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Sur les eaux En anglais!

L’avenir peut-être…

 

Wayne Adams and Catherine King, two artists living in Tofino, Canada, couldn’t afford to buy a house of their own. Instead, they took their assets offshore–literally–and created a floating paradise off the coast of Vancouver Island called Freedom Cove.

For over 20 years, they’ve been living off-grid on a brightly-colored collection of buildings and rafts. Weighing in at 500 tons, the complex is complete with five greenhouses, a two-story house, a dance floor, and a lighthouse.

The couple rely on solar energy and rainwater to meet most of their needs. They even raised two kids here. The closest town is an hour’s boat ride away– but if it’s too cold to go outside, they can open up a door in their living room floor and catch fish from the couch.

SeassteadingUtopian Ambitions

Adams and King’s home may not look very futuristic, but they’re pioneering a new form of habitat called seasteadinng. The word seasteading generally refers to permanent human habitats on the ocean, particularly those in international waters.

The most advanced project is the Floating City being developed by the Seasteading Institute. After years of setting their sights on international waters, the group has shifted its focus to working with the government of French Polynesia to support the project. Building a seastead closer to the coast would be easier both in terms of weather conditions and the legality of the project.

The Institute has invested in architectural renderings and feasibility studies to learn what kind of seasteading community would be possible, and they believe that a city at sea could be ready for development by 2020. A survey of people who are interested in living at sea showed some surprising results: people from over 60 countries expressed an interested in living in the Floating City. And a third of the respondents were college-aged millennials who liked the idea of pioneering a new form of living–as long as there would be decent medical care and reliable Internet at sea.

Experiments In Sustainability

Seasteading will be expensive at first, but it may soon become a necessity. As urban populations continue to grow, coastal cities may have no choice but to expand outward. Some nations are already working on plans to keep their cities functioning in the age of climate change.

In the Netherlands, development firm DeltaSync has created floating pavilions that are on display on the harbor in Rotterdam. They show how cities could repurpose river ports with floating, movable neighborhoods connected by energy-efficient podboats. And MIT is working with Amsterdam to develop « Roboats »–self-driving pontoon boats that can also measure sea levels and water quality.

Cities in need of more agricultural land could make use of the solar-powered greenhouses being developed by groups like Smart Floating Farms of Barcelona. These « vertical farms » integrate hydroponics systems with fish hatcheries, allowing for year-round farming on off-shore platforms.
It may be a while before anyone raises a flag on a man-made island in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. But seasteading projects are happening already, and it’s time that we recognized their importance –both as scientific and as social laboratories.

What is important for young people.

quelques-voisins-transis-mais-heureuxNowadays, the traditional measure of success — owning an apartment and/or a car — is out of date. An increasing number of young people around the world don’t want to buy them.

Research shows that the so-called millennial generation, who are now 30-35 years old, rarely buy houses and even more rarely — cars. In fact, they don’t buy super expensive things at all. In the USA, people under the age of 35 are called ’the generation of renters.’

Why does this happen?

Some sociologists say it’s because modern youngsters suffer from financial crises. That’s why people are afraid of ’serious’ loans.

But it’s not the most important reason. The thing is, the current generation of young people differs from their parents’ generation. They have other values.

The youth today has reconsidered the concept of success, which means:

  • Successful people don’t buy property — they rent.
  • If you want to be considered successful, invest in experiences: travel, do extreme sports, build startups.

The point is that people now don’t want prosperity and stability — all they want is flexible schedules and financial and geographical independence.

People have no interest in material things

Why own a car if you can take a cab? It’s almost a personal car with a driver. And it’s not more expensive than having your own car. Why buy a house in a beautiful place and go there for vacation, if you can find a place to stay through Airbnb in any corner of the planet? You don’t have to overpay for rent or buy a property in a country you love. The same thing with real estate in your hometown:

  • You don’t know how long you’ll stay where you live.
  • You can take on a mortgage for 40 years, or you can accept the fact that you’ll spend your whole life in a rented place.
  • You’ll probably change your job in the next few years. If you rent, nothing prevents you from moving closer to the office.

According to Forbes, modern young people change jobs every three years on average.

The concept of ownership is no longer relevant

James Hamblin, The Atlantic’s columnist, explains the phenomenon as follows: ’Over the past decade, psychologists carried out a great amount of research proving that, in terms of happiness and a sense of well-being, spending money on new experiences is much more profitable than buying new things. It brings more joy.’

Experiences help us make friends

Social interaction between people is crucial to whether they feel happy or not. Talking to others and having a lot of friends makes you a happier person. But would people rather hear about how you spent a year in a wild country or about how many apartments you’ve already bought?

Here’s an extract from Hamblin’s article:

’Turns out people don’t like hearing about other people’s possessions very much, but they do like hearing about that time you saw Vampire Weekend.’

Remember that even a bad experience can become a good story. Material things cannot.

Buying things makes us worry

There’s one more thing. The things we own, especially if they’re very expensive, make us worry about their condition. If you buy a car, you’ll flinch every time someone’s alarm sounds outside. If you buy a house and fill it with expensive items, you’ll be afraid of being robbed. Not to mention the fact that a car can be scratched or break down, and a super expensive TV might break after a year of usage. But no one can ever take away the experiences you have.

Every purchase will go down in price over time

Our parents weren’t able to travel as often as we do. There wasn’t the possibility to have so much fun. They didn’t have so many opportunities to start a new business. Therefore, they invested in houses and cars, and we don’t want to do that. After all, every purchase, if it’s not a house or an apartment, will depreciate over time. And if we think about how quickly real estate depreciates during a crisis, then everything becomes even more obvious.

Experience is the only thing that matters: it won’t go down in price, and no one can steal it.

Histoire de voisins

voisins

Nous sommes là les uns pour les autres !

Marc, 35 ans, propriétaire à Paris

Lorsque j’ai emménagé dans mon immeuble en 2013, j’ai organisé une petite pendaison de crémaillère. Par politesse, j’avais laissé un mot dans l’entrée pour inviter tous mes voisins. Mais, honnêtement, je pensais que seuls mes amis allaient venir. J’ai été agréablement surpris quand un couple de quadragénaires a sonné à ma porte, suivi un peu plus tard par deux jeunes femmes de 25 et 35 ans. Nous avons sympathisé et, depuis, nous organisons régulièrement des petites soirées ou des brunchs dominicaux.

Lire la suite de l’article sur le site du journal La Croix !

P.S. L’illustration vient du site Retirement Life.

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