It's a US territory so you don't need a work permit anymore than you would if you wanted to move to another state. I'm not sure off the top of my head if people in US territories have access to the healthcare exchanges, but they do have access to Medicare and Medicaid so it wouldn't surprise me.
ETA: Just looked it up. USVI is not subject to the ACA. From a cursory search it seems as if a personal health insurance policy might be hard to get. So my guess is she doesn't have health insurance.
Oh, I meant the part at the end where she was talking about going to Europe and her friends who spend 6 months here and there doing different things. I know it's possible, I just don't get HOW. It's not that easy to just go get a job in another country KWIM?
LOL. I stopped reading before the end. Sorry. No it's not easy, especially now in Europe (although fwiw it's easier for our company to move people to our European headquarters than it is to move them to the US,). But still, unless you have a pretty specialized skill set and job you're not likely to be getting a work permit. Either she's hasn't thought about it, she's planning on trying to get an extended tourist visa and work under the table, or she's going to try to get a student visa somewhere that allows students to work X number of hours a week. None of those sound like the smartest or most viable plan.
Post by tacosforlife on May 2, 2015 9:31:54 GMT -5
I think what bugs me about this article is the false dichotomy it presents: stressed out high pressure life in NYC vs. scooping ice cream in the Caribbean.
A lot of what she said about the stress of the fast paced big city life rings true for me. And we are moving - but to a smaller, slower paced city. My H found a job that will (we hope) not consume his every waking moment and allow him to enjoy life more.
But we will still have health insurance and some financial security. It's not all or nothing.
Post by phunluvin82 on May 2, 2015 14:40:31 GMT -5
I say good for her. You get one life. Imagine being on your deathbed and looking at that damn Caribbean screen saver (or whatever your dream might be) and wishing that you had just gone for it instead of played it safe because of the things that 'could' have gone wrong had you tried.
Sometimes I feel like MM is hyper critical of stories of people who don't take a very conservative and stability-minded financial route in life. I mean, I get it. Shit happens and all. But there is a difference between taking a big risk and being totally irresponsible and reckless. She's not hurting anyone. Any financial risks that she's taking are purely her own. And in the meantime, it's not like New York is going anywhere.
I guess I can relate to a lot of this article. Sometimes I feel like all I do is work, eat, sleep, repeat. And I don't even dislike my job, but lately I have started thinking that life is too short to be sitting in a cubicle all day. I like to thing I would have the guts to do something like this if I were single and 'untethered'. But it's not really an option right now. My H and I do talk about getting to a place, financially and career-wise, where we would have the freedom to live anywhere we wanted. Still working, but for ourselves and/or on our own terms.
Who knows if we'll ever get to that place, but in the meantime, I've been trying to think of what I would do if money were no object and I didn't have to work my 9-6 job...and then figure out a way to do it anyway.
I wish people would stop talking about "real" jobs. I find it tacky and judgmental.
As in careers? I scanned this thread to see if it was me and while I didn't see myself using it here, I have totally said it in the past. I admit I'm hypocritical. When I was a nanny I loathed when people would ask when I was going to get a "real" job, but now as I'm stuck in two jobs that offer no room for advancement, don't have benefits, etc. I've used the term "real job". Thanks for reminding me to reconsider how I phrase that.
I was not pointing to anyone in particular. I just see it often on MM. I have worked in many jobs over the year and the one I have right now isn't any more "real" than anyone else's.
I wish people would stop talking about "real" jobs. I find it tacky and judgmental.
As in careers? I scanned this thread to see if it was me and while I didn't see myself using it here, I have totally said it in the past. I admit I'm hypocritical. When I was a nanny I loathed when people would ask when I was going to get a "real" job, but now as I'm stuck in two jobs that offer no room for advancement, don't have benefits, etc. I've used the term "real job". Thanks for reminding me to reconsider how I phrase that.
What do you consider a "career"? That also seems like a kind of judgey way to look at things -- can you not have a "career" as a nanny or ice cream scooper?
There's kind of judgment both ways here. On the one hand, there's the judgment that if someone lives in New York or has a corporate job or is in a set 9-5, they aren't living a real life. Then there's the judgment that if one goes the path of moving somewhere they want to live to do something non-corporate or non-9-5, they aren't working a real job/they don't have a career.
