I have gotten a few emails lately asking about different aspects of my Simple. Organized. Life. Questions about my income, about where I live, what I do for entertainment, and what kind of car I drive. So I figured I would put together a post on all the things I believe play a part in allowing me to live the kind of simpler life that I am enjoying. Hope it answers some of your questions!
First of all, some backstory – I used to live in Los Angeles, home of the “importance of image”. I made a very good living, lived in one of the best neighborhoods, and drove expensive cars. I thought that owning “stuff” would make me happy…and it did for a while. That is until I started realizing that happiness comes from within and it cannot be bought. There are people who are dirt poor who are just as happy as those with money, and it’s because they are OK with themselves and their situation. This is an important lesson, and one that took me years to figure out and learn from. 4 years ago I quit my corporate job that I wasn’t very happy at anyway and started down the path that has gotten me to where I am today. Self-employed, working about 4-5 hours a day, and living in the country. Both my wife and I can earn a lot less than we used to need because our expenses are much less than they were in LA, which makes life easier to live in and of itself. I personally don’t want to have to bust my ass just to pay the bills – what’s the point in living like that?
We live in the mountains of Northern New Mexico now. Life is slow, quiet, purposeful. People don’t really care about what we wear, what we drive, what we do for a living. It’s quite refreshing that they are interested in us because of, well…who we are! We moved here owning only our Subaru which we shared, and I have only recently added a 15 year old Jeep that I paid cash for to the mix, as we live outside of town. The house we live in we rented specifically for a three reasons- 1. it is a passive solar house, needing little heat in the dead of winter and no AC in the summer, 2. it has a 1,500 gallon cistern that collects rainwater and snow melt from the roof to use for watering, and 3. it has 360 degree mountain views. The rent is 50% of what we paid for an apartment in L.A., and it has a 2 car garage, 2 acres of land, and an extra bedroom for my office during the winter. (I work outside on the porch now that it is warm out.)
Because I don’t have to work as many hours as I used to have to just to make ends meet, my time has been freed up for hobbies and volunteer opportunities. I spend a lot of time in the garage tinkering with different projects, I go for hikes in the middle of the day, and I sometimes take naps on the lounge chair in the yard…on a Tuesday afternoon. In a lot of ways I feel like what I imagine a retired person might feel like! When you don’t live high on the hog, you can afford to live the way you want instead of having to make more and more money, and that was our partly our goal for moving here. I drive into town once a day to pick up the mail and run any errands, usually seeing someone I know and stopping for a quick chat with them. In fact, people you don’t even know sometimes wave at you from their cars, which was something we had to get used to when we first arrived here! But it sure is a nice feeling. 
I mow the lawn with a manual push reel mower. I make bird feeders and baths out of old tupperware containers nailed to posts, as food and water are scarce for them where I live. I hang my laundry out on the line, barely ever using the dryer we bought last year. I spent a lot of time watching the clouds during the day and the stars at night. Did you know you can see the Milky Way if you live somewhere very dark? I didn’t until I moved here! Most of our entertainment consists of going for hikes either up the mountain or down into the Rio Grande gorge, exploring the various incredible art galleries around town, or just sitting on the porch with a good book and a cup of coffee. I don’t really need for much more excitement in my life – I had it in L.A. for many, many years.
We have been slowly paring down our belongings that we no longer need but for some reason held on to. I have “work” clothes that I have not worn for years that need to go out the door – my new work clothes include jeans, a t-shirt, and some flip-flops. We own 1 old television that works just fine, and I honestly cannot remember the last time I bought something for myself other than maybe a book or some music from iTunes. When we lived in L.A., shopping was what we “did” when we had nothing else to do – it’s amazing how much money you save when you don’t have that option anymore!
Hmm…what else? I think that pretty much answers the emails I have gotten lately from readers about the kind of life we lead here. Our goal is to buy a small home with some land, maybe even an off-grid one, raise some animals and have a decent-sized garden to eat from. Escaping the Rat Race was the best decision I have ever made, and I now look forward to what every day will bring me here! Got any more questions? Ask away!
Sounds like you got out at a good time… before the economy fell apart. Also sounds like you and I are on similar tracks although I’m somewhere behind you on the trail with a heavier pack, negative equity and all.
Any kids, or plans for them?
Why did you choose Taos?
Does your wife blog?
