An Escapologist’s Diary. Part 8.
Some of our readers don’t enjoy fiscal solutions to The Escape Problem. If you’re one of those readers, you might want to look away now. Sorry about this.
A lot has been written online about Tim Ferris’ concept of Musing: creating a low-maintenance business capable of generating an ‘optimum monthly income’, enough to allow you to fulfil whatever dream you have.
To us, of course, the dream is one of maximum mobility (of not having to report to work every day) and of ending the relationship between submission and reward. That’s how Musing connects with Escapology. It has the potential to replace work and maximise mobility.
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Two websites of note
Two New Escapologist editors have handsome new homes on the web:
Our sub-editor, Reggie C. King has collated his some of his fine works of literature, journalism and musiphilosophistry at The Stuffed Owl.
Meanwhile inside the mind of a turtle, our illustration editor Samara Leibner has opened a gorgeous weekly web comic called Astronaut.
May both sites live long and prosper etc.
Not Local?
Because New Escapologist has a political dimension, people will make not-unfair assumptions about the issues we’re “for”. For example, I sometimes receive article submissions about the importance of buying locally-produced food. Given that we’re associated with the Idler, this is perhaps understandable but culinary issues are somewhat tangential to Escapology and there’s a lot about the “Buy Local” movement that makes me uncomfortable.
In the UK, the sort of people who are most passionate about buying local tend to talk about “English apples” rather than “British apples”, a paralinguistic betrayal of their real agenda. Buying Local to these people is nothing to do with carbon footprints. It’s Patriotism.
If one is genuinely worried about the carbon footprint of importing, it is worth remembering that “abroad” may well be geographically closer than other parts of your country. Apples grown in Normandy are closer to London than anything grown in the North of Britain.
“It’s mad!” they say when they hear about Spanish asparagus being sold by a greengrocer in Solihull. “Mad!” Yet they overlook the logic that if there were no economic incentive, the greengrocer wouldn’t stock such goods. Who knows what other benefits are involved in importing? A single import initiative might be the lifeblood of an entire equatorial village for all we know. Even from a right-wing perspective, isn’t it better to let other nations do the dirty work while we concentrate on being world leaders?
Yes, there are advantages to Buying Local and New Escapologist is all in favour of certain types of autonomy and simplicity. But we’re not in favour of bumpkinism.
An Escapologist's Diary. Part 8.
In the first part of this blog series, I wrote about how I had quit my office job and how I intended to escape to Montreal on a ‘mini-retirement’ with my girlfriend. Since then, we’ve enjoyed Montreal as planned but have also spent additional time in England, Scotland and Holland, hatching various schemes, some of which are already underway.
Five months later, I’ve taken a day job again. I’m working part-time as a contract librarian in Newcastle, England. Don’t squint so suspiciously though: this isn’t a tail-between-the-legs return to employment after a wild period of faux-rebellion. It’s a hobby.
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