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Lifestyle Change

TheNiche

By TheNiche
in Coastal Prairie and Bay

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TheNiche

TheNiche

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I have (apparently) made some good investments, am very well-positioned to repeat the same business model in the near future, and am on the verge of a change in lifestyle. I am set to leave my current job within a week, after which I will conduct some personal business which will leave me cash-heavy, and then I will take an indefinite vacation that will hopefully last no fewer than a couple of weeks. Upon my return, I intend to make improvements to my condo, sell it, and reposition my living arrangements so as to satisfy two requirements: 1) low-budget, and 2) unique/exotic. Commute into town is exceptionally low on the priority list; if I am employed again, it will almost certainly be under circumstances favorable to telecommuting and flexible hours. If my condo sells promptly, I will live in a warehouse I own for a short while, but that space needs to produce rental income, so it would be a very temporary arrangement. Beyond that, I have some options, arranged from most lucrative to least lucrative.

  • Build out a two-car garage and efficiency unit in the addition of my slow-flip in Eastwood and live there. Upside is that it isn't expensive at all, it will eventually have to be built anyway, and the improvements can be sold at a substantial profit later on without greatly depreciating them in the mean time. Downside is that it doesn't fulfill my preference for something exotic.
  • Buy a 36- to 42-foot sailboat, rent a slip in the Clear Lake area, become a live-aboard. This can be accomplished with a nearly cash-neutral position compared to what I pay for housing as of today. Downside is cramped quarters and that boats require frequent maintenance, upside is cramped quarters and the recreational possibilities. A minimalist at heart, I neither need or necessarily desire a whole lot of floor space.
  • Buy a small home on stilts in Oak Island or Smith Point with water access, buy a smaller 25-foot sailboat. House is not cute, cannot be made cute, but doesn't need to be. Mosquitoes abound. Upside is the rural setting and the water. It may cost slightly more than what I'm paying for today, but I'd get a larger living area and probably up to a half-acre to work with, all very far away from civilization (which is my preference).

I am very open to suggestion and comments from fellow HAIFers. By all means, think out of the box, but at the same time, think low-budget. I am not opposed to living on a gorgeous lot within a trashy neighborhood, or in mobile home in a really appealing neighborhood. But if I'm paying too much, I don't have enough to plow back into my active ventures, and I just won't stand for that.

Have fun. Be creative.

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TheNiche

TheNiche

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some of those boat slips aren't cheap monthly. why don't you live in the eastwood house? i lived in mine while i redid it. while it wasn't pretty, i always had a toilet and frig.

Financially, it's far and away my best option. It is also the least desirable for me, personally. This is why I've opened up the conceptual ideas to the forum and asked for more suggestions. I'm trying to strike the right balance between frugal and unique.

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ArchitecturalPRGirl

ArchitecturalPRGirl

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First of all, congratulations! Good for you for taking the life change plunge. I did it recently and things couldn't be better. I think the options you've come up with are viable and interesting. Telecommuting is the way of the future (I'm writing an article on how this affects employee/office culture).

Maybe you should move to Marfa, it costs next to nothing to live there and property values out there are booming. My parents have a friend that lived in their airstream on some land they bought for like 2 years while saving to build a house. People are creative out there. The Marfa Lights Festival is this weekend and Chinati weekend is October 5-7, maybe you should check one of those out.

Just FYI, my parents just got rid of their sailboat because they CONSTANTLY had to do maintenance on it and not to mention the slip was $500 a month!

Good luck!

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moni

moni

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Let me second the congrats! I think you should find the location first. Like, check out Marfa and other rural areas that have appeal to you. This is the most important first step. Then, check out links to mobile and modular buildings that you can mold into something exotic just for you. Here is an interesting link:

http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/fabnews.htm

Best of luck.

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TheNiche

TheNiche

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First of all, congratulations! Good for you for taking the life change plunge. I did it recently and things couldn't be better. I think the options you've come up with are viable and interesting. Telecommuting is the way of the future (I'm writing an article on how this affects employee/office culture).

