A Note to the Recently Unemployed Reader.
20. Feb, 2009 
22 Comments 
So you lost your job, eh? Yeah, you and hundreds of thousands just like ya. That sucks, because now you’ve got a really, really slim chance of finding another job that pays as well or makes you as miserable happy as that one did.
Dang.
So anyway, what are you doing next? Because I seem to remember you, maybe six months ago, talking about all the things you would do if you didn’t have such high rent and that stupid life-sucking job. Remember? You were all like, “I would love to go live off the land, someday.” You even said “Dude, I wish I could tell my stupid F-ing boss to F off*, and then just travel for a while.” I know you remember saying that.
Well guess what, my friend? Now is the time. If you ever wanted an opportunity to change your scene, it’s this moment of forced relaxation and (if you’re lucky) steady government checks.
And what are you really waiting for? You think if you just stay home in your overpriced apartment and play Wii enough, a job will eventually show up? It might, it totally might. But it probably won’t. So hey, how about considering another type of opportunity?
For example. Did you know that there are ecovillages all over the world? I mean everywhere. Lots of them look quite a bit like urban apartment buildings, but with some obligatory gardening/housework time; others, like the Laytonville EcoVillage, offer you the opportunity to live on communal land in your own “house” (read: converted trailer) for just a few hundred dollars a month in rent. Still others are hardcore hippie oases, full of yoga & yogurt. Whatever their story, many ecovillages let you live there for FREE, in exchange for a few hours’ work each day. So do lots of intentional communities, like the one I’m staying in now outside of LA.
Imagine it: waking up each morning to sunlight and birdsong, going out to work in the field for a bit, then maybe sharing some food with your friends. Sounds overly idyllic to you? Funny, because that’s what I did today.
Okay, another example. Did you know that there are organic farms around the world that need volunteers? Were you aware that, if you can fork over the cash for a ticket, you could find yourself living expense-free in some distant paradise, WWOOFing for your dinner?
It’s for real. You can do it. Maybe it won’t be forever, but it’s a damn good way to weather the current economic storm. No electric bill, no food bill, no gas bill. Some places even pay a stipend, so you can sock a bit of cash away.
And unless you’re headed to some crazy-remote cabin in BFE, you can just bring your Wii with you.
Other options? Oh yes, plenty. Americorps, or the Peace Corps. Doctors Without Borders. Burners Without Borders. Or any one of a thousand organizations that need help urgently. So go, I tell ya! See the world! Stop waiting for unemployment checks and just DO something. You won’t regret it, and you might even thank me someday.
Or you can just sit there and refresh the Craigslist job board every 30 seconds, that’s good too.
*You cuss a lot.
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This may be the best thing you have written here, ever. Definitely one of the best blog posts I’ve ever read.
I dugg it.
xoxo
Yay Jessica!
There are SO many people outside of our sphere of influence that could SO use to read this. And perhaps they will, good job Jess!
And hats off to you and your explorations & adventures, especially for sharing them.
Thanks fellas!!
This bothers me quite a bit.
Not everyone is getting a government check. If you are, you should be using the time to find a new job and get off the dole, not living in some eco-paradise while still taking money from hard-working taxpayers.
This isn’t the time for vacations. And if it is, you should stop taking money that needs to be used for the less fortunate in order to subsidize your own break from society. You realize that that money comes from somewhere, don’t you?
Absolutely, good sir. And you make a valid point, one which I could have addressed more clearly.
The unemployment checks run out, but what happens when unemployment’s gone and there still aren’t any jobs available? By that time, you (by which I mean “generic unemployed person”) ought to have a plan for survival which DOESN’T include taking welfare or any other form of charity.
WWOOFing and other forms of alternative living generally involve working, as I mentioned. You’ve got to work, you can’t live for free anywhere. The only difference is that, instead of being paid in money, you’re paid in food and a safe place to live. This is a perfectly valid system that’s been functioning for decades (actually, for ever).
Thanks for bringing that up.
Jack, I think your choice of the word “vacation” demonstrates that you have misconstrued my meaning. I never said it was a vacation; in fact, this is my current occupation.
I didn’t get laid off and don’t receive any sort of financial support, governmental or otherwise. I am, quite simply, working for my keep. There’s nothing selfish about it. I have dirt under my fingernails right now, and my back aches. Since when did working on a farm equate to “sucking money from taxpayers”? Rather, to me it represents a viable solution which addresses both the current issue of rampant unemployment, and the looming dangers of food shortage and climate change.
But carry on, carry on. You seem set in your beliefs, and I don’t think this conversation needs to continue, particularly as it clearly doesn’t apply to you directly. Good luck to you in the current economic collapse; may all your stocks flourish and your assets never depreciate.
