Inflated rent prices, dead-end jobs, crowded public transport, social media and 24-hour news – the metropolitan lifestyle is not for everyone.
In fact, more and more people are searching for alternative ways to live (and be happy!) outside of mainstream society.
And with lots of different options available to you, it may not be as hard as you think to leave your old life behind and find something more suited to your needs. It just takes an adjustment of perspective, a little curiosity and the willingness to try something new.
So without further ado, check out the list below for some alternative lifestyle ideas for a fresh start.
Go Off-Grid
A lot of life’s most tedious (and morally questionable) details are by-products of big-society rules, regulations and exploitations.
But if this lifestyle is getting you down, it’s worth considering ‘off-grid’ living options and self-sufficiency.
If you’d like to live on the move, you could look into a van conversion. You can buy a second-hand van relatively cheaply, then either convert the interior yourself or take the vehicle to a van-conversion company for some professional help.
Once you’ve got yourself set up with a bed, a kitchen, and maybe even a bathroom on board, there’s nothing to stop you hitting the open road and seeing where life takes you.
Van-living definitely requires a bit of downsizing, but most find that getting rid of superfluous possessions extremely liberating.
You can also consider stationary options, buying a plot of land and building your own self-sufficient home.
This is more of a long-term investment, but if you can find a spot near a fresh-water supply, get to grips with growing your own food, and set yourself up with some solar-power, you can live quite happily outside of mainstream society, avoid the rent, and – best of all – live with a clear moral conscience.
Minimalism
If off-grid living sounds too extreme for you right now, there are ways to dial back on big-society living without having to uproot and wander the wilderness.
Minimalist living is about decluttering, avoiding waste, living clean, and trying to use 100% of everything you have.
It is a simpler, cleaner lifestyle that aims to make you less reliant on institutions, corporations and expensive products that waste your time and money and do damage to you or the planet.
Make an inventory of your possessions – your clothes, your electronics, your interior design, the food you eat, the products you consume.
How much of this stuff do you use on a regular basis? How much of it are you wasting? Which products connect you unnecessarily to aspects of life that make you unhappy?
If you think you can live without it, donate it to someone who needs it.
Start thinking about what you’re buying: is this item necessary? Is it made ethically? Am I going to wear this every week? Will it last? Will I eat this before it goes off? Is this good for me?
Also, consider elements of your lifestyle which complicate your life or lead you to make bad choices. Drugs and alcohol may be a way to unwind, but these substances do damage to your mind and body, are often unethical, and can exacerbate other negative aspects of a complicated life.
If you think you might need help with this, consider a drug and alcohol rehab center which can help set you on the road to a simpler, happier lifestyle.
Find An Alternative Community
What if you know you want to get off-grid, but you don’t wanna live on the road or out in the woods by yourself? Hey, that’s understandable! And there are options for you too.
There are lots of alternative living communities springing up all over the world – for every kind of lifestyle – and plenty of networks for finding them.
A good place to start is on a website like Workaway or WWOOF, which connect volunteering, farming, and working networks all over the world.
All you need to do is sign up, look for an option that sounds like your kinda thing, and give it a go.
In some cases, you can find permanent communities to live and work with, in others, you can gain experience in self-sufficient living, provide voluntary support to those who need it, or earn house and board whilst having a life-changing experience – win-win-win!
There are also a number of established alternative communities such as Christiania in Copenhagen, Denmark, Lammas in Wales, UK, Damanhur, in Italy (a neo-pagan commune) or Finca Bellavista Treehouse Community, Costa Rica.
And there we have it! These are just a few ideas for other ways to live to freshen up your lifestyle.
