My (updated) homeless and jobless sob story

Oh, I forgot how awesome I look in my profile pic here...

JohnJ80302 wrote:Does the girl WANT you to move anywhere close to Toronto? If not, or even if she's psyched but you're getting mixed signals because you've only known her for 6 months while traveling, I'd stay in Colorado. You don't want to be stranded somewhere you don't want to be, for a woman you don't know will be your life partner. Coming from someone who's very happy they got married after the age of 40, to someone I dated for 5 years, be careful about following a woman and putting your own interests on the back burner. If the relationship is going to work, it'll work once you get back on your feet.

I wish I had taken this advice about 6 months ago. . .

haha at least you don't have an option.... I'm about to throw a 90k job out the window in Chicago and move to Colorado to go back to school for nursing so in 3 years I'll be making 2/3's of what I do now. I think it'll be worth it in the long run though and I have enough money saved up to pay for schooling and still have a decent down payment on a house when I do finally start working again. (and my wife who's a nurse can pay the majority of the bills in the mean time).

What made you turn away from nursing? They'll always be in demand and you can go anywhere with it. You'll probably start around 50-60k right out of school too. If you already have a bachelors you can probably do an accelerated program and have a BSN in two years. Most hospitals do self scheduling so it's pretty easy to get 6 or 7 days off in a row without taking any vacation time.

Meh, you're getting laid and climb 5.13, so I don't have too much sympathy for you. Hah just kidding dude, best of luck and as others have said, things will work out if you put yourself in the right mental frame and physical preparedness for it.
I presently work 12 or more hour days in the middle of nowhere in Nevada.. so the $$ is pretty good and I generally like the work, but the social isolation can be a little intense.. my schedule is flexible though [just spent 6 days in SF/Donner Pass climbing] and I'm not too far from quality climbing. So, on the whole life is really good, and while I wouldn't mind being back in Boulder or getting laid, I feel blessed in the current state of things so be fairly fresh out of school with a great job [geologist at a gold mine.] To get there though, I busted ass in school, spent every summer doing an internship of some sort, and even took off a semester of school for a 6-month work/study gig in the boonies of North Idaho. So... I suppose it's all about priorities. Do you want to live a semi-homeless and poor lifestyle where you can climb hard and travel the world, or settle down and fight with the rest of the weekend warriors, then next thing you know you have 2 kids, a golden retriever, a road bike, and a 401K? Just my 2 cents.
-P

Go with the girl. You're too stupid to do anything else. The # 1 thing about successful climbing gyms is population.

What the hell ever you do, don't move to Indianapolis.
You ever seen that map of climbable rock in any distance?
Go to Toronto, or maybe Detroit and join the maker movement.
or
Watch this, get motivated.
youtube.com/watch?v=V24TaUJ…

johnL wrote: Mark, I thought about it. A masters isn't the answer since I don't really like my undergrad degree and I didn't really like school to start with. I also thought really seriously about nursing school, it's also not the answer for me. I'd like to show up, make an honest dollar, have health insurance, and afford to travel and save a little.

How about work volunteerily (just need food, lol you can ask them let you stay in the garage or storage for while) to a local climbing guide institute, then overtime, they may consider hire you and train you to be an official mountain guide?

physician assistant.

Get a read on how sure she is about staying in Toronto longterm. If you're both climbers maybe you can setup home someplace you both really like, check out the relationship a little longer and then she can join you in the new better location. But definitely go for it with her, how often does a great love come along??

My vote's go back to school. Sounds like you really don't want to be a PE teacher. You gotta do something the rest of your life; yea it'll cost some money at first, but it's worth it to have a flexible and reasonably well paying job that you enjoy the rest of your life.

Whatever you decide, best of luck!

It's summer dude...and you are a climber with a PE degree. Why aren't you working the season as a camp counselor or whatever they are called. All those east coast kids go to camp.

PS stick with the girl. Good matches aren't that easy to find. See if it's the real deal. I'd say "good luck", but seems as though you already have plenty.

you've got friends in Flag. :)
but prob not much for employment..

So the girl is not interested but you are still considering moving to Canada anyways....Help me out on this one.

John you have to figure out your own life, don't expect anyone else to do it for you. Take this as a wakeup call. Stop chasing and start finding, maybe take some time off from climbing. It is easy to blow off life when all you do is climb. Put all that energy into creating a future you want to live.

Wasn't Bermuda supposed to be about breaking the cycle and getting a jump start on something different? Sorry to say it but is sounds like you are right back where you started.

Being a climbing bum is not a sustainable lifestyle w/o a trust fund. You don't want to be in the same place in 10 years, otherwise you will spend the next 30 wishing you had done something different.

johnL wrote:A half decent job that isn't a rickshaw that pays enough for rent in the Denver area would pretty much talk me out of Canada completely. Anyone hear anything?

Not sure if this would interest you, but this was just posted in another thread:

Park Ranger job in RMNP

jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.…(Climbing)%2c+Perm%2c+Subject-to-Furlough&lid=17408&lid=17410&lid=17411&lid=17426&lid=17429&lid=17466&lid=17472&rad_units=miles&brd=3876&pp=25&sort=rv%2c-dtex&jbf785=&vw=b&re=134&FedEmp=Y&FedPub=Y&caller=advanced.aspx&AVSDM=2011-07-12+00%3a13%3a00

Phil Persson wrote:Do you want to live a semi-homeless and poor lifestyle where you can climb hard and travel the world, or settle down and fight with the rest of the weekend warriors, then next thing you know you have 2 kids, a golden retriever, a road bike, and a 401K?

I'm not trying to take Phil's point out of context, but keep in mind these are two extremes. Don't forget there is middle ground between being a bum and busting ass for the man 40+ hours a week. You might have to get creative to figure out how to get there but it can be done. Self-employment might be an eventual option depending on your skills. Never stop investing in your own skills, whether that means going back to school or self-learning.