Which really, different strokes for different folks. Nobody is living or working any better than anyone else necessarily.
I keep using the term "real job" to describe the job I now have, as opposed to the mess of whatever the hell I suffered through in biglaw for the last ten years But that's neither here nor there.
Good for her. I think it sounds appealing at least for a bit of time. I'm a SAHM & I'm sick of the rat race & only my DH is even in it. I am sort of jealous of people who have so few obligations or just don't care about them. DH & I want to move to LA (totally responsibly for a career advancement for H) but we have MIL, 2 BILs who moved here to be near us (we NEVER encouraged or had any say in this). Now we feel so stuck and I hate it so much.
Marmee, I love my family too much to move far away for too long but I can see how you feel stuck and for that I am sorry. (Also, how far away did they all move from to be closer?)
We moved away from my family (NV) to here (CO)...DHs family all came from VA 6yrs after we moved here. So across the country & MIL won't move to CA because she's scared of Earthquakes & BILs can't afford it. They are already pretty rooted in here (after 3yrs) but I know MIL & 1 BIL rather still be in the VA city they came from...which makes DH feel guilty. But again, no one requested they move here! Ugh!
Post by pyramidsloth on May 2, 2015 20:37:10 GMT -5
*shrugs* I say good for her. It sounds like she's happy with where she's at, and honestly I think it was very brave of her to take that kind of leap. When you really sit down and think about canceling the lease on a NYC apartment, leaving a job and a 401k, and moving to a place you've never even visited...that's definitely not something most people would have the courage to do.
That kind of life used to appeal to me (specifically, when I was in college). My roommate and I would spend HOURS discussing our plans after graduation; we were going to move to Italy and share an apartment, be street musicians by day (we're both violinists), and wait tables on nights and weekends. Lol. Then I realized how difficult, if not impossible it is for Americans to just up and move to Europe. Not to mention getting work visas and street performer permits, plus being fluent in Italian...yeah our dream didn't exactly pan out. Fortunately, the Army saw fit to give my husband orders to Europe, so he and I ended up living in Germany for five wonderful years. It was also pre-kids for us, so every chance we got we traveled to a new country. I didn't wait tables or play my violin on a sidewalk in Rome, but I ended up being okay with that.
Now, that kind of instability terrifies me. I think it's a great thing to do if you're young, possibly single and really nothing holding you back. As a wife and mother of two kids with a third on the way, not having a steady income, health insurance or a retirement plan scares me to death. I also agree with the other posters that I'm simply too Type A to just not worry about things like that anymore.
Someone posted this in a response to this story- Google tells me she's from rich Houston parents. Her father, Myatt Hancock, has his own mortgage company in the Houston area. In 2013 he sold a 90% controlling interest to First State Bank, a bank which his father helped found and which he currently serves on the board. It has just shy of half a billion in assets. He's also quite involved in development in the Houston area and has also owned cable companies going back to the 80's.
So I think its great to follow your dream no matter what, and money is NOT everything, but if she has a life and family to fall back on it makes it easier. At least I would think so. That's if.
Money means freedom to do crazy stuff like this. Even if you never sell everything and run off to an island paradise it's heady to save up the money to actually do this. Very freeing.
Many MMers could live on 30-60K a year and bank the rest of their often much higher than average household incomes if they wanted. No one on their deathbed ever said, "Damnit, I wish I had made more impulse purchases at Target."
I feel like I'm pushing drugs or something here but Financial Independence/Early Retirement is good stuff.
I agree that there is way more to life than making a ton of money in an important job.
I'm also super risk averse so I would have loved a little outline of her finances, I find it to be incredibly educational to see how the savings / investment and income / expenses work for folks that have stepped out of a traditional fast paced, high paying, big city lifestyle.
Money means freedom to do crazy stuff like this. Even if you never sell everything and run off to an island paradise it's heady to save up the money to actually do this. Very freeing.
Many MMers could live on 30-60K a year and bank the rest of their often much higher than average household incomes if they wanted. No one on their deathbed ever said, "Damnit, I wish I had made more impulse purchases at Target."
I feel like I'm pushing drugs or something here but Financial Independence/Early Retirement is good stuff.