-Michael
Very nice…and I’m very jealous!
My only question remaining is what is it you do for 4-5 hours a day that you call work? I’m in the midst of a major move (like continental) and am reassessing my career choice as well…
Thanks as always for a great blog -
Jesse
Michael – Kids are in discussion, but not for sure. We vacationed in Taos several times and loved it, so we packed up and moved here. Wife doesn’t blog, she has a “real” job as a teacher lol
Jesse- You are looking at part of my job. My blogs pay most of my bills, and I do blog/web design as well.
Sounds like you’ve followed your bliss. You’re a real-life example of less is more. I enjoy reading all of your blogs. Thanks for the peek behind the curtain!
This really does sound like the perfect life. Time to think and draw a deep breathe.
A good change. I suspect we would all be better off doing this.
Thankyou for the post. It is a lovely and enjoyable read.
I applaud everything you’ve done. My wife and I have made several smaller-scale, but similar changes in my own life and are happier for it.
Just know that if you do decide to go the kids route, your “retirement” lifestyle will go bye-bye for a while!
There’s no better life change you can make, but life gets hectic with the little ones no matter where or how you live!
Oh! My dream life described, hehe. Great, inspiring post.
hello there – came across from emily – she has you as a good things she read this week link.
We are currently downsizing – we is me, my husband and two lads 4 and 6.
I would like them – the kids – to know a life without excess and a way of living that relates more to experiences than possessions.
We take a few steps forward, then regress for no good reason, then step forward again .. loving the processs. We were on the frugal route before the world economy collapsed … but now there is an added impertous (?sp).
Nice to read you – cheers le
Thanks for stopping by, and good luck with the process. Just knowing you want to do it is half the battle!
May I ask how much (about) your rent is? We’ve cut way back in recent years since I started working at home to spend more time with the kids, and we do a lot of the things you’re doing–growing vegetables, composting, entertaining ourselves simply at home–and in spite of a drastic pay cut for me, still manage to save more than a third of our annual income. Lifestyle changes can make a big difference!
No problem Sheila, it is $975 a month.
Great post, sounds like a beautiful way to enjoy your life. I’ve been through Taos once and it was a nice place to visit. I bought 20 acres of land down by Magdalena NM and hope to one day escape to my piece of heaven. I really enjoy your blogs, keep up the great job.
Magdalena, heh? What do you plan on doing down there! Glad you like the sites!
This was a very interesting read. I love getting a peak into people’s lives, I find it much more interesting than dry environmental facts. I want to know how people are “doing it” not just why.
But I have to totally agree with Jesse. There is no “retirement-like” lifestyle with little ones. We live a fairly simple urban life but with 3 kids there are certain considerations that can’t be neglected – health insurance for one. And stuff… I could live with a lot less than we have (& we don’t have much) but kid’s come with a certain amount of baggage.
Enjoyed the post nonetheless but I would like to know how other families are doing it – anyone else out there??
Hi, found your website from Zen Habits.
Can you provide instructions — with pics of course — on how you make your Tupperware birdhouses? Or if you need more Tupperware, an address where I can send you some more?–Unless T’ware can go in the recycling bin, that is?
We also left LA, but moved across the country to outside Philadelphia. I used to work in corporate marketing for an entertainment conglomerate and had very similar thoughts about LA and the life there as you did. I quit my job 5 years ago to start my own business, selling yarn online (I’m an avid knitter and crafter.) We make about 25% that I used to, but just bought a modest house and are 100% more happy!
Nice going Allison; ain’t it grand?
Just found your website and wanted to say thanks for your thoughts. Very insightful. I lived in NM for 31 years and miss the landscape and culture. We are now living in N. Nevada but often talk about moving back to NM some day. By the way, do you go fishing at Eagle Nest? One of my favorite places to fish summer and winter.
Thanks Rick. I have never been fishing up there, no – but its on my list of things to do!
If you don’t me asking, what sort of work do you do? Don’t worry, I’m not looking to compete with you. I’m looking for my next job and really don’t want to get right back in the hamster wheel for the next half of my career. But I’m at a loss for ideas.
John, I am a writer/web designer/video editor, working for myself from home.
