Interview #3: Colin
Posted on November 30, 2007
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This is the third in a series of interviews with people who have successfully ‘dropped out’ of the rat race.
Name: Colin Bell
Age: 58
Colin gave up the fast-paced life of a TV producer to fulfil his long-held ambition of being a writer. With the kids grown up, Colin and his wife now live in the Sussex countryside, where Colin can often be found practicing kung fu.
Where do you live now and what do you do?
I live in a small cottage in the Sussex Countryside though about to move to a small town nearby. I am trying to make a living as a writer.
Where did you live before and what did you do?
I used to live in a big Regency house in Brighton and worked in television as a Producer/Director and Executive Producer making arts programmes.
What made you decide to drop out of the rat race?
I wasn’t so much dropping out of the rat race, even though that was what I was doing, as wanting to try and achieve my long held ambition of being a writer and that meant making some very welcome life changes.
How did you get started?
I had a long conversation with my wife over a few pints of beer and then started the whole business of selling up and, luckily for us, applying for the early release of an old company pension (which I had always resented paying in to). I then just got on with it…writing fiction which I am still doing and gradually getting invited to contribute film reviews to a website (www.mansized.co.uk) and various articles to music publications.
How is your life different now?
I am a lot poorer but I am now doing what I always wanted to do. I am free from workplace pressures and can work to my own routine doing pretty well exactly what I want. I can also now do more non-work related stuff like taking up martial arts, which I had always wanted to do and to fit in all the essential practice, which was impossible when I worked in television. My life is more solitary than before and, as I am a fairly sociable sort, I have had to find new networks of people. Now I can choose when to be alone and when to party! The most profound change is living a life doing something where I have to value the end product. It is great when I’m on a writing flow but depressing and challenging when things aren’t going so well. Then you have to question whether you are just being self-indulgent.
What have been the highs and lows so far?
The freedom has definitely been the greatest high. I’ve not only been free to do what I want but also free to think what I want without being bombarded from outside.
The lows have been all to do with self-confidence and self-value. There is no one there who can say, “You were marvellous darling!” If you let the self-discipline slip then the writing starts to clam up and you can easily slip into depression.
Would you have done anything differently?
Not really! I could not afford to do it earlier (not whilst we had dependent kids or so I believed) even though I wanted to so I couldn’t have changed that. Psychologically I would have been tougher on myself. I don’t always succeed in avoiding distractions when domestic problems loom large as they do when you are working from home. I am getting better but I have wasted time over unnecessary things.
Do you have a philosophy or a mode you like to live by?
I don’t think I have a philosophy as such but I do try to listen to my inner self and do what I really believe in. I am very conscious of the finite amount of time we have to live and I try to fill my life with the things I really value. That was not always possible before.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to do the same thing?
Advising is very dangerous as it is such a personal thing. I guess I would stress that you have to be really sure that this is what you want and that you are not just avoiding other painful realities in your life. It is an opt-in and not an opt-out. You need to be highly self-critical but also self-confident. Also you need to be good at living in your own head but also capable of staying a part of the outside World. It is tough even though it is also wonderful to live this way and you may not always like what you see in yourself.
Stumble it!
Interview #2: Rachael
Posted on November 28, 2007
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This is the second in a series of interviews with people who have successfully ‘dropped out’ of the rat race.
Name: Rachael Byrnes
Age: 28
Rachael gave up her job with an environmental NGO to concentrate on her creative life as a singer-songwriter. Music is now her primary occupation.
She lives in Melbourne, Australia and has a blog at lessismoreblog.blogspot.com
Where do you live now and what do you do?
Melbourne, Australia. Singer/songwriter and creator. Part time administrator, part time keyboard and vocal teacher.
Where did you live before you left the rat race and what did you do?
I lived in Melbourne same area. I worked as a full time fundraising and development administrator for an environmental NGO.
What made you decide to drop out of the rat race?
