Personal Stories
Mostly by downshifters. (tell us your story)
Denise's story
I have been reading your very interesting internet after reading about it from an article in today's "Advertiser" newspaper. Until today, it hadn't occurred to me that I have "downshifted" - I have gone from years of fulltime work to part-time (by choice) work and am still adjusting to this change, but mostly in a positive way. Last night we had friends who called in without notice and announced that the husband is about to quit his job and retire from the permanent workforce as a self-funded retiree while his wife will still do contract temp work (by choice) and travel in between - they were very excited. We are finding this is becoming increasingly the case of friends and relatives - either they want to but can't afford to; many are in 2nd marriages (as we are) and still with a mortgage to pay in their mid 50s or are holding out until a financially viable time (30 year pension, age 55 etc) - many are miserable but afraid to make the break. So how did I decide? Well, firstly I was given a redundancy - which very suddenly 'decided' I was unemployed, and although a small sum of money, certainly not enough to retire, nor did I want to. I took the decision that was made for me (note, not by me) very hard as I had given body and soul without so much as a goodbye from one of the people I had worked so hard for. I was soon after offered a prestige job - more money, many benefits etc and took it immediately - after one month I quit. It was partly the job but mostly my lack of dealing with the redundancy. My mental health was at an all time low. I had recently also been told of my mother's diagnosis of Altzheimers Disease. I had had a knee replacement 2 years before and the other one will eventually need to be replaced. Arthritis has become my companion. That's just for starters.
One morning I woke up, told my husband I was quitting that day and leaving - he asked "are you leaving me?" to which I replied "no, I'm leaving me!".
Continue reading "Denise's story"
Posted by Mitra Ardron at 1:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The downshifters of Buderim
by Jan
We first purchased in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast 14 years ago when our modest Queenslander priced at $150K was one of the few homes available for sale on the mountain just west of Mooloolaba.
Having been a visitor to the Sunshine Coast for at least 15 years prior to that we naively never expected that a sleepy village such as Buderim, that had remained the same for decades and decades, would ever get carved up into a suburb resembling any other in trendy parts of Brisbane by the year 2002.
Still we kept with our original vision and decided to downshift in 2003 reasoning with ourselves that whilst Buderim was no longer the yesteryear village we first bought into in 1991, we would still have the close proximity to the beach that we’d always dreamed of.
Besides, the move from Brisbane to Buderim came with some other irresistible benefits.
Continue reading "The downshifters of Buderim"
Posted by Mitra Ardron at 11:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In search of better health
(Source: Australia Institute: Downshifting in Australia)
Jane (44) worked long hours as a senior manager in policy development in the public service. A single parent with two young children, she never seemed to have enough time to do either job properly. ‘I just felt my life was constantly on the run, never enough time for the kids, no time for myself’. Eventually, Jane developed chronic headaches and she took extended sick leave. It was while she was on leave that she had the opportunity to assess the state of her health and the way she was living.
I’d been feeling for some time that my life was too stressful and I wasn’t getting much out of life. I had tried to do something about it, requested part-time work, five days a week until 3pm. But it didn’t work, you just couldn’t get out of the place by then. There was always so much to do. The headaches were getting worse. I don’t know if it was because of the stress or being in front of a computer screen for so many hours a day. Probably both.
Jane’s health deteriorated to the point where she went on workers’ compensation, which provided a time to reflect on why her health had failed. Shortly afterwards, she decided to resign from her job and return to her original profession of nursing, but on a part-time basis.
Fiona (52) from Sydney experienced exhaustion and anxiety after years of supporting her partner in his own business. At the end of 2002 they decided to close down their business as both felt they desperately needed a change.
I felt an absolute stressed out mess, as if I’d lost my whole personality and self completely. … We both wanted to do something different. Bruce wanted to work fewer hours and have less work stress. We’d paid off our house, our kids were grown up, so we felt we were in a position to live on less.
Posted by Mitra Ardron at 1:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In search of fulfillment
(Source: Australia Institute: Downshifting in Australia)
Franco (29), who downshifted from a highly paid job in corporate finance, thought a lot about the failure of material possessions to bring him any sense of fulfilment.
Once when I was negotiating with my boss about work, I realised I didn’t want more money to motivate me. I was looking for more challenges, more responsibility, a certain type of work, and I was more than willing to sacrifice money for it. I worked this way for quite a few years and felt much better. I wasn’t interested in the power politics and the money-making parts of work.
Another, a 59-year old senior public servant, felt unfulfilled for many years in both his work and personal life. After much searching, questioning and reflection he concluded that:
I no longer wanted to live in the milieu of high income, high expenditure, owning all sorts of things; of getting up in the morning to load yourself with the electronics and technology and getting out there and networking for whatever purpose … and the long hours.
Once she had left Sydney and settled gradually into a different, simpler way of living in a small, rural town, Zelda talked of how much happier she felt.
Living up here, I’m much more aware of the weather, of how significant droughts and floods are, how the garden is affected. I’ll never forget the excitement of growing our own vegetables − picking, cooking and eating them. I now have time to ‘smell the roses’.
Other interviewees echoed similar struggles to find a way of living that allowed more contentment and self-acceptance.
Posted by Mitra Ardron at 1:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Change in status and identity
(Source: Australia Institute: Downshifting in Australia)
Loss of status is a complex issue and something many downshifters must deal with, particularly those who make far-reaching changes to their lives. Franco, who had a promising career in the finance industry before quitting to work in a developing country, said:
My friends often question my decision and don’t seem to understand how I can be comfortable with stopping my career to do something different … I am affected by what people think and say, but at the same time I am very confident of my own views.
Many of the interviewees seem to have prepared themselves for the loss of status; after all, one of the obstacles to making the decision to downshift is the fear of losing standing amongst one’s peers and the community, and income and associated lifestyle are perhaps the most important markers of status. When our interviewees were asked if they had experienced a loss of status and how they coped, Andrea summed up the feelings of some.
Only in the eyes of people who don’t matter. There are certainly people who now look down their noses at us, but in terms of our real friends and ourselves quite the opposite. I think we’ve actually gained a lot of respect from people who’d love to do the same thing but haven’t got the guts. Certainly in our eyes we’re prouder of ourselves because we’ve done what we really wanted to do, not kowtowed to society.
Continue reading "Change in status and identity"
Posted by Mitra Ardron at 9:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Looking for Balance
(Source: Australia Institute: Downshifting in Australia)
Paul (44) worked very long hours in television in Sydney and was often overseas for weeks at a time. When his first child was born he realised the incompatibility of his job with his desire to spend at least some time with his family.
With the birth of our first child I realised there was much more to life than just working non-stop. But the job demanded being available 24 hours a day seven days a week. … I could see colleagues’ marriages breaking up. I didn’t want this to be me. So I made the decision not to apply for positions like these again.
Craig (44), also in the media industry, echoed Paul’s experience of the conflict between work and family commitments. Marriage and parenthood led him to resign from television work in order to pursue a more balanced life as a chiropractor.
Leah (50) asked for more flexible hours at the art gallery where she worked as a curator to enable her to care for her two young children. But she was refused.
These policies were only rhetoric and I couldn’t negotiate a flexible work arrangement with them and keep my job… Their so called ‘family-friendly’ approach was illustrated when I had to bring my children in to a staff meeting called unexpectedly only to be told children were not allowed in the staff room. So after 18 years of working there I’d had enough. Because of this and other reasons I decided to leave.
Continue reading "Looking for Balance"
Posted by Mitra Ardron at 7:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)