There are two things I hear more than once a day from people we run into. The question is generally asked by everyone, local and tourist, alike. The second question/statement is generally only made by tourists.
“Are you really allergic to cities?” To which the answer is a resounding “Yes!” Locals love to chuckle while they ask this question. Since the boat name is the identifier for most customs, immigration, dinner reservations, and everything in the islands related to water, the boat name gets well circulated. Add that to the fact that it is a mouthful makes people stop and think, the locals enjoy the sense of humor.
It is the second interaction that happens with non-cruisers, typically over a beer at a beach bar or as the questioner walks the dock past our boat. After the tourist/visitor finds out about our travels and lifestyle for the past months, the question/statement varies from “What do you do that allows you to be gone this long?” to the more sarcastic “It must be nice to retire so early.”
After weeks of trying to be casual or engaging, I have learned that the other party, generally upper-middle class Americans, don’t really care about the response or reaction, they have already labeled you as (1) trust fund baby, (2) dot.com millionaire, or (3) hippie reprobate. Since growing up my parents didn’t have the money to pack the family on a plane/RV/etc to spend a week at Disneyland or the beach for vacation every year, I’m not a trust fund baby. Nor am I lucky enough to be a dot.com millionaire. So, I’ve learned to embrace a version of hippie reprobate and generally retort:
“I am writing a book about the best island beach bars which requires me to visit every single one of them multiple times during the year. Oh, and I obtained US government tax-subsidized grant money for this project, thanks for buying me this beer with your taxes.”
I’m a dick, but I am tired of having those people that are completely capable of dropping $10K for their family charter trip with Moorings harassing me because they are too scared or trapped to make substantial changes in their lives. This isn’t alternative or retirement. This is a conscious prioritization of being outside in the sun as opposed to inside a cubicle. This is about meeting new people and going new places as opposed to the same commute and text/e-mail interactions day after day. This is about being in touch with the natural world around us as opposed to buying more crap to insulate our interactions. This is definitely about thinking for yourself rather than listening to the TV or social circle.
Different is good and maybe scary, but it actually isn’t so rare. There are hundreds of thousands of ex-pats, cruisers, freedom biz owners, and travelers around the world that leave America full or part-time. I have a couple thoughts about why we as an America society are both the most capable and resistant to a lifestyle untethered from cul-de-sacs, PTA, HOAs and FoxNews; but it generally boils down to fear.
I am learning that we Americans have a special breed of fear related to social status and economic security. Most foreigners we ran into don’t have that issue to as large a degree.
I don’t have it all figured out, but I do know that some people reading this blog have wanted to ask me the same question/statement. I’m not retired, and no, I don’t know what is next. But I am learning that uncertainty keeps us alive, evolving and questioning our preconceived notions of normal. I, for one, am really tired of trying to be a cookie-cutter replica of every American in the 21st century, when even the marketers treat adversity over the “challenge of being different from everyone else” as something to aspire to.
I am inspired by people that find ways to love their lives without suffering the fear of the unknown. I am inspired by people that can make and lose a mint, only to ask “What’s next?” I’m inspired by people that think the world, and its inhabitants, are pretty spectacular when viewed face to face, not on a screen.
Shouldn’t our default life choices be adventure, compassion, and experience? Isn’t the true “alternative” lifestyle choice to be unhappy at work, life, love and not doing anything about it?
Sorry this post was so dark. I had my fill of privileged idiots interrupting my beach bar research today. I guess I should just be happy they continue to pay taxes to fund my play.