Maybe you should move to Marfa, it costs next to nothing to live there and property values out there are booming. My parents have a friend that lived in their airstream on some land they bought for like 2 years while saving to build a house. People are creative out there. The Marfa Lights Festival is this weekend and Chinati weekend is October 5-7, maybe you should check one of those out.

Just FYI, my parents just got rid of their sailboat because they CONSTANTLY had to do maintenance on it and not to mention the slip was $500 a month!

Good luck!

Thanks for the encouragement. You oughta see the looks that creep across some of my coworkers' faces when I present the ideas to them. A couple can really dig it, but most are dismissive, as though it'll never happen. ...or perhaps its just jealousy. In any case, I'm grateful for the reassurance that I'm not crazy. Marfa is too far out, though. I'll still have investment property in Houston, and even assuming that I am employed and am able to telecommute, I'd still have to get face time in at the office and attend meetings from time to time. That's just the reality of things for the time being.

Btw, for $500/mo., they must've had one heck of a boat! I haven't seen any priced over about $435, and that was month-to-month on a 60-foot slip at South Shore Harbor Marina.

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RedScare

RedScare

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i think they were jealous. for many people it is hard to fathom having money to do this.

So true. You should hear some of the things I've been told when I tell people I am not interested in working all day long. Everything from you're lazy to you're an idiot. :P

Frankly, I find those comments and looks an extremely small price to pay.

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musicman

musicman

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So true. You should hear some of the things I've been told when I tell people I am not interested in working all day long. Everything from you're lazy to you're an idiot. :P

Frankly, I find those comments and looks an extremely small price to pay.

i didn't get the you're lazy or an idiot when i did it, but i did get what do you do with ALL THAT TIME? believe me, i wasn't bored.

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Guest Marty

Guest Marty

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I would pick the Eastwood house and try to make a profit on it, then you will have more cash to help in your decision, but it sound's like you want something by the water maybe you should go for it after you flip the house.

What ever you decide I wish you luck.

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crunchtastic

crunchtastic

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So......very...envious.....What about keeping the waterfront but without the boat? Get one of those smaller motorhomes (don't know what class--the kinds with front ends like vans) and park it in one of the state or county parks on the beach. Move as necessary and/or desired. Carry a kayak, bike/scooter/motorcylce on back, add tiki lights. Once you tire of the small space figure out what you want to do with the other properties. Idea number two: more commitment, but still ultimately portable, build a shipping container house on some nice bayside property that can relocated eventually. With the containers you can start with just 2 or 3 then expand....Hmm I must be living vicariously here.

This whole faux-work-ethic thing substituting for a trapped existence is tiresome. Worse is the "i love my job so much it's not work!!!!" bs. I saw a taste of it when I quit my last job elaborately, with no next job in sight, and people had such tragic reactions.

Cheers to you whatever you decide.

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TheNiche

TheNiche

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UPDATE: I have accepted an offer. Three days a week, flexible hours.

I'm thinking Eastwood or Clear Lake now.

I love the shipping container ideas. I've even generated quite a few of my own. It really could be an interesting medium to build with, but the City of Houston has an ambiguous legal position on them, so it is difficult to build them here without taking a big risk.

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TheNiche

TheNiche

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Thank you for the info on the City and shipping containers. I'll be researching this more. Looks like you got an offer you like. Congrats. If you choose Eastwood, they throw some damn good parties here and you would be welcomed.

By the way, look at what the Dutch did. I'd thought of this years ago, but it was so bizzare an idea that I never thought I'd see it actually attempted. Glad to see it worked for them.

800px-Studentenboot_Zwolle.jpg

Alternatively, there's this.

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Guest Marty

Guest Marty

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The shipping container ideal threw me off at first, but I see what you are talking about now, those containers are pretty Heavy Duty.

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gwilson

gwilson

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As a builder who is trying to carve out a unique bit of the marketspace, I've been looking in to these container homes and have even started discussing them with an architect.

I think they would be very fun and interesting.

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Guest Marty

Guest Marty

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As a builder who is trying to carve out a unique bit of the marketspace, I've been looking in to these container homes and have even started discussing them with an architect.

