Tell me how terrible it is to live in NNSW...

[Tøn]

...So I can stop fantasising about moving up there

 

In all seriousness, I spent a month or so in Glennifer/Bellingen and loved it, the rivers up there are so curiously emerald green/turquoise (How ya doin' that, river??) and my god it's so lush and full of weird-arsed spiders and snakes and paralysis ticks and all this other stuff we don't have in Victoria 'cus it's too damned cold ;)

 

I have it in my head that the area from Coffs up to Queensland, if it were on a ye olde mappe kind of thing, would have 'here be hippies' written on it and a drawing of a large tryptamine dragon. My experience in the Bellingen area and further North, ya know, the N word, that place you hear about when you're a kid as being like the Disneyland of cooked, and you get there and it totally is but you imagine that it might be a sinkhole for human brains if one isn't careful, was...

Well, I have it in my head that I might be able to find the lifestyle that I want (growing my own food, meditating as much as my kitten-mind will allow, practising self-reliance to such a degree that I can basically work enough to pay rent, bills and food and throw the rest into savings,) in a picturesque location and ideal climate, with the attendant hilarity of coming to terms with sharing my space with big piss off snakes etc etc... With access to a community who may or may not have a similar belief system, but at the very least can be a positive influence on my further growth and encourage my latent sense of creativity to become more prominent.

I feel it necessary to stress that I am doing 'the work' as we speak- I already tried to make a break for it a couple of years back but wasn't able to find work and still had a heavily entrenched cigarette and take-away coffee habit which basically killed all my fundage. The lesson learned was a practical application of the old adage, 'wherever I go, there I am.' Wherever I end up from here, I'm making the most of my present situation to get over all the remnants of my previous, incredibly unhealthy lifestyle.

 

So, am I dreaming? It seems so off-the-chain BEAUTIFUL up there; I'm not under the illusion that it's shangri-la or anything, but it seems like there's a heavy concentration of organic, holistic types. I've also been told that it can be pretty hard to get 'in' socially, largely because of the amount of people who have gravitated to the area in the last 40-50 years who start off good then get on it and have full-blown psychotic episodes etc.

 

Your thoughts?

Edited February 24, 2018 by Tøn

[Halcyon Daze]

I first went there on a youth group trip to Mt Warning with this weird religious guy 'Lyle Shelton' as one of the leaders, The religion was a bit warped IMO but I discovered for the first time orchids, glow in the dark mushrooms, massive crayfish in the mountain streams, and jumped through the waterfall at Natural Arch. I decided then and there I wanted to live there for the rest of my life as it was an incredible step up from the dirty slums I was raised in. 

 

I started going there on hollidays and staying at backpackers and camp sites, I met a dude in Nimbin who bought a block of land beside the National park for bloody 30 GRAND!!!! and I decided I wanted a big block of land in the bush too. So my plan was to go to uni to achieve this. Many moons later I have an ecology degree and a huge block of land in NNSW surrounded (mostly) by bush.

 

Was it all worth it? -Yes. Was it difficult? -FKN harder than I ever imagined! But it was all one small step at a time.

 

You only live life once man, and it sure beats the boring shitty lives my high-school mates ended up with. I kept telling myself, I just wanna leave something awesome to my kids one day.

 

Some other good things that came out of the journey was the discovery of a new plant species and discovery of a new insect, a heap of trips to remote PNG, A beautiful intellectual wife, helping a lot of less-fortunate people in PNG, working on orchid and butterfly research with my Uni lecturers, and spending a lot of time in nature in general. I prolly wouldn't have done half as many exciting wonderful things if I wasn't working towards my goal of a block of land in Nth NSW.

 

If it's the thing you want the most in life then make it your priority. Aim high dude  and stay out of trouble, Don't try to take shortcuts on the black market, I've seen too many people crash and burn down that particular road.

Edited February 24, 2018 by Halcyon Daze

[Tøn]

You've pretty much sold me in a single post ;)

My current plan is to see a stint out at my current place of employment until the end of August, get a solid reference and then try to find a short-term contract up in NNSW-- maybe a month or two-- and go for a working holiday right when the onslaught of winter gets depressing down South. That's giving me something short-term to look forward to, and I could possibly squeeze some more WWOOFing in to get to know people in different areas.

