Hello, folks…
I'm Argus. I'm a sovereign individual living in the Blue Ridge Mountains. For now, I am putting up with the "statist quo" until I can discover a better way to live freely.
I'm here to engage in (hopefully) meaningful (yet always irreverent) discussions on how we can make a stateless society/community a reality within my lifetime. With the full disclosure that flows from my sense of rational self-interest, let it be known: Iwant to get out of the rat cage and start living.
I'm somewhat new to this mode of thinking and not particularly consistent in my ideology (as it were) all the time. Perhaps being around a virtual community will help me in this regard.
Unlike many on here, I'm not much of an entrepreneur and I've always been a wage slave. As a member of this group, I hope to garner some inspiration about how I might change this vicious cycle.
I found out about this forum via the Complete Liberty podcast.
cheers, peace and all that…
Argus
1. Tell us about yourself.
2. Why are you here?
3. How did you find the Shire Society?
Cool. Planning a move to the Shire?
@ Ian
[quote author=FTL_Ian link=topic=6138.msg58218#msg58218 date=1330418644]
Cool. Planning a move to the Shire?
[/quote]
(OK…this turned out longer than I had anticipated…) At this point, I have no idea. Having been a wage slave for so many decades (age 41), getting out of that system may not be easy but I am willing.
I like what I read about Keene (including the ever-unfolding saga of your battles with John Law). I'm the kind of guy who can adapt pretty easily to any locale. The two greatest obstacles to my moving are 1. work and 2. kids.
My youngest won't finish high school for four more years and she would be devastated to be taken from her social group at this point – so we're probably looking at four more years.
My wife and I are both aware of the coming economic collapse (and likely the clamping down of our economic freedom) but I think we are in the investigative mode right now concerning options. She is a math instructor so her job opportunities are much greater (although that means she is virtually stuck in the statist educational monopoly). Nevertheless she has math skills (i.e. potential bookkeeper, analyst, etc.) while I work as a humble journalist/writer in a world deluged with online content producers and wannabes. To say my market sector is diluted is an understatement.
If we do make a move, Keene would certainly be on our list. We currently live in the mountains of NC so the climate and topography would suit us fine. However, we are also considering our home state of Tennessee (which has about as low of a tax burden as NH) as well as some of the more rural Upper Western states (MT, WY, etc.). NC is about as statist as you can get.
Finally, I am beginning to ask the question: Do I really want to continue to be a U.S. citizen? If the nation of my birth continues to slouch down its self-destructive path, how is that meeting my sense of rational self-interest?
I wonder if we shouldn't move to a place that will better respect rights of self-ownership, property and productive ability.
For now, I will carry on as an associate/virtual resident of Keene and every other place that longs for a free state (or NO state). I hope to add some measure of intelligent conversation to the already stellar mix you folks have established.
I commented on this question in some detail in this recent post also: http://forum.shiresociety.com/evolving-the-marketplace-and-you/putting-the-free-in-freelance-%28musings-of-a-free-market-newbie%29/
Cheers
Argus
You are already not a US Citizen. No one is: http://marcstevens.net/articles/theres-no-such-thing-as-an-illegal-alien-2.html
Four years is a good amount of time to start saving up for a move. Hope you decide to join other Shire participants here in the Shire. Welcome to the forum.
Thanks, Ian. You guys seem very welcoming to newcomers (which is how we would expect free people to behave on their own).
I agree with your sentiment. I use the terms of the govt. when I say "citizen." I am metaphysically a sovereign individual. However, I am also at their mercy for the moment so I am stuck in acknowledging their label so long as they have a gun to my head.
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of holding multiple passports and being a Perpetual Tourist.
For example: renouncing US citizenship; getting citizenship in a nation that basically sells them but yet still has relations with other nations (Montenegro I think is one example) and also having citizenship in a stable democracy: Brazil, Costa Rica, Italy that does not tax citizens on income earned outside (or no income tax). Keep assets in nations with stable, low-regulatory economies.
Then, maybe live part of the year in the States (NH in summer for example or my native Tennessee) and then living other months in Costa Rica or Brazil (they are also building a "Galt's Gulch" model community in Argentina, I hear).
However, I suppose doing that would not help accomplish the Free State project's goal of placing 20K voters in NH. But who knows. I'm a big talker but I suspect I don't have the balls to really live in another country.
Of course, living in this police state costs so much that "saving for a move" may prove quite difficult.
Cheers,
Argus