"Chucking it all, and living in peace on an island" Topic

How many of you would be in favor of chucking your current life, and moving to an island in the middle of nowhere? Lot's of hard work would be required, and the quality of life would be not as good for some time. No cell phone or internet or TV would be available, and healhcare would be minimal.

Parameters please…

Are we talking alone on an island?
Are there any resources or tools?
Can you take some things?
Can we choose the island?

It would be 50/50 at the moment… about to have our first child though so it seems a little unfair on him/her!

Do you have the chance?

Er… so you want me to give up the ability to communicate with friends and family, hot showers, washing machines, central heating, antibiotics, and food and water free from parasites or lethal bacteria? What's the incentive, exactly?

I'm gonna get killed for this (and please, take it with a bit of humor), but…

What's the incentive, exactly?

Not having to hear somebody rant about…

the ability to communicate with friends and family, hot showers, washing machines, central heating, antibiotics, and food and water free from parasites or lethal bacteria?

Not even a little. The simple life tends to be a blowfest (the bad kind of blowfest) in actual practice, and under no circumstances would I want to give up ready access to new books.
-Kle.

Nope. Give me an island where I do have access to a phone for emergencies, internet for entertainment & basic advice and I might just consider it. Assuming that I could bring my animals and sufficient food is available, and I might consider it for more than a minute.

With the stipulation that there is some ability to return to the crazy world, like a boat, and that I can take what I want with me, yeah I'd go tomorrow. I also get to choose my island, not going to Norway or any place like that.

Sounds boring.
I'd probably declare war on the next isalnd over just to have something to do.

I already live on an island in the middle of nowhere, but I still get cellphone and internet…

Yeah, well, life can suck at times. I will be the first to admit it. No doubt there, but making things harder on yourself won't necessarily make it better. No phone I can deal with but no access to sports, zombies, electricity, lamps to paint, painting supplies, the net and lots of miniature eye candy could take me to my breaking point. Also, my kids aren't as cynical as their dad and they actually still enjoy stuff so I really couldn't do that. But fun idea for sure. Idea is especially nice if it includes a few cases of tequila.

I'm too old to ruff it any more. So no.

How exactly will we be able to game when we are this island?

Hey if the Professor on Gilligan's Island could build a radio out of coconuts you should be able to fashion some miniatures. :-)

LLC aka Ron

So, Moonhippie, ever lived in such circumstances? I bet not.

I have lived without phone or TV (or power we didn't make ourselves), 60 miles from school (I know, your utopia doesn't require you to go to school), 15 miles from town.

Does not do anything for your social life (especially when you're in your teens). Is not fun, especially when the temperature is spiking at 110+, and there is no A/C other than the shade of a tree.

I did move back to the ranch, but we now have phone, power, Satellite TV, highspeed internet. It's still 15 miles to the nearest groceries or restaurants, but the communication aspects are *much* better.

Yes, I'd happily do it. Impossible right now, with the family and pets (and I'd love to take them, but somehow I don't think they'd be up for it!), but if it was just me, sure.
The internet may be the biggest wrench, but so long as I could take some books, and do some painting and sculpting, I'd be happy. Take absolutely nothing? Then probably not. Permanently? I'd commit for a couple of years but then like the option of returning to civilization.
Okay, so that's probably highly watered down from your original idea… :)

Only if it is a 5-star island. I'd hate to sit on a beach having nothing but coconuts to eat morning, noon and evening.

About the smallest island I'd consider is already occupied. I think the natives call it Maui.

I'm seriously considering taking some time off next year and living on an Island in Thailand with my girlfriend for a couple of months. But it does have internet access, other people, beer, aircon and fans, scooters, cellphone coverage …

I'm happy to 'settle' for the lovely beaches, relaxed pace and perfect weather without going the whole 'isolation' route.

The "hard work" and "no TV" parts sound appealing, but I am a Type 1 Diabetic and one of my children is "special needs".

Lack of access to modern healthcare would be a deal breaker.

BTW- Even without these constraints, no modern healthcare would still be a deal breaker.

Simple fever = 50/50 chance of death

Oops, I fell, simple broken leg = high possibility of permanent disability

Oops, I cut myself and no anitboitics = big chance of infected wound and then "Whoa!, complications!"

I can build a house, and I can do without a whole bunch of the stuff in the world, but voluntarily exposing my loved ones to the high mortality rates of primitive society would be pretty ridiculous.

Go watch Mosquito Coast (yea, boring movie, I know.)

OK, it's not an island, but it is a story of; "modern family goes primitive," and puts on display many of the complications and problems that develop due to overly optimistic outlook (and an increasingly aggressive/whacked out father-figure.)

The old geezers wouldn't last long without their meds, now, would they?

It'd be a pleasure to get away from the sociopaths, though.

The fantasy is all in an unlimited food and fresh-water supply and getting away from the rats . . . I mean the rat race.

Looks great on paper, but you'd probably be dead of dengue fever within a couple of months.

JW

There was a show on Discovery or PBS or another channel that had a little show about a guy in New Zealand (I think) who finished his med school and then moved out to a ranger station in a national park and raised his family there. Not completely cut off, but definitely isolated. I was doing something else with that on in the background, so it is a little fuzzy.