Have you seen the list of SWE turned carpenters/woodworkers?

It's been a common theme even on this site for at least the past decade.

- Why software engineers like woodworking : https://smackernews.com/item/31687378 HN

- Woodworking as an escape from the absurdity of software : https://smackernews.com/item/40245601 HN

- Woodworking through the mind of an engineer : https://smackernews.com/item/33708851 HN

If I didn't lose 98% of my endurance to long covid, I'd be doing some coppicing[1] for fun. Growing an infinite supply of sticks for making wattle sounds like fun.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppicing

Even before the whole AI BS, my goal was to build and live in a self-sustained (as much as possible) homestead. We don't have kids so schooling doesn't matter. Also not very social.

It was always more "nerdy" dream than "independence" dream, as in, I'm more interested in the process than the result. We plan to build a fully DIY WikiHouse on a fully DIY CNC machine. Many planned furniture pieces are also CNC. I also like the idea of Farmbot, or some kind of automated aero-/aqua-/whatever-ponics container, though not sure it will work out. Of course, DIY solar.

I also enjoy growing things and cooking. We used to can, salt, cure and otherwise preserve stuff when I was a kid. I know it's all tough work, but tough work makes a man. I don't want to be a levitating fat puddle from Wall-E. You also need to build a good muscle surplus in your 30s and 40s to be able to work into 60s and 70s.

Ironically, AI helps a lot to lay down plans, find things I didn't realize etc. I'm sure it will break against reality in many many places ("You are absolutely right! I made a mistake."), but it definitely works for more mundane things. For complex financial simulations as well.

Long term? Definitely a No because nature is pretty harsh and we spent a few millennia to get out of it. Most common people are not fit or rich enough to live in a forest.

Short term? Yes that’s interesting. Maybe a couple of weeks in a cabin or something. I don’t mind chopping woods to make firewood but I need managed sanitary.

A good middle ground is to live in a small town bordering the wilderness. I’d like to live in some town that neighbours a forest and is about an hour from the sea.

I bought a small forest. They are not actually expensive in my area. I love walking out of my door when work gets frustrating and walking through it. So yes, the answer to your question is definitely "Yes." But there are middle grounds between dedicating your life to the modern tech dystopia vs. completely walking away. Work remotely. Find a home that is in a natural setting. Go outside and enjoy it.

I got perfect 5G on top of a hill in the forest near me.

As it is I have a nice office above my pay grade in a run down and underpopulated building... It's pretty sweet, particularly compared to the CS building across the street which is an overcrowded WeWork kind of space where I really do think I'd be driven crazy by other people.

No, you aren't the only one, however I know from my uncle who used to do this that it will most likely mean back-breaking work or paid measly (sometimes both), hardly enough to feed a family. But it's a funny image of usually quiet forests now crawling with former software devs looking for a new purpose.

You either join the dark side or the rebel fleet.

I think all of us the solo founders/devs think about this.

I am on the fence. As a long time JavaScript developer I am pretty well aware I will never work again unless I create my own company. I can thus create my own company or basically start over from scratch doing something different.

And, no, I don't blame AI for never working again.

I blame an industry whose first five goals are hiring/firing as opposed to product development. It results in a perverted environment of unprepared pseudo-professional developers that jump ship every 18 months and yet cannot write software of their own, not even a little.

It reminds me of that scene in Idiocracy where the security guard called the hero an idiot for standing in the wrong line, which inadvertently results in a rather straight forward prison escape. At some point more experienced people get tired of being called idiots for not doing things the way a beginner would. Let's be real and just admit most of these people have invented a vast complex engineering culture event though all they really do is assign some events and put text on screen. Why bother using a spoon to eat your breakfast when you can use a giant factory of bulldozers?

You are not, but there's few of us left on here.

I often fantasize about working from a South Pacific beach

As a kid I lived somewhere close to a forest, as well my granpa had a tiny farm. I basically grew up in the woods as I'd go there to play with my friends, take care of livestock on the farm, do all kinds of random stuff and also get bitten by a snake and random problems too.

We made a soccer field, built a hut and a couple of other things there. It was fun.

I do miss it, and this isn't about AI or anything, but mostly nostalgia of a simpler time, but it isn't that simple as an adult or to make this a full-time endeavour and just live there.

Nature is fucking harsh, people that are crying about AI getting them unemployed or changing their professions are pretty much mostly softies... and seeing nature as refuge is a mistake. Living there is HARD.

There's a reason why people accept living in a huge city instead of buying some cheap plot somewhere.

Life in the city is so easy as the government typically takes care of a lot of invisible problems you have if you live in the middle of nowhere.

So, living in the woods is very tough, I just lived nearby and we've had to deal with many issues because of it.

If you intend to live there, you are up for a rude awakening. It's very expensive as well, you'd need to invest quite a bit to make it livable.

Also if you want to eventually plant some potatos or something there might be regulations and limitations of what you can do.

With some planning it's definitely doable, but it isn't that simple to just move in there.

An alternative nowadays can be to have a camper, but not all countries allow you to camp anywhere, in the US you are allowed to, but in Europe AFAIK you can't.

Then you can just camp for sometime and see if it's fitting you, and figure out how can you make a living doing it, as inevitably you'll need money and find out how to survive.