive influence on others so that they too can live an unconventional lifestyle and escape the rat race.