I noticed that a vast majority of people in the rat race seemed to carry either concious or repressed depression. Many of the people I worked with and knew were happy and competitive on the surface yet unfulfilled and apathetic underneath. In contrast the people I met and observed on my travels through Nepal, were poor yet extremely vibrant people. This made me question the validity of affluence. I then read books like Affluenza
How did you get started?
I used my imagination first. I dreamed about how things could be different. I asked myself and the universe “how does it get better than this.” I looked deeply into myself to discover my true talents and gifts and used books as a way to keep me dreaming about what could be possible for me. Po Bronson’s book “What Should I Do with My Life?”
Discussing my aspirations with other people was also helpful however I think it’s important to choose the right people. Quite often when you start dreaming about what you want, friends and family will try to rationalise you out of wanting what you want. They will say things like… “we are so lucky here”, “we complain about our jobs but we should be happy that we are safe and not living in poverty” etc.
People say these things because they relate to tension you feel between what you want and what you have right now. They try to resolve that by rationalising you out of wanting what you want.
A painter doesn’t choose not to paint a painting because people are starving in Africa. It’s ok to want what you want! Humans have always been creative beings. We should celebrate our desires and dreams and enjoy the process of building and creating them. If you want to help Africa, then help Africa. Create a way to help Africa.
How is your life different now?
I am a musician now. I spend far more time devoted to music than I did then. I consider it the king in my working life. It sits at the top of my life and and I try to make everything else serve it (career wise that is). I have proven to myself that I can create great music that people love. Before I was so exhausted by the daily grind that I didn’t give my music the attention and sustenance it needed.
What have been the highs and lows so far?
The lows have been:
Financial worries. Living with the uncertainty of self employment. Not knowing how much money is going to come in. I’ve managed to create work as a music teacher, and get paid for occasional gigs however, I don’t have an album yet so I’m not making money off what I love to do most – songwriting and composing. This means I’ve had to earn money by balancing other money making activities (freelance admin work, teaching etc..).
The highs have been:
- writing and recording songs
- hearing my songs come alive with a full band
- discovering that people like my songs
- discovering that learning and development can be rapid when you put your mind to it.
- being interviewed in the Readers Digest magazine and on the TV show “A Current Affair” about my my downshift and my musical life.
Would you have done anything differently?
No
Do you have a philosophy or a mode you like to live by?
We create because we love the vision of what we want to create enough for it to exist. This applies to any activity in life. Don’t problem solve. Instead create what you want. It is not a problem that a song doesn’t exist before it is written. Songs a written because they are loved enough by the writer to exist. Always hold the vision for what you want to create. Don’t loose sight of it in the face of “problems.” Choose people, activities, and structures that support your vision and …..seize the day!
What advice would you give to someone wanting to do the same thing?
Create your life like it’s a piece of art. Decide, describe and define the life you want to create and bring the vision to life by writing it down, making a collage, posting it on the net… what ever way works for you. When I decided to make the change I created a blog, lessismoreblog.blogspot.com. This helped my vision feel real and not a flaky concept that could easily be knocked down by bitter people stuck in the rat race. Show people you mean it!! Commit to real life stepping stone actions that prove your committed: do a short course, create a discussion group, start a blog, join a co-op, anything that helps bring your vision to life.
Also read The Path of Least Resistance
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Interview #1: Zoë
Posted on November 24, 2007
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This is the first in a series of interviews with people who have successfully ‘dropped out’ of the rat race.
Name: Zoë
Age: 30
Zoe gave up her job and moved back to her native Cornwall, where she waitressed and temped for about a year until she lined up the job she wanted.
She now lives on a farm near Penzance with her partner and baby Molly and is also training to be an osteopath.
Where do you live now and what do you do?
On my family’s farm overlooking Mounts Bay near Penzance. I am general manager of the Minack Theatre, work as a freelance general manager for a youth theatre group, teach a bit of music at a local school and also have 6 month old baby Molly to look after. Oh, and I’m also training to be an osteopath!
Where did you live before and what did you do?
Most recently was Chief Executive of the Haymarket Theatre in Basingstoke and lived in the countryside outside Basingstoke.
What made you decide to drop out of the rat race?
