In communities dedicated to everyday carry items like wallets, knives, and electronics you’ll frequently see community favorites that kind of act as the standard.
That and memes like the photo I linked made me think about a community of pseudo minimalist people who focus on living with portability or functionality in mind. Things like sleeping in a sleeping bag on a cot, relying on a docked laptop for gaming, or only using a single bowl for a majority of your meals.
It’s a bit of a long shot and odd question but I’d be interested to see what they’re passionate about.
Before people make Reddit style quips I’m not talking about not being well off or homeless. I’m also not really talking about people who have to move for work like truck drivers or people who stay in hotels. More like easily being able to move
I’m not seeing a question in there. What are you actually asking?
Edit:
After clarification, I do have an answer, albeit second hand.
I actually know a small group of people that adhere to a very minimalist, portable lifestyle.
They essentially live out of two vehicles, a van and an old station wagon. They’ll settle down in a town long enough to do some work, gather funds, and move on whenever they get bored, or can’t get jobs.
They’ve been at it for maybe twenty years? Certainly after 2k. I met them through a friend that fronts a band, as the group I’m talking about are all musicians, and do some busking as well as session work among their other talents.
Supposedly, they started out just following bands around, the way people used to with the Grateful Dead, but not a single specific band. I know they hit festivals across the U.S., including some of the less music festivals like the rainbow gathering.
But, when they’re in a town/city, they’ll get a hotel, start looking for a short term rental they can use for a crash pad/bath/kitchen and then start working. Most places, they know people in the various scenes and subcultures, so it’s pretty easy for them to get going. I’ve let them park at my place a few times, though it’s been a while, and I don’t know I would now. They tend to still want to party a bit much for my household to handle currently
But each person only really owns what they can carry in the van. They do have stuff that they stash here and there, like some spare gear they keep at the studio my musician friend has. They’ve got some camping gear they share as a group.
Anyway, the point is that while they’re a group, they do keep their lives extremely minimalist even when they’re “settled” in one place for a year or so. The kind of minimalist in the meme you used, only no TV, and usually no real furniture at all.
Like, they dropped into my town maybe eight years ago, and stayed for maybe six months because one of their parents lives in the next town over and needed some help, and one of my uncles was willing to rent to them super cheap. The few times I went over, I had to bring my own chair. They ended up buying two beds, and some kitchen gear, which they left behind when they moved on. They also left the place spotless, which made my uncle quite happy compared to the crap that would happen when he would usually rent that place out (it’s just a spare trailer he inherited and put on the edge of his farm) to family.
They’re all in their mid to late forties now, and the last I talked to any of them, they don’t intend to settle down until they don’t have a choice. They supposedly put money aside into retirement accounts and such, but I dunno.
Their whole thing is about rejecting the idea of permanence, of being locked down into one place and being “owned by the shit we own”. Anything that isn’t essential, they leave behind, or sell off when they move along.
They’re wondering if there is a subset of the minimalist community whose goals are specifically nomadic.
Ahhhh, that makes sense now. Thanks
I’m not a member of any such community. But I keep things light. I don’t collect a lot of stuff.
What kind of work do they get into?
When they were here, it was mostly farm work. My uncle had them cleaning stuff up around his place, and they did some picking at a strawberry farm that I know of.
In bigger towns and cities, they tend to try and busk if they can, but don’t mind doing stuff like waiting tables, dishwashing, etc in restaurants. One of the guys has done a good amount of construction over the years. I’m pretty sure they’ve also done some weed dealing here and there.
They also do craft work and sell the stuff. Kinda junk imo, but it sells okay.
But, when they’re in the right cities, what they really focus on is session work. Mostly bluegrass and folk, plus some standard country. From what they’ve said, a few weeks in Nashville can set them up quite well, assuming there’s enough going on that their contacts can get them working on. It isn’t necessarily something they can just roll up and be in a studio, though. They have to plan the stay ahead of time, based on there being work.
One of the guys used to strip lol.