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How to live on $432 a month in America

(shagbark.substack.com)
526 points cactusplant7374 | 12 comments | 23 May 25 16:40 UTC | HN request time: 0.646s | source | bottom
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owenversteeg ◴[24 May 25 00:13 UTC] No.44077762[source]▶
Like other people here, I have my quibbles with the exact math. But the general premise is true: yes, you can live in rural poverty for cheap. The problem is the vibes. A hundred years ago, you would have a community, a place in society, and all of your family and friends nearby. In 2025, the only actual local job the author of the piece can come up with is at a gas station.

Top ten occupations, 1920: Farmers, farm laborers, clerks, salespeople, servants (bellboys, butlers, cooks), textile workers, machinists, carpenters, and teachers. All of those jobs, even the less respected ones, had infinitely more societal respect than the common jobs hiring in rural America today - such as stocking shelves at Walmart or working at a gas station. You could be a simple farm laborer and have a wife and kids and a place in society. Today, though, a young man working at a Walmart or a gas station will struggle to attract a stable partner or the respect of the world around him.

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1. AstroBen ◴[24 May 25 04:30 UTC] No.44078785[source]▶
Not saying I agree with the premise of the article at all but making life decisions based on how much others will respect it is a terrible way to live
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2. weregiraffe ◴[24 May 25 06:27 UTC] No.44079170[source]▶
Humans are a social species. Your happiness absolutely depends on what other people think about you.
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3. tonyedgecombe ◴[24 May 25 12:23 UTC] No.44080621[source]▶
Yes, it seems the only thing the world around me respects is conspicuous consumption. It's better for your own wellbeing if you can avoid indulging that.
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4. andrewrn ◴[24 May 25 12:55 UTC] No.44080760[source]▶
We're wired to yield to social pressures, it is what allowed us to create civilization. You're right, the energy spent to overcome it is well spent, but its not as trivial as you make it sound to be low-status and feel fulfilled.
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5. AstroBen ◴[24 May 25 15:45 UTC] No.44081833[source]▶
Status is relative to who's doing the judging.. and everyone views things differently. I'd argue you don't have much of a choice whether you're low or high status in some people's eyes. Whether you feel it regularly heavily depends on who you surround yourself with

Your career = your social status is a very American point of view

Eat meat and vegans will look down on you

Ride a bike for transport in America and you're poor, do it in Europe and it's normal

Nomads will judge you on your experiences and travel, not your career. Wealthy CEO thats invested everything in their work but never left their home country? Low status

Go out on your own and take a risk of starting a business in Asia and people will be confused why you'd do that vs the safe path

Invest a tonne of energy into making money and anti-consumerist folk will laugh

Skinny? Better bulk up lest the bodybuilders see you as low status.. but wait, if you bulk up people will judge you for being vain. Shit

The status game isn't winnable. Best thing you can do is surround yourself with people of similar values

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6. AstroBen ◴[24 May 25 16:04 UTC] No.44081947[source]▶
Good luck making everyone like you
7. ryandrake ◴[24 May 25 16:44 UTC] No.44082181{3}[source]▶
Letting go of social pressures, “status” and not worrying about what other people think of me was the single biggest quality-of-life improvement I ever made.
8. andrewrn ◴[24 May 25 18:02 UTC] No.44082752{3}[source]▶
"Surround yourself with people of similar values"... so in other words, you mean find a group where you're of similar status. We're not in disagreement.
9. ◴[24 May 25 21:12 UTC] No.44083835[source]▶
10. ◴[24 May 25 21:33 UTC] No.44083934[source]▶
11. owenversteeg ◴[26 May 25 05:16 UTC] No.44094182[source]▶
I used to be a guy that genuinely didn't care about what others thought. I did my own thing. As they say: those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter. That worked surprisingly well for quite a while. And then I slowly realized the benefits of society. It's nice to be a part of this big human experiment of ours. It's nice to have respect. And the thing is, it doesn't have to cost you that much. You don't have to go full-conformist. If you do a few basic things that are fairly low-effort you get a good bit of leeway in the eyes of the world. I'm still a pretty weird guy; just one that wears a squid on his head less often. Soul still intact.

Coming back to the article topic, often times society's judgment saves people from making stupid decisions. For example, in non-HN circles, "I am going to go move far away from anyone I know to live in a dilapidated building in one of the most depressed towns in the Northeast and work at a gas station" would garner enough judgment to stop that person in their tracks. If you've ever been to a town like this, you realize that is a good thing! Statistically, they've just been saved from ODing on fentanyl! Same thing for all kinds of socially undesirable behaviors. If you think people do crazy shit now, imagine what they'd do without a society around them.

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12. AstroBen ◴[26 May 25 13:29 UTC] No.44097258[source]▶
> would garner enough judgment to stop that person in their tracks

I don't agree the judgement itself should be the factor that stops them. Having that as an overly strong measuring stick is incredibly limiting. It's an indicator of something, sure.. but you should look for actual reasons and where it's coming from

If you ask "everyone seems to think this is a terrible idea.. why?". Well in the 'dilapidated building in a depressed town' case you'd pretty quickly find 100 reasons not to do it, as you pointed out. In a lot of other situations though there are none. Everyone is just following everyone else and no-ones truly considered the alternatives on their own merit

I'm with you that there's a good balance. I don't see a reason in being actively non-conformist or anything. There's an innate drawback to not conforming.. it makes you a little weird and un-relatable. Just need to make sure the benefits make up for it