I think on my deathbed, I'll be thinking "damn, I'm so glad I took all the showers I wanted to and watched all the cable TV I could."
I value financial freedom* far more than I value living on $30-$60k a year so I can "retire" young.
(*the freedom to do fun things when I want to, even if they cost money)
Between this and watching International House Hunters too much, moving somewhere sounds nice. Chili is currently at the top of my list. I already lead a somewhat simplistic life, and I keep working to simplify it more, but I have no desire to go live on an island and scoop ice cream. I want more than that. More mental stimulation. More options. I want to travel everywhere, not just stay on one island, and $10/hr would make that pretty hard.
If she's content, good for her, but I don't find this to be an ideal way of life.
Money means freedom to do crazy stuff like this. Even if you never sell everything and run off to an island paradise it's heady to save up the money to actually do this. Very freeing.
Many MMers could live on 30-60K a year and bank the rest of their often much higher than average household incomes if they wanted. No one on their deathbed ever said, "Damnit, I wish I had made more impulse purchases at Target."
I feel like I'm pushing drugs or something here but Financial Independence/Early Retirement is good stuff.
I think on my deathbed, I'll be thinking "damn, I'm so glad I took all the showers I wanted to and watched all the cable TV I could."
I value financial freedom* far more than I value living on $30-$60k a year so I can "retire" young.
(*the freedom to do fun things when I want to, even if they cost money)
Shows and showers are not going to break a $50K a year budget. You don't have to make like the Moustache blogger unless you get your rocks off on hardship.
But yes, there are absolutely trade offs and I might have deathbed regrets. I haven't had a nice vacation involving a plane ride to an interesting place in years. Years! If DH or I die before my family gets to enjoy all the free time I'm gonna be pissed.
I need to know where in the world journalists are making $95k.
whut
Yeah, what young and inexperienced journalist is making 95K?
I'm sure she's just a compelling ingenue with a story that will change the course of my life and the well connected family and publicist/book rumors have nothing to do with it.
My sixth grade science teacher would not allow students to ask questions that started with "What if..." because there are endless possibilities.
Sometimes you just have to live a little and take a risk!
(But if what poundcake said is true, I'm sure it's a little easier knowing she can always go to her parents if she feels she needs to)
Yeah, true. I think, in general, the ability to take risks of this particular nature is typically a luxury of the privileged to begin with. So I'm not surprised that she has rich parents. Someone from a wealthy background is always going to have more options and less to really worry about if something doesn't work out.
Well someone making $95,000 and residing in Manhattan may not actually be saving very much for retirement anyway (not saying it's not possible, just that it would be easy not to after paying rent).
There are a lot of ways to live abroad (or semi abroad in the case of the USVI) without compromising your financial well being. I have a few friends who are international school teachers--they've lived in Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, Shanghai and Taipei among other places. Another friend just finished a year as an administrator on a Semester at Sea boat. I have a friend in Bocas del Toro who does Spanish translation for the tourism and NGO industries across Central America. Another friend and her spouse in Dakar quit their NGO jobs to run yoga retreats and do French-English translation on the side. And yes, some of these people have spouses and children. It's just a matter of priorities. Some people prioritize wealth accumulation over experiences and some people prioritize being close to family over adventure. Neither choice is more valid than the other. But it is certainly possible to live a good life and save enough for a decent retirement without going the corporate 9-5 route--but like any choice it requires some trade offs, risk, and creativity.
Yeah I agree with this. Most of us middle to upper middle class people on this board could take such an opportunity or an opportunity to live abroad or do something a little risky if wanted. It's not too terribly difficult to find opportunities these days with the internet and some creativity. I agree that living overseas is great, but it can be glamorized at times. I enjoyed living overseas and where I was the overall vibe was definitely less stressful, but I wouldn't say life was "better." Things are what you make it. I try not to let work define me even if I'm working a million hours.
I need to know where in the world journalists are making $95k.
whut
I'm guessing this has to do with the connections afforded by coming from a billionaire family.
Good on her. But I have some family members who did the float around the world / follow their passion thing without such a safety net and the reality of life in their 60's is pretty unappealing. So I'll just putter down the safe path so that I can avoid that fate and subsidize them as needed.