I had enough of the politics of running a subsidised theatre and I was desperate to return to Cornwall, which is where I grew up!
How did you get started?
I handed in my notice, then told my partner who thankfully handed his notice in too and came with me! Once we moved he lined up self employed work before I did. I used my old music contacts to line up the teaching job, then temped and waitressed until my first theatre job came along. We were lucky in that we had somewhere to live that was not hugely expensive!
How is your life different now?
Very, very, very different! I don’t think we would have had baby Molly if I’d still been full time running theatres. Because a lot of my work can be done from home, or is in places which are really happy to have a baby in the office, I have been able to work pretty much the whole time since Molly was born which has been a big help financially. Just being able to live and work in such a beautiful place makes life so much more enjoyable. In fact we enthuse about it so much, my partner’s sister and parents are about to move down too!
What have been the highs and lows so far?
Highs – Molly, being head hunted for the Minack job, being able to go to the beach and walk along the cliffs.
Lows – it was tough financially at first and as my partner’s freelance work involves quite a bit of touring, we are apart more than we were before.
Would you have done anything differently?
No because I think if we’d have waited to get decent jobs here first we would still not have made the move.
Do you have a philosophy or a mode you like to live by?
I’m an eternal optimist and also am not interested in earning mega bucks. I am also pretty eco friendly.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to do the same thing?
Just do it. I think it’s a bit like I felt about having a baby – there is never really going to be a right time, so just go for it if that’s what you want to do. Also, if it doesn’t work then you can always go back, and at the end of the day it’s only 6 hours to central London which can actually be quite pleasant on the train!!
Stumble it!
Blogging reality check
Posted on November 20, 2007
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I have been watching too much tv recently. It’s not that I think tv is bad, but if I am watching tv, I am not blogging. Or playing the piano, thinking up new business ideas or working out at the gym. Not doing much, in other words, that I consider life-enhancing for myself.
If I am watching more tv it means that I am tired, bored or procrastinating. I switch on the tv if I want to switch off my mind. This is fine on the odd occasion – we all need to switch off sometimes. But it’s too easy to make this a regular habit.
Nobody makes a new year’s resolution to watch more telly. We choose things that we think will make our lives better: get fit, eat more healthily, save money. Well, I don’t need to wait until the new year to make a resolution to blog more frequently, I can do that right now!
Blogging is not a chore for me, I really enjoy it. But it does take a bit of effort. It’s like doing some exercise: most people really enjoy it when they do it, but getting round to it takes some effort and commitment.
Blogging is a slow-burn process and it is easy to get discouraged. Most people don’t realise this when they first start blogging – I know I didn’t. I thought that if I built it, they would come! But unless you are one of the lucky (very) few, it takes a long time to build up an engaged readership that will eventually result in the kind of traffic, comments and ad revenue that encouraged you to blog in the first place.
I have been getting my head around that reality recently and trying to work out what it means. At first, I thought it meant that I should spend a lot less time blogging. After all, right now I’m not making any money from it. Perhaps I should be spending my precious waking hours generating income from another source?
But then I realised that if my blogs were ever going to contribute to my income, I would have to spend time on them, and make spending time on them a habit. It’s an investment of time and effort which will hopefully bear fruit in the future.
You have to believe that your blog content is interesting and valuable and that people will want to read it, if you are to stay motivated to continue. My gut instinct is that my two blogs do fit this bill and I want to spend time making them even better.
Who else has had the blogging wake up call?
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6 life changing books
Posted on November 13, 2007
Filed Under Self Improvement | 6 Comments
Self help books used to have a bad reputation. If you had to turn to a book to sort your life out, you were obviously a loser and quite possibly gullible and naïve to boot!
But attitudes have changed. Over the last few years, I’ve had several life changing books recommended to me. I haven’t read them all yet but all the recommendations came from people I know and trust, people who are nowhere near being losers but turned to a book for a particular reason and it worked for them. All of these people are quite dynamic and energetic - people who run their own businesses, people who are successful at sports. I think you have to be like this in order to benefit from a self help book. It’s the easiest thing in the world to read one, but only people with energy and commitment can put its recommendations into practice and make them work.