My concern wasn’t that people aren’t spending time looking for jobs as much as it was this: the unemployment benefits system is not meant as a way to pay for your vacation when you get laid off. Our government’s resources are quite finite. People can spend their unemployed time however they want, but if you’re taking unemployment benefits, then you have a moral and legal obligation to be getting yourself back on your feet, not sucking resources from the system.
Unemployment benefits are meant to be a temporary, life-saving bridge when you have an unexpected, temporary loss of income. You shouldn’t be on it “until it runs out”, because that is taking advantage of the system. Using it to subsidize mini-vacations is morally questionable, considering that otherwise that money might go toward other, more charitable endeavors.
This solution just seems selfish to me. What are you giving back to society if you hole yourself up in some commune and suck money from taxpayers who are engaged in things like teaching, building playgrounds, and so on?
If you think things need to change, then use the time you’re on unemployment to look for a job and to make things better in your hometown, not to suck money out of the government so that you can live on a quaint little farm while people are starving in your community.
Sorry for the double post, but let me just point out that I think WWOOFing is a perfectly valid ways to live. Let’s not chase that herring in this discussion.
My problem is with taking emergency money from the government (that is, our taxes) in order to fulfill your personal dreams. I would feel the same way if someone used unemployment benefits to go spend two weeks at Disneyland. Sure, it’s great for you, but it’s not what that money is for, and I would rather see it go toward grants for the arts or into local stimulus plans or to someone who didn’t qualify for benefits on a technicality than into someone’s hands who doesn’t need it. The unemployment benefits system has literally saved people’s lives. I don’t like seeing it exploited by (what I imagine are) middle-class people who’ve been laid off and want to “get away for a while” and reconnect to nature. By all means, go live in a commune if you want, but pay for it yourself.
There are people (in my community) who really need that money that you’re using to pay your credit cards so you can go live at one with nature…
Jessica, I’m not set in my beliefs. I believe you are misunderstanding my post. Please re-read what I wrote. This is the herring I wanted us to avoid chasing. I am not saying that this type of living is by default selfish or that you personally are getting a government check. Don’t let this become a discussion about particular personalities.
Let me be more clear. You say:
“Use those unemployment checks to pay off your credit card bill, and just DO something. ”
So, you are encouraging people who are getting unemployment benefits to do what you’re doing. The big difference is that you, as you pointed out, are not on unemployment. I would never (and did not) say that you (Jessica) are “sucking money from taxpayers.”
However, if someone gets unemployment and uses that money to go work on a farm where they are even possibly being paid a stipend, then, yes, they are being selfish, this is a vacation, and they are using taxpayer money to subsidize it.
If that’s the life you want, then by all means, go for it. I even personally thinks it’s a wonderful way to live. But if you use taxpayer money to do it, you are being selfish. That money is needed elsewhere. The model you are endorsing is sustainable in itself. Why take money from the government and pretend you are unemployed if your employment is of the type that you (Jessica) have?
Regarding your final paragraph:
“But carry on, carry on. You seem set in your beliefs, and I don’t think this conversation needs to continue, particularly as it clearly doesn’t apply to you directly. Good luck to you in the current economic collapse; may all your stocks flourish and your assets never depreciate.”
No, I am not set in my beliefs. I am trying to have a discussion on the topic you posted about. Why post if you don’t want to hear other opinions? Yes, it does apply to me directly, in ways I haven’t mentioned in this brief discussion. And, no, I have no stocks, bonds, investments or other big assets to speak of. I am curious why your last paragraph is so judgmental. My comments and questions are sincere, but this last paragraph reads as a passive aggressive way to say that I am a comment troll. I assure you, I am not.
If the purpose of your post isn’t to generate discussion, then I ask you, what was the purpose?
[Also, if you plan to delete this comment because you've decided the conversation is over, then please delete all of my comments out of respect for my opinions.]
“I am curious why your last paragraph is so judgmental. My comments and questions are sincere, but this last paragraph reads as a passive aggressive way to say that I am a comment troll. I assure you, I am not”.
You are not many things, good sir. Including, the subject/author/thrust of this post.
I made the same ‘judgement’ as the owning blogger did.
Can we go back to ‘not talking about individual personalities’, please?
It’s obvious that some people live off the public tit and will never move. The ones next door playing wii on your unemployment dime are just the most obvious. The Blackwater/KBR No-Bid war profiteers are more odious. This post is NOT for them.
I agree. Talking about individual personalities will get you nowhere.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. But just because Blackwater is doing it, doesn’t mean that people WWOOFing should do it too. I think it’s irresponsible to encourage people who care about our society to take government money when they don’t need it. If you read everything I wrote, that’s the point of all my comments.
