Tag: ditched

After 20 years in corporate America, this 47-year-old ditched his suit for painting, building, and sailing around the world

After 20 years in corporate America, this 47-year-old ditched his suit for painting, building, and sailing around the world

by | Apr 1, 2016 | 0 |

dan givens 2

Two decades in the corporate world was enough for 47-year-old Dan Givens.

In April 2015, he quit his job as the head of financial planning and analysis for OpenTable, rented his house in San Francisco, and set off for the coast of southern Chile.

“I got tired of working so hard for corporate America and longed for work that was more impactful to others and more meaningful to me,” he tells Business Insider. “I decided to take time off from the working world to explore the ‘actual’ world. I didn’t have a formal plan, but I figured this was as good a time as any to do something radical. I was single and I had a few passions that I wanted to explore: sailing, travel, photography, and helping others.”

Since trading in his home and career for a backpack, camera, and life on the road, he has spent time in Chile, Germany, and Thailand, volunteering for “host families” in exchange for room and board.

We spoke to Givens about his new lifestyle: what it looks like, the reality of living and working abroad, and how he’s affording it.

SEE ALSO: One couple quit their jobs to build a new life traveling the US in a 98-square-foot tiny home

“The thought of building a career and lifestyle around travel has been percolating in the back of my mind for as long as I can remember,” he says.

He pulled the trigger in April 2015, when he quit his job and spent the next couple of months preparing for a new life on the road. He packed up his home and made it “rental ready,” set up his website, Dannyboy Travels, finished his sailing certifications, and looked up visa requirements in various countries.

Having worked full-time for the past 20 years while supporting only himself, Givens had a substantial savings built up, despite living in the pricey Bay Area. He was able to save about a year’s worth of after-tax salary to spend on the road. He also built a financial plan before jet-setting, factoring in expenses, income, investment return, and tax rate.

His adventure officially began August 25, 2015, when he set off for Tenglo Island, off the coast of southern Chile, where he would do volunteer work for three families.

He finds his hosts through internet bulletin boards, such as Help-X, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), and Find a Crew. In exchange for labor, he gets a roof to sleep under and at least one meal a day.

The work is usually physical — in Chile, he pruned apple trees, painted houses, and cleaned sailboats — but he’s also taught English and done some web and multimedia work. While his schedule varies depending on the type of work, his host, and the weather, he spends about four to five hours a day doing volunteer work, Monday through Friday.

“I like the variety of the work, the physical nature of the work, and the impact of the work,” Givens says. “I like the fresh air, fresh faces, and fresh perspective on life.”

The duration of his stays varies. There is no contract, so he can stay as long or as short as he wants.

After a month in Chile, he returned to San Francisco to regroup for a few days before heading to Germany to spend time with friends. In late October, he bought a one-way ticket to Thailand, where he would spend the next three months helping a family run a resort, which consisted of 15 bungalows and a restaurant.

“I helped install outdoor lighting and walkways, prepared the foundation for a beach bar, and painted the buildings,” he explains. “I also built a spreadsheet for them to manage their bookings online, instead of using pen and paper. Lastly, I implemented a set of procedures for cleaning rooms and public areas.”

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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A 35-year-old and his wife ditched the rat race for a cabin in the woods and now live off the grid debt-free

A 35-year-old and his wife ditched the rat race for a cabin in the woods and now live off the grid debt-free

by | Mar 21, 2016 | 0 |

Dan Timmerman lives off the grid

Professional cyclist Dan Timmerman always wanted direct access to nature. Sitting around observing it from a distance was never enough. He wanted to be in nature.

Five years ago, Timmerman and his wife, Sam, bought a 10-acre property in rural New York and moved into a cabin. They have lived there ever since.

While the couple hasn’t totally rejected modern life — they have no TV, but do own cellphones, laptops, and cars — they lead an unconventional lifestyle that is simple and enlightening. They own their property outright, have no debt, and live on solar power.

DirtWireTV recently profiled Timmerman for a day-in-the-life video, and Business Insider later caught up with him to learn more about what it’s like living off the grid.

DON’T MISS: One of the hottest things in cycling right now is riding your bike someplace far and then taking the train home

SEE ALSO: 35-year-old American who thinks modern life is too stressful works 6 months a year, then lives on $10 a day adventuring around the world on a bicycle

By living in their cabin off the grid, Timmerman and his wife, who is a caterer, have saved a good deal of money.

“We’re on the reduce-your-expenses method,” he told Business Insider. “This is an off-the-grid cabin that we bought pretty cheaply, and living this way is cheap. We don’t have many expenses, if any, basically just a cellphone bill.

“We have plenty of money in the savings, and I’m able to work as a professional racer mainly because of the way that we live. If I had to pay rent in town it would be a different story.”

“Off the grid” can have a lot of meanings. For Timmerman, it means their cabin isn’t connected to the electrical grid at all.

“We have our solar power, which is stored in batteries. A lot of people assume that means you’re also disconnected, but that’s not true in our case. We are connected. We talk on the phone. We have the internet.”

Though Timmerman and his wife live in the woods, that doesn’t mean they aren’t connected to the world. They have cellphones and laptops, using mobile data to go online. While they don’t stream movies, they occasionally watch DVDs. He uses the internet to keep up with the bike-racing community and do research for all his projects.

“We’re pretty content,” he says. “Living in the city or in town, you have the social aspects and the conveniences, but you’re surrounded by concrete and motors, you know? For us it’s more worth it to be out here, to have access to the natural world, have our place, and do all the projects we want to do.”

Timmerman says living off the grid does have drawbacks.

“We end up driving more because my wife works in Ithaca, and we’re 18 miles outside of town. And certain times of the year, like winter, you tend to feel a bit isolated. But it’s not like we live in the middle of a mountain with nobody around us. We have a pretty hoppin’ village eight miles away, and we go in, and we have friends down the hill.”

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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