You could also go back to school? Higher knowledge, and in most cases, young feminine nubility.

remember the tv show "route 66"?

i may be available to go too.

I like the Key West idea. Great place to kick it and live a very relaxing life tending bar or whatever. I have a close personal friend that was in a situation not all that different from yours - well he was a lot younger and wasn't a pilot, but he did have no debt, not a lot of marketable skills, no real desire to pursue a high-powered, high-paying office gig that required a lot of effort and education, all his stuff fit in his Chevy S10, etc. He moved to Key West about 12 years ago - still there. I visit when I can. He has a blast. Works at a couple of different bars there picking up shifts and slinging drinks when he wants just to pay rent and his bar tab. No real worries other than that. Occasionally shacks up with a hottie for a few weeks, then reverts to perpetual bachelorhood. He loves life. He's the last of the Great American Hot Sch1ts. I love hanging with him. Helps you realize there's more to life than just chasing money and the brass ring all the time.

It really ain't bad down there. But just accept you'll have to rent. Despite the housing market crash, prices really are still frightfully unaffordable down there and certainly out of whack with the incomes MOST people have down there - certainly for those who live carefree and just tend bar and like to hang out and enjoy the laid back culture on a regular basis (generally with drink in hand) anytime they're not on the clock somewhere.

Peace Corp sounds like a good plan, I am sure they will find someone with your skills useful.

During these hard times, I wonder how many unemployed have headed to the hills and have gone Prospecting....during the 30's quiet a few got by, by doing just that.

In CA one could grow Green Gold...the downside risks have become minimal.

Or down on the FL coast a metal detector after the big storms and who knows what will wash up on the beach..one good piece could make it all worthwhile as in retirement city...
When I was gorwing up the neighbor lady said that as a young girl after the storms the beaches were littered with these black pieces of metal....as in pieces of 8....

I have thought that if I lived in Detroit I would get a metal detector and walk the vacant city lots..who knows what kind of coins etc one could find....

think travis mcgee.

been thinking about the same thing since i lost my job last july. i now have nothing except debt and 3 vehicles i cant pay for. no more home, no kids, no nothing. im more than willing to just say screw it and bumm around doing odd jobs, but its health insurance that ruins any free-spirited idea i have and will ultimately lead me back to a miserable life in an office when jobs become available. i dread that day. good luck

this film might give you some inspiration
Hulu - Random Lunacy - Watch the full feature film now.

you might want to invest in a hard cover for the back of the pickup so you can sleep safely in it....avoid paying rent at all costs

Don't want to be captain obvious here... but...

How about a gig flying rich folk in and out of Vegas?

Don't casinos do that all the time? (comp)

Whatever you do, best of luck to ya!

Truly a dream for many until you can actually live it then it becomes surreal and even nigh mare like.

Not knowing what trips your trigger, be tough to provide suggestions. Freedom can be a be-ouch. Unless your inherently lazy this is not a good thing. Idle time and all that. A man needs purpose and cause.

I guess you could always start your own 'Zen and the art of Porsche Maintenance'. Cruz the land and find inner wisdom.

Your a good man with a good soul. I also wish you luck in your quest to find meaning.

Awww hell, lost my long post. Mike, how about flying people in to remote tourist destinations? Alaska, Chile, Argentina, Australia, etc. Sounds pretty cool.

It's my understanding that there are a lot of well-trained, big-hour pilots who flew corporate aircraft out there looking for work. Makes flying someone else's bird a tough gig to land. On the other hand, I'm told there are some great deals on aircraft to be had....not sure $10K will get a very good one though :(

Got a lot of corporate jet guys living in my area. Not all of them are working right now.

Pay off debt, retire from day job, sell house, accumulate nest egg, move to the middle of nowhere pay cash for house on 2 acres of woods close to lots of fresh water and a small but reliable food source, play music full time, restore shotguns. worked for me. I could care less if the rest of the world burns.

Just me, but if I were a pilot a gig flying people and cargo in Alaska would be sweet. Just give me a DeHaviland Beaver and I'm set.:D

I'm assuming you are in the best position to consider further aviation-related gigs so won't comment on those.

I like the idea of a peace-corp posting. Completely new life and new people. What better way to start again?

I also like the idea of Thailand. Everyone in the world wants to learn English. You could park yourself in some nice corner of Thailand, teach some English to pay the rent, while considering other options.

You could probably do the same in Chile or Turkey or some other congenial place.

Funny though: here I am comfortably off, with all kinds of possessions (all of which are a distraction), and when I read your first post my first thought was: "What a brilliant opportunity to start over!"

I wish you the very best.

Move to Las Vegas, and mooch off Tabs.

Rent Jet ski's and sell drinks on the beach somewhere warm. Till things get better.

Aviation is going to be tough for a while. The old Blackwater Xe is hiring. It's pretty bad though. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...oilet_claw.gifhttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...oilet_claw.gifhttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...oilet_claw.gif

Yeah fing, when I read your post, this is what popped into my head...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1265874950.jpg

I assume you don't have to have your own plane to do it.

Hmmmm....

"The most complete and comprehensive Alaska flying job information available from a single source..."