I know I’m not the author of the post. What’s your point? That means I can’t post an opinion? If so, I’ll step away, but I’m really curious why I’m feeling a little hostility just for voicing a different opinion. If I’m incorrectly feeling the hostility, I apologize, but that last paragraph of Jessica’s seemed needlessly personal and mean.
Rightio! Because we’re all people with brains and valid points of view, and because arguing on the Internet is MUCH stupider if it doesn’t achieve anything, I will now edit the offending sentence.
I’m actually very happy that there’s an active discussion here. Jack, you came on a bit strong there, might want to rein yourself in next time. But I hear what you’re saying. Radio, thanks for the support.
That CL ad is a nice touch. Tres cool.
I’m off to enjoy my Saturday night, so keep the flame alive for me!
Thanks, but it still doesn’t address the point. I don’t think it’s responsible for people to be on unemployment when they don’t need it, especially among people who are generally considered more responsible than the average citizen.
I’ll slither away now to a more inviting site, and I apologize for stepping in your walled garden. I actually agree with a lot of things I’ve read here, but I don’t feel comfortable having my own opinions in this group, and that makes for no fun for me or you.
whoo got a live one there Jess!
This is a great post. I didn’t really think of it that way, but it makes sense I guess. Still not sure I believe it can work, but you sound convinced so maybe it is for real
If that guy thinks unemployment is only supposed to be used while you’re finding an office job and not a farm job, whatever. Troll guy, if you wanted to have a discussion you shouldve been less rude. It’s like people read stuff and label it liberal hippy shit and then they won’t even listen even if it has merit.
You did make it sound pretty amazing tho, I say convince me. I like my xbox
“If that guy thinks unemployment is only supposed to be used while you’re finding an office job and not a farm job, whatever.”
No, that is not what that guy thinks. Read the posts again. This guy thinks that you shouldn’t be taking unemployment benefits if you have a job or are not looking for a job, regardless of whether that’s on a farm or in an office.
A job on a farm is fine. Is anyone actually reading the posts or just knee-jerk defending farming? Where did I say that office jobs are better than farm jobs or that farm jobs are bad?
No, I am not a troll, but that’s an easy way to avoid answering the question. No one in these comments, except the guy who mentioned Blackwater has even mentioned the point of my comment.
Great great post. I almost feel terrible saying the stormtrooper picture is hilarious, due to the nature of the article. Still, a great read. Nice work!
Excellent article and thanks for the tips. There are so many options out there, people just need to open their eyes and look beyond the cubicle forest.
Wow Hun, this is such a great post, so many people can REALLY use this information. I personally didn’t know that so many organic farms were begging to be worked on in Hawaii in exchange for food and shelter, and sometimes pay, but it’s really an amazing opportunity, especially when people tell me there’s no way they could ever come to Hawaii, or any other place for that matter, due to financial restraints. I’m moving back to California soon, and actually headed to another one of these eco-communities to live and work on, and as you say, they literally are EVERYWHERE!
On a separate note, what you are doing is absolutely amazing and inspiring, and I really enjoy what you share with everyone regarding your journeys and so on. I just clicked on your link from one of the DPW posts you sent out and was happily surprised to see what you do. So many amazing, beautiful, inspiring people out there, thanks so much for being one of them, every one makes a difference! If you don’t remember me, I’ve been with DPW for about 4 years (on Fistica), I’m a short little blond with glasses, I think the shade crew used to call me barbie, though I’m known as Siren because I wail my heart out (sing). You can check out my music here if ya like: http://www.myspace.com/428155285.
You’re one amazing lady, I hope to see you on playa and can’t wait to hear of your south american adventures to come!
What community are you a part of? I’m really down with this, but yes, am out of a job and broke. I’ll be happy to work for space to live.
To Jack (and others) –
I realize the initial conversation started over a year ago, but I wanted to chime in on the unemployment benefits issue. From what I have read, unemployment benefits are paid by the state government out of a fund that is funded by the unemployed person’s former employer. Employers pay on behalf of each employee based on a complex formula based on past unemployment benefits that have been paid out. Anyway, the money employers pay can be seen as part of an employee’s total compensation package, just like the money employers pay for an employee’s health care. What it comes down to is that the money that unemployed people receive is money that they worked for. And believe me, no one is getting rich off of their unemployment checks. It’s barely enough to live on.
Hey Siren, great to hear from you! And it’s so awesome to have a first-person testimonial on this. I remember who you are, we met on Fence wayyyyyyy back when you&Garth first came out.
Anyway I’d love to talk to you about your experiences. I’ll email you! Thanks for stopping by.