I am currently a soldier… I have not been stable (in one place very long) since 2002 and I have missed most of those years with my children. I am divorced after 15 years of marriage; however, I am currently engaged to be married again. I would love to quit my day job and live a simpler, quieter life – I just do not know how… Anyone have a few suggestions? Thank you…
Simple life sounds good. My dream life, but still need money. How to live in simple live with just little money, worst case with credit card debts.
We are on the same path. We currently are living in Albuquerque… please check out my blog.
Hi Elaine, I would like to share this with you. Credit card debts is like a vampire. And it has been interrupting my life recently. Fortunately, I encounter a book “The Secret” . I read this book bit-by-bit , day-by-day . I learned a very meaningful words “GRATITUDE” . It says, focus on things that you want dont focus on things you dont want and say the words “thank you” everyday , you’ll notice that you’ll slowly forget about the debts and be more focus in things that is generating money everyday. Try it . Good Luck .
I have something to share or to live by :
Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose
a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.
glad I discovered this blog. I too grew up in LA and tried to keep up with the bmw payments and West LA Lifestyle.
I relocated to Gotham, WI, where I now live on 2 acres and live a much more simple life.
It’s the future, no offense to Eckhart Tolle.
donovan moore
gotham city, WI
PS, I just posted a front page post on my blog titled Live better with less.
peace out.
I am working to live a simpler life as well.. Instead of an apartment I purchased an older mobile home for cash on a rented lot–the first step toward total home ownership on a shoestring!
The van is paid-for, the place is paid-for, and lot rent right now is only a hundred a month, which is very do-able for a lazy lifestyle.
I mainly want to be as much of a mother to my daughter as possible, without having to sell my soul to some guy to do it, you know? Call me lazy–but I don’t want my kid to be raised by babysitters!
Love the blog. I am so glad I found the link on EM!
Your lifestyle David sounds like my dream. I hate working 9-5 and just paying bill every 2 weeks.
I want to start a home business but i dont know what kind , do you have any suggestions?
i found your page from a google search on “living a more simple life.” it’s hard for me to let go of the things i have. i know the more you own, the more they own you. i always feel like i’m going to miss that tee shirt i got rid of, or that item i think i’ll be happy i saved down the road.
my dream would be absolute simplicity. A few clothing options, less that 20 shoes (ugh) and not feeling the need to want more. among other things….
can anyone offer subtle suggestions other than just do it?
thanks!
Hi Robert!
It’s really hard to get started simplifying your life (I speak from experience). I suggest just looking at your stuff a little different at first. I started small, just reducing a couple of obvious things–nothing that I would obviously miss. You could maybe just eliminate one thing when you bring in something new… My daughter started by thinning out some old scrap paper when she got a new toy so it can be anything–an old flyer perhaps…
Good luck!
I wanted to agree, thanks for the peek behind the curtains! I love how many people have said you’re living their dream lifestyle. In my case, I think the country is the one place I could NOT live happily or simply — I find the city much simpler since so many services are nearby, and public transit means I don’t need to own a car.
What I love is realizing how many of your tips are still useful to my life (and others’) despite how different those lives may look on the surface. We can still learn from each other. Thank you for the insight.
Moving back to the Philippines soon and be an Island Boy again. 6 figure income did’nt do much…away from family most of the time. What matters most is being family…experience “growing up” with the Kidz and spending quality time with my wife.
Glad I found this site … very encouraging to know I’m not alone with this dream of simplicity. I am 62 with adult daughters. I encourage them NOT to have children because that changes everything. Simplicity & freedom is lost. I love my life now.
Susan…. welcome to our sharing column on simplicity. I strongly disagree with your idea to encourage your daughter NOT to have children. From this, shows that you’re afraid of CHANGES in your life. To have children is something to be proud of, we must enjoy the moment. This is stage of life, i believe you understand this well. To have “Simplicity & Freedom” need thinking of willingly to CHANGE. Wish you all the best Susan. Smile Always
After reading the above msg, found there is 2 Rachel here…. I’ll change my name to this …. Rachiru so that you guys can differentiate me easily. Am from Malaysia, am the one who just replied Susan’s msg. Nice meeting you guys. Cheers
Hello Rachiru & thank you for your reply. Your thoughts are valuable & I think I needed to hear what you said. It wasn’t a good idea for me to make such a blunt statement. Let me try to dig myself out of this hole I got myself in. I ought to mention that my daughters are in their mid-thirties & are very happy with THEIR choices. They just don’t want children & I have come to respect their decision. Their lives are taking a different path & one that is very worthwhile. Knowing this … I think that for them … having children would not be a good idea. Having children is beautiful but certainly makes living with “simplicity & freedom” a bit more difficult. Anyway, we are all so different & I appreciate your point of view. Susan
Congratulations and kudos! There’s a lot to be said for down sizing or rather “clutter clearing” ones life to live with more meaning. All the best.