Alaska flight operations and Alaska Flying

Google "now hiring float plane pilots" and see what happens. :)

Come to Australia and fly for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. You get to fly into some of the most amazing and remote places on Earth.

This would be mine!

Guys, flying "rich people out of Vegas" is not as fun as it sounds, and Michael has already done that.

Alaska is a place that I always wanted to explore and if this happened to me would head that direction. Its the right time of year, head there in March/April and try to find a seat up there.

I know a few people up there if you need some help.

Or flying into PNG. That is still the "Wild West" and would be really different. Plus the scuba diving is excellent there.

Your really living a dream we all have! Its not starting over, its never starting over, its simply just change in, "attitudes and latitudes". You have the skill of piloting and the hours and record to prove it, so why give up something up you love? The romantic in you might consider flying cargo around Central and South America living in some cool beach town away from the hustle! Perhaps the need is to really find inner peace and only you have the answer. I lived that once..................

When I was in my 30's I quite a great job and sold everything including our home and took a wife and three year old son on an adventure of a lifetime. We bought a 35 foot sailboat, named it "Rozinante" and spent three years cruising the coast of the states and Bahamas. Wonderlust is what we were, working part time jobs as needed and enjoying the freedom and independence that living on a boat can offer. No regrets, never. Only wonderful memories.

You know what you want. Just follow your passion and you'll get there soon enough.

Bob
73.5T

I would consider flying rich docs and others in their own cesna's back in forth from wherever. I know there is still a decent market down here for that. Most that I know are low maintenance and easy going. Cake job for $100/hr.

Go East.

In such circumstances, I think most people want to get out and see the world. But you have been there and done that.. I am not so sure about the Key West / Lahina - bartender / dive shop route. Just too transient in nature. I think a man like you would be bored in a few weeks. A project, some sort of project. Someplace. Something..

I would get out of flying. You have 27K+ hours. Peace Corps, bartending, etc are all good ideas. It's hard for guys who aren't pilots to realize that it's not ALL that fun....unless, of course you're just out tooling around. "Flying rich doctors" sucks....bad. I flew corporate for a while and it sucks.

There were a few years that I was out of aviation, and I did apply for the Peace Corps. I was accepted to go to Eastern Europe and teach basic IT stuff to school kids. In hindsight, I wish I would have done it. I would have lived abroad for 2 years, gotten a nice stipend, had insurance, and then gotten a re-adjustment bonus once I got back stateside. I think the Peace Corps would be a great thing for you to do!

+1

I'm glad I did it but I'm also glad I decided to not make a permanent career out of it.

Most days it's fun and enjoyable - like any job. But then there are those days that come up every so often that take a year off your life...

The great thing about your situation is that you don't have to commit to anything - it's not like you need to start a new career or plan what you're going to do for the next ten years. If I was in your shoes, I would pack up the truck and head out tomorrow to . . . well, it doesn't really matter. I know where I would go and what I would do for a day or two or a month, and then move on, kind of a walkabout.


Thinking about this is not good for my mood.

The mental image of you walking the vacant lots of Detroit with a metal detector is hilarious. :D:eek::eek::D My guess is you'd last less than five minutes.


"What the f___ that fat honky doin? Check this sh__ out"

What a world. While most men live lives of quiet desperation, some "lose everything," wander to a warm and beautiful tropical location and live out the rest of their lives in greater peace and happiness than they had ever known before. Meanwhile, the rest of us continue the "quiet desperation" thing.

If I had to start over, I guess the first question would be "where." Maybe some place dark and cold. Or maybe some place warm and sunny. Hmmmmm....... That's a difficult decision.

Buy a copy of "Henderson the Rain King" by Saul Bellow and read it.

Ummm, I'd be hesitant about taking a flying job in PNG. All the flying jobs I've heard of there are flying "mining" (military) equipment to remote places. A pilot mate was flying a plane there for the first time and his co-pilot let rip with an AK47 type gun at some huts. My mate said "What the hell are you doing", and the other guy said "If I don't shoot at them they'll shoot at us".

pilot you're in a similar situation I'm about to be in, albeit with a lot more experience and potentially a lot more money.


Here's what I'd do. Take what dough you have, put it in a bank somewhere safe. Take about $20K, stuff it in your pockets and get a one way ticket somewhere, anywheres. Think the pacific. Guam, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, the Philippines, Marshall Islands, Saipan... etc.

When you get there, just do whatever it is that comes natural. Sit on the beach like a bum for a few days. Then figure out what it is that you can do there. Teach schoolkids maybe? Bartend? House painter? Enjoy the real estate for a while, and, after a few months if it gets boring, come back home.


But if it doesn't get boring... or at least doesn't get stressful (which is probably the main goal here)... then stay and enjoy yourself, you've found it.

How is it that Fing says he wants to start over from scratch, and you all suggest flying jobs. Starting over does not entail doing what you've done your entire life guys.

Someone is not paying attention.

BTW, if any pelican ever, for any reason, finds himself homeless- ever- my sofa is always open to each and every one of you for a couple weeks.

Seriously.

What about temporarily homeless, say on holiday?