ana006: Citizen of Nowhere | Part 1: Tim’s Abroad Life

Tim left his job as an architect to travel the world for a year with his young family. How free are we to travel across the imaginary boundary lines that governments have arbitrarily defined? If you don’t love it, can you leave it? Where would you go? Part 1 of the Citizen of Nowhere Series. View full show notes at anarchitecturepodcast.com/ana006. ----more---- Intro May 1, 2015 To: Tim Subject: World’s Craziest Idea Let’s go somewhere, sell our house, rent our house. Before our kids are in school. Can you take a year sabbatical?  Let’s get basic jobs. Lets buy a one way ticket to somewhere warm and have an adventure. I’m serious. Maybe I’m just exhausted but it would be amazing. I think we should find the cheapest Caribbean island we can move to and have an adventure. Maybe I’m just inspired by an article I read, but we only live once! I love you. Erin Discussion Tim’s Abroad Life – www.abroad-life.com Why travel? Driving ourselves crazy – Snow sickness, work, pick-ups and drop offs A Narrow Life – Struggling with careers, family life, and personal life Crunching the Numbers Renting our house for profit Cheap housing while traveling Housesitting gigs “Two cats, three dogs, four horses, chickens and ducks” “No! I am not doing donkeys.” Working Remotely – A Partial Success Cost Cutting Childcare or Full Time Dad? No income means no income tax Rental property income tax loophole Health insurance cost savings – travel medical insurance  and short-term medical insurance – actual insurance, not prepayment The worst thing about Obamacare The Best Way to Lose $20,000 The Zero Hour Workweek The tenant search Planning the itinerary – “We just changed the return flight.” The pre-launch checklist – Three months to get everything done to leave Closing out work projects Where have we been? Devonshire, England Cambridge, England Leeds, England Zurich, Switzerland Marseille, France Brittany, France Lisbon, Portugal Brussels, Belgium Maine, USA NEW JERSEY! Florida, USA Las Tablas, Panama Aguada, Puerto Rico Loiza, Puerto Rico Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic Freedom of Movement (00:37:40)   Inclusion and Exclusion Forceful restraints Architectural Restraints The effect on private property Tourist or Traveler? Immersion in the culture The 30% Rule of traveling with young kids Panama! “If the water runs out, we’ll know which pipe at the side of the road to get it from.” Empathy from experiencing environmental conditions that shape local culture Breaking down apprehensions about people in different cultures Naive, petty nationalism Unreliable infrastructure builds reliance on a strong community structure Reasons to emigrate Favorable tax regimes Medical Tourism Security from persecution and expropriation International Family Lower cost of living Seeking better jobs, higher wages, and starting businesses Access to benefits and services – better healthcare, education, housing, welfare – controversial when these are provided by governments Refugees Why governments restrict travel (The “Ends”) (00:55:10) Are border controls effective? Keeping out criminals Convicted criminals have already served time Border controls can’t identify criminals who haven’t been convicted Most Wanted – jurisdictional problems created by borders and regional monopolies of security services Global competitive private security agencies – Discussed in ana003. Private security checks at ports of entry in cooperation with security agencies Most Wanted people need to be pursued no matter what side of a border they’re on Preventing spread of disease Zika virus – no visible symptoms, no screening at border – self-reporting “These guys come on the plane in full biohazard suits” Food poisoning in Shanghai “That was the first time I defrauded the Chinese government. But it wouldn’t be the last…” Farm animals “Nobody’s going to answer yes to any question that’s going to cause them to have to spend more time there.” Keeping out pests A Hell of a prime time lineup Australia’s pests have been imported by – guess who? Fruit Fly, Rabbits, Foxes, and Cane Toads They’ll Take Our Jobs! The moral problem Minimum Wage vs. Low Wage Workers – Minimum wage law guarantees there will be illegal immigrants Nationalism = Racism? Eliminating borders could alleviate global poverty better than any charity or welfare They Won’t Have Jobs! Effects of denying right to work Tax funded benefits create conflict. Privately funded benefits? Government “charity” crowds out private charity . “They’re not your tax dollars.” Decoupling poverty from immigration – Border control cannot solve entitlement problems. They’ll Become Citizens and Vote! Who cares? “This is a real concern, if you think that voting has anything to do with promoting freedom within a society.” Immigrants may be more likely to vote against oppression than locals Voting is a charade They Won’t Become Citizens and Vote! Lack of assimilation Immigrant enclaves ease transition for newcomers Molenbeek and the Brussels Lockdown Can immigrant communities foster criminality? Code of Silence – a response to immigration controls? Issues in immigrant communities are no different than issues in non-immigrant neighborhoods Refugee Crisis Would open borders reduce sudden shocks? What anarchism is all about – Individuals can find ways to help refugees better than governments. The Uber of Refugees Open borders would make refugee movements more diffuse How do Governments Restrict Movement? (The “Means”) (01:30:45) Presumption of Guilt and Exclusion Passports Not needed before World War II Joe filled his passport in Macao PSA: You can’t travel on a passport within 6 months of expiration Visas Joe’s most difficult border crossing – Canada “How dare you build a Planetarium in our fine country!” Guy in the trunk England’s absurd border entry process England’s absurd work visa process Arbitrary quotas and green card lottery Elements of built environment used as means of restricting movement Ports of Entry – Airports, Seaports Architectural barriers – Designing the rat maze Government Goons are People Too “You can always opt for the manual inspection” Customs and Quarantine “A suitcase full of dried fish” America’s absurd border entry process When automation makes the process slower Unofficial Ports of Entry – Borders Border fences and walls “Build a wall between the US and Canada” Berlin Wall “All border controls boil down to some guy standing on a wall who’s not going to let you in with your life.” Mobile Border Patrols “Your Papers, Please” “These days totalitarianism comes with a smile” The INS goes Up in Smoke Next Episode Teaser Joe’s wife coming to America Joe moving to Australia and becoming a citizen Impacts of mass immigration on the built environment Links/Resources Tim’s Abroad Life Blog The Email That Started It All A Narrow Life The Best Way to Lose $20,000 The Final Countdown You Cannot Escape Your Destiny: Ep. VI Return of the Jobless Why Travel? Panama! Travel medical insurance   http://www.insubuy.com/travel-health-insurance/ Short-term medical insurance  https://www.getinsured.com/ancillaryquote/stm The tenant search – Sabbatical Homes www.SabbaticalHomes.com Cheap housing while traveling – Airbnb https://www.airbnb.com/ Homeaway www.homeaway.com VRBO (Vacation Rental by Owner) www.vrbo.com Housesitting Trusted Housesitters www.trustedhousesitters.com Mind My House www.mindmyhouse.com The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss Yes, it’s a real show. In it’s 12TH SEASON! That’s how bad Australian network TV is. Hey Libertarians – the narrator of this nauseating state propaganda is Grant Bowler, who played Hank Reardon in the Atlas Shrugged movies! How does that make you feel? Easier than getting into Canada Join the Conversation Use hashtag #ana006 to reference this episode in a tweet, post, or comment