Hello from the edge of the world! :)

[GL from QC]

I retired* at age 34, just over six months ago, and I'm looking for new hobbies to fill up all this free time. Your forum looks nice and wholesome - I look forward to becoming a regular here.

*as in lean-FIRE, as in living frugally, but not working ever again.

I'm a Russian-American-Canadian - after living in a lot of different cities, I finally moved to Quebec City, and I love it here... Not only dirt-cheap rent ($595 CAD or $472 USD for rent+utilities+Internet ) but also amazing scenery, fun people, and a chance to learn French!

In my previous life, I worked as an analyst, investigator, manual labourer, strategist, card-counter, minister, interpreter, bookseller, rescuer, writer, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few more... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Anyhow, happy to be part of this merry crew, and off to explore the rest of the forum. Cheers!

[catherine]

Wow, you've packed a lot into 34 years! Looking forward to hearing what you have to say!

I'm not far from you--just 26 miles from the Canadian border.

Welcome!

[GL from QC]

Thanks, eh! For the most part, I just kept looking for new hobbies because my day job (11.5 years with Amazon) was so soul-crushingly stressful and occasionally just plain evil. (That's why I became a rescuer back in Seattle - to do something that was objectively good and helpful.) I'm just a wanderer by nature... Current projects: concentrating on my writing, educating myself on classic movies, and playing through all the games in my Steam library at long last.

[bae]

Welcome!

[happystuff]

Welcome! Quebec City sounds great!

[JaneV2.0]

Quebec City sounds delightful!

[Teacher Terry]

Welcome to the group!!

[rosarugosa]

Welcome, GL, look forward to hearing more from you!

[nswef]

Welcome, GL. Looks as if you are quite an adventurous soul!

[GL from QC]

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone!

Welcome, GL. Looks as if you are quite an adventurous soul!

I just have a bad case of wanderlust, zero shame, and a lot of "what if" ideas that lead to all kinds of fun stuff. In some way, I think I'm overcompensating for the fact that almost all of my ancestors were just peasants who never traveled and didn't have a lot of variety in their lives. I like to think that they're looking down and cheering me own as I move from place to place, hike volcanos, learn exotic languages, etc.