So here are some life changing books – some I’ve read, some I haven’t – but all of them come with a solid recommendation from someone who has put them into practice and benefited.
Which life changing books would you recommend?
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The Facebook status update
Posted on November 5, 2007
Filed Under Ideas & Philosophy | 4 Comments
Down here in the wilds of Cornwall (well, Newquay…) where I hardly know anyone - not well enough to suggest going to the pub on a Tuesday evening for no particular reason - I rely on social networks such as Facebook and forum sites to keep me in touch with friends and family. My mum’s on Facebook because it is one of the easiest ways she can track and communciate with her children scattered across the world.
People take the piss out of the Facebook status because most people complete it with the most seemingly trivial stuff. Adrian is…..going to bed early. Gurinder is…. annoyed that her bus was late this morning. Josh is…. back in Telford. My sister once updated her status with “Caroline is yes she is!” A joyful (I assume) affirmation of existence.
Recently I haven’t been updating my status as often as I was wont to do. But I have been wondering what message this sends to people who know me. Have they noticed? Do they care?
This was prompted by a post from Grant McCraken’s thoughtful blog showing that we might be underestimating the power of the Facebook status.
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What dropping out means today
Posted on November 4, 2007
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I began writing this article with the aim of explaining what I mean by dropping out. In essence, I am talking about dropping out of the rat race, out of the nine-to-five wage slavery toil. But there’s much more to it than just giving up a high-flying city job in favour of a place in the country.
Dropping out often involves being brave and taking risks, resisting powerful social forces and the confining expectations of society. Sometimes it’s only when people drop out of the social norm that they discover who they really are.
I believe there’s never been a better time to drop out than right now!
The previous generation, the baby boomers that grew up in the sixties and seventies and are now reaching retirement age have done a lot of the hard work for us.
Some of them were kinda crazy, but they helped to shift society’s values away from the traditional pattern of getting a steady job in a large organisation, tied into a particular career path and servicing a large mortgage. They showed that it was important to be creative, have fun, care about social and environmental issues, travel and meet lots of different people. In fact, many of them still maintain this philosophy as they approach retirement and are gaining a reputation as SKIers (Spending the Kids’ Inheritance)!
But how have things have developed since the sixties? Is there anything we can learn from the previous generation of drop outs that helps us today?
Turn on, turn in, drop out
Although individuals have been dropping out of mainstream society and going off to live in the woods, become a wanderer or start a new religion since humans first had what we would call a “society”, it wasn’t until the 1960s when large-scale ‘dropping out’ became an end in itself.
Most people think of the counterculture movement of the 1960s as being about rejecting social norms, dropping out of school or work and taking lots of drugs. The phrase ‘turn on, tune in, drop out’ was coined in the late sixties by Timothy Leary – academic, counterculture hero, and experimenter with psychedelic drugs. He exorted people to ““Quit school. Quit your job. Don’t vote. Avoid all politics” (Start Your Own Religion, 1967)
Leary saw society as artificial, robotic, disharmonious. If you followed society’s rules, you couldn’t be yourself. The people who choose to drop out of the rat race today probably have more in common with Leary than they think. They are often looking for greater balance and harmony in their lives. They feel manipulated by the demands of city life or high-flying careers. They want to follow their own path and make their own rules rather than follow those of someone else.
And these days it’s easier to do this, without having to take psychedelic drugs and start your own religion. We have the sixties counterculture movement to thank for helping to open up that possibility.
Downshifting
Downshifting (also known as voluntary simplicity) is a voluntary choice to lead a simpler, more balanced life; to opt out of the career rat race and, usually, to earn less money but have more time to enjoy other aspects of your life.
Again, the notion is nothing new. But it is becoming much more popular in Australia and the United States and increasingly in the UK. The concept has been identified and given a name; it has become a social phenomenon.
