The business would be worked by whoever was interested in it. You'd have to be splitting the hours between the farm/cooking/childcare and working on the business. I think with 4-6 other members, there would be enough time for both.
I am thinking a business that produces something tangible, something along the lines of the nut butter factory. Ideally, it would make use of some part of your commune or the local community. But I suppose an investment bank would work if that was what your other members were interested in =)
Heck, maybe the other people want to do tech stuff too and collectively you launch a site or app or something.
But with only 4-6 people I think the kind of business really depends on the interests and abilities of the group.
> while carrying a bunch of others financially
You can think of it like that but I don't think that's really a true sentiment.
Think of what you, the tech worker, are getting out of the arrangement:
* you get to live on a working farm
* organic home cooked meals partially made from your own home grown ingredients
* all your meat & eggs are self raised and high quality
* your kids are raised on your property by your extended family, and you have babysitters whenever you need it
* your SO (who is one of the 4-6 others), who can't find a good job living in the country, becomes more than just a "stay at home parent" and can do fulfilling and interesting things on the farm commune
As a solo person, or couple, can you get this by working full time and then paying for it?
Sure, you can live in the country, and you can buy all your food from farmers markets, and you can pay for babysitters and childcare, and you might be able to get a similar result, but it just seems more fun if you can do it with some of your close family & friends who have similar ideals.
> As a solo person, or couple, can you get this by working full time and then paying for it?
Most of this I can get, assuming I'm the one pulling down the 1st world software dev salary.
Obviously, those on the commune who only have basic skills of food prep, farming, child care, etc. wouldn't be able to afford some of this.
So if I'm already able to make this high salary working remotely, I might as well just live in a very low COL country and outsource all this work for a fraction it would cost in the US / EU, instead of subsidizing the low-earners.
A very low COL country is not without it's own risks and problems.
* It could be political unstable.
* You might have to pay for 24/7 armed security due to local crime and bad police.
* Locals will constantly be trying to rip you off.
* You will have to learn the local language or be at a huge disadvantage.
* Buying property is going to be tricky and you could get screwed.
* Buying stuff is more difficult because you are in a foreign country. No more amazon.com or any of the cool tech stuff you see on HN (most of that stuff is US/EU only)
* Your family & friends are back in the US. You are very very isolated unless you really want to build a whole new life in the new country.
I have experienced some of these challenges myself, living in Germany and not speaking the language. It's not easy. You might not realize how different it is from the US until you try to do more than just be a tourist. Like, you think you understand the govt and what paperwork you need to do, but it will be completely different in this other country, and all the documentation and forms are in a foreign language. Good luck figuring this out unless you have a trusted local to help you.
So it's not a total slam dunk, there are a lot of trade offs here. That isn't to say it isn't a good option for some people, especially if they know the language. I know a family doing this kind of thing in Indonesia and they are living a great life just by monetizing their youtube videos.
I think for me, it would be a better option if you had some kind of tie to the new country. Maybe a SO that was from there, some extended family, some close friends, just something.
I am thinking a business that produces something tangible, something along the lines of the nut butter factory. Ideally, it would make use of some part of your commune or the local community. But I suppose an investment bank would work if that was what your other members were interested in =)
Heck, maybe the other people want to do tech stuff too and collectively you launch a site or app or something.
But with only 4-6 people I think the kind of business really depends on the interests and abilities of the group.
> while carrying a bunch of others financially You can think of it like that but I don't think that's really a true sentiment.
Think of what you, the tech worker, are getting out of the arrangement:
* you get to live on a working farm
* organic home cooked meals partially made from your own home grown ingredients
* all your meat & eggs are self raised and high quality
* your kids are raised on your property by your extended family, and you have babysitters whenever you need it
* your SO (who is one of the 4-6 others), who can't find a good job living in the country, becomes more than just a "stay at home parent" and can do fulfilling and interesting things on the farm commune
As a solo person, or couple, can you get this by working full time and then paying for it?
Sure, you can live in the country, and you can buy all your food from farmers markets, and you can pay for babysitters and childcare, and you might be able to get a similar result, but it just seems more fun if you can do it with some of your close family & friends who have similar ideals.