I think they would be very fun and interesting.

I ask my uncle about these containers house's and he said you see alot of them in southeast Asia.

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Subdude

Subdude

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Congratulations and good luck! I wish I could for once be in the position to say "I will conduct some personal business which will leave me cash-heavy," but alas, such is life. Anyway, I very much admire your spirit and way of looking at the situation. I've known several people who have been able to get by on next to nothing, although I could never quite fathom how it works. For a cheap getaway destination, may I suggest Galt's Gulch?

Just kidding. I hope it works out for the best.

Sub.

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Scharpe St Guy

Scharpe St Guy

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Niche,

Congrats once again, my wife and I took this plunge about a month ago purchasing a home on Lake Livingston to use as our weekend home till we eventually move up there. Only 75 minutes door to door and the change from living in the city is dramatic and quite unbelievable. All of my friends have thought I have been crazy since they have known me and once in a while one or two will emulate what worked for me so that is good.

So the question is do you do the logical solution or obtain serenity now? Logical solution obviously being doing the necessary construction on your Eastwood investment and live there.

I'm sure if you searched a little though you may find by driving around a home in a good locality that has the overgrown / unkempt outward appearance where by you could strike up a unique deal with them to either occupy the property as a rental while taking care of repairs or doing an owner finance or something along those lines???

If funds permit in the future once kids arrive I would like to purchase a ~50 foot sailboat and cruise with the family for a few months.

All the best and well done!

Scharpe St Guy

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crunchtastic

crunchtastic

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have been looking into the containers for a while. A couple of outifts on the west coast are currently building a few designs. I'm really into indoor/outdoor space and low-slung buildings. They would seem to lend themselves wonderfullly to breezeways and courtyards if you use L or U- configurations. We haven't gotten so far as to research how the city or county would view them as a single family dwelling, where we would look for the land, etc. So while I dream of my Thunderdome bunker, I live in a 100 year old bungalow. No disconnect there!

I'd want to milk it for all it's worth and pitch my Container Concept to Ikea and see if I could get them to furnish it free (modular kitchen, etc) in exchange for the publicity and catalog/web photo shoots--- Like in their stores they have the 3 sample furnished floorplans, ranging from small to holy ---- tiny.

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TheNiche

TheNiche

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have been looking into the containers for a while. A couple of outifts on the west coast are currently building a few designs. I'm really into indoor/outdoor space and low-slung buildings. They would seem to lend themselves wonderfullly to breezeways and courtyards if you use L or U- configurations. We haven't gotten so far as to research how the city or county would view them as a single family dwelling, where we would look for the land, etc. So while I dream of my Thunderdome bunker, I live in a 100 year old bungalow. No disconnect there!

I'd want to milk it for all it's worth and pitch my Container Concept to Ikea and see if I could get them to furnish it free (modular kitchen, etc) in exchange for the publicity and catalog/web photo shoots--- Like in their stores they have the 3 sample furnished floorplans, ranging from small to holy ---- tiny.

I say you ought to hook up with gwilson and his architect, and have yourself some fun. If you're in an unincorporated area, regulation shouldn't be much of a problem.

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RedScare

RedScare

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UPDATE: I have accepted an offer. Three days a week, flexible hours.

I'm thinking Eastwood or Clear Lake now.

I love the shipping container ideas. I've even generated quite a few of my own. It really could be an interesting medium to build with, but the City of Houston has an ambiguous legal position on them, so it is difficult to build them here without taking a big risk.

Next time you are in the Heights, drop by Apama Mackey's new art gallery on 11th Street. She built it out of shipping containers. The City must not be that ambiguous. Place looks pretty cool, too.

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TheNiche

TheNiche

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Next time you are in the Heights, drop by Apama Mackey's new art gallery on 11th Street. She built it out of shipping containers. The City must not be that ambiguous. Place looks pretty cool, too.

Excellent!

The only reason I bring this up is because back when I was in school at UH, I tried running an idea for containerized housing by a respected architecture professor, and he warned me about an ambiguity in the codes. But now that someone has apparently gotten permits and set precedent, it looks like there's a green light for innovation.

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