Downshifting is an evolution of work/life balance and it has become more easily attainable in part because of advances in technology and lifestyles. For instance, people can work remotely or have their own businesses online; it is more acceptable to work flexible hours; travel times have reduced so people can live further away from urban centres and still be in touch when necessary.
Technology has also opened up new opportunities for making money online and has lowered the barriers to entry for many enterprises that would previously have required much more capital to set up, requiring bricks and mortar premises and so on. Who doesn’t know someone who has an ebay business on the side or is trying to make some extra income through blogging?
There has also been a shift in values among many people. Money and career are seen as less important, less all-encompassing than they used to be. People are willing to have their earnings significantly reduced in order to have a better quality of life or a more fulfilling job such as working for a non-profit organisation.
Evidence
In 2003, a researcher from an Australian think tank, Clive Hamilton, carried out a study on downshifting in the UK.
What he found is quite surprising:
- 25% of British adults aged 30-59 have voluntarily downshifted over the last ten years. These are people who have voluntarily made a long-term change in their lifestyle (other than planned retirement) which has resulted in them earning less money. This is a higher number than anyone expected.
- It is popularly believed that the downshifting phenomenon is confined to middle-aged wealthier individuals who, having accumulated substantial assets, can afford to take the risk. In fact downshifters are spread fairly evenly across age groups and social grades.
- In the UK, the top three methods of downshifting are: reducing work hours; stopping work altogether; and changing careers.
- The top reasons given for downshifting are more time with family, health and greater fulfilment.
A quarter of British adults have downshifted over the last decade. That is probably a lot more than most people would have imagined.
In the UK, the South West has always been a popular choice for people to escape the rat race. A study by Halifax bank shows that over the past ten years, some 1.4 million people have moved to the South West. And while in the past most of these would have been mature couples and retirees, recent years have seen an influx of 25-44 year olds, many with young children. This seems to back up the findings of the Australia Institute study.
The Australia Institute comments that “The downshifting phenomenon represents much more than the decisions of scattered individuals to change their life priorities. Because it requires downshifters to reject powerful social pressures, it is a social force with far-reaching political implications.”
On the other hand, because downshifting often means a significantly reduced income, many think that it will always be a minority pursuit.
Portfolio Life
One man who heralded this shift in values back in the late eighties is management guru and modern thinker Charles Handy, who described the notion of a ‘portfolio life’ in his 1989 book The Age of Unreason.
Building a portfolio life or portfolio career is one way of downshifting successfully, without too much of a shock to the system. Handy explains:
“If, rather than think of life as work and leisure, we think of it as a portfolio of activities - some of which we do for money, some for interest, some for pleasure, some for a cause - that way, we do not have to look for the occupation that miraculously combines job satisfaction, financial reward and pleasant friends all in one package. As with any portfolio we get different returns from different parts and if one fails the whole is not ruined.”
Society at large has taken a while to catch up with Handy’s ideas, but more and more people are opting for this kind of portfolio life.
It is true that having a portfolio life requires you to be quite organised and to be able actively to manage your time in accordance with your aims. But it can also be an exciting, creative and rewarding way to live.
Deferred Happiness Syndrome
This is almost the opposite of the portfolio life approach. This phenomenon, described by Clive Hamilton, the author of the study on downshifting in the UK, is the tendency to endure long hours in stressful jobs, be miserable at work and neglect family and friends in the hope that it will help to achieve a happy state at some point in the future.
People who downshift or opt for a portfolio life are rejecting this traditional notion. They are looking for happiness in the here and now.
Conclusion
Is the entire picture as rosy as this article might have people believe? At the macro level we need more social research to give us an idea of the consequences, but intuitively it seems to be a good thing that more and more people are giving up stress and ever higher earnings for better health, more time with family and a wider range of activities.
On an individual level, the answer is probably different for everyone. Some people might bite off more than they can chew, inspired by books or reality tv programmes, and get into financial difficulties. Others may jump on a popular trend – such as professional blogging or ebay retailing – wanting to make a living from it, without honestly assessing their chances of success.
