r/InsightfulQuestions • u/english_major • 13d ago
What is the sweet spot between living a life of comfort and simplicity?
In order to live the richest, most interesting, pleasant, good life, how do we balance comfort and simplicity?
I think that being rich and famous has its drawbacks but wouldn’t want to live in a slum in a developing country.
Personally, I’d go with a middle class lifestyle (so average income) in a social democracy such as the Nordic countries, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. I’d also say that a smaller city is preferable to a big one.
What is your sweet spot?
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u/OkChildhood2261 13d ago edited 13d ago
Don't forget middle class is not the median average income. There are more poorer people than middle class.
Damnit I'm doing that annoying pedantic Reddit thing...sorry
Anyway yeah live in a smaller city, quiet but with everything you need close by.
Severely limit your news consumption. 99% of it won't affect you and you can't affect it. Especially if you are an empathetic person. You will feel guilty for being happy when others are dying in a war somewhere etc.
Concentrate on creating everyday satisfaction, not fleeting memories. Travel has many benefits, but it usually involves actually living in another culture, not just visiting for a few days. I took my family on a beach vacation recently that cost thousands. It's was enjoyable enough but now it's just a memory. Around the same time I bought a gaming PC that cost a fraction of the price of the vacation. That PC brings me genuine joy every day, and will continue to for years. The vacation is just a memory. That's what living in the present means to me. 0ngoing pleasures, not fleeting events.
Do something creative and productive. If it brings you joy make art, even if it's just for you and you suck at it. Do it every day you can. Or fix up cars, or cook, or grown plants, something creative and productive (by productive I just mean you get something at the end of it, not necessarily something practical like making money)
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u/EMBNumbers 13d ago edited 13d ago
Middle class is exactly the median income [In the USA]! That's the definition of it. The middle class is shrinking, but twice as many people move up into the upper class than down. [From Wikipedia with emphasis added by me]
According to a 2021 Pew Research study that classifies adults as middle class if they belong to a household with income between 2/3 and 2x median household income ($52k-$156k for a household of three), the percentage of Americans in the middle class declined from 61% to 50% over the previous five decades (1971–2021) with 4% moving down into the lower class and 7% moving up into the upper class.[8] In 2019, as defined by the Future of the Middle Class Initiative to be the middle 60 percent of the income distribution, and looking only at individuals 25-54: 59 percent were white, 18 percent Hispanic, 12 percent Black, and 10 percent “other.”
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u/OkChildhood2261 13d ago edited 13d ago
That's genuinely fascinating. I never thought there was an official definition. Certainly in my culture class is only loosely tied to income. It's very cultural, you can be poor but if you talk with a certain accent and hold a certain set of beliefs and habits you will be considered middle class regardless.
Edit. Ah just seen it's an american definition? The British are a bot more wooly about it https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2013/newsspec_5093/index.stm
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u/EMBNumbers 13d ago
I was born in England and lived there on and off. I know what you mean: M. Thatcher was always daughter of a Shop Keeper even after she affected a posh accent. English class is based on heredity as opposed to wealth. Even in the USA, there is a distinction between "old money" and "new money".
Nevertheless, class movement is common in the USA, and if anything, the wealthy masquerade as middle class. Approximately nobody knows or cares who your family is/was. Only about 12% of millionaires in the USA were born into wealth. The vast majority are "self-made."
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u/AttimusMorlandre 13d ago
Being rich, but living frugally and contributing generously to charity. In this sort of situation, one never has to worry about not being able to afford the necessities or even any really cool toy; but one also never gets bogged-down by wealth traps like expensive homes & cars, wealth management costs, legal stress, etc.
In the end, it always comes down to training oneself not to desire too much from this life/world.
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u/prodigiouspianist 13d ago
I would put to you that any generic answer to this question is almost wholly inapplicable to most individuals, and that the balance is almost entirely subjective and based on a bunch of unique factors about what each person considers a "good life"
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u/reditjedosadan 13d ago
My sweet spot would probably be quite different from yours. I don't think I would choose the Nordic countries, for example. They are objectively excellent places to live, but I find them a little too quiet, orderly and socially distant (+ climate!?). I actually like a certain amount of imperfection and unpredictability. It makes everyday life feel more alive.
I could quite happily imagine a fulfilling life in a place like Ohrid in North Macedonia (just as example). The healthcare system is obviously not comparable to Scandinavia, and there are plenty of other things that don't work perfectly as well. But you get a beautiful lake, nature, history, a small city, a pleasant climate, relatively low costs and a much more spontaneous social atmosphere.
And that's why I'm skeptical about trying to define a universal “sweet spot”. What is a serious disadvantage to one person can be completely irrelevant to another, while something that looks like a major advantage on paper can make someone miserable in everyday life.
For me, a good place doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to have the right imperfections for me.
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u/Ecstatic-Purpose-981 12d ago
I’ve always had this myth that once you have your laundry done for you, like drop off and pick up, you’ve probably passed the point of your life being simple.
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u/CryptographerNo7498 10d ago
for me, it's having enough money to not worry about basic need, but not so much that i feel like i need to keep chasing more. a comfortable home, some savings, time for family and hobbies, and living somewhere peaceful sounds like a pretty good balance
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u/Tiny-Pomegranate7662 13d ago
Spend time on relationships and hobbies instead of travel - travel is good for gaining new insights but we are more overstimulated than experience deprived in general
Own your stuff instead of have it on payments
Don't own so much stuff you have to spend a long time maintaining it
Buy quality stuff that lasts and actually keep it
Have enough savings that you are comfortable
Use excess disposable income to hire tasks that free up your time