Very inspiring post. Quite jealous as well. Maybe someday I can follow your path.
Not sure how much you want a kid, but unless you know for 100% that you will enjoy raising them, it is probably wiser to continue enjoying your awesome childfree life.
Best wishes all the way.
Living a simple life is a I have set for myself when my son graduates from high school and I have graduated with my master’s in natural history. Don’t get me wrong, I love my son. I love my daughter. I don’t ever regret having children. Never any regrets. However, I look forward to the changes on the horizon for the second half of my life. I want to spend more time doing the things I enjoy, without the pressures of clipping coupons, reading newspapers, hearing the bickering of politics, etc. I want to hear the music of crickets, birds, rivers, and the ocassional of meteors entering earth’s atmosphere.
Great stuff !! I to have had enough of running around in the rat race chasing my tail. In general business just ain’t that honest anymore, someone always trying to scam someone else, somehow in the modern corporate world. Want to get back to basics and have the “clear head” again to enjoy what is important. Like you siad, watch the clouds and enjoy the stars, etc. Wishing you all, all the best in achieving the same
I am a highschool student and i really enjoyed reading your blog. As i am looking ahead at my future this lifestyle is very appealing to me. Do you have any advice or ideas that you you could pass along? It would be greatly appreciated. One question in specific that i have is, how did you choose where to live?
Cool stuff going here. Happy to note you’ve chosen to live in rural Mexico. As my family have lived in a few countries for many years now, I often wondered how it would be to live in a good city in the US instead of moving about every few years. Then I look at my life wherever I’m at (between Cambodia and Philippines now), and just feel so good to be here. Sure it would be nice to be surrounded by Americans, be closer to family and get all the “technologies” and “insulated” life my peers in the US experience. But if I chose to, I could get all that wherever my family resides. The best thing about CHOOSING to live simply is that you don’t feel you’re depriving yourself. Rather it’s giving yourself the basic needs AND having the freedom from any worldly, materialistic, skewed treatments of life. The true Asian cultures, not the “westernized” ones I do see today in most cities and towns here, are like that. They live simply, laugh more and have good relationships with people. They need not party or ride cars or go to fastfoods a lot. But their simple but happy life is so infectious, it opened my eyes, too. So now, wherever we’re headed to next, it doesn’t matter where, just not troublesome regions. Me and my family has made the choice to LIVE SIMPLY and LIVE WELL. But we also chose to love Phnom Penh, Zambales, Palawan and Rangoon. Just that simple.
David you are an inspiration! I have to thank my friend Elvan for sharing this blog with me. This is my first ever post to any blog in past 10 years i believe. I just couldn’t resist saying “thank you very much” i so want to share this with my wife.
Shahzeb.
Can i befriend u? I wish to write a short story on u. Hi, by the way, meet me, I too am a writer by profession and into the industry since past 4 years.
Hello! I’ve been reading this very blog for the nth time since I stumbled upon it in 2008. Frankly speaking, I have never stopped wanting to read this post again and again. I am just amaze at the way you live. You live a simple life and yet you’re happy. I want to live like that too. I used to teach but after my teaching contract ended last Dec. I began freelancing as a writer.I was able to gain control of my time without ever worrying for money. I pay my bills out of my writing gigs and I am happy! I may not be that stickin’ rich but the happiness and contentment I have out from controlling my own time and living a unpretentious life is by far better than earning big bucks. Thanks to this post! It’s an eye opener. Hope to read more from you!
Glad you like the site, thanks so much.
I once had it all and lost it when the market tanked. I have Soc. Sec and very little money left, I would love to find a place with my dog to live, but I am not handy and If I love to a rural setting what do I do for the additional money. You spend 1000 on rent I could not do that, so what can you suggest ?
Spend less, think less, change your thinking, be more gratitude will lead to a more simple life i believe. No harm trying…. give yourself a week or two to try this perhaps a month… if you can do it why not continue….. best of luck city people