I think I need to spend a bit more time in that climate etc to see whether it's really for me or if I'm just idealising the concept. It will also make the process of getting funds together a bit more fun, as I tend to get itchy feet and I *know* that I really just need to apply myself to getting money together in order to make any future move viable... and that it will take longer than I might like

 

I'm genuinely impressed that your journeys have led you to discover new species of flora and fauna and allow for travel. I've denied myself this kind of experience purely out of ignorance- not realising that I can make these things happen for myself.

 

I appreciate the reply, very much so, and thank you for your advice re: keeping it clean. Somehow I don't think that I would feel as accomplished if I took that route, though it may well become tempting at some point. I'll keep your words in mind

[Halcyon Daze]

No worries, I'm just one of many. I really admire the hippy-folk who are a lot free'r than I'll ever know how to be. They seem to be able to live without ''owning" stuff so much. That would be a great way to go if you were that kind of person.

 

There's a bunch of communes around too. Maybe worth checking one out sometime. Certainly worth meeting as many people as possible, shed everything you can and start living the dream man, even if it's just a few months here and there to begin with. Make a plan and stick to it, and totally believe in yourself because where there's a will there's a way. Life wasn't meant to be easy but it wasn't meant to be impossible either, so have a crack and see how she goes LOL -I think I'm all out of advice now.

 

 

I don't even have a house there yet myself, but I have ordered a shipping container so I can stay out of the rain. I'll be moving there for good soon enough, there's some cheap rent around, it's just jobs you gotta worry about.

Edited February 24, 2018 by Halcyon Daze

[Tøn]

I've had the opportunity to visit and stay on a couple of communes for short periods, I'm definitely open to the idea if I can find somewhere that isn't following a specific dogma, overly politicised or drug-focused. I'm admittedly quite pessimistic by nature, but it seemed that 2 of the 3 communes I've been in contact with spent more time bickering over which direction to go in, rules, gossip etc than actually being free... It seems that by nature, hyoomans seem to gravitate towards drama

If I could find somewhere that would let me be a semi-hermit and contribute some to property maintenance and a sense of community without being under intense scrutiny I'd be all over it!

As you say though, finding work in that situation becomes a bit of a tough ask, especially when it's 50km to the nearest town and one isn't earning enough coin to keep their vehicle maintained. All the more reason to take my time and truly evaluate-- I get the impression from talking to locals that the path only becomes clear once you get to know people a bit and you start to receive the grace of the community. It's seeming a bit more real/possible already though

EDIT:

Hah, just had a quick look on realestate.com.au and found a couple of listings under $200k for a few acres' worth and a description saying 'includes a shed so you have some shelter whilst you build your dream home!'

Photos are of a pretty standard-looking off-grid/commune setup- is it relatively standard practice to live in what is termed a shed/storage by the council? I found two properties that said the same thing, do councils tend to turn a blind eye to hippie types living it up in the bush?

The plot thickens...

Edited February 24, 2018 by Tøn

[Halcyon Daze]

They usually make it hard. In my area you can only live legally in a shed or caravan on your land if it has a toilet and septic AND if you have approved house plans drawn up. 

 

My plan is to rent cheap nearby and semi-live in a shack that I plan to build around a lockable shipping container.

 

Shacks are a perfectly legal  substitute to caravans which are far too expensive per square meter IMO. Hell, I have a hut in PNG and it's comfy-as

 

I've been collecting a lot of old windows and building materials to build the shack. You can make your own non-opening windows realy easily from pallets and architrave. So I'm even collecting old panels of glass.

 

If you're with an Aussie girl she'll prolly have already left you by this stage.

Edited February 24, 2018 by Halcyon Daze

[Tøn]

That's some handy information, thanks! It must be an awesome privilege to have a second home in PNG. Good luck with the construction and council hoop-jumping, I'm really interested to hear how it all comes together.

 

Cheers for the input, that's given me quite a bit to think over. Much appreciated