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[00:00:00] and you left America for Chile. Um, what [00:00:03] compelled that move? [00:00:05] >> Well, I left in uh I originally moved to [00:00:08] Peru. Um, I left in like 2012, but it [00:00:11] was because, you know, I had two degrees [00:00:12] and couldn't really find any work except [00:00:14] for food service. Um, I was really [00:00:16] disillusioned with the people I knew in [00:00:19] my life then, like the college social [00:00:21] environment I went to. I was like a kind [00:00:23] of a social outcast there. I went to [00:00:26] Davidson, which is a very like I guess [00:00:28] kind of preppy. the yepy school and I [00:00:30] was uh not really that and you know [00:00:33] tried to fit in the first couple years [00:00:35] but I I gave up and just [clears throat] [00:00:37] got kind of disillusioned with um life [00:00:40] in the US and I I you know I was kind of [00:00:42] had the same polit political views I [00:00:44] have now and back in 2012 [00:00:47] I mean a lot of people just thought I [00:00:49] was like bonkers you know and um I just [00:00:52] kind of wanted I also knew then that [00:00:55] sort of like the US economy of you know [00:00:57] in the post08 8. The problems of08 were [00:01:00] never structurally fixed. It was kicking [00:01:02] c canned on the road season. I was in my [00:01:05] early 20s. I wanted to own land because [00:01:07] I was interested in in you know off-grid [00:01:10] living and agriculture. Um and [00:01:12] ultimately that was motivated by uh the [00:01:15] move in part was motivated by the view [00:01:16] that it would be better to have and own [00:01:18] land and more accessible to own land uh [00:01:21] in another country than in the United [00:01:23] States for me because I didn't have um [00:01:26] financial resources to buy land in the [00:01:28] US or land that I was going to inherit [00:01:31] [clears throat] or anything like that. [00:01:33] So it just kind of seemed uh like I'd [00:01:36] stake out my my interest elsewhere. And [00:01:39] my view at the time was that, you know, [00:01:40] most of the people I knew had no [00:01:41] interest in uh fixing anything, even if [00:01:44] they knew about the problems. They're [00:01:45] like, I have Netflix and beer, so who [00:01:46] cares, you know? Um, it was kind of the [00:01:49] view of people my age. Um, and I just uh [00:01:51] I didn't really feel that way. And uh, [00:01:54] you know, I didn't really have close [00:01:55] ties to my family anymore at that point [00:01:58] and just kind of was like, um, you know, [00:02:01] I'll stake it out elsewhere. [00:02:04] >> And it was a difficult interesting [00:02:06] journey. Uh, but you know, I I'm glad I [00:02:09] did it and uh I'm very happy with what I [00:02:11] have and where I am uh right now. I [00:02:13] think Chile uh well, I live in the south [00:02:15] of Chile. Obviously, Chile is uh [00:02:17] different north, central, and south. I [00:02:19] think south is the nicest. Obviously, [00:02:21] it's a great place uh to raise a family [00:02:23] and and have a small farm. And um you [00:02:27] know, I mean, no country is perfect. [00:02:28] you're not going to escape this kind of [00:02:30] stuff uh at in a particular place. But, [00:02:33] you know, there are some places that [00:02:35] might be more accessible or easier for [00:02:37] what you want than the US. Or maybe the [00:02:39] US is easier depending on your resources [00:02:41] and what you want to do. I don't know. [00:02:43] But just because I left the US doesn't [00:02:46] mean I think, you know, I don't like [00:02:48] America or anything like that. I do like [00:02:50] it. It bothered me when I, you know, was [00:02:52] choosing to leave in my early 20s that I [00:02:55] felt like no one felt like it was worth [00:02:56] saving, you know? Um, and so I thought, [00:03:00] well, you know, maybe my resources and [00:03:03] could be better used somewhere else and [00:03:05] I'll just, you know, carve out my own [00:03:08] little area somewhere where I can, you [00:03:10] know, obtain it because I didn't feel [00:03:12] like I could obtain it there. And, you [00:03:14] know, I'm from the southeast. A lot of [00:03:15] that area has a major environmental [00:03:17] issues and fracking problems and all [00:03:19] sorts of issues that sort of complicate [00:03:22] agriculture. [clears throat] And so, I [00:03:24] just, you know, uh, figured I'd do [00:03:26] something else. But it's obviously not [00:03:28] for everybody. And obviously not [00:03:29] everybody that wants to leave the US can [00:03:31] leave. And you know, one of the reasons [00:03:33] I didn't come back after I left is [00:03:35] because I didn't have the economic [00:03:37] resources to come back and reinstall [00:03:39] myself in the US. Um, you know, I've had [00:03:41] time since I've been in South America [00:03:42] where I've sort of waffled uh with the [00:03:45] idea. But since I had kids here, you [00:03:46] know, obviously once you have kids, it [00:03:48] makes big international moves a lot a [00:03:51] lot trickier. And you know, I mean, [00:03:53] yeah, we found Chile to be just fine for [00:03:56] us. And there's other Americans and, you [00:03:59] know, expats down here that that feel [00:04:01] the same. And I'm sure there's [00:04:02] communities in other countries um that [00:04:04] are happy what they are uh that are very [00:04:06] different from Chile perhaps. And uh you [00:04:09] know, there's plenty of places in the US [00:04:11] that are probably great for waiting out [00:04:14] whatever awaits us. I don't know. But [00:04:16] that's personally why you know, I left. [00:04:19] And I think it was kind of a unique [00:04:20] situation and a decision I made in my [00:04:22] early 20s. And I was disillusioned, but [00:04:24] it wasn't because I like didn't like the [00:04:26] country. I was disillusioned with people [00:04:28] my own age and feeling like no other [00:04:30] young person wanted to like fix things. [00:04:34] And maybe it was an issue of just being [00:04:36] a little too early to the problems and a [00:04:38] little too aware before other people my [00:04:40] age caught on. [00:04:42] Um, but you know, again, I don't I don't [00:04:45] really know and you know, my life led me [00:04:47] down here and I'm I'm content to stay [00:04:48] for now. [00:04:50] >> Yeah. I think this is so cool that you [00:04:52] are are living on this farm out across [00:04:54] the world, but then you are diving into [00:04:56] these very deep issues that are [00:04:58] extremely important and have like a [00:05:00] global impact and then you just post [00:05:02] your article, you sign off and then [00:05:03] you're out in nature living offline and [00:05:06] it's it's nice to have that that balance [00:05:08] there. [00:05:09] >> It's important. [00:05:11] Yeah. And I'm I'm curious like are you [00:05:14] concerned for your own safety at all [00:05:16] tackling these issues that are you know [00:05:19] these people are very powerful and have [00:05:20] a lot of resources. Are you ever [00:05:22] concerned about your own personal [00:05:24] safety? [00:05:25] >> Uh so yeah I get asked this question a [00:05:27] lot and you know I ultimately I think [00:05:29] you know to paraphrase a line from the [00:05:32] famous sci-fi book Dune uh fear is the [00:05:34] ultimate mind killer. I think if you're [00:05:36] afraid of something happening to you all [00:05:38] the time, you increase the likelihood of [00:05:40] it um a lot because the human mind is [00:05:42] very powerful. This is why we're in this [00:05:44] war for perception.