But people who drop out of the rat race don’t lack ambition. On the contrary, they often have a very clear idea of what they want and it is usually quite challenging to achieve – whether it is building your own house, starting your own business or travelling the world.
That generation of sixties and seventies ‘drop outs’ taught us to follow our own rules and aim for a better balance in life. They showed it was okay to be creative, to experiment and to chase big ideas instead of locking into a career and letting other people decide your future.
Today there are many different ways to drop out and still lead a happy and successful life. It takes energy and creativity and a lot of hard work. But more and more people are realising that instead of pouring all their effort into someone else’s organisation for money, they can spend that energy directly on themselves.
Further reading
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How to change your life - three lessons
Posted on November 4, 2007
Filed Under Self Improvement | 2 Comments
It is easy to know when you are unhappy with your life or want to make a change. It is more difficult to know what to do and how to go about it. I’ve made a few big changes in my life. I have changed from one career to another, given up a career entirely, and moved from the city to the country. I have also tried to live differently, change my outlook on life, even change some aspects of my personality. I feel that I am getting closer and closer to the kind of person I want to be.
I am often asked how I go about these changes. Although it is tempting to write a ‘ten steps to change your life’ piece, that’s not how I went about it. I didn’t follow ten steps, I just knew deep down what was important and tried to remind myself of these principles when things weren’t going so well.
So here’s the essence of what I have learnt along the way.
Be true to yourself
This is my most important tip. After all, this is presumably why you are making the change in the first place. So if your change is right for you at this moment, go for it.
A lot of my problems in the past came because I was battling something that wasn’t right for me, because it was what I thought I should be doing. But we are not all cut out for the same role and we don’t all have to take the same path in life.
Often people don’t do themselves justice, in small ways as well as big ways. I know many people who find themselves getting annoyed and irritable when out and about in the city, and end up behaving in a way that really isn’t them. They feel bad for pushing past people or answering rudely but can’t seem to stop doing it.
Being true to yourself also means gently ignoring those who try to pour cold water on your plan. Often they are people close to you - but they are either jealous or simply don’t understand. If your plans involve moving away from someone close to you, recognise that they might see this as a negative change from their point of view!
Don’t worry about money
Yes, really! Of course money has its importance and you need some of it to get by. But worrying about it can really hold you back and take over your life. If you are trying to make money in a different way (e.g. by setting up your own business) or attain financial freedom, it could take a while and some trial and error before you find something that works.
So, keep good track of your spending and if things get tight, be resourceful. Do some odd jobs, have a garage sale, reduce your outgoings. Delay your change if need be. But don’t compromise your overall aim.
It is simply not true that we need ever more money in order to be happier and more comfortable. Have you ever noticed that people with lots of money just spend it on gadgets, clothes or bigger versions of what they already have? Considering the amount of effort and stress they go through to acquire that money in the first place, it seems a poor return to me!
Be confident and pro-active
It sounds obvious, but you really can’t just sit there and wait for something to change – you have to make it happen. Sometimes it seems as if there is a mountain to climb, but if you do one small thing, that leads to another and all of a sudden you have some momentum and you can see the way forward.
It’s also worth remembering that we all have bad moments. Don’t panic or think that you have failed if you have a setback. I have had many crises of confidence at various points along the way but they never lasted for very long. Often it was a conversation with someone I trusted that got me going again.
Confidence is also a tricky thing to pin down. It is partly self-belief and partly the ‘fake it till you make it’ approach. You need to believe deep down that you are capable of what you are undertaking, even if on the surface things don’t always go to plan. It is also true that if you exude confidence about your plans, other people will have confidence in them as well, and that in turn gives you more confidence.
So these are the three principles that I believe are key to making a successful change in your life. I won’t pretend that I embody these principles 24/7, but I always find my way back to them.
It is an amazing experience to follow a path that seems right for you. Your mind just seems to take off and you become more relaxed and creative in the way you live and deal with the things life throws at you.
Stumble it!
