Hello from the edge of the world! :)

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11-18-21, 8:28pm
GL from QC

Hello from the edge of the world! :)

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. :cool:

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 :0!) 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! :)
11-18-21, 9:27pm
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!
11-18-21, 10:09pm
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. :laff:
11-18-21, 10:11pm
bae

Welcome!
11-18-21, 10:49pm
happystuff

Welcome! Quebec City sounds great!
11-18-21, 10:49pm
JaneV2.0

Quebec City sounds delightful!
11-18-21, 10:52pm
Teacher Terry

Welcome to the group!!
11-19-21, 6:39am
rosarugosa

Welcome, GL, look forward to hearing more from you!
11-19-21, 11:29am
nswef

Welcome, GL. Looks as if you are quite an adventurous soul!
11-19-21, 11:55am
GL from QC

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by nswef

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. :)
11-19-21, 12:26pm
iris lilies

Welcome! I just looked at images of Quebec city. Wow the historic district is stunning. That caused me to go to a real estate site and look up old houses for sale. They are amazing! There’s some gorgeous properties there and yes the price does seem reasonable for a big city in a pretty setting.

The vernacular Quebec City house has a unique roof line that is very charming. I don’t recognize it from other places.
11-19-21, 12:28pm
catherine

You remind me of Jacob Lund Fisker (Early Retirement Extreme) and in fact you inspired me to go back to my kindle and re-read some parts of that book. Even though I'm past being able to retire "early" I appreciate the thought process behind the concept in terms of value drivers of frugality, resourcefulness and independence.
11-19-21, 1:48pm
razz

:welcome: from another Canadian living near Lake Erie. Quebec City is beautiful with some wonderful history. The small villages along the St Lawrence are fun to explore.
11-19-21, 9:40pm
SteveinMN

Nice to see you here, GL! I'm looking forward to seeing more posts from you.
11-20-21, 2:31am
GL from QC

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveinMN

Nice to see you here, GL! I'm looking forward to seeing more posts from you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by razz

from another Canadian living near Lake Erie. Quebec City is beautiful with some wonderful history. The small villages along the St Lawrence are fun to explore.

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by iris lilies

Welcome! I just looked at images of Quebec city. Wow the historic district is stunning. That caused me to go to a real estate site and look up old houses for sale. They are amazing! There’s some gorgeous properties there and yes the price does seem reasonable for a big city in a pretty setting.

The vernacular Quebec City house has a unique roof line that is very charming. I don’t recognize it from other places.

The entire east side of the city is like that. :) The 1-bedroom apartment I'm renting for $470 USD (including the utilities + internet) is just a 10-minute walk from all that beauty, and most of the rest of the city has great architecture as well.

I wouldn't buy a house here because I keep hearing horror stories about the local bureaucracy (and also because I'm terrible at maintenance hahaha), but renting, with the same price locked in forever? That's my idea of paradise, eh. ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by catherine

You remind me of Jacob Lund Fisker (Early Retirement Extreme) and in fact you inspired me to go back to my kindle and re-read some parts of that book. Even though I'm past being able to retire "early" I appreciate the thought process behind the concept in terms of value drivers of frugality, resourcefulness and independence.

That's an excellent compliment - thank you!! Jacob's blog was one of the cornerstones for my lean-FIRE philosophy. I'm not as extreme as him (I'd rather not eat just lentils :laff:, and I do love to travel), but he's a certified badass. If the rest of y'all aren't familiar, here is his blog and his book.
4-17-22, 12:01pm
FishFinder

I went to QC once back in 2001. Drove from Toronto. I think it was like 10 or 11 hours drive. Still have good memories of that place. LOTs of places to see.