I need to know where in the world journalists are making $95k.
whut
I'm guessing this has to do with the connections afforded by coming from a billionaire family.
Good on her. But I have some family members who did the float around the world / follow their passion thing without such a safety net and the reality of life in their 60's is pretty unappealing. So I'll just putter down the safe path so that I can avoid that fate and subsidize them as needed.
Here is her bio from when she was almost 30 and published a memoir. Maybe the salary was from all of this stuff? Or proceeds from the memoir? Noelle Hancock is a former staff writer for the New York Observer. She was the founding writer of Us Weekly magazine's entertainment blog and helped launch the website for the popular gossip column Page Six. Her work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GQ, the New York Post, Maxim, Cosmopolitan, Nymagazine.com, and Gawker, among other publications. Noelle frequently offers pop culture commentary on television, including VH1, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, and Fox & Friends. She was born and raised in Houston, Texas. and now lives in Manhattan with her parakeets, Jesus and Stuart. Her parents are still holding out for law school.
But also, it sounds like her life changes weren't all by choice -- she seems to have been laid off, took a year off to do stuff she could write about, published her book about what she did for that year, and after that walked away from job offers that would bring her back to a full-time job.
After losing her high-octane job as an entertainment blogger, Noelle Hancock was lost. About to turn twenty-nine, she'd spent her career writing about celebrities' lives and had forgotten how to live her own. Unemployed and full of self-doubt, she had no idea what she wanted out of life. She feared change—in fact, she feared almost everything. Once confident and ambitious, she had become crippled by anxiety, lacking the courage required even to attend a dinner party—until inspiration struck one day in the form of a quote on a chalkboard in a coffee shop:
"Do one thing every day that scares you." —Eleanor Roosevelt
Painfully timid as a child, Eleanor Roosevelt dedicated herself to facing her fears, a commitment that shaped the rest of her life. With Eleanor as her guide, Noelle spends the months leading up to her thirtieth birthday pursuing a "Year of Fear." From shark diving to fighter pilot lessons, from tap dancing and stand-up comedy to confronting old boyfriends, her hilarious and harrowing adventures teach her about who she is, and what she can become—lessons she makes vital for all of us.
Yes, but who will play her in the big screen adaptation of her NY Times best selling memoir, The Year of Fear?
Reese Witherspoon or Amy Adams?
Scooping ice cream my ass.
Reese and Amy are too old--at 39 and 40, they have to play women having actual midlife crises now. They will find a pretty, blond 20-something who looks good in a bikini. My money is on Blake Lively.
You're right! I need to think younger, but Blake Lively is just so self righteous.
Ah, yes, the hard knock life of a wealthy attractive highly educated white woman in America. How risky and daring she must be, scooping ice cream with a book deal in her back pocket. A true trailblazer for the rest of us.
Wait, so really she didn't actually leave the job, she got laid off, took a year off to do adventurous things (wrote a book about it) and then moved to USVI? Yeah, that's not really practical financially. I was impressed from the start when she could afford to break her lease, and had first and last month's rent but now it's all coming together. I'm thinking she's just trying to stay on the radar to make the book into a movie.
She's not as grating as Mr. Money Mustdouche because she isn't telling people not to shower and making grand parenting pronouncements about forests of arms and legs, but yep, this kind of stuff is old. Oh, so you already had a big financial cushion and, in this case, safety net of rich family, and you want the plebes to buy your book so they can learn how to really "live life"? No, fuckyouverymuch.
The other thing that bugs is that I have seen this "story" all over assorted news websites, but NOBODY has asked her actual substantive questions - How much did you have in savings? Are you depleting your savings while living on the island? What is your rent? Do you see marriage and/or children in your future? Do you have health insurance? That is the stuff that actual, real people without trust funds need to know before they can do this kind of thing.
I'm a little jealous of her ability to do this. I would second guess myself out of this decision that it'd be over by the time I clicked my screen saver away.
I'm to analytical in this instance to pull it off. I do have a dream to go to the islands and be a local photographer for one or a few resorts. It's one I'd love to see happen but I'd miss my daughter too much and know seeing her would be limited depending on where she's living when she's an adult. But in the end I'd be lying if I didn't aspire to in some instances do what she did.