Drop out music - my top ten
Posted on November 4, 2007
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This is my selection of ‘drop out’ music - clever, funky, chilled-out, off-beat sounds. These ten artists are superb musicians, first and foremost. But they also have a real grip on the fundamentals of life, what’s important, what’s really worth thinking about. Below is a link to my favourite albums and if you scroll down you’ll find my thoughts on each artist and a link to their Myspace pages.
Jack Johnson
Myspace
The surfer’s Bob Dylan, the kind of man-with-guitar every aspiring group of drop-outs wishes they had round the beach campfire. Having made one of the classic surf movies of recent years, The September Sessions, Johnson has now moved on to making all-time classic songs. Clever, sweet lyrics and great melodies. Is there anything this guy can’t do?
Tal M Klein
http://www.aniligital.com/
Inventive, experimental DJ out of San Francisco, picking up where Ninja Tune left off in the nineties. Not dissimilar to fellow west-coaster RjD2. Makes excellent use of the funky breakbeats of the disco era (listen to Rock the Horns on his website). Check out a phenomenal track on his Alpha-Beats album called Don’t, a super-chilled reworking of (so it sounds) a Fatback Band track, with great original vocals.
The Velvet Underground
The music never seems to age and their influence is stamped all over the British rock music in the charts today. Experimental and singular, famous for being way ahead of their time. In many ways, the ultimate drop out music.
Newton Faulkner
Myspace
The sound of this summer for me. His album Hand Built By Robots went stellar ealier this year, fuelled by some exciting live performances including at Newquay’s own Unleashed music festival, where his cover of Massive Attack’s Teardrop went down a storm.
Blue Scholars
Myspace
Intelligent hip-hop reminiscent of native tongues and Rawkus Records. This is music from out on the stoop, like someone spinning beats with a jazz trumpet from down the block becoming part of the music. The latest album is a bit intense but their first album, Blue Scholars has a really fresh sound.
Leonard Cohen
The ultimate don’t-give-a-f**k, mess with your mind musical intellectual. Those folky rhythms in the minor key underpin a brave exploration of a person’s deepest, darkest feelings. He’s known for his pessimism but I find his honesty ultimately affirmative.
Orishas
Myspace
Cuban hip hop group now based in Paris, who brilliantly combine rap/hip-hop style techniques with Cuban beats and harmonies. Effortlessly cool. Check out A Lo Cubano on their Myspace page to hear what they are about.
Sway
Myspace
Hyper-talented British rapper (yes, really!) whose debut album This Is My Demo is crammed full of clever, amusing, ironic tracks. Like an English Eminem, only better. Genius lyrics, precision delivery, grimy beats.
The Milk Teeth
Myspace
Surf punk rock fun - these guys deserve to be way bigger than they are. Who wouldn’t want to skate to Go Faster Stripes? If it was my birthday party, I’d want these guys to be playing live!
Bob Marley
Myspace
One of the most loved musicians of the 20th century for his evocative voice and honest, all-embracing songs. Gentle yet rebellious. This music just makes me smile.
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Working in Newquay for the summer
Posted on November 4, 2007
Filed Under - work | Leave a Comment
I’ve been in Newquay throughout the 2007 season, and now that summer has come to an end it is a good time to go through the essentials you need to know if you are intending to come down to Newquay for the season.
Finding accommodation
It’s always best to start your search as early as possible. The season lasts from April to September, so many rooms have been snapped up by April/May. The further into the summer, the less choice you have and the more prices go up. However, people do move out of flats or houseshares at short notice, so if you are in Newquay and keep your ear to the ground, you should be able to get something. The two estate agents in Newquay dealing with rentals are Start & Co and David Ball. Other good sources of information are the window ads in the Choc Box (a newsagent in the centre of town) and the local newspaper, the Newquay Guardian, which comes out on a Wednesday.
See also my post on Things to know about flat-hunting in Cornwall.
Rent
Although Newquay is relatively expensive compared to most of Cornwall, there is a huge range of accommodation, so it should be possible to find something to suit every budget. The cheap options if you are down for the summer working are a caravan or a room in a shared house (around £70 per week). You will generally need to have a job sorted or prove that you’ve got the money to cover the rent for, say, six months. If you plan to be here even longer, a shared house/flat is probably a good option. I don’t have much experience of surf lodges but as far as I can tell they are not the best option if you are staying for the season. They work out more expensive than a room in a shared house and they get booked up very early. They can also be a bit scummy and noisy! Fine if you’re on holiday, not so good if you’ve got to get up for work in the morning. Not sure what the latest is on caravans either – perhaps someone can enlighten me? Some of the campsites used to rent caravans long term to people who were down for the season but the council seems to have put a stop to that this year. If there are campsites that still do this, I suspect you will need to get in there early.
Jobs
The job market in Newquay is pretty much what you’d expect from a seaside holiday town. 
There’s plenty of bar work, chambermaiding etc, all minimum wage stuff. I think you get a better hourly rate with the local supermarkets, Somerfield and Morrisons. If you don’t mind commuting to somewhere like Truro, you’ve got a wider range of options such as office work. Basically, if you are getting in the region of £6.50-7 an hour for a temp job, you are doing well. Jobs can be found from the same sources as accommodation – the local paper, the window of the Choc Box or just keeping your ear to the ground and trawling the town. There is also a job centre which is worth popping into. As mentioned above, you often need to have a job before you can secure decent accommodation, so if you are just going to turn up and look for work, stay at a cheap out-of-town campsite while you find a job, then get your accom sorted.
Transport
In the summer extra bus services are laid on within Newquay, not only to supplement the main routes but also to ferry happy campers to and from their campsites. If you happen to live on a route to a campsite (as I do) you can take advantage of this service, with buses running far into the night. There are also regular buses to Truro and St Austell, and somewhat less frequently to Padstow, St Ives etc. I have a bike that I use to get around town, to the supermarket etc. Be warned that Newquay is quite hilly and the surrounding area is also undulating. It is a bit of a pain if you don’t have a car, especially if you need to ferry a surfboard around. That said, I’ve coped without a car throughout the summer so it is possible! If you don’t have a car, make sure you get accommodation near to whatever it is you are interested in. For example, if you want to surf, make sure you are within walking distance of a surfing beach. It will make your experience so much better.
Shops
Newquay’s got the basic supermarket and high street names plus loads of surf shops, so you will never be short of funky clothing or naff surfboards. For a wider range of shops, Truro is a bus journey away. The one area where I have had to go further afield is outdoor equipment. There is a big outdoor store in Truro but its prices are not particularly competitive – perhaps because it doesn’t have any competition! I got what I needed cheaper in London on one of my visits.
The crowds
If you look on the web or talk to people who live in Cornwall you will find that Newquay is the place everyone loves to hate. There is constant moaning about the crowds, the behaviour of young people, stag and hen parties, the noise, the mayhem and so on. But it’s really no different from Saturday night in any city centre. Yes, it does get rowdy right in the centre of town and I feel sorry for the people who live there (and probably moved there when it was all nice and bucket-and-spadey), but if you find somewhere to live that isn’t on the main drag you should be fine. Be warned, there are some roads (such as Mount Wise and Edgcumbe Avenue) in town that are wall-to-wall B&Bs so you might want to avoid those.
The vibe
As far as I am concerned, Newquay has lived up to my expectations of being a great place to be with a laid-back vibe and interesting, like-minded people. It feels different from other towns in Cornwall: there’s a broader range of people around, everyone is always dressed for the beach and most people don’t have a nine-to-five job. If partying is your cup of tea, there is plenty of it about. My hardcore partying days are over and I prefer more chilled-out way of spending my time: there are some nice local pubs if you know where to look, or you can just hang out at the surf shop.
In summary….
There are loads of people down for the season doing exactly what you are doing so you won’t be alone. Wages are low and it might take you a while to find good accommodation but the atmosphere is relaxed, the beaches are lovely and you’ll meet some great people.
Additional info
If you have any info to add to the above, please leave a comment. I’m writing from my own experience and there may be useful stuff that